MODULE 5, 6 WEEK 8, 9

TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAM

FSE: Foundations of Special and Inclusive Education
First Semester of A.Y. 2022-2023

Rationale

All children have the right to education. Inclusive education ensures the participation of all students
in schooling. It involves restructuring the culture, policies and practices in schools so that they can
respond to the diversity of students in their locality.

Specific Learning Outcomes

At the end of this module, the learners will be able to:

SLO 1: identify Inclusive cultures;
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SLO 2: differentiate special education, mainstreaming, and inclusive education;

SLO 3: enumerate ways to produce inclusive policies; and
SLO 4: identify inclusive practices

Activating Content

Synchronous Session
Asynchronous Session

Activity A. Previously you have learned about the history, context, and foundations of special
needs and inclusive education. These modules will provide insights and practical tips on
cultivating inclusive habits and implementing such practices in the classroom effectively. In order
for you to have an overview of these modules, watch this video on YouTube about “The power of
inclusive education” https://youtu.be/ZIPsPRaZP6M

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Content/Discussion

MODULE 5: MAKING SCHOOLS INCLUSIVE (PART 1)

Inclusion is often associated with students* who have impairments or students seen as ‘having
special educational needs. However, in the Index, inclusion is about the education of all children
and young people. The Index offers schools a supportive process of self-review and development,
which draws on the views of staff, governors, students and parents/careers, as well as other
members of the surrounding communities. It involves a detailed examination of how barriers to
learning and participation can be reduced for any student. The Index is not an additional initiative
but a way of improving schools according to inclusive values.

Inclusion and exclusion are explored along three

interconnected dimensions of school improvement:
creating inclusive cultures, producing inclusive
policies and evolving inclusive practices. These
dimensions have been chosen to direct thinking
about school change. Experience with the Index
indicates that they are seen, very widely, as
important ways to structure school development.
The three dimensions are all necessary to the
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development of inclusion within a school.

The dimensions and sections in the Index

DIMENSION A Creating inclusive cultures

Section A.1 Building community
Section A.2 Establishing inclusive values

This dimension creates a secure, accepting, collaborating, stimulating community, in which

everyone is valued as the foundation for the highest achievements of all. It develops shared
inclusive values that are conveyed to all new staff, students, governors and parents/careers. The
principles and values, in inclusive school cultures, guide decisions about policies and moment to
moment practice in classrooms, so that school development becomes a continuous process.

DIMENSION B Producing inclusive policies

Section B.1 Developing the school for all
Section B.2 Organizing support for diversity

This dimension makes sure that inclusion permeates all school plans. Policies encourage the
participation of students and staff from the moment they join the school, reach out to all students
in the locality and minimize exclusionary pressures. All policies involve clear strategies for change.
Support is considered to be all activities which increase the capacity of a school to respond to
student diversity. All forms of support are developed according to inclusive principles and are
brought together within a single framework.

DIMENSION C Evolving inclusive practices

Section C.1 Orchestrating learning
Section C.2 Mobilizing resources

This dimension develops school practices which reflect the inclusive cultures and policies of the
school. Lessons are made responsive to student diversity. Students are encouraged to be actively
involved in all aspects of their education, which draws on their knowledge and experience outside
school. Staff identify material resources and resources within each other, students,
parents/careers and local communities which can be mobilized to support learning and
participation.

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What Stakeholders Can Do?

The following are some steps stakeholders can take to create inclusive cultures:

1. Set parameters for inclusion.

The government has identified key people and professions, and highlighted important
factors leading to the success of inclusive education – i.e., placement process,
committees, staffing, and responsibilities, teacher training and compensation, incentives
for private sector participation, and collaboration of the Department of Education with the
other branches of the government.

2. Build key people.

The government recognizes the need for teacher training, both in special needs education
and general education level. It also pushes for the use of evidence-based teaching
frameworks, provisions of student assistance, and access to instructional materials. Most
importantly, calls are made for continuing research and forming policies to be initiated by
agencies such as the Department of Education so as to further refine the inclusive process
and have it tailored to fit the needs of children with additional needs.

3. Identify and eradicate barriers.

UNESCO’s Guide for Inclusion (2005) advocates for the identification and removal of
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obstacles that have to do with transforming prevailing attitudes and values on a systematic
level. The Philippine government seems to be in consonance with this aspect in the light
of its existing legislative policies that ground the undeniable importance of inclusion.

