Factors that Influence Learning: Developing Inclusive Practice in Education

Task 1: Understand factors which influence learning.

1. Review the impact of personal, social and cultural factors on learning.

Learning is influenced by many factors which can be grouped as personal, social and cultural factors. Personal factors influencing learning include sensation and perception which are physiological in nature and peculiar to individual learners. Sensation includes the use of five sensory organs which are skin, ears, tongue, eyes and nose which acts as the pathway to knowledge and is vital to the perception of environmental stimuli.

Learning is generally believed to be dependent on age and maturation even though some students learn at an earlier age while some spend more time in learning the same content.  Learning is influenced by the age of learners as the younger the child, the lower their knowledge and teaching of a reception class will demand lots of practicing of basic skills and learning by playing. An older child attains a higher level of knowledge and skills which can be extended and be coped with, while the younger child can only withstand short intensive learning before getting tired, bored and loosing concentration. Fatigue and boredom impact negatively on learning by decreasing the efficiency and competency of learners to concentrate and work in class. Younger students tend to learn faster and find memorisation easier than older students even though they do not have the experience and education required to incorporate learning to life situations while older ones tend to learn slower and find memorization more difficult but find it easy to apply learning to life situations.

Skuse (1997) notes that gender differences are more genetically than culturally determined. The attitudes of teachers and families to gender influence the manner female and males learn. Research reveals that teachers set different expectations for males and females; give more attention to males; and males have more access to equipment such as computers and other specialist equipment and females are under-represented in maths, physical sciences and technology in post-16 and out-performing males in GCSE (Petty, 2009). Educational psychologists discover that girls are more committed to satisfying adults (e.g. Parents and teachers) than males while most males are less motivated to study if the materials are uninteresting to them. Both genders should be motivated equally to learn by not grouping careers/subjects along gender and by ensuring inclusivity in teaching and learning irrespective of gender.

Culture plays an important role in a learner’s cognitive development by guiding and directing his/her learning behaviour. Cultures have varieties of values for individual learners and view intelligence differently with some cultures focusing on the concept of IQ and others on abilities to exhibit relevant skills for family life and development. This implies that children’s cultural experiences influence how they learn and respond to work. Early life experiences and individual’s cultural values influence the learning expectations and process of learning and the interrelationship amongst cultural values, learning expectations and experiences in the classroom which has direct relevance to the academic achievement of the child.  Characteristics like morality, dedication, or interpersonal skills tend to be more highly valued than cognitive abilities in certain cultures. The stage of social and emotional developments is a major determinant factor in how a child learn which involves gaining skills which enables them to understand and manage emotions; and expressions constructively which promote socio interaction. This promotes positive behaviour and learning environment, and interrelationships within the peers and staff and facilitates student centred learning through active participation during group work.

2. Review the impact of different cognitive, physical and sensory abilities on learning.

Learning depends on the different abilities of learners which can be broadly classified as cognitive, physical and sensory abilities. These abilities include nature-versus-nature, reading ability, analytical skills, skills development, specific learning disabilities, physical disabilities, visual awareness and hearing impairment amongst others. Physical factors which influence learning include health, physical development, nutrition, visual and physical defects and glandular abnormality (thyroid and pituitary) which influence behaviour. Bad health generally slows down physical and motor development while malnutrition such as kwashiorkor or lack of vitamins/minerals affects learning, concentration and physical growth. Learners with hearing, visual and other physical defects have significant difficulties in reading and spelling. Efforts should be made to ensure these issues are addressed through liaison with appropriate organisations and designated officers where the issues are beyond the professional boundary of the teacher. Children from disadvantage families may be facing emotional, sexual or physical abuse should be safeguarded through liaison with appropriate bodies. Factors militating against learning include dosing/sleeping in class, poor dressing and absences which should be monitored, reported and addressed accordingly.

Physical disabilities (e.g. hearing sight, visual, speech disabilities) have negative impact on learning which necessitates the putting in place of measures to meet these needs in ways that they are not at a disadvantage of reaching their potentials. Such measures involve the provision of specialist resources (equipment and facilities) that is appropriate to their nature and levels of needs. Visual impairment learners are made to sit in front, use braille, speech and language therapy.

Specific learning disabilities are intellectual disabilities (e.g. autism, dyslexia) which have significant impact on learning. Those that have English as a Second Language and/or are struggling with the language even though are not SEN should be provided with EAL support in the form of visual aids and one to one support/extra sessions and the language of instructions should be broken down to simple and easy to understand English language to improve their vocabulary, phonics and mastery of the language to ensure inclusivity and to ensure learners benefit from learning.

