Inclusive_Practice

There are five key factors that influence the students learning, they are the student, tutor, subject being taught, how it is being taught and the environment. The tutors, departments and the college mission statement influence the culture of the college. Before I enter into the classroom I have my own set of values and beliefs and students have to negotiate a whole new learning environment, each student is unique and will bring their own experiences, preferences and learning styles to the learning process. Each student’s background and experiences will vary and can impact on their perceptions of themselves, on their sense of identity, on their sense of belonging and their ability to learn. Identifying the needs is the first step where the tutor should find out what the needs are of the organisation, curriculum and students. Gravells (2008) states ‘depending on what you are going to teach, there are many roles and responsibilities. For example, it is important to get to know the students you are going to teach and how you are going to document your students’ progress’. This enables me to prepare a scheme of work and session plans, reflecting inclusive learning, meeting the needs of the students, the curriculum and unit guidance. To be able to deliver effective and inclusive teaching sessions a framework is necessary. The teaching training cycle gives me a basic framework that is flexible and adaptable. Identifying needs and planning, designing with planning, facilitating, assessing and evaluating, which then feeds back into identifying needs stage. Blooms (1956) stated that learning goes through stages, these are called domains, cognitive, affective and psychomotor, when planning learning I need to consider which domain I want to reach. I am influenced by a variety of theorists, whether I am aware of it or not, I use many theories effectively when planning and writing schemes of work and session plans. Incorporating activities, which will challenge, nurture and meet the student’s needs. When I am teaching contextual facts in a session this falls into the cognitive domain. Through differentiated and direct questioning, leading and encouraging discussion about how Claude Monet painted and documented the effects of different light during the day' Would be the affective domain. Through demonstration and students participating in a practical activity of trying to paint like Monet would fall into the psychomotor or action domain. I use these domains when writing objectives for the students for example, by the end of the session the students will be able to recall and quote three key facts about Impressionism. Students will discuss their thoughts regarding the influence of Claude Monet and Impressionism. Students will paint a picture in the style of Monet and the Impressionists and annotate about the process and the painting. Petty (2009) states we all have beliefs about what creates a good learning environment and what doesn’t, which is called your ‘theory in use’. He expands by describing how this is my personal belief and how this is probably not the same as that of an experienced tutor. A year ago my ‘theory in use’ decided pretty much everything I did in the classroom. For me it was very important that I developed myself professionally, improving my teaching knowledge and skills. Equality and diversity are terms I hear being expressed quite commonly. What is good practice when including equality and diversity in your practice' Wilson (2009) describes equality as, whilst driven by legislation; it should develop the culture and ethic of wanting to meet the needs of the learners with diversity going a step further by valuing the differences between individuals. How can a new lecturer advocate equality and diversity in their practice and learners with very little training' Inclusive practice does not occur overnight, it takes time to learn and develop new skills, as a novice lecturer training is key. During an in service training session in December I began to realise how important it was to include equality and diversity, not just use as a tool to promote consideration and respect in the classroom, but to use as a foundation when planning and delivering sessions. “Good learning should be inclusive, accessible and available which does not reinforce previous negative experiences and may remove barriers”. Scottish Funding Council (2006). For me it is about creating an inclusive learning environment, which caters for the needs of the students. I do this by knowing my students and their learning styles. When planning a session I try to create a programme, which caters for all the students learning styles. This is important to motivate and include all your students in a session. However there are pit falls some of the lesson might not meet the student’s needs and learning is difficult for the student, feedback is important from the students, encouraging and creating a positive relationship with the tutor. During a session I look out for who is making the contributions in class and make an effort to include students who have not made much of a contribution through differentiated and closed questioning. Closed questioning is very effective to encourage shy students to take part in the session without feeling threatened and slowly builds their confidence. Legislation and codes of practice underpin teaching practice, as with many areas of work for example, nursing, policing, social working and fire fighting all work within a number