Creating Inclusive Classrooms: Effective and Reflective Practices (4th Edition) - Softcover

Salend, Spencer J.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 013019073X ISBN 13: 9780130190734

Publisher: Pearson College Div, 2000

Synopsis

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.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

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.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.:

PREFACE

As reflections of society, our nation's schools have historically been challenged to respond to various societal changes and mandates. In 1954 the Supreme Court, in its decision in the case of Brown v. Board of Education, mandated that schools stop segregating students based on race. With passage of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 (PL 94-142), now called the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Congress required our nation's educational system to include students with disabilities. Within the last 20 years, demographic shifts, economic conditions, and changes in the structure of families have challenged schools to meet the needs of a diverse group of students.

The inclusion movement has developed to meet these educational mandates and challenges. However, there is still a considerable gap between theory and practice. This book is intended to fill that gap by keeping the perspectives of teachers, students, and families in mind, and translating current research on inclusion into effective and reflective classroom practices that address and expand the realities of the classroom setting. Within each chapter are numerous classroom-based examples and case studies of real situations that educators, students, and family members encounter in inclusive classrooms as well as guidelines, strategies, and procedures that have been used to address these situations to educate all students successfully in inclusive classrooms.

The book is designed to serve as a text for undergraduate, graduate, and in-service courses for teachers, ancillary support personnel, and administrators interested in teaching and providing services to students with diverse learning needs. Because of its focus on instructional procedures and collaboration, the book also can serve as a supplementary text for a course on methods or consultation.

ORGANIZATION AND APPROACH

The book is organized into four parts. Part One includes Chapters 1, 2, and 3 and introduces you to the foundations and fundamentals of inclusion and the challenges of its implementation. Part Two includes Chapters 4, 5, 6, and 7 and provides you with strategies for creating an inclusive environment that supports learning for all students. Part Three includes Chapters 8, 9, 10, and 11 and offers you strategies to differentiate instruction to promote the learning of all students within inclusive educational settings. Part Four consists of Chapter 12 which offers a framework and specific strategies and resources for evaluating inclusion programs in terms of individual and programmatic progress.

A Principled Philosophy

The following principles of effective inclusion also provide a framework for this book. These four principles—diversity, individual needs, reflective practice, and collaboration—are integrated into each chapter of the book and demonstrate that inclusion is not just a government mandate but a principled philosophy of reflective, effective teaching.

• Principle #l: Effective inclusion improves the educational system for all students by placing them together in general education classrooms—regardless of their learning ability, race, linguistic ability, economic status, gender, learning style, ethnicity, cultural background, religion, family structure, and sexual orientation. Inherent in the concept of inclusion is the recognition of the need to individualize the educational system for all students. The result can be an educational system that is more able to accommodate and respond to the individual needs of all students. Thus, changes in the educational system designed to facilitate effective inclusion also benefit all students, teachers, families, ancillary support personnel, and administrators.
• Principle #2: Effective inclusion involves sensitivity to and acceptance of individual needs and differences. Educators cannot teach students without looking at the various factors that have shaped and will continue to shape their students and make them unique. Therefore, since race, linguistic ability, gender, economic status, and learning ability interact to create a complex amalgam that affects academic performance and socialization, educators, students, and family members must be sensitive to and accepting of individual needs and differences. Educators also must be willing to modify attitudes, instructional techniques, curriculum, and models of family involvement to address and accommodate these needs. Our ability to redefine the mainstream to include the unique needs and differences of students and their families, as well as incorporate their varied visions, voices, and contributions, is critical in expanding the educational, social, and cultural base of our educational system and promoting effective inclusion programs.
• Principle # 3: Effective inclusion requires reflective educators to modify their attitudes, teaching and classroom management practices, and curricula to accommodate individual needs. Success at creating inclusive classrooms depends on the ability of educators to become effective and reflective practitioners who are able to think critically about their values, beliefs, and practices. They continually engage in self-improvement by reflecting upon and evaluating the impact of their actions on students, families, and other professionals and refining their teaching practices and curricula to facilitate the learning of all students. Therefore, in addition to providing you with effective practices and examples of their use in inclusive settings, the book contains several innovative pedagogical features designed to help you develop your skill as a reflective practitioner.
• Principle # 4.: Effective inclusion is a group effort which involves collaboration among educators, other professionals, students, families, and community agencies. When these groups work together, the likelihood for effective inclusion is increased. Thus, the book outlines the roles and responsibilities of educators, families, students with disabilities and their peers, and community agencies to promote effective inclusion programs, and offers strategies for integrating these roles so that individuals work collaboratively and communicate regularly.

These four principles, along with the incorporation of instructional technology into each chapter, make the book consistent with professional standards for preparing teachers to work in today's diverse classrooms.

A Non-Categorical Approach

The book is also organized to the serve as a model for creating inclusive classrooms for all students. It is meant to facilitate your development of a holistic approach to educating students while focusing on individual needs rather than on global disability characteristics. Thus, it is not separated into chapters by disability category or cultural and linguistic background that imply and focus on the differences that have been used to segregate students from one another. Rather, the book approaches inclusion as an ongoing, dynamic process for all students. Chapter titles and content relate to and address the key factors that contribute to effective and reflective practices for educating all students in inclusive settings. Instead of separate chapters on students with various disabilities or students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, information and classroom-based examples related to these students as well as other students are integrated and embedded in each chapter. It is also important to note that strategies appropriate for one group of students also can be used with other groups of students.