The aptitude of students affects their ability to learn, for instance students with relevant aptitude for a specific subject/skill learn better and retain knowledge for a longer time while longer time will be required to achieve the same level or show mastery in subjects where natural aptitude is lacking. Intelligence which is represented by an I.Q score has positive impact on learning thus enabling students with high I.Q to learn faster even though higher I.Q does not guarantee fast learning. Learners with low I.Q. usually have major problems in mastering work and sometimes students have problems with learning due to special intellectual disabilities. The knowledge of the nature of student’s intellect plays a significant part in the guidance and diagnosis of disability and the unique capacity of individual learner is of great significance is measuring the effectiveness of the learning process.

Attitudes which includes interest, cheerfulness, affection and open mindedness are vital to the development of personality and facilitates rate of learning/teaching and progress of learners. Attitudes are mental factors consisting of organic and kinaesthetic components and play a major part in the mental organisation and individual behaviour (Mondal, 2016). Learning is influenced by the attitude of the learner as individual learners that are attentive and interested in the subject/material tends to show a positive attitude towards it which will enable him to show enthusiasm, participate and learn effectively.

Factors due to lack of mastery, wrong methods of study/work and poor experiential background have the tendency of affecting the learning process of learners. I constantly check the student’s levels of mastery before moving on to other areas/topics to ascertain their learning and understanding. For example, the knowledge of basic addition aids the understanding of multiplication before moving on to fractions.

The preferred learning styles of students which is based on VARK affect the way they learn. They may have a preferred learning style such as Visual, Auditory, Reading/Writing and Kinaesthetic which offer opportunities to utilise these styles to certain extents thereby giving students the liberty to use their preferred approach to learn which increase their motivation to be actively involved.

Task 2: Understand the impact of policy and regulatory frameworks relating to inclusive practice.

2.1 Summarise policy and regulatory frameworks relating to inclusive practice.

The Equality Act 2010 which protects human rights (EHRC, 2015) and replaces all former equality legislation like Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 (SENDA) and Discrimination Act (2005) provides guidance on preventing discrimination against disabled students in gaining access to education, training and other services that are available to other students. It establishes the legal rights for disabled students in pre- and post-16 education as it is illegal to treat a disabled student less favourably than others. It clarifies ways to unlawfully treat somebody which is categorised into types of discrimination (‘Protected Characteristics’). The protected characteristics which are unlawful to discriminate against include age, sex (e.g. transgender, male or female), marital status, pregnancy, disability, race (color, nationality, ethnicity) and religion.

This Act includes creating deaf and visual awareness in the organisations, teaching and education sector and the community on how to accommodate and support these categories of learners without any discrimination, to ensure equal opportunities and easy access. Special Education needs learners should be provided with appropriate levels of required support such as lifts, parking space for learner with physical/mobility impairment as specified by SENDA 2001.

The organisation is required to take reasonable measures to prevent any substantial disadvantage arising from how the organisation provides services to disabled students in relation to all students. This demands an improved, transparent and accountable system of support for them that entails taking effective steps. These steps may involve changes to course requirements or work placement, physical features of building, policies and practices. These may also include the provision of materials in different formats (braille, font sizes), different ways of course delivery and provision of interpreters or support depending on the nature and level of disability.

Equal opportunities and inclusivity is ensured through variety of activities and support to meet the identified needs of learners. This act which provides protection at work against dismissal, redundancy, training (CPD), salary and promotion is studied and used as guide when interacting with staff, employers, employees and relevant stakeholders. The act creates awareness on and provides me with guidelines on steps to take if one is unfairly discriminated against which involves making direct complaint to the designated person/organisation, seeking help from mediation or alternative dispute resolution and going to court/tribunal where one can make a claim or seek advice and help from Equality Advisory Support Services.

Tomlinson Report (1996) centers on the role of inclusive learning in post-compulsory sector’s widening participation agenda specifically for learners with disabilities/learning difficulties while Kennedy Report (1997) addresses the improvement of learning opportunities for all. Tomlinson report discovers that students with special education needs are underperforming in post-compulsory sector, excluded from accessing the wider curriculum and lack confidence possibly due to their prior school experience of education and learning. The report notes that the exclusion from mainstream opportunities in post-secondary sector affects the culture of learning providers like further education colleges. Tomlinson recommends that the educational institution should be made responsible for empathizing and responding to the individuals, and addressing their needs. The report demands that institutions should publish own disability statements, information on entry and openness of access irrespective of age, gender, ethnicity or disability. The recommendation on inclusive learning is aimed at improving the quality of learning experience of these learners and impact positively on the culture of educational establishments by focusing on planning with individual learners and meeting their needs

2.2: Explain how policy and regulatory frameworks influence organisational policies relating to inclusive practice.