of laws, directives and professional ethics. As lecturers we need to be aware of key aspects of current legislation and codes of practice. We have mandatory training covering Health and Safety of Work Act (1974), Child Protection Training (Protection of Children Act, 1999), Equal opportunities legislation, Data protection, Disability Discrimination Act (1995) including a mandatory CRB check carried out before being appointed. Legislation and codes of practice is a framework giving me clearly defined boundaries in which to embed good, safe practice, enabling me as a lecturer to provide safe, fun, enjoyable and challenging learning for the students. The Protection of Children Act (1999) states that each organisation should exercise their functions with a view to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. Every Child Matters is a government programme for a national framework to support the amalgamation of children’s services including education, health, culture, social care and justice. Milton Keynes College exercises this right with Every Child Matters as a foundation when planning and delivering sessions clearly within the scheme of work, including Child Protection, Health and Safety and Risk Assessment. The scheme of work enables me to plan effective learning, meeting the needs of the students, taking into account any special learning requirements and individual needs. Facilitating the course is where I deliver at the coalface. Good practice at the facilitating stage of the cycle encompasses many roles, for example, making sure the learning environment is safe and fit for purpose. Be an organiser, adviser, and manager of the students in the classroom, mentor and role model. Managing the group effectively, encouraging small group activities and delivering one to one sessions that do not have a disruptive nature to the learning environment. It is very important to me to be professional and approachable, establishing boundaries, where all the students are aware that I am there to support and help when needed in college. If there is any given situation in which I cannot help or not within my professional capacity I will find someone in the college who will be able to help. Outside the classroom is very different, I do not have a problem with student coming up and saying hello, setting clear boundaries at the start of the course will help the student understand they must respect my personal space, this of course works both ways. ‘Good practice includes establishing professional boundaries within which you are working and it is important not to overstep these’ (Gravells 2008). It is very important to me to be professional and approachable, establishing boundaries, where all the students are aware that I am there to support and help when needed in college. Where does my role end and someone else’s start' Internally the college has a network of support for staff and students including student welfare, COGS, safeguarding, careers and connections and childcare. I have looked the mksite/students and found this page very informative and effective at giving information to students. The links are relevant, helpful and easy access to the students. How do we establish inclusion' “Several revisions of legislation and government reports and policy have culminated in the current notion of educational inclusivity, where FE organisations have to strategically plan to deliver equality, diversity and inclusion and are being measured and inspected against their ability to provide opportunities.” Wilson, L (2009) When inclusion is established and embedded in an organisation the effects will motivate learners and staff inspiring success, develop and maintain positive attitudes, encourage and create positive relationships between tutors and students and offer a wide range of provisions which meet the student’s needs. Opposite to inclusion is exclusion, at Milton Keynes one of the challenges we face is to provide and deliver learning to students who have struggled with or been excluded from compulsory education. I lecture on First Diploma, Fast Forward and Vocational courses and I have delivered taster session for young adults who are neither in employment, education or training (NEET). The Scottish Funding Council (2006) reported, “Good learning should be inclusive, accessible and available which does not reinforce previous negative experiences and may remove many barriers.” In the A, D & M department inclusion is about creating a learning environment, which is varied, interesting and accessible, inspiring opportunities for all students. I am at a point in my development where equality, diversity and differentiation underpin my schemes of work and session plans helping me to put into practice inclusive learning. Petty (2009) writes, “Differentiation is the process by which differences between learners are accommodated so that all students in a group have the best possible chance of learning.” When planning and writing a scheme of work I try to be proactive in meeting the outcomes of the student’s needs. Initial assessment plays an important role because your findings can be well thought-out when planning and considering inclusive learning and any formative and summative assessments that have to be carried out. I use the scheme of work as a foundation, a form of active documentation, on which I build an overall programme of learning. Session plans are my platform where I put together specific details to meet the needs of the student. In my session