COMMON BARRIERS TO INCLUSION

a. Attitudinal barriers are the most basic and contribute to other barriers. For example,
some people may not be aware that difficulties in getting to or into a place can limit a
person with a disability from participating in everyday life and common daily activities.

b. Communication barriers are experienced by people who have disabilities that affect
hearing, speaking, reading, writing, and or understanding, and who use different ways to
communicate than people who do not have these disabilities.

c. Physical barriers are structural obstacles in natural or manmade environments that

prevent or block mobility (moving around in the environment) or access.

d. Policy barriers are frequently related to a lack of awareness or enforcement of existing

laws and regulations external that require programs and activities be accessible to people
with disabilities.

e. Programmatic barriers limit the effective delivery of a public health or healthcare program
for people with different types of impairments.

f. Social barriers are related to the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, learn,
work and age – or social determinants of health – that can contribute to decreased
functioning among people with disabilities.

g. Transportation barriers are due to a lack of adequate transportation that interferes with
a person’s ability to be independent and to function in society.

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MAINSTREAMING VS. INCLUSIVE EDUCATION

Mainstreaming

• Expectations from a child

“Mainstreaming” refers to children with an IEP attending a regular classroom for their social
and academic benefit. These students are expected to learn the same material as the rest
of the class but with modifications in the course and adjustments in the assessment. For
example, if the class is reading about U.S. states, names and capitals, a mainstream child
is expected to learn only the names of the states and the capital of the state where he is
living. The students are also expected to show improvement in their social skills and
improvement in their academic performance.

• Support in teaching

A mainstreamed child does not have any other help in the classroom except for the
teacher. The support they get is in the form of modifications in the course. For example, if
a child is dyslexic and has problems in reading or writing, they are occasionally given
individualized reading sessions. Their reading material is simplified, and they are given
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simplified writing assignments.

Inclusion

• Expectations from a child

Inclusion refers to children with an IEP attending a regular classroom for their social and
academic benefit, but these children are not expected to learn the same material as the
rest of the class. They have their own individualized material, and they are not expected
to show improvement as per the class. They are basically “included” in the class so that
they have the opportunity to be with the students of their same age and have the chance
to get the same education. For example, if the class is reading about U.S. states, their
names and capitals, the inclusion child is expected to learn only the name of his own state
and capital of the country. Emphasis is paid to their social skill development more than
academic performance.

An inclusion child does not always have disabilities. They are also students who are
performing above their class level, also called “gifted students,” and students who speak
the language in the classroom as their second language.

• Support In teaching

The students in inclusion classrooms have a team supporting them. The regular teacher
is given tips on how to help the child with special needs. There are specialists like speech
therapists and physical therapists who help the teacher understand the needs of the child.
The teacher is advised to know how to handle technologies and equipment which assist a
special needs child.

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MODULE 6: MAKING SCHOOLS INCLUSIVE (PART 2)

The following is a list of possible steps that educators can take to facilitate the much-needed
societal shift and inform policy:

a. Involve other sectors of society. For an inclusive set -up to be truly successful, active
involvement of the entire community must be insured.

b. Collaborate. Whether creating an academic program specific to a child with additional

needs or creating a new legislative bill for the PWD community, collaboration is crucial.
Each member of the inclusive education team would have their own strength and
weakness, and this should be used wisely to benefit the children with additional needs.

c. Recognize the shifts in roles of the teachers. With the shift of inclusive education, the
role of the sped teachers changed from implementor to consultant. The general teacher
now becomes empowered to implement programs and the SPED teacher needs to
regularly check the progress of the students in a new classroom set-up.

d. Include transition in planning. Sudden change of the programs is not advisable for
students with additional needs. All should be carefully planned. The transition of the
program should be done in a sensitive way that still caters to the needs of the students.
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For schools to be effectively ready for the transition to inclusive education they must consider the
following:

a. Student Admission
b. Accessibility to utilities and facilities
c. Support available to students, parents, and school personnel
d. Learners’ accommodation
e. Exclusion of discrimination incidents
f. Number of bullying cases
g. Faculty and staff promotion

UNIVERSAL DESIGN FOR LEARNING

To understand what Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is, it helps to understand what it’s not.
The word universal may throw you off. It may sound like UDL is about finding one way to teach all
kids. But UDL actually takes the opposite approach.

The goal of UDL is to use a variety of teaching methods to remove any barriers to learning and
give all students equal opportunities to succeed. It’s about building in flexibility that can be
adjusted for every student’s strength and needs. That’s why UDL benefits all kids.

THREE MAIN PRINCIPLES OF UDL

UDL is a framework for how to develop lesson plans and assessments that is based on three main
principles:

1. Representation
UDL recommends offering information in more than one format. For example, textbooks
are primarily visual. But providing text, audio, video and hands-on learning gives all kids a
chance to access the material in whichever way is best suited to their learning strengths.

