Creating Inclusive Classrooms: Effective and Reflective Practices

This book provides a practical and research-based, non-categorical approach to creating inclusive classrooms for ALL students—regardless of learning ability, gender, socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, linguistic background, or family structure. Unlike many other books, which focus mainly on including students with physical or mental disabilities, this one emphasizes practical strategies for helping teachers create environments where instruction is truly individualized to meet the needs of ALL students who face challenges that might affect their learning. By incorporating the themes of diversity, reflective practice, collaboration and technology, the book is consistent with NCATE and other professional standards for preparing teachers to work in today's diverse classrooms. It provides current information related to topics that are critical to the creation of effective inclusive teaching environments— such as the latest on IDEA, developing and implementing IEPs, cooperative teaching, working with paraeducators and families, transitioning to inclusive settings, performing functional assessments, preventing violence, helpful technology, and testing accommodations. For teachers in the special education field.

Features of the fourth edition include:

• Content is based around four principles—diversity, individual needs, reflective practice, and collaboration—to demonstrate that inclusion is not just a government mandate, but a principled philosophy of reflective, effective teaching.
• Emphasizes reflective practice through two new features: Reflective on Professional Practices and Reflecting on Your Practices.
• Unique concluding chapter discusses and demonstrates how to assess the success of your inclusion program.
• Each chapter includes textual content related to multiculturalism, and ends with What Would You Do in Today's Diverse Classroom? reflective exercises.
• Includes a CD-ROM, "Developing Quality IEPs: A Case-Based Tutorial", which guides students through the development of IEPs and the criteria necessary to assess their quality.
• a text-specific Companion Website and video package have been integrated into the book.