The Repository @ St. Cloud State

Open Access Knowledge and Scholarship

Date of Award

10-2016

Culminating Project Type

Starred Paper

Degree Name

Early Childhood Special Education Studies: M.S.

Department

Child and Family Studies

College

School of Education

First Advisor

JoAnn Johnson

Second Advisor

Ming-Chi Own

Third Advisor

Bradley Kaffar

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

Keywords and Subject Headings

inclusion, applications, teaching environment, diverse needs

Abstract

Benefits and Limitations of Inclusion and Providing Practical Applications for Managing a Successful Inclusive Classroom

There are educators who want to provide the best learning experience for every student, including being able to demonstrate growth and success in their classroom environment. The intent of inclusion is to provide all students with a disability their right to free and public education. Over the past 40 years since P.L. 94-142 passed, research has shown the benefits of inclusion in general education classrooms. Educators have been trained, acquired skills, obtained resources, and asked for help from colleagues and/or administrators about providing a successful learning environment for all students. There continues and may always be a struggle when implementing the objectives of inclusion. Thus, the purpose of my research project is to understand the purpose, the benefits and limitations of inclusion, and the strategies a general education teacher can apply in managing a successful classroom environment.

Creating an Effective Teaching Environment for a Classroom with Diverse Needs

The social, emotional and physical aspects of a classroom can shape the processes and activities of a classroom. To assist in the transformation to a responsive classroom, the teacher’s mindset may have to be altered. According to Sobel and Taylor (2006), “It is not at all uncommon for general and special education teachers to face the challenge of teaching in ways they were not taught, to learners who are oftentimes unfamiliar to them, and in classroom contexts that are outside their experiential realm” (p. 28). Sobel and Taylor continued explaining not all educators are ready to teach all the diverse learners. Many teachers are being challenged in their own classroom. Thus, the purpose of my research project is to understand how general education teachers can build a classroom environment that will provide an engaging environment whereby increasing social and emotional skills and academic learning, while reducing negative behaviors that decrease student attention and diminish available instructional time. Teachers need to be provided with appropriate training that will support their planning for and development of positive learning environments.

Comments/Acknowledgements

I would like to acknowledge my adviser, JoAnn Johnson, who has been a great adviser throughout this entire process.

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