plans I include activities, which combine more than one learning style, visual, auditory and kinaesthetic. This chain of events seamlessly gets the students where they should be. For example there are times when I have to talk and chalk a lot during a session, not an ideal learning environment and potentially excludes certain students. To try and accommodate all the students I break up the session using different activities for example, mixing up tasks and activities. Practical activities include the student working in groups, in pairs or on their own are good for reinforcing what I have just talked about, paper based activities, research and presentations together make the session more rewarding for the students and me learning becomes fun, enthusing and motivating the students, ensuring that curriculum requirements are being met. However there are times when I feel something is missing, I might of overlooked something which relies on me to think on my feet' “Record keeping is part of our contract of employment” (Wilson, 2009, p30). This part of teaching can be bureaucratic, time consuming and repetitive. The downside and consequences of failure to keep records are many. For example, a students progress cannot be monitored which can lead to an extreme case scenario where the student does not gain the qualification they are studying towards. There are no auditable traces which could result in an awarding body removing a particular course from the curriculum, impacting on college funding, student numbers and confidence, leading to fewer classes, jobs and worst case scenario college closure. However record keeping is an integral foundation on which I base the quality and standard of my teaching, supporting my personal and professional practice' Enabling me to communicate effectively and efficiently between students, the department and organisation, benefiting relationships between myself and students, colleagues and other departments. Good record keeping provides evidence-registering achievement of progress showing curriculum criteria is being met, creating an auditable trail across the organisation. During lessons I use a variety of different informal activities to assess students, using fun activities such as word searches, question and answers and quizzes which gives me feedback in a way that is not too formal in structure, hopefully making the lesson fun and exciting for the student. Assessment during the course is normally formative, which highlights students’ strengths and opportunities. Giving feedback to the student enables myself and the student to consider what is going well, whilst highlighting areas of concern. Throughout my lesson I continually pepper the students with positive reinforcement and feedback. Constructive feedback should be positive which motivates the student to progress and do well. The dangers of formative assessment are poor feedback has the potential to destroy a student’s confidence. I’m a very positive person and like to think I am good at giving constructive feedback, however the dangers I could be faced with are I have a student in front of me who is disillusioned, disheartened and upset. Parts of the difficulties I face are trying to incorporate formative assessment seamlessly into my lessons without the student being aware they are being assessed. I try not to let this become too time consuming. However keeping an up to date record is an integral to my teaching, supporting my personal and professional practice. This enables me to give feedback to the student confidently and effectively. References: Gravells, A. (2008) Preparing to Teach in the lifelong learning sector 3rd ed. Exeter: Learning Matters Ltd. Blooms, B. S (ed.) (1956) Taxonomy of Educational Objectives: Handbook 1, Cognitive Domain. London: Longman. Petty, G (2009) (2nd edn) Evidence-Based Teaching; a practical approach, Cheltenham, Nelson Thornes. Wilson, A (2009) Practical Teaching A Guide to PTLLS & DTLLS. United Kingdom: Cengage Learning EMEA. www.legislation.qld.gov.au/LEGISLTN/CURRENT/C/ChildProtectA99 Gravells, A. (2008) Preparing to Teach in the lifelong learning sector 3rd ed. Exeter: Learning Matters Ltd. Wilson, A (2009) Practical Teaching A Guide to PTLLS & DTLLS. United Kingdom: Cengage Learning EMEA. http://www.sfc.ac.uk/ Petty, G (2009) (2nd edn) Evidence-Based Teaching; a practical approach, Cheltenham, Nelson Thornes. Wilson, A (2009) Practical Teaching A Guide to PTLLS & DTLLS. United Kingdom: Cengage Learning EMEA. Bibliography: Cowley,S. (2005) How To Survive Your First Year In Teaching. London. Continuum. Gravells, A. (2008) Preparing to Teach in the lifelong learning sector 3rd ed. Exeter: Learning Matters Ltd. Kerry, T & Wilding, M. (2004) Effective Classroom Teacher Developing the Skills You Need in Today’s Classroom. Harlow. Pearson Education Limited. Kyriacou, C (1992) Essential Teaching Skills. Herts: Simon & Schuster Education. Leibling, M & Prior, R. (2005) The A to Z of Learning Tips and Techniques for Teachers. Oxon. RoutledgeFalmer. Minton, D (2005) (3rd edition) teaching skills in further and adult education. City & Guilds Co-publishing Series. Petty, G (2009) (2nd edn) Evidence-Based Teaching; a practical approach, Cheltenham, Nelson Thornes. Reece, I & Walker, S (2009) (6th edition) Teaching, Training & Learning a practical guide. Great Britain: Business Education Publishers. Wilson, A (2009) Practical Teaching A Guide to PTLLS & DTLLS. United Kingdom: Cengage Learning EMEA. www.mkcollege.ac.uk/student-info