HumaneMaths

Introduction Inclusive education as an “…approach to learning aims to cultivate learning environments that are equitable and nurturing to every student” (Lathan, 2020). To have an inclusive education school, one of the chief ways is to introduce an inclusive education environment into our classes. This would mean continuously challenging the existing pedagogy and introducing new ideas by presenting the content in a way that engages all learners. “The teacher is the classroom leader who sets the tone and facilitates learning in the classroom environment” (Schiller & Joseph, 2010, p.3). In order to set a tone that is inclusive of all diversities in the classroom, teachers require research backed instructional approaches as base for the teaching plan. Such approaches provide a safety net to ensure that maximum pathways of the brain are covered. “Without the supporting pedagogy, inclusion in diverse, standards-based classrooms could not be successful”, (Voltz, Sims, & Nelson, n.d.)...

Would you consider the environment to be diverse and inclusive? Describe the classroom setting and explain why or why not. HOW INCLUSIVE WAS MY CLASSROOM? “An inclusive education refers to schools, centers of learning and educational systems that are open to all children, and that ensure that all children learn and participate”. (K12 Academics, n.d.) I am not currently teaching. My post is from my past experience of teaching Maths. The set up that I had was an IGCSE classroom in an international school in India. There was a lot of diversity of nationality, languages, financial background and learning styles. So I would say it was very diverse, however the level of inclusivity practiced was varied. The school gave space for it but the teachers were different in their approaches. I am focusing my post on 3 areas: (1) Curriculum, (2) School setup (3) My focus Our curriculum did not support inclusivity: “It’s rare for school curriculums to address concepts like privilege, oppression, glob...

An Inclusive Environment The true basis of an inclusive environment is an acceptance of diversity in human nature. It comes from the depths of oneness of humanity, a state of non-duality. Termed as “Advaita, (Sanskrit: “Nondualism”)” (The Editors, 2015), by ancient seers. The way to achieve an inclusive environment is two-fold, (a) by working on one’s own mind to grow towards acceptance and (b) by learning to use practical strategies in order to implement it. In this paper, my focus is to share an example of implementation. I need to create a learning environment “…where all students feel comfortable expressing their opinions…Using multiple teaching methods to aid the academic success of students with varying learning styles…Encouraging critical thinking and academic excellence in a respectful environment.” (University of Arizona, n.d.). The focus is on acceptance and space for expression for everyone. Learning Environment Chosen by Me The learning environment that I have chosen is an ...

The Objective My objective for the Maths class that I am engaged in is encapsulated very well here: “If we want diverse learners to benefit from reform-mathematics instruction, we must find ways to structure classroom experiences such that all students actively engage in problem-solving tasks and discussion of mathematical ideas” (Bray, 2005, p.1). The difficulty My difficulty is the prevalence of “Math phobia” (The Hindu, 2012) in our society. One of the ways I counter it is by integrating Maths with creative expression. This method ensures that the learners who are below average level in Maths find a way to express their understanding. However, it often gets monotonous and all students are not able to express themselves creatively. I needed a way to bring variety in this strategy. The New Technique: RAFT A good technique that I discovered and will help me to further develop this method far and above my attempts is “RAFT: Role, Audience, Format, Topic” (Taylor, 2015, p.7). “RAFT is a...

In order to drive my thoughts, I have used a set of questions to scope my reflection. What is assistive technology? “Assistive technology (AT) is any device that helps a learner with a disability completes an everyday Task”, (Adebisi, Liman, & Longpoe 2015, p.2). For example, a calculator for dyscalculic students, a TV remote control for those who find it hard to walk or a hearing aid for hearing impaired. What are the Advantages and Difficulties? We need both individual and social acceptance. (Adebisi, Liman, & Longpoe 2015, p.2) maintain that “…the potential for assistive technology children with learning disabilities is great, and that its benefits include enhancing academic achievement in written expression, reading, mathematics, and spelling; improving organization…” and hence greater self-esteem and social acceptance. The difficulties are not with the technology. They are with the expense incurred and cultural acceptance. Most parents are not comfortable enough with their...

“A single instructional response to a group of diverse learners often means that the teaching technique will help some while it ignores others”, (Ford, 2005, p.1). Grouping in a classroom needs to follow the psychology of the group. We can never say ‘here is a perfect strategy’. The perfect approach is the capacity to adapt the plan to suit the need. It requires being mindful, be able to swiftly switch the approach and focus on the learner. I believe that when teachers “… plan for flexible grouping, they consider