| Analyse the effectiveness of teaching and learning approaches used in own area of specialism in relation to meeting the individual needs of learners Analyse benefits and limitations of communication methods and media used in own area of specialism Analyse the effectiveness of resources used in own area of specialism in relation to meeting the individual needs of learners Use inclusive teaching and learning approaches and resources, including technologies, to meet the individual needs of learners |
In this blog I will be writing a personal analysis on how i deliver inclusive teaching and learning within my workplace. I will be considering different teaching and learning approaches in order to meet the individual needs of the learners in my class. Firstly understanding what is inclusive education has certainly helped me implement my strategies. Below is a fantastic explanation from Prof Gary Bunch who clearly defines the importance of creating an inclusive education environment and the responsibility we have as teachers to ensure we execute this vision.
“Inclusive Education refers to the educational practice base on the philosophical belief that all learners, those with disabilities and those without, have a right to be educated together in age appropriate class groups, and that all will benefit from education in regular classrooms of community schools. Within these settings teachers, parents and others work collaboratively using appropriate and sufficient resources to interpret and enact the regular curriculum in a flexible manner in accordance with the individual abilities and needs of all learners.” Prof Gary Bunch Ontario
There are many approaches that I use to ensure an inclusive learning environment in view with the above statement. As a teacher I always reflect upon the different strategies I use when teaching and also the different ways in which the pupils learn, by doing this I am able to meet the individual needs of the pupils. It was Gravel and Simpson that stated “differentiating your teaching, learning and assessment approaches should lead to more confident learners who feel included, are motivated to learn and are able to achieve” (Gravells and Simpson, 2014 pg 76). Differentiation is another area I carefully consider particularly in my planning phase, and this is highlighted in my Scheme of Work (SoW) and my lesson planning. I always set learning outcomes and link these into the BTEC assessment criteria, with each learning outcome starting with “I can” this straight away brings a positive effect to my students and gives them confidence to learn. I use two methods to first being learning levels which are ‘foundation’, ‘developing’, ‘secure’ and ‘excellence’, by adopting these, it allows all of the pupils to achieve and progress, and offers a ‘stretch and challenge’ to the more able pupils. The second method is then linking these levels into the BTEC assignment brief such as ‘describe, explain, justify and analyse’ which directly relate the the learning levels and students can then see progress and relativity.
A few others strategies I use are:
Using seating plans: This enables me to place different abilities next to each other so that they can be supported by their peers which is an excellent method to control behaviour as well as develop life skills. Another area with seat selection is group selection and adjust ability groups to mixed ability groups to cater for the outcome I want.
Task explanation: Due to the BTEC assessment criteria It can be difficult for students to grasp task descriptions and therefore I make sure that all learners grasp tasks by situating them differently. Therefore, I use methods such as; the use of clear, simple written instructions; use of images to accompany the instructions; verbal explanation by myself as well as peer to peer teach back all really useful tools in a teachers armoury.
Extension Tasks: I plan extension activities for those pupils who complete their work, this may be by using extension questions or by asking the more able pupil to analyse/justify concepts. This strategy ensures that I always have a plan in order to stretch and challenge those learners that are excelling, this method also allows me to set extension tasks for home study.
I will now analyse the benefits and limitations of communication methods and media within my learning environment. Communication is only effective if the person receiving the message understands it, and is able to respond to it (Wilson, 2014). This quote is so important as it underpins everything I try to do when teaching if one of my students does not grasp something it could be that I did not communicate it effectively enough and therefore they are unable to respond to it. I will now look at different communication methods and the benefits and limitations to each:
Verbal – Allows for immediate impact and learning transfer, however can be miss understood via the means it which it is delivered. It is often not recorded and therefore information can be lost once spoken.
Written – A great form of evidence and reference, it can also add clarity to a message as can be pre-prepared. This can have limitations with the amount you can write or even over write and the message can get lost. This black and white text format can also lack a personal touch of the teacher and student relationship.
Non-verbal – Fastest way to communicate without spoken words, this often adds the personal touch and will give meaning and feel to your verbal response. Gestures can of course be a positive but also be seen as a negative in certain social and cultural settings.
Media – Finally media, which is a great tool to the teaching environment such as presentations, webinars, Skype meetings, videos, interactive quiz and photos just to name a few. This are engaging and fun and all students really enjoy them and they really compliment the knowledge being transferred. It can often be down to the facility and accessibility which determines what tools you can use of course.
I will know look at the resources that I have at my disposal and how I implement them into my teaching strategies. Wilson, L (2014) defines resources as “the equipment and aids that a teacher or learner will use to promote learning”. This is completely true they can not be relied on but can certainly provide impact and add to the learning experience. I will analyse the resources I use below:
PowerPoint presentations – I great tool for students to visual see and follow the lesson, it also has the ability to capture information via text, videos and images which accounts for all my learning types. I am aware of the complexity of slides and ensure I manage the text and quantity on each slide as well as the colouring used. It certain forms a stable part of the majority of my lessons.
White boards – These can be mini boards, group boards and even a larger main board these are great tool for text and imagery and students love the ownership of them and the creativity it allows.
Handouts – These are another great visual tool but also provide the student with evidence that they can use for assignments as well as provide a platform where the student has to read and dissever the information. Even better still if the worksheet has tasks and games that combine with a powerpoint of white board.
Videos – Video forms a huge part of my learning environment as it often is a great way to start a lesson but drumming up discussion as well as getting instant attention. A video works best for me when intruding a topic and will lead onto a task via other means.
Finally I will look at methods mentioned throughout this blog and how to apply them to meet each individual learners needs. I will pick out three and explain their and how they relate to the meeting of those needs:
Peer work – I really enjoy peer work as it gives me an opportunity to facilitate learning whilst capturing knowledge exchange. Its main purpose is student ownership and allows for evaluations and reflection to take place during learning periods. In terms of catering for needs I often put a higher achiever with a less able student which improves confidence and really develops each other.
Group work – As mentioned above this is often incorporated with a white board and handout stating the task, this group work really does motivate my class as well as developing employability skills. You can group pupils with different academic strengths to support and help one another.You can pair less confident pupils with more confident, to aid their contribution to tasks.
Questioning – I use questioning in all my lessons with a variety of different methods and find the best version when it is student led and they peer peer question each other the knowledge exchange is great and the understanding seems to accelerate. These can be pre set to meet the levels and the differing needs of the learners. Can help to relax the more anxious pupils who fear assessment, as it is a more informal approach.
To summarise this blog I have hopefully identify various methods to delivering inclusive training whilst stating from my own experiences what works and what I have found doesn’t. It is all about catering for different abilities and needs and If you can do that using a variety of methods you are on the path of a very successful education environment.
References
Prof Gary Bunch Ontario
Gravells, A & Simpson, S (2014) TheCertificate in Education and Training. London: Sage
Wilson, L. (2014). Practical Teaching: A Guide to Teaching in the Education and Training Sector.Andover, UK: Cengage Learning Publishing.
Richard Hunter Teaching Reflection 