GMS's Inclusive Classroom Strategy

There’s more to conducting a modern classroom than just using technology to spice up a lesson. Educating today’s diverse student body requires a more holistic approach to the classroom, even if it means using multiple teachers and strategies.

Inclusive teaching methods are used to create a learning environment where all students can thrive, regardless of social backgrounds and learning abilities. At Grenada Middle School, certain classrooms have shown success merging general education students with students who have been identified as needing special education and/or related services.

In her English Language Arts (ELA) class at GMS, 6th grade general education teacher Gail Smith is joined by special education teacher Shonturia Forrest. The two share teaching duties in the classroom, with Smith serving as the content specialist and Forrest as the access specialist.

The two teachers work intuitively and remain in sync with one another whether they’re co-teaching in the classroom or talking about their students. “We’re trying to make sure that all the kids in the classroom are able to….” said Smith before Forrest followed up, “...have access to quality instruction.”

At GSD, students who possess certain disabilities that may inhibit their aptitude for reading and writing are identified, and specialists help draft an individualized education plan (IEP). The IEP determines areas where students need extra help, and with parental input, specific learning goals, services, and accommodations are set. These accommodations may include alternate methods of how information is presented or how a student is tested.

For Smith, a student’s abilities do not determine what they learn, only how they learn it. “I expect my inclusion students to do the exact same things as the general ed students,” she said. “The only difference is, they have more accommodations.”

By studying data from diagnostic assessments, classroom observation, and other sources, Smith and Forrest identify which students need extra help learning specific standards. They formulate ways of recrafting their lessons to meet the individualized educational needs of the students.

The format of the class, which includes small group and individual sessions as well as whole-class instruction, provides room for teachers to pay extra attention without making it obvious which students need added help. “We don’t exclude anyone who needs extra help from the general class because everybody (is) getting one-on-one,” Smith said.

“Parents often hear inclusion and think, I don’t want my child to be singled out or to be labeled,” Forrest said. She explained that the goal of an inclusive classroom is to include all students, regardless of their ability or disability, and providing individualized accommodations and co-teaching ensures that “they’re in the least restrictive environment.”

Academic studies have shown that the inclusion model, with its additional teacher and more one-on-one time, benefits all students. Often, at this pivotal moment in a child’s education, there’s more than learning disabilities the teachers are required to identify and support.

Smith and Forrest admit that it’s not uncommon to see students struggle in their work when they get to middle school. “Sometimes they’re not really struggling, they’re just trying to adapt,” Smith said. Both teachers have observed that school work becomes more rigorous and certain teaching styles and expectations change once a student arrives at GMS.

“There’s also a huge jump in how the school is managed compared to the elementary school,” Forrest added. “We have to recognize that and adjust to meet a student’s needs and expectations.”

This year, Smith offered, another 6th grade ELA teacher, Brooke Foster, moved to the middle school from the Green Top (grade 4-5) and noticed that her students were having trouble with some of the prompts and questions on their tests. The vocabulary used in the questions was more advanced in sixth grade, and many students were stumped.

“It could be the same standard being taught, but the language was different,” Smith said. Once they stopped and began breaking down the questions, the students absorbed the new terminology. “We were used to preparing students for 7th grade, but now 6th grade teachers are closing the gap from 5th to 6th in addition.”

Communication, not only between teacher and student but teacher-to-teacher as well, helps bring the bigger picture into focus. Smith said it helps that the 6th grade ELA teachers work so well together, but their common planning and strategy sessions ultimately benefit the students most of all.