Teams in Inclusive Classrooms: Who, What, & How Michael Agliata Peter Clark Allison Dougherty Michelle Grady Sean McAneny Asim Safdar Samantha Stecchini

What is an Inclusive Classroom Integrated classroom open for all students that have a wide range of abilities…  Translation - ALL students are welcome into a general education classroom Numbers in classroom are proportional to surrounding community and all students are educated with peers Happiness (Giangreco, 1997)

The Usual Suspects General Ed teacher Special Ed teacher Administrator(s) Service Providers  Speech Therapist  Occupational Therapist  Physical Therapist

General & Special Ed Teachers Three Models of Inclusion in Classrooms: Consultant Teaming Collaborative (co-teaching) (Alper, 1995)

Administrative Roles Allocation of Resources Vision & Agenda Structure & Organization Staff Training (Salisbury & McGregor, 2002)

Service Providers Who: Speech Therapist Occupational Therapist Physical Therapist Roles: One-on-One assistants for specific students Support for overall Special Ed program (Friend & Cook, 2007)

Time for a Break

Can Parents get Involved??? Popular parental concerns: 1. Students will have limited progress in classes 2. Students will be teased, bullied, harassed 3. Classified students will only interact with the Special Education teacher in the classroom (Alper, 1995)

Overcoming these concerns Acknowledging most students do face some form of harassment in schools Parents can reinforce learning at home Teachers can share anecdotal evidence about benefits of inclusion (Alper, 1995)

Needs for All Team Members Time for planning Space Communication Parity (equality & equity)

Can you Recognize Effective Inclusion Inclusion doesn’t happen for just one day Increasing activity from all team members within the school community Accessible adaptations provided for students Teachers need proper training & support Students need on-going support from ALL team members (Weiner, 2003)

Teambuilding Activity & Metaphor Directions: 1. The Ball can never stop moving 2. The Ball can not touch the ground 3. Everyone must participate in keeping the Ball in motion

The Metaphor 1. The Ball 2. Keeping the Ball in the Air 3. Keeping the Ball Moving 4. Everyone participating 5. Change in balls 1. The Student 2. Having high expectations for all students 3. The learning of a student should never stop or stand still 4. All team members are needed to continue the students learning 5. Differing abilities of students and how team members handle it

Discussion Which member of the team is most important? Can you really create teamwork? Or is it a process that occurs naturally between group members? How can collaborative teams last throughout an entire year?

Resources Alper, S. (1995). What role can administrators play in inclusive education? Inclusion are we abandoning or helping students? Thousand Oaks: Corwin Press Friend, M. & Cook, L. (2007). Paraeducators. Interactions Collaboration Skills for School Professionals (5 ed). New York: Pearson Education Inc. Giangreco, M. F. (1997). Key lessons learned about inclusive education: Summary of the 1996 Schonell Memorial Lecture. International Journal of Disability, Development and Education, 44 (3), Salisbury, C. L., & McGregor, G. (2002). The administrative climate and context of inclusive elementary schools. Exceptional Children, 68 (2), Weiner, H. M. (2003). Effective Inclusion: Professional development in the context of the classroom. Teaching Exceptional Children, 35 (6),