Policy and regulatory frameworks influence organisation policies by ensuring that the relevant organisation policies are well documented and made accessible to all stakeholders including learners, teachers and other staff. It serves as a reference compendium of standardised up to date information that practices and compliance can be measured against. This involves the advertisement and promotion of the organisation courses on own website through a fair and transparent approach where everyone who meets the qualification criteria for admission can apply without any discrimination.

The frameworks provide information on the responsibilities of stakeholders including students and teachers on policies that provide guidance and expectations on creating and maintaining a safe and conducive environment where everyone is comfortable to stay and mutually interact together. This makes everyone to imbibe positive behaviours and put in their best to fulfil their roles and responsibility which need to be accounted for and reflected in evaluation/performance appraisal of staff. Staff can access information on the plans and guidelines which the organisation has in place to support their continuous professional development for continuous quality improvement and quality assurance of the organisation.

Policy and regulatory frameworks serve as documentary information that helps the organisation to perform well and maintain high standards of performance. The organisation has high expectations from staff and ensures that staff are adequately aware of these expectations, their roles and responsibilities, their rights and the responsibilities of the organisation to ensure the rights of staff are known and protected. Employers have a duty to ensure that the working environments is safe for them to stay through putting in place adequate risk assessment and measures to minimise these risks. Employers must be able to access these policies and follow the procedures by reading these and following the procedures. In own organisation, many procedures and framework are in place which includes complaint procedures, roles and responsibilities to avoid mistakes or poor practices.

It ensures that the rights of everyone is protected and fair hearing is given to people through the availability of complaint procedures to follow thereby ensuring due diligence and fairness. Policy and regulatory frameworks influence organisational policies by providing documentary guidelines on regulating practices to ensure organised structure is followed for compliance to inclusivity.

Policy and regulatory frameworks are helpful in the formation of organogram where the hierarchical responsibility is documented and people can be made accountable for their actions. These provide information on staff requirements and enable them to learn if here are shortages of qualified staff and to ascertain the competencies of staff in relation to their qualifications which contribute to quality assurance system of an organisation.

The Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) checks form an important part of the recruitment process and has been replaced with the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). This enables organisations to vet the past records of potential employees for past criminal records in line with safeguarding legislation (DBS, 2014) and to prevent those disqualified from working with certain categories of people such as adults, vulnerable adults and children (DBS, 2014).

2.3: Explain how policy and regulatory frameworks influence own inclusive practice.

Policy and regulatory frameworks influence own inclusive practice by providing easily accessible information on up to date legislation such as the harmonizing of all former equality legislations into the Equality Act, 2010. The frameworks enable me to study the documents and get an understanding of its implementation in own organization. The frameworks help me to get a clearer understanding of own roles and responsibilities as stated in the policy document and this propels me to put in efforts to ensure the expected outcomes are achieved and all learners succeed.

The frameworks provide opportunities for me to reflect on and review own approaches within the guidelines of the curriculum on how to ensure inclusivity of all students in deriving maximum achievement by ensuring the relevant levels of support are provided. Equality and diversity is reflected on the lesson plan through the development of the identified levels of support into Individual learning plans where their learning needs are addressed through different teaching styles such as VARK. Different teaching methods which include group dynamics for group work, peer work/assessments, assignments and quizzes are used to foster social interaction amongst different categories of learners.  All learners are given enough time to respond to questions which could be open or close depending on their abilities and given their fair share of time when engaged in one to one discussion, prompt and constructive feedback. All learners are provided with opportunities to provide feedback on the impact of my teaching approaches and practices on their learning and make suggestions on areas of improvement that can help them learn better which is analyzed, evaluated and reviewed for continuous improvement.

Adequate organization and planning are made with relevant stakeholders such as professionals and specialist staff to ensure relevant resources (e.g. Braille, note takers), differentiated activities, ease of accessibility, flexible learning options and adaptations/adjustments are made to ensure that SEN learners are not at a disadvantage of learning compared to other learners in the same environment. The approaches are reviewed periodically to assess the impact of the support on their learning and achievement and the informed modifications to be made if the expected progress is not achieved.

Protection from discrimination which entails being associated with somebody with protected characteristics like a friend is ensured through challenging and redressing the situation and acting voluntarily (‘positive action’) which is legal when learners are disadvantaged, have special needs and are under-performing in activities in class. I ensure inappropriate behavior such as bullying and stereotyping is checked using ground rules and the college behavioral policy to address the situation and institute an emotionally stable and safe environment for learners to achieve

Task 3: Understand roles and responsibilities relating to inclusive practice.

