My Big Ideas for Inclusive Education Part A

Hannah Rae Mandryk

Day 1, First half
▪ I really liked our discussions of land
acknowledgement and the ideas of
having students write their own land
acknowledgement and/or one for the
class
▪ Manitoba’s philosophy of inclusion was
interesting to learn about as I assumed
that the province had one, but didn’t
know what the actual wording of the
statement was.
Day 1, Second half
▪ The statement “it is best possible at all times to
have kids with their peers” was very impactful to
me. It is a very simple statement, and obvious to
everyone who has ever been around kids, but
actually putting it in writing and using it as
justification for an inclusive learning environment
is something I haven’t seen before, at least not
explicitly stated.
▪ The four stages of inclusion was very interesting
and I think is a foundational idea of inclusive ed.
The diagram of the four stages was very helpful
for me in understanding these four stages.
Day 2, First half
▪ The Manitoba Education Act
▪ I saw the word ‘reasonably’ a lot and wonder who
gets to determine what is ‘reasonable’
▪ It is always better to have students with their peers
than without
▪ IEPs must be updated at least once a year
▪ Students who are suspended for more than 5 days
must be provided with school work
▪ Students who are expelled must still be enrolled in
educational programing until they are 18.
Day 2, Second half
▪ PISA=Program for International Student Assessment, and
international set of standards in which Canada does very
well, but Manitoba alone, does not.
▪ The UNESCO statement on inclusive education had
several quotes that I found very powerful, including saying
that inclusive education is “an expression of justice, not
charity” and “Every learner matters, and matters equally”
▪ Shelley Moor explained the 7-10 split metaphor for
education, which basically means that we should aim for
the students who are hardest to teach (the pins that are
hardest to hit) and plan with difference in mind from the
beginning, rather than aiming for what will help the most
students and adjusting for every student that this doesn’t
work for.
Day 3, First half
▪ No Class
Day 3, Second half
▪ No Class
Day 4, First half
▪ In this class we discussed the binary
system of grouping people, where
things that are the same naturally
get grouped together and things that
are different tend to get ‘othered’
▪ We discussed examples of ways that
people are sorted into binaries, with
one group usually being dominant
over the other.
Day 4, Second half
▪ In A disability focus, we see the child with a
disability as the problem, while in an
environmental focus, we see the education
system as the problem.
▪ There is tension as teachers try to create
equity within a system that is unequal.
▪ It is especially difficult to create equity in
higher grades when students are often seen
to be competing for high grades.
▪ We explored the education building for
accessibility features.
Day 5, First half
▪ We discussed how classroom teachers and resource
teachers work together to help students achieve
success
▪ A classroom profile is a way to determine the
strengths and weaknesses of a class. When
developing a profile, you need to examine: who are
the students? And what supports do they need?
▪ IQ=mental age/chronological age x 100
▪ The average IQ is around 100, those significantly
above average require enrichment, and those below
require support.
Day 5, Second half
▪ We discussed learning styles and how best to
teach students who learn in each way.
▪ In addition to class profiles, we can also
develop profiles for individual students and
for an entire school.
▪ CIA refers to the three ways in which
learning can be supported; through supports
and adaptations in curriculum, instruction,
and assessment.
▪ Metacognition is the concept of thinking
about how you think
Day 6, First half
▪ We discussed various ‘teams’ that the teacher can
rely on; the core team (teacher, parent, student), In-
School Team (resource, guidance, administration),
and support team (doctor, clinician)
▪ According to maslows hierarchy of needs, you
cannot focus on any level unless the needs of the
lower levels are met. Students must have their
physiological, safety, and esteem needs met before
they can focus on learning.
▪ The circle of courage model names belonging,
mastery, independence, and generosity as main
values to teach childrens.
Day 6, Second half
▪ We completed a mindfulness exercise that
can be used with students
▪ We discussed how to teach self-compassion
using mindful moments, love being more
powerful than fear, and thinking about how
you would talk to a friend going through
these issues.
▪ We can notice our intrusive thoughts, but let
go of them, rather than getting hooked on
these thoughts
▪ Diffusion is when you notice your thoughts,
but hold onto them lightly.
Day 7, First half
▪ We looked over the pyramid diagram that shows the
overlaps in universal design with students who have an
IEP, modified programming, an adaptation, and
differentiated instruction and how these areas overlap (or
do not overlap) with the provincial report card and
provincial curriculum.
▪ We are always differentiating our instruction
▪ If you need something to meet the outcome it is an
adaptation. If you don’t need something to meet the
outcome, but it makes things much easier, than that is an
adaptation. I liked the example of glasses. Some people
absolutely need them to operate in the world, while others
only need them sometimes
Day 7, Second half
▪ We continued looking into UDI, this
time looking at the three networks of
learning and how we can differentiate
along these three networks.
▪ We do this by providing multiple means
of:
▪ Engagement
▪ Representation
▪ Action and Expression
Day 8, First half
▪ We discussed response to intervention (RTI) and the three
tiers of intervention
▪ A growth mindset is one where the teacher believes that all
student can thrive and success comes from effort
▪ In the ‘weigh scale’ metaphor, we want success and effort
to be equal. A struggling learner who sees more effort than
success, and an advanced learner who sees more success
than effort are both undesireable
▪ Teachers differentiate through content, process, product,
and environment, according to student’s readiness, interest,
and learning profile.
Day 8, Second half
▪ We gave presentations (teachers teaching teachers)
summarizing the Tomlinson book on
differentiating instruction with regards to0:
▪ The role of the teacher
▪ The learning environment
▪ Strategies for managing a differentiated classroom
▪ Planning lessons differentiated by readiness,
interest, and learning profile
▪ Differentiating content, product, and process