Essay: Adaptation of lesson plan incorporating universal design for learning

It is incredibly important that all students feel included in the classroom and that teachers

attempt to assist all students in learning to the best of their ability. Inclusion very important in

the classroom to create a positive environment and to prepare all students to be able to go out

into the real world. Inclusion does not mean separating some students from others or

excluding them from the classroom all together, because according to Loreman (2011),

“inclusion cannot exist in environments where some students are educated separately or

substantively differently to their peers”. When it comes to students with diverse learning

needs, such as those with ASD, at times this does not occur. If I am given a class with

students of diverse learning needs, I need to plan to be able to accommodate those students.

When considering inclusion of a student with ASD or any other type of diverse learning need,

an understanding that inclusion isn’t about them fitting into the pre-existing model of the

school but rather the school “[adapting] to meet the needs of all students” (Loreman, 2011). It

is the responsibility of the teacher to adjust their classroom to be able to assist that student to

succeed in their classroom. A student with ASD, according to the American Psychiatric

Association (2013), “tend to have communication deficits, such as responding inappropriately

in conversations, misreading nonverbal interactions, or having difficulty building friendships

appropriate to their age” and “may be overly dependent on routines, highly sensitive to

changes in their environment, or intensely focused on inappropriate items”. They may have

more mild or severe symptoms, but it is clear that a student dealing with these kinds of things

would have trouble in a classroom where none of that is taken into account.

An inclusive classroom for people with ASD for example can give those students “access to

general education curricula and opportunities for numerous peer interactions” (Able,

Sreckovic, Schultz, Garwood & Sherman, 2015). According to Able et al., (2015), students
with ASD may need assistance in the areas of “social relationships, social academics, self-

advocacy, transitioning, and peer-related needs” which may include ability to interact with

their classmates in a positive manner or being able to explain what their strengths are and

what they need assistance with. It is also important to account that students with ASD are not

all the same and one strategy for one student may not work for another one in the same class

or down the line.

According to Able et al., (2015), “research has highlighted the importance of teachers

possessing basic knowledge regarding students’ disability characteristics as well as

understanding teachers’ roles and responsibilities in meeting students’ individualized learning

needs”. This means we really need to know our students going into a classroom and probably

need to work to understand any student with ASD or any other disability and what they

individually need. Although there are people who would like to argue that because of the

difficulty in and effort required to be inclusive, it is an unnecessary practice, but there is

“sufficient evidence to suggest that inclusion… can work if teachers take a lead role and if

schools have a culture of shared values and are genuinely committed to improving their

practice”. According to von der Embse, Brown and Fortain, (2011) things like promoting

positive social behaviours and having peers model appropriate social behaviours for students

with ASD are only possible in an inclusive classroom. As is said by Loreman (2011) an

inclusive classroom is “shown to improve learning for all students, regardless of significant

individual differences” and is more cost effective than the strategy of segregation.

Although there is moral and educational argument for inclusion, there is also a need for it to

occur because of current legislation. According to Loreman, (2011) “the idea that students

with exceptional needs should be provided with individualised programming has been

incorporated into the legislation or policy of almost every Western country for some years

now”. This means that providing for disabled students in all schools is a normalised and
promoted notion that should be established in classrooms. Whether it occurs in government

schools or special schools specifically to cater to disabilities, disabled students have every

right to receive a quality education equal to that of their peers.

Legislation in Australia can vary across states and sectors – be that government or non-

government schools, but there is legislation that they all need to follow. According Poed and

Elkins, (2012) “students with disabilities are entitled to the same educational opportunities as

all other students and, under the Commonwealth Disability Discrimination Act 1992, it is

illegal for an educational authority to discriminate against a child on the basis of their

disability”. Here, a disability is described as including students who have “cognitive,

psychiatric, neurological, physical, and sensory difficulties”, those who have “organisms in

the body that can cause a disease, such as hepatitis C”, those who have previously had a

disability or may be predisposed to one and also extends to family and friends of those with a

disability (Poed & Elkins, 2012). This shows that there is a legal requirement to include

students with disabilities as to not discriminate against them. This legislation follows the

United Nations initiatives that tackled the human rights of those with disabilities such as the

Standard Rules on the Equalisation of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities (1993),

which was an instrument for policy making (Ito, 1999). As international requirements for

rights for those with disabilities developed, they seemed to also develop here to adhere to

changing attitudes globally about those with disabilities.

Teachers and schools are required to follow Disability Standards for Education 2005 as to

avoid issues with the Disability Discrimination act 1992 and inclusive education policies are

implemented in most schools throughout Australia (Poed & Elkins, 2012). For teachers, this

mean that we must understand what inclusion is and how to implement it into a classroom. It

is not only something that we should care about, but it may very well be required of us to be
able to create a classroom and teach our curriculum in a way that allows diverse learners to

be supported as much as any other student.

Previously, attempts to fully include students with diverse needs in the classroom followed

ideologies of segregation or integration. Attitudes have changed over time, but it took seeing

detrimental effects for these changes to take place.