2. Action and expression

UDL suggest giving kids more than one way to interact with the material and to show what
they’ve learned. For example, students might get to choose between taking a pencil-and-
paper test, giving an oral presentation or doing a group project.

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3. Engagement
UDL encourages teachers to look for multiple ways to motivate students. Letting kids make
choices and giving them assignments that feel relevant to their lives are some examples
of how teachers can sustain students’ interest. Other common strategies include making
skill building feel like a game and creating opportunities for students to get up and move
around the classroom.
IN THE TRADITIONAL CLASSROOM
• Teaching focuses on what is
taught.
• The primary focus is on teaching
the subject matter students need to
learn. Lessons are designed and
taught with a “typical” student in
mind.
• That often means the teacher will
present the material in one way for
the entire class.
• A lesson on the Civil War, for
instance, might involve the teacher
lecturing the class and writing facts
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and dates on the board.
• Accommodations are for specific
students.
• Accommodations are only for
students with an IEP or a 504 plan,
the goal being to help these
students learn the same material
as their classmates.
• For instance, a student with
accommodations listed in an IEP
or 504 plan might get an alternate
format for a book, like an
audiobook. But alternate formats
aren’t available to the whole class.
• The teacher decides how the
material is taught.
• The teacher teaches in one way for
the whole class, and all students
are expected to learn in that way.
• The classroom has a fixed setup.
• It looks like a traditional
classroom—desks lined up in rows
or grouped in pods. The teacher
stands in front and teaches to the
whole class at once.
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IN THE UDL CLASSROOM
• Teaching focuses on both what is
taught and how.
• The primary focus is on finding ways to
teach the material to the many types of
learners in a classroom. Teachers plan
lessons to address a wide range of needs
and strengths. There’s no “typical”
student.
• The teacher will present the material in a
variety of ways. A lesson on the Civil War
might include a traditional lecture. But
there might also be a video for students
to watch or an online class forum for
discussion. There might even be a board
game that students play to understand
the history of the war.
• Accommodations are for all students.
• The accommodations some kids might
get in their IEPs and 504 plans are
available to all students. The idea behind
this is that all kids may benefit from
multiple formats. Some say, too, that
providing accommodations for all can
reduce stigma students may feel about
using accommodations.
• For instance, if a lesson relies on a book,
the book will be available to the entire
class in multiple forms. That
includes text-to-speech, Braille, digital
text and large print.
• The teacher works with the student to
decide how the student will learn the
material.
• Teachers and students work together to
set individual learning goals. Each
student gets to make choices about how
to accomplish personal goals. The aim to
is to have the student
understand how she learns and become
an “expert learner.”
• The classroom has a flexible setup.
• The room is laid out with different spaces
for different kinds of work—quiet,
individual work, small and large group
work, and group instruction. Teaching is
flexible, depending on the lesson and
student needs. The teacher moves
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• There’s one way for a student to
complete an assignment.
• There’s usually only one way for a
student to show what he knows.
• For instance, a book report might
be assigned only as a written
essay.
• Grades are used to measure
performance.
• Students get periodic feedback on
how they’re doing through tests,
quizzes, projects and assignments.
But grades typically aren’t used as
part of an ongoing discussion
about goals and learning.
MODULE 5, 6 WEEK 8, 9
around from space to space, helping
students as they work.
• There are multiple ways to complete an
assignment.
• There are many options for students to
show what they know, because students
have different strengths in how they
express themselves.
• For example, students can choose the
format for their book report, such as a
video, slideshow presentation or essay.
• Grades are used to reinforce goals.
• Students get continuous feedback on
how they’re doing. They’re encouraged to
reflect on their learning and whether they
met lesson goals. Grades feed into that
discussion.

6 STEPS TO PLANNING UDL LESSONS

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1. Define flexible, clear SMART goals.

Ask yourself, “What is the goal of this lesson?” (The CCSS or your state standards will
often serve as the base for your goal.) Effective learning goals are SMART: specific,
measurable, attainable, results oriented, and time bound.

2. Consider learner variability.

Assess the readiness levels, skills, and needs of your learners and the challenges of the
learning environment. Anticipate learning gaps and barriers that may distract, frustrate, or
confuse learners. Apply UDL guidelines to plan for learner variability and determine what
scaffolds are needed.

3. Determine appropriate assessments.

Choose assessments that provide meaningful information, are flexible, and assess
individual student growth. Find out what assessment accommodations are listed in
students’ IEP or 504 plans and provide these during instruction.

4. Select methods, materials, and media.

Consider the types of assistance you need to include in order to address learner variability:
scaffolds? Supports? Accommodations and modifications? Choose methods, materials,
and media that offer flexibility and relevance and balance assistance with challenge.

