If you haven’t yet, be sure to visit last week’s blog post https://blogs.iu.edu/earlyliteracy/which shared 6 evidence-based foundational equitable principles for supporting diverse learners. Implementing these principles into your classroom provides all children equitable educational opportunities.
The first principle is Inclusion. Children cannot benefit from instruction they don’t receive. Inclusive classrooms educate all children in general education classrooms by providing the individual supports some children need to be successful. When children are educated in segregated settings, they miss being part of the general education curriculum and the social learning opportunities the general education classroom provides. Research shows that inclusive classrooms have a positive impact on outcomes for children with and without IEPs. Here’s a link to a video on the Inclusive Classroom Profile, which is used to assess the quality of inclusive settings and illustrates the indicators of high quality inclusion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eZh4vaqcG0
Lynne Hall is a research associate at the Indiana Institute on Disability & Community’s Early Childhood Center. She holds a Master of Science in Education and an Indiana instructional teaching license (Early Childhood Education and Services; Elementary/Primary Generalist; Elementary/Intermediate Generalist). She formerly taught preschool in a variety of settings for over 15 years. Her expertise includes early literacy instruction and inclusive preschool classroom practices.
Email her at hallma@iu.edu
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