Segregation entails putting them in separate classes or in special schools, coming from the

assumption that those with disabilities or diverse needs do not have the capacity to achieve in

a ‘normal’ classroom or that they need to be only with children like them. Practices like

segregation of students with diverse learning needs in some places has led to an achievement

gap and things such as less demand for student achievement from teachers, low expectations

for student achievement from parents and less time spent in a classroom and learning

(Finnvold, 2018). Expectations for these students to ever seek higher education were also

very low. According to Finnvold, (2018) “segregated children who spend less than half their

time in ordinary classes or who attend special schools are almost never expected to complete

a university education”. These low expectations have been detrimental to diverse learners if

we consider all of this.

The concept of integration, which attempted to place kids into the ‘normal’ schools or

‘normal classes’, “used to describe the assimilation by the mainstream of what were assumed

to be particular kinds of children: those with learning difficulties, challenging behaviour,

sensory impairments, or physical disabilities” (Thomas, 1997). It attempted to make them fit

into what already existed, but this model encountered issues too. From the 1980s onwards,

people began to move away from the idea of integration, in which “children and young

people had to prove their readiness for an integrated setting, rather than the setting by default

being expected to prove its readiness to accept” but rather towards the concept of inclusion
which changed a school in order to cater to the needs of all students (Thomas, 1997).

Although not every school or country has taken on a policy of inclusion of diverse learners, it

is an internationally recognised and encouraged model.

Inclusion as a model makes sure that “children who are at a disadvantage for any reason are

not excluded from mainstream education” (Thomas, 1997). According to UNESCO, (2009)

who outlines policy guidelines on inclusive education, “inclusive education is a process that

involves the transformation of schools and other centres of learning to cater for all children…

including… those with disabilities and difficulties in learning”. A mentality of creating a

space where all students can thrive is now more relevant and necessary than ever for teachers.

It is a “a process of strengthening the capacity of the education system to reach out to all

learners”, because if diverse learners are targeted, that brings the quality of education up for

everyone (UNESCO, 2009). At this point in time, “inclusive education has become a

cornerstone of many government policies in an increasing number of countries” which just

further cements its importance in the modern day education systems of the world (Monsen,

Ewing & Kwoka, 2014).

It is clear that there are a number of skills, possible adjustments and accommodations that

need to be taken into account when providing an inclusive classroom for students with

diverse learning needs. This is confirmed by Loreman, (2011) who states that to be a

competent teacher in an inclusive context “requires the acquisition of a specific set of skills,

knowledge and attributes”. A teacher also needs to have a good attitude and willingness to

embrace inclusion, as “teachers being least willing to include children with behavioural or

multiple difficulties holds implications for the success of inclusive education” (Monsen,

Ewing & Kwoka, 2014). According to Monsen, Ewing and Kwoka, (2014), “successful

inclusive practice requires collaboration between the class teacher and the wider school

community, including support and specialist staff”. A teacher needs to be able to rely on
other members of the staff for things to work cohesively and to help students with specific

needs. For example, to put into practice “careful scheduling for [their]… school day” for a

student with ASD who requires structure and routine in their school day, there needs to be

cohesive work between and advocacy and support from administrative staff and teachers

(Able et al., 2015). It might also include things like priming the student for future events so

they feel comfortable and like they know what is coming next, such as “s a fire drill,

substitute teacher, field trip, or rainy day schedule” (Crosland & Dunlap, 2012). This falls

under the strategy of antecedent procedures which aims to pre-emptively prevent any issues

from occurring in the classroom for a student with ASD (Crosland & Dunlap, 2012).

Other strategies to help students with additional needs in the classroom could be doing things

like ‘purposeful grouping’, specifically for students with ASD. For example, Able et al.,

(2015) have stated the importance of placing students with ASD in “advanced placement

classes where they are with peers who are more serious about school” as to help them to not

get frustrated with students who may not take school or rules as seriously. This might also

mean when having students with ASD participate in group work, giving them “independent

assignments within a group so that the student could contribute to the group, but not have to

work directly with group members at all times” (Able et al., 2015). According to Crosland

and Dunlap, (2012) “some degree of independent academic functioning is necessary” for

students with ASD to succeed in a general education classroom.

Other necessary things when considering how to teach an inclusive classroom, especially

when considering students with ASD is to have an intervention strategy “designed to reduce

problem behaviour and promote inclusion in an effort to best serve this unique student

population” (von der Embse, Brown and Fortain, 2011). A big difficulty for teaching students

with diverse needs is when those diverse needs present themselves in disruptive behaviours

and in the case of something like that, intervention strategies such as positive behaviour
support (PBS) can be used to allow the class to continue running smoothly (von der Embse,

Brown and Fortain, 2011, Crosland & Dunlap, 2012). This is the kind of thing that would

make sure that any diverse learning need that may possibly make things difficult for other

students will not do that.

In an inclusive classroom, if these students are able to thrive, then the whole class can do the

same. Any student with a diverse learning need should be able to be in any classroom and

feel supported enough to reach the same levels as their peers and this is possible with

inclusive education.
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the trenches: Teacher and student supports needed for full inclusion of students with

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10.1177/0888406414558096

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