5. Teach and assess learning.

Put it all together and deliver your UDL lesson. Assess student learning with flexible,
informative assessments matched to your learning goal.

6. Refine educator learning through self-reflection.

Review the data you collected through your assessments and think about your
observations. Did your students achieve the learning goal? What worked well? What will
you do differently next time?

DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION
Tomlinson (2010) describes differentiated instruction as factoring students’ individual learning
styles and levels of readiness first before designing a lesson plan. Research on the effectiveness

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of differentiation shows this method benefits a wide range of students, from those with learning
disabilities to those who are considered high ability.

Differentiating instruction may mean teaching the same material to all students using a variety of
instructional strategies, or it may require the teacher to deliver lessons at varying levels of difficulty
based on the ability of each student.

FOUR WAYS TO DIFFERENTIATE INSTRUCTION

According to Tomlinson, teachers can differentiate instruction through four ways: 1) content, 2)
process, 3) product, and 4) learning environment.

1. Content
As you already know, fundamental lesson content should cover the standards of learning
set by the school district or state educational standards. But some students in your class
may be completely unfamiliar with the concepts in a lesson, some students may have
partial mastery, and some students may already be familiar with the content before the
lesson begins.

What you could do is differentiate the content by designing activities for groups of students
that cover various levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy (a classification of levels of intellectual
behavior going from lower-order thinking skills to higher-order thinking skills). The six
levels are: remembering, understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating.
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Students who are unfamiliar with a lesson could be required to complete tasks on the lower
levels: remembering and understanding. Students with some mastery could be asked to
apply and analyze the content, and students who have high levels of mastery could be
asked to complete tasks in the areas of evaluating and creating.

Examples of differentiating activities:

- Match vocabulary words to definitions.
- Read a passage of text and answer related questions.
- Think of a situation that happened to a character in the story and a different outcome.
- Differentiate fact from opinion in the story.
- Identify an author’s position and provide evidence to support this viewpoint.
- Create a PowerPoint presentation summarizing the lesson.

2. Process
Each student has a preferred learning style, and successful differentiation includes
delivering the material to each style: visual, auditory and kinesthetic, and through words.
This process-related method also addresses the fact that not all students require the same
amount of support from the teacher, and students could choose to work in pairs, small
groups, or individually. And while some students may benefit from one-on-one interaction
with you or the classroom aide, others may be able to progress by themselves. Teachers
can enhance student learning by offering support based on individual needs.

Examples of differentiating the process:

- Provide textbooks for visual and word learners.
- Allow auditory learners to listen to audio books.
- Give kinesthetic learners the opportunity to complete an interactive assignment online.

3. Product
The product is what the student creates at the end of the lesson to demonstrate the
mastery of the content. This can be in the form of tests, projects, reports, or other activities.
You could assign students to complete activities that show mastery of an educational
concept in a way the student prefers, based on learning style.

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Examples of differentiating the end product:
- Read and write learners write a book report.
- Visual learners create a graphic organizer of the story.
- Auditory learners give an oral report.
- Kinesthetic learners build a diorama illustrating the story.

4. Learning environment
The conditions for optimal learning include both physical and psychological elements. A
flexible classroom layout is key, incorporating various types of furniture and arrangements
to support both individual and group work. Psychologically speaking, teachers should use
classroom management techniques that support a safe and supportive learning
environment.

Examples of differentiating the environment:

- Break some students into reading groups to discuss the assignment.
- Allow students to read individually if preferred.
- Create quiet spaces where there are no distractions.

Setting Application

Let us check if you are able to understand the key concepts central to developing the
competencies at the start of this chapter. On your own, answer the following questions by using
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the concepts you have learned.

1. To what extent is inclusion seen to be associated with ‘children with special educational
needs?
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

2. What resources can be mobilized to support learning and participation and develop the
cultures, policies and practices within the school?
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

3. UDL is a classroom practice that ensures the participation and achievement of all types of
learners and where the teacher assumes diversity and uniqueness for all students in the
classroom. Given this, create a plan for UDL. Refer to the content/discussion on Module
6.

Assume that you are a grade 2 math teacher teaching subtraction. Your class is
composed of 35 students. Of the 35, one was diagnosed with ADHD and you suspect
that others might have learned disability.

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Establishing Feedback

Direction: Answer the following questions:

1. What surprised you with this topic, and why?
2. What’s the most important thing you learned in this lesson? Why do you think so?
3. What can/should you do with what you have learned in this lesson?
4. How will this module help you in your career as future educator?

Resources and Additional Resources

• Aligada-Hala., et.al (2020) Foundations of Special and Inclusive Education (1st Edition).
Rex Bookstore, Manila, Philippines.

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