Hello,
Education is a means to empower children to become responsible citizens in the transformation of society. It is important for the educator to cater for the needs of each child irrespective of his capabilities. Nowadays there are children of different learning needs in a classroom such as students having visual impairment, mild autism and attention-deficit also known hyperactivity disorder. It is the prime responsibility of an educator to focus on inclusive education approach so as to address the learning needs of children who are prone to isolation and exclusion.
Firstly the educator should ensure that all children feel welcome and their unique needs and learning styles are attended to and valued in the classroom. As per the study of Wade (2000), cooperative learning is an important teaching strategy that educators can implement in an inclusive classroom. It enables children to work together in small groups. Indeed it is an effective strategy that the educator can integrate in his lesson for students having visual impairments. The visually impaired children will take help of their fellow sighted peers to help them find pages for instance and follow teacher’s instructions (UNESCO, 2001).
The educator can also make use of different sensory stimulations such as sounds so as to create a picture of the world which the visually impaired students might perceive a picture of the world. Therefore they will feel included and valued in the classroom and will not lag behind.
In fact the students with visual impairments depend heavily on the teacher’s voice to understand instructions. The educator should make ensure they call their students names in a pleasant way. When educator calls their visually impaired students by their names, they feel integrated in the lesson. It implies that special attention should be given to these students. Moreover simple instructions should be given which reduces complexity because language used by educators hampers the academic performance of visually impaired students.
The use of assisted technology in the teaching and learning process can effectively integrate learners with learning difficulties caused by a problem with their sight, speech, or behaviours.
Assisted technology means a set of technological devices such as tablets, computers or Sankoré Project to develop the functional capabilities of students having disabilities. The integration of technology in the classroom will assist students with mild autism, visual impairment and hyperactive disorder in their learning and improve their communication, interaction, and general participation in the classroom.
For instance the educator will make use of portable device available at school to enable the autism child to create electronic speech. While magnifying software or a screen reader can be encouraged among visual impairment students to enhance their learning experience. Indeed the educator should ensure the inclusion of assisted technology in the teaching and learning process as it is an effective and essential enabler for learners having difficulties which will further enhance their potential; and promote wider learning opportunities.
The educator can implement adapted reading activities to improve the literacy skills of autism students. The learners will engage in the interaction through questions and discussion (Muchetti, 2010). The shared reading activities will be modified accordingly so as to cater for the individualized needs of the autism learners. The educators, who are committed to integrate differentiated instructional strategies, can easily adapt to the different characteristics of Attention-Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) students.
Peer tutoring and peer coaching can be used as effective tools to motivate ADHD students. The ADHD students will feel supported in the classroom and will participate equally. Hence the educator will create a more inclusive classroom community. Parent involvement is also considered as an essential component for supporting students with ADHD.
When a differentiated instruction is embedded in the classroom, the educator can easily meet the learning needs of all students having disabilities. A differentiated instruction is an approach to instruction that incorporates a variety of strategies.
All the teaching strategies such as collaboration learning, peer tutoring and others mentioned above can effectively be integrated in the classroom to promote inclusivity and diversity.