3.1 Summarise own role and responsibilities relating to inclusive practice.

My role and responsibilities involve teaching, imparting my knowledge and skills to all learners and preparing them for assessment using a variety of approaches to meet their identified needs to derive maximum achievement. This involves planning, delivering, assessing, evaluating and managing classroom activities as captured on my lessons and ensuring that appropriate resources (human and material) are in place to support them accordingly.

Assessments such as Initial, diagnostic, formative and summative assessment are used to identify the nature and required levels support required by individual students and to provide these according where it falls within own jurisdiction. If otherwise, referral is made to the relevant professionals or agencies in line with the organisational policies and procedures thereby promoting equality and inclusivity.

I am duty bound to inspire students to adapt and progress their personal, social and professional skills to the highest abilities to enable them to gain the understanding of taking responsibilities for their developments through their participation, positive response to feedback, and engagement with peers, teachers (ILP) and relevant stake holders.

I ensure inclusivity amongst all learners by promoting appropriate behaviour and respect through the application of own organisation policies and guidelines on behavioural management, establishment of ground rules with student, taking appropriate actions and measures to check, challenge and address negative behaviour and reward positive behaviours.

I promote equality and diversity by having adequate knowledge of and complying with the organisational policies on safeguarding, equal opportunities, curriculum, learning resources and PREVENT duty appropriately.

3.2 Explain the relationship between own role and the roles of other professionals involved in inclusive practice.

Teachers have limitations on meeting the needs of learners which necessitates taking steps to liaise with and refer learners to other professionals, internal and external bodies to adequately address these needs depending on their natures, types and levels. I contact pastoral services, senior colleagues, own line manager, and mentor to seek advice, guidance and gain experience on the appropriate actions to take in the hard face of emotional problems/persistent challenging behaviours which is difficult to manage. The team meetings and discussions with line manager and colleagues provide good forum to discuss and gather ideas for improved continuous practices on lesson plans, action researches, lesson study, teaching and implementation strategies for effective teaching and learning.

I work in collaboration with other professionals such as the school principal and relevant stakeholders to ensure everyone plays his/her own role in ensuring the availability of learning resource/facilities including those of Special Education Needs learners. The team meetings and discussions with line manager and colleagues provide good avenue to discuss and gather ideas for improved continuous practices on lesson plans, action researches, lesson study, teaching and implementation strategies for effective teaching and learning.

Negotiations are made on behalf of learners with relevant agencies before learners are referred to specialist professionals such as dietician, psychologist and language therapists in line with the policies of own organisation. Specialist training are scheduled on how to offer basic support and handle special education needs learners such as knowledge/understanding of sign language for greeting/praising and setting of adjustable chairs when wheel chair users are not comfortable with the fixing when the need arises. Contact is made with external agencies/bodies including Citizens Advice Bureau, police and social services on advisory, social and criminal issues while financial issues are handled by banks, building societies and Student Loans Company.

Learning Support Assistant are important in supporting learners with extra help through coaching, note taking and learners with visual impairment are made to have access to skills for life specialist resources (e.g. Braille, hearing loops) and those with English as Additional language are recommended for one to one support, and core skills learning support.  Advice is sought and put into practice by following the doctor’s recommendation on management of the health of learners with medical problems and how to handle emergencies or accident (e.g.  fainting, bleeding) while such learners are at school.

3.3 Identify points of referral available to meet individual learning needs.

One of the major responsibilities of the teacher is to identify the varying needs of the learners, the nature and level of needs and take appropriate steps to adequately address these needs. The teacher addresses those needs within his/her professional boundaries while those that are outside are referred to relevant professionals, internal and external bodies. The teacher uses organisational resources and policies as guidelines to follow in the referral process.

This involves ensuring learners having access to variety of teaching and learning resources/equipment that accommodate all learning styles, Special Education Needs Learners, and EAL (English as an Additional Language).

Learning Support Department is responsible for providing specialist resources for disabled learners such as braille for those with visual impairments, hearing aids such as loops for those with hearing impairments; Skills for life specialist and learning support are provided through individual/group support to enable those with poor functional skills (ICT, Maths, and English) to succeed. Learners may be given in house support by one to one support, additional tutoring, referred to language specialist and/or referred to training providers where they can be registered on part time/online for courses to boost their knowledge in the core skills and enable them to progress. Advise/Support on teaching strategies and resources to aid learners with sensory and physical impairments are available from voluntary and charitable organisation.

Learners with emotional needs are given pastoral support, those with advisory, social and criminal attention are referred to external bodies/organisations such as Citizen Advice Bureau, police and social services appropriately. Others include parents, charities, student union and chaplaincy.

Task 4 Understand how to create and maintain an inclusive learning environment.

