Inclusive Teaching & LearningAn Introduction

The inclusive classroom prioritizes the student as a person, rather the student as his or her disability, test

scores, or other social/cultural

characteristics, creating an environment where

students are valued as they are and learn to value

others in the same manner.

Students’ lives are frequently shaped by their disabilities or learning differences, even after leaving high school. Their school experience related to their disabilities and differences can have long-term social/behavioral effects.

Disabilities are not flaws to be

overcome. They are part of the continuum

of social/cultural diversity.

What Student Characteristics are Considered in The

Inclusive Classroom?

Disabilities Language

Mental HealthSocioeconomic FactorsReligious Differences

Gender IdentitySexual Orientation

Other Social/Cultural Factors

Why Inclusive Teaching?

It’s not just about student achievement!

Inclusive teaching and learning prepares ALL students for the workforce.

Think About It…...The current American workforce includes:● 56,440,000 people of color● 72,713,000 women● 9,000,000 LGBTQ individuals● 5,722,000 people with disabilities*

*Compared to the 27 million who have disabilities, but that’s a math lesson.

As they graduate and enter college and the workforce, students will become employees.

They’ll be required to interact with people who are different from them.

They’ll be required to manage themselves in situations where they’re personally challenged, either by another person’s differences or their own..

An inclusive classroom provides students with the social tools they’ll need as adults to navigate their increasingly diverse world.

But, isn’t inclusive teaching just making things easier for students who won’t do the

work?

Inclusive Teaching is Not:● Lowering expectations● Eliminating an answer

choice● Making work easier● Compromising the

integrity of the course● Anyone implying that

you’re a bad teacher

Inclusive Teaching is:● Creative teaching● Problem solving● Creating opportunities to

demonstrate learning● Making instruction

accessible

But, what about fairness?It’s not fair to other students

who have to do all of the work.

Inclusive Teaching is Not Unfair. Inclusive Teaching Creates Accessibility

“If you make this place accessible to me, as a person with special needs, you've made it accessible to everybody.”

-Rick Lavoie

Inclusive Teaching =

Teaching Everyone