1. AEDT2170: Designing Inclusive Learning Environments
Week 6
Likeness and Difference Among Children

2. Analysis Questions
Below are the analysis questions to think about before watching/listening to this clip. Their purpose is to activate your prior knowledge with this topic and to help your focus your thinking in this area:
How do children differ? How are they alike?
Are all children teachable?
Should children with exceptionalities be labelled?
Think back to your own educational experience. How were exceptional children treated and supported? How did this make you feel?
How can educators support children’s differing needs in an inclusive manner?

3. Likeness and Difference
How are children alike? What are some of the challenges to identifying typical and atypical development?

4. Categories of Exceptionalities
Definitions of the 5 exceptionalities are provided at the Ministry of Education link (Appendix D):
nd.html
Exceptionalities include:
 Behaviour
 Communication (autism, deaf and hard of hearing, language
impairment, speech impairment, learning disability)
 Intellectual (gifted, mild intellectual disability,
developmental disability)
 Physical (physical disability, health, blind and low vision)
 Multiple (multiple exceptionalities)

5. Labelling a Young Child
Children who may be developmentally different in one way may resemble their peers far more than they differ from them.
Developmental sequence may be the same, but rate differs
A disability in one area does not imply special programming in all areas
Early interventions services may support children to overcome challenges e.g., premature infant

6. Case
At age 3, William spoke very little, had difficulty following directions and showcased few play skills. He scored low on an IQ test and was subsequently placed in a preschool for children with intellectual impairments. At age 7, it was discovered that William had severe hearing loss.

7. Advantages of Labelling
Enhances public awareness of developmental differences
Gaining governmental funds
Gaining services and supports
Facilitates communication between professionals
Identifies specific medial conditions

8. Developmentally Appropriate Practice
Begin with where the child is
Scaffold learning
Set challenging, yet achievable goals
Use a variety of instructional strategies to meet the needs of the individual child; leverage strengths
Purposeful planning

9. Becoming an Intentional Teacher
Watch the following clip:
Identify what intentional teaching means to you.

10. Synthesis Questions
Read the questions below following this clip. Use these questions to assist you in synthesizing ideas that occurred to you during this clip. Reflect on these ideas and discuss your thoughts during tutorial: 1. What does intentional teaching mean to you? How does this translate into your practice? 2. How can you support inclusive education for students with exceptionalities in your class? For this weeks tutorial, come to class prepared with 3-4 slides summarizing key findings on development across one domain in early childhood and describe how technology can be used intentionally to support development across this domain