4.1 Review key features and benefits of an inclusive learning environment.

The key features and benefits of inclusive learning environment are many and notably amongst these are the prospects of promotion of inclusive teaching/learning approaches, motivation of students, celebration of achievements, respect for others, creation of positive attitude and culture of tolerance, empowering students and collaborative working.

Inclusive learning environment enables the effective use of varieties of teaching and learning approaches that meet the identified needs of the learners to be provided. The teaching and learning approaches involve the use of appropriate resources, learning styles (VARK), differentiated lesson plans, teaching methods and strategies to ensure all learners are supported to achieve maximum potentials. For instance, differentiated tasks/activities are structured to challenge the more able and support the less able ones while different pedagogical and learning theories are applied to accommodate their teaching and learning needs such that all learners achieve their targets. This creates an enabling environment for learners to have a sense of belonging, equal opportunities, esteem and value. The strategies embrace a combination of learner/teacher centred approach, active engagement, subject knowledge, group/individual work, discussions, demonstrations and ICT.

An inclusive learning environment inspires learners to engage and enable them to take responsibility in their learning through active participation and contribution to the success of their learning. This enables them to play their role in complimenting the opportunities offered by the teacher in ensuring the learning environment is safe, conducive and supportive to maximum achievement of all learners. The variety of teaching approaches, resources and differentiation tactics coupled with the specialist knowledge and pedagogical skills of the teachers in delivering stimulating lessons enables learners to show enthusiasm and respond promptly to teacher’s constructive feedback.

It enables the teacher to show respect to all learners and others through the promotion of positive behaviour, use of appropriate language, showing courtesy and complying with the school policies on appropriate behaviour/inclusivity while learners are made to model the positive behaviour of the teacher by respecting themselves and others. Rewards and praise are used to acknowledge good behaviour which in turn challenges bad behaviours.  Madsen et al (1968) note that learners start to behave well 90% of the time when appropriate behaviour is rewarded and inappropriate behaviour is ignored. This will depend on the nature and level of inappropriate behaviour as serious negative behaviours such as bullying and fighting should be addressed immediately. Learners are made to understand that they are unique individuals of different backgrounds, learning needs and nature and as such should learn to accommodate and respect people for what they are.

Inclusion involves an educational approach enabling students with disabilities to learn with normal learners as opposed to separating students based on physical abilities and disabilities. The teachers have a duty of ensuring that all learners from both groups derive maximum advantage from the implementation of a challenging, and relevant curriculum even though inclusion places emphasis on disabled learners. It should be tailored to embrace varieties of strengths, experiences and issues confronting all learners.  However, most parents, administrators and teachers doubt the possible academic impact resulting from placing other students with special education needs students in same classroom. Caralee Adam (2006) notes that most teachers and experts support the objectives of inclusion and suggests that responsible inclusion should be adopted by modifying the inclusions models which allows violent or aggressive kids to be handled effectively. Disabled and non-disabled learners benefit mutually from one another when learning together. Disabled learners establish friendships and social relations, have greater access to curriculum and greater opportunities for interaction while non-disabled learners benefit by establishing meaningful friendships, respecting everyone, having more understanding on the uniqueness of individuals, and become tolerant of others thereby embracing diversity.

4.2 Analyse ways to promote equality and diversity.

There are different ways of ensuring equality and diversity notably amongst which are celebration of diversity, sharing opportunities, positive attitudes, team work empowering and engaging learners.

Equality and diversity (multiculturalism) are interrelated and entail the promotion and acceptance of differences in people. Equality is according individuals fair and equal treatment without any discrimination on grounds of race, age, gender, disability, religion or sexual orientation while Diversity is acknowledging and respecting differences in people to institute an inclusive environment. Such an environment enables every student to work together and comprehend that individual characteristics account for uniqueness in people rather than negativity in people.

Equality and diversity are promoted by incorporating equality analysis/impact assessment processes in own course development as a way of ensuring inclusivity and accessibility. Learners are encouraged to collaborate in diverse groups during projects, quizzes and peer/group work/assessments and to actively engage in activities that enables them to share their diverse experiences together thereby adding value to the learning experience for everyone. Diversity is reflected in own teaching methods through VARK teaching styles, and adapting activities to promote equality and diversity. Different activities such as jig saws are designed for learners to work in groups and match different foods/currencies with relevant countries.

Equality and diversity can be promoted by using multicultural (Asian, African, Europeans, Americans) resources to depict the different background of all learners as educational posters mounted on class wall and as theme week on notice boards.  Multicultural celebrations are made through cultural week such as European, African, Asian, American and Australian week. It may however not be possible for some learners to fall into a specific culture (e.g. afro -Caribbean) and breaking down the cultural weeks may be difficult to capture.

An inclusive environment which is friendly, safe and enables all learners to be confident, comfortable, learn, practice mutual respect and show tolerance to others in class and community is instituted. Learners are made to learn and cultivate ways of working successfully through team works (e.g. group work) and social interactions which are useful in the community and employment in future.

Interactions between teachers, parents, colleagues and professionals facilitates information flow for effective planning and formalised assessment procedures for improving learners’ response to teaching programme. This adequately position me to get a wider understanding of student’ language and communication skills, their gross and fine motor, literacy and numeracy skills, learning styles, independent ability, social skills and ability to form relationships. These information is used to develop the student’s IEP with SMART targets and relevant objectives within the time that learners are involved in individual and differentiated activities.

Equality and Diversity are promoted by being a positive role model as a teacher in terms of positive attitudes and behaviour such as punctuality, attendance, mutual respect, courtesy and professionalism which learners can emulate. This involves using appropriate language, smiling, knowing learners’ names and using ground rules to check negative behaviours (e.g. prejudice, stereotyping, stigmatisation, noise, bullying) by promptly challenging, correcting and applying sanctions and encouraging positive behaviours through medals, praise and rewards.

4.3 Analyse ways to promote inclusion

Inclusion can be promoted by studying, understanding and following the policies and procedures of own organisation as guidelines in own practices. The guidelines and policies are used in own teaching to ensure compliance is ensured and the quality codes/standards to ensure maintenance of quality and continuous improvement is achieved. Learners and teachers should be adequately informed of the standards and expectations on behavioural management which must be followed and used to institute good behaviour which results in orderliness, safety and security without fear, threat and intimidation from any learner.

Ground rules are jointly set between the teachers and learners who are made to understand the effects of breaking and keeping the rules. Learners are made to understand that negative behaviours (e.g. bullying, stereotyping, abuse and discrimination) are not tolerated and that appropriate and prompt actions (sanctions) will be taken against such. They are made to be aware of the expectations of positive behaviours (e.g. politeness) from them with their attendant rewards. Positive behaviour is promoted by being a role model of appropriate behaviour, encouraging good behaviour through rewards and discouraging negative behaviour through sanctions. Disruptive behaviours have been reported to impact negatively on teachers’ and learners’ motivation, the social development, engagement and achievement of learners (Massey, 2013) and should be promptly addressed.

Inclusion is promoted in own teaching by adopting varieties of teaching and learning approaches which covers the identified needs of learners including Special Education Needs and English as an additional Language (EAL) to ensure no student is placed at a disadvantage in learning. This involves the provision of relevant learning resources to support them reach their full potentials. All learners are provided with flexible learning options to facilitate easy access to learning though online, websites, what sup, intranet and internet. Tasks are set according to the levels of learners; the weak ones are made to do simple tasks which becomes progressively complex until they meet the set goals and targets as reflected on their individual learning plans. Those that need support in core skills are supported through one to one support and progressive learning. Learners are taken through worked examples; their understanding are checked before progressing to another topic while recap and assessment of previous lessons are periodically reviewed to refresh their memories. The shy ones are encouraged to ask questions and given responsibilities to participate in discussions, group presentations and explain mathematical concepts thereby building their confidence. Learners are made to respond to open and closed questions depending on their abilities.

Inclusivity is encouraged through peer work and peer assessment in which learners interact together, brain storm and mark their work which ensures no one is left out of the exercise. Peer assessment makes learners responsible for their progress through a broader comprehension of the assessment criteria and sharing of responsibility. It increases the reliability of assessments by ensuring that the results are made by more than one assessor (Race, 2001).

4.4 Review strategies for effective liaison between professionals involved in inclusive practice.

Meetings are good platforms of interacting with colleagues and more experienced staff on the outcomes of observations/assessment of lesson plans, lesson study, goals, objective settings, suggestions, advice and constructive corrections are made on how to make improvements to promote learners’ achievement. Team meeting brings stakeholders together to deliberate on and map out action plans for implementation and facilitates interpersonal relationships and communications which enables brainstorming, problem solving and mutual interaction to take place. This may lead to other matters arising which can be adequately addressed or followed up to a logical conclusion and documented.

Learners are supported according to the nature and required levels of support within the classroom through different teaching/learning strategies including one to one support, extra tutorial, peer support and language specialist support for those that are struggling with English language, Learners may be withdrawn sometimes from the class to get extra help with reading story books, maths and ICT. Where they are withdrawn from the classroom they should not be isolated but be within the monitoring of at least one other staff as a means of safeguarding them and showing transparency. When students are withdrawn for intervention for extra support, their progress is periodically assessed to determine the impact of the intervention which is modified or changed if the expected progress in not made.

Teachers collaborate with learning professionals which includes colleagues, mentors, teaching/learning support assistants and head teachers effectively through emails, meetings, memos training, letters, feedback and continuous professional development. Communication is established with learning professionals by updating them on the progress, expectations, planning, management and required levels of support to enable them to meet their targets.

The involvement of professionals within and outside the classroom have a great impact in enhancing the collaborative efforts between how professionals, parents and teachers can work together to ensure learners with special education needs are able to benefit maximally from the specialist support. This includes training on the use of specialist resources such as braille, sign language, and management practices to be put in place to ensure all learners succeed when placed in main stream education with the other learners. Advice, discussion and basic training from a speech and language therapists will enable the teacher to know the effective strategies to use (e.g. talking slowly, avoiding noise/shouting) in addition to the specialist service available to promote the achievement of such learners.

Educational psychologist, pastoral care, advisory teacher and a special school outreach teacher work with students, teachers, parents and school to meet the emotional needs which may have negative impact on their learning if not properly addressed.

Effective forms of communication in line with my organisational policies and procedures is greatly facilitated by phones, meetings, e mails, contacts and sharing of information on a need to know basis amongst relevant stakeholders. Telephone calls are fast means of communicating urgent messages, scheduling meetings, obtaining feedback and advise as messages can be passed across either verbally or by leaving voice/text messages and using different messaging apparatus on the phone. Some people may not check their mails or such links, and there could be technical problems with the phone.  Letters serve as hard copies used as back up to soft copies and can be documented. Letters may be posted which may take at least 1 day if sent by special delivery/first class and this may be expensive depending on the weight of documents sent. Delay may arise from environmental issues such as flooding, snowing and strikes that may cause disruption in transportation and letters may get lost in transit even when it is insured which may not make up effectively for the lost information even where soft copies are available. If the original certificate gets lost in transit it becomes impossible to get another copy. When sensitive and valuable documents are involved that has original value preservation it is better to receive and sign for such documents in person

Task 5 Understand how to evaluate own inclusive practice.

5.1 Review the effectiveness of own inclusive practice.

SWOT analysis is helpful in identifying own strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats and the information obtained is used for continuous improvement in areas of weakness and to consolidate on areas of strengths. Effectiveness of learning is achieved by differentiating the learning objectives, tasks, activities and assessment criteria according to the abilities of learners to ensure inclusivity. Different learning styles (VARK) in line with Fleming and Mills (1992) is used to adequately address the learning needs of learners and appropriate resources such as handouts, PowerPoint Presentations and special education needs resources are useful in promoting the learning of relevant learners.

Adequate subject knowledge, patience, natural ability and pedagogical skills enable me to confidently impart knowledge to learners with ease of understanding. Commitment to continuous professional development through active participation in online training, workshops and specialist subject training enables me to gather more experience and knowledge in classroom management and deeper subject knowledge. I map out action plans to address my training needs analysis by scheduling many short time/online courses to attend on ICT, functional mathematics subject enhancement and phonetics amongst others.

I document accurate and detailed information on learners, modify my teaching/learning approaches to address their varying needs appropriately and ensure tasks/activities/learning objectives are differentiated according to their levels to promote their achievements. I make learners understand diversity and educate them on the need to appreciate variations in cultures, religion, gender and races which need to be understood and respected. The use of creative, enthusiastic and challenging home works involving different skills of industrial and real-life applications makes more meaningful learning and increase their motivation to learn.

The use of Kolb’s Model (1984) which is adopted for designing own lesson plans equips me with effective strategies for improving future lessons which broaden the understanding and promote maximum learning outcomes of all students through concrete, reflective observation, abstract conceptualisation and active experimentation.

Peer evaluation promotes social interaction between learners and enables them to be involved in their learning, assessment and evaluation which ensures all learners are actively engaged. This approach creates an opportunity for learners to reflect on questions/answers and jointly arrive at the best answer (Kagan, 1994). The results of peer evaluation on own teaching through feedback from the evaluation report from colleagues from observation of lesson delivery, work placement and microteaching reveal that all learners are enthusiastic in lessons, actively engaged and the learning objectives are achieved while the feedback from learners also collaborate this but there is always room for continuous improvement. Learners’ feedback is more constructive than teacher’s feedback as it points out negative areas of learning outcomes (Gravells and Simpson, 2010).

Discussions with colleagues or line manager provides me a great opportunity to foster a good working relationship with them, share and gather more experience, skills and knowledge which is used to continuously meet the learning needs of learners more effectively I can learn more about better behavioural and intervention strategies to use to ensure all learners feel secured to learn and achieve in a safe environment. It creates opportunities to get inputs from them on areas of difficulty in terms of lesson plans, resources, continuous development, training needs and how to deal with challenging issues effectively.

