Practices in Inclusive Education: Examining Instructional Methods in the Collaborative- Consultation Model
Date
2013-05
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Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
With increasing demands for inclusive education, general educators face the challenge of serving a widening spectrum of student learning needs. Prior literature indicated that teachers of inclusive classrooms benefitted from special education colleagues and professional development to learn instructional strategies. Other researchers have detailed how these resources create a reflective body of educators, or a professional learning community (PLC). By analyzing 41 teacher interviews conducted from a larger study, 6 teacher meeting observations, and 40 survey responses at Clearview (pseudonym), a public vocational- technical high school, this study described a PLC that supported general educators’ needs with resources for inclusion. The analyses yielded a model to characterize practices in terms of capacities for sustaining a PLC that supported inclusive instruction. By understanding the structure and dynamics of Clearview’s PLC, other inclusive schools could improve their support of general educators and their diverse students’ academic needs.