Week 3 focuses on exploring pedagogical approaches for inclusivity

Exploring approaches for inclusion involves examining and applying teaching strategies that ensure all learners can access, engage with and succeed in learning. This includes approaches such as differentiation (where teaching is adapted to learners’ strengths, needs and interests), culturally responsive pedagogy (which connects learning to students’ cultural knowledge and experiences) and Universal Design for Learning (which proactively removes barriers by offering multiple ways to engage, represent and express understanding). By reflecting on and experimenting with these approaches, educators can create learning environments that are equitable, empowering and responsive to the diversity of all learners.

Instead of fixing barriers after they show up, we are designing lessons and environments with all learners in mind right from the start. Inclusive planning from the beginning is proactive and reduces the need for later fixes or accommodations. Everyone benefits, not just a few, when planning for a wide range of abilities and needs (different ways of engaging, expressing and understanding), and lessons become more accessible and meaningful for all students, including those with diverse learning profiles.

This involves a shift in mindset from viewing the barrier as something the student must overcome to seeing the environment or lesson design as the thing we can shape. The result of planning for all learners means fewer supports are needed later, greater participation and increased success for students who might otherwise struggle to access the curriculum.

Actions:

• Watch Removing the Barriers: Planning for ALL! – a short YouTube video clip that explains how this approach benefits all learners.

• Think about a barrier that, when removed, has made learning more accessible for students. Did it have any flow-on effect on other learners?

Quote from Promoting Intentional Teaching, Brookes, 2018. Image background elements courtesy of Ministry for the Environment and Stats NZ. Crown copyright, CC BY 4.0