5.2 Identify own strengths and areas of improvement in relation to inclusive

Own areas of strengths and areas of improvement on inclusive practice include reflective practice, self-awareness, improving skills/understanding, contributions from others and readiness to change amongst others.

 Reflective practice is the process that is used by teachers to consider an issue. (Schon, 2002) which involves analysis and evaluation of own practice using different strategies to support one’s ability for critical reflection for improved practices. Self-Assessment enables me to develop reflective skills, to appraise my performance, learn from mistakes, ask critical questions, determine strengths/weaknesses and areas of improvement by making conscious efforts and action plans to develop on weak areas. The feedback received from learners through questionnaires, coursework/end of module and evaluation forms serves as working information for own continuous development. Self-evaluation improves accountability, relevancy, informed changes and modifications that promote inclusivity, effective teaching/learning and achievement of learners.

Being open to constructive criticism has a profound positive impact on improving my knowledge and skills in enabling me to progress on my strong areas, take advantage of suggestions, corrections and feed back to improve significantly in my weak areas which includes lack of basic training on the use of specialist resources for supporting disabled learners (e.g. Basic Sign Languages, use of braille, fixing and adjustment of hearing loops) whenever the need arises.

All learners are adequately engaged in classroom activities especially during questions and answer time during which no learner is left out of the exercise. I incorporate group dynamics in which learners belong to manageable groups of 2 and 3 to carry out activities such that less able students are mixed with more able learners. Intergroup short quizzes in Maths are organised when each learner takes turns to answer questions and after 30 seconds the question is thrown to any member of the group that can solve the problem. This way learners learn from each other, show confidence and participate actively in class. Feedback from lesson observations from senior colleague (line manager) during placement/teaching practice and from learners after lessons shows that own practice captures very high levels of enthusiasm of learners who show great progress. Willingness to make the necessary corrections on the use of ICT resources have been practised through incorporation of ICT materials and by encouraging learners to do online practice tests and learning in functional mathematics and to use excel software in plotting graphs, pie charts and mathematical formulas amongst other topics. Commitment to continuous professional development has be a strong asset in making online researches on own improvement and personal development and enrolling on training course in ICT and SEN areas and inclusivity.

Own ability in ensuring adherence to the policies and guidelines of organisational policies and guidelines and fairness in implementing the established ground rules with its attendance sanctions and praise are valuable in ensuring a high level of classroom behaviour and minimising negative behaviour, instituting a safe environment without distraction.

Being proactive and open to ideas enable me to be dedicated to own practice, and always seeking better ways of effectively manage more challenging behaviours through watching You tubes and networking with colleagues who share the tips that have worked for them are adapted to own practices

5.3 Plan opportunities to improve own skills in inclusive practice

There are many opportunities available to improve own skills in inclusive practice which include working with others (teachers, colleagues, line manager) to identify and develop own practices. Contributions from others present a more comprehensive areas of Continuous Professional Development due to their more experience and knowledge which are useful for developing own areas of improvement. By discussing and sharing these ideas can be harmonised together to form a more focused continuous Development Opportunities that can be explored.  Own organisation has put up regular flexible programmes/training, CPD courses (online/attendance) and training events to enable all teachers including me to participate to become more highly effective in own practices.

Opportunities for development are accessed by networking, educational forums/blogs/groups (e.g. Linked in, face group), e learning, professional membership (e.g. SET), subscribing to educational trainings and familiarisation with inclusivity policies. Specialist learning or training can be obtained by working under specialist professionals and undergoing specialist training courses to learn effective means of ensuring SEN learners in mainstream education without leaving them at a disadvantage of learning approaches. BSL and deaf awareness training and skills on deaf/sign language arts activities and projects will enable me to understand and have dignity for sign language and deaf culture through online access such as http://www.deafway.org.uk/. This will support me to learn basic communication tactics/language in greeting and providing oral feedback to learners with hearing impairment and to better assess the impact of the learning and teaching on their learning promptly through observation and an interpreter.

Training needs analysis and action plans on how to meet these needs through relevant skills, training, seminars and workshops with time frame are mapped out and are being implemented. Opportunities for development can be accessed by networking, educational forums/blogs/groups (e.g. Linked in, face group), e learning, professional membership (e.g. SET), subscribing to educational trainings and familiarisation with inclusivity policies.

Work shadowing where observation is made on how effective teachers of mathematics teacher practice inclusivity is mastered through the opportunities offered via training, skills impartation and acquisition which enables me benchmark own practices against theirs. Visits to other training providers where different awarding bodies provides opportunities to observe and assess the variety of practices associated with their learning outcomes which are used as basis of comparison for performance levels of individual learners across different awarding bodies are beneficial.

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