NEW ADDITIONS
AND SPECIAL FEATURES

Content Coverage

Each chapter has been significantly revised to reflect not only what is happening in the field but also how these changes are affecting educators, students, and families, and the delivery of effective instructional programs to all students. Among the changes you will see are:

• A new chapter (Chapter 12: Evaluating Student Progress and the Effectiveness of Your Inclusion Program) that offers you guidelines and sample assessment devices to evaluate the success of your inclusion program. In addition, this chapter also provides you with new information on authentic and portfolio assessment, testing accommodations, and test-taking skills which can assist you in helping students perform at their optimal levels on standardized and high stakes testing.
• New content related to diversity, collaboration, and technology integrated into each chapter.
• Two new sections in Chapter 1—the first includes the latest information on the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the second provides you with a summary of the latest research on the impact of inclusion on teachers, students, and family members.
• A broader and more detailed discussion of the IEP in Chapter 2, including guidelines for developing IEPs and implementing them in inclusive settings. Chapter 2 also includes current information about the educational needs of students with low-incidence disabilities, and strategies for educating them in inclusive settings.
• In Chapter 3, additional information and examples related to differentiating cultural and language differences from learning problems as well as the latest research and programs addressing the needs of students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
• An expanded discussion of cooperative teaching, working with paraeducators, and communicating with families in Chapter 4.
• Expanded coverage on strategies and resources for facilitating an acceptance of individual differences and friendships between your students, including specific activities teachers can implement, in Chapter 5.
• Chapter 6 now contains expanded coverage on helping students make the transition to inclusive settings.
• New sections on how to conduct a functional assessment and how to prevent students from harming others in Chapter 7.
• Revisions to Chapters 8, 9, 10, and 11 to include the latest information on differentiating instruction, using technology to support and modify instruction, and using research-based inclusion strategies.

Pedagogical Elements and Special Features

Within each chapter are innovative features designed to help you understand, personalize, and reflect upon the content presented in the book. These features include:

• Chapter-opening focus questions that serve as advance organizers and provide a structure for the material presented;
• Summaries at the end of each chapter that address the chapter heading questions and are designed to help you review the main points of each chapter;
• Informational margin notes that provide you with additional information and resources related to the material in the book;
• Classroom-based examples and case studies of teachers implementing effective inclusive educational practices in their classrooms;
• Chapter opening vignettes of a student or teacher, or both, that depict the issues discussed within the chapter;
• Ideas for Implementation that offer practical examples of the application of techniques in the book that are effective for all students educated in inclusive classrooms; and
• Examples of effective practices within the text of each chapter.

Each chapter also contains several new features designed to prompt you to reflect upon and interact with the material presented in the book, including:

• Reflecting on Professional Practices—vignettes describing a classroom experience from the teacher's point of view followed by reflective questions
• Reflecting on Your Practices—checklists designed to assist you in examining your practices, behaviors, and beliefs
• What Would You Do in Today's Diverse Classroom—descriptions of classroom situations followed by a set of reflective questions
• Reflective Margin Notes—questions that ask you to reflect on your personal experiences related to the material in the book.

This textbook also contains several new features designed to introduce you to content about technology and foster your use of technology, including:

• Set Your Sites margin notes in every chapter link you to websites that offer additional information and resources related to specific topics in the book. These sites can also be accessed via hot links from the companion website, located at http://www.prenhall.com/salend.
• Video Insights, which appear in Chapters 1, 7, 8, and 12, link chapter content to the video segments included in the ABC News/Prentice Hall video library and to the streaming video that can be downloaded from the companion website, located at http://www.prenhall.com/salend.
• The Developing Quality IEPs: A Case-Based Tutorial CD-ROM will walk you through the development of IEPs and the criteria necessary to assess their quality. One of the tutorials is based on the case of Marty, featured in Chapter 2. The CDROM is also integrated into Chapter 2 via margin notes.

ANCILLARIES

The ancillaries and supplements package for the fourth edition has been expanded considerably. Several new, exciting supplements are now available for students and instructors, and the high-quality supplements that have always been offered with the text have been thoroughly revised and expanded.

• Instructor's Manual—The fourth edition includes an Instructor's Manual to assist students and instructors in using the text.-Chapters in the manual parallel the organization and content of the text. Each chapter of the manual includes chapter objectives, chapter overview, transparency masters (NEW), learning activities, as well as a comprehensive test bank containing both short-answer and essay questions.
• Computerized Testbank Software—The computerized testbank software gives instructors electronic access to the test questions printed in the Instructor's Manual, allowing them to create and customize exams on their computer. The software can help professors manage their courses and gain insight into their students' progress and performance. Computerized testbank software is available in both Macintosh and PC/Windows versions.
• Video Library (NEW)—The ABC/Prentice Hall video library contains 3 compelling programs: Sean's Story, a video about one boy's experiences becoming a part of an inclusive classroom; Survival Lessons, an examination of school-based mental health programs; and Common Miracles, an in-depth look at new strategies for teaching and learning, such as cooperative learning and multiple intelligences. Evaluating the Effectiveness of Inclusion: A Video Case Study of Memorial High School includes interviews with a mix of students with and without disabilities, and is available as stream...

About this edition

• Publisher: Pearson College Div
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 013019073X
• ISBN 13: 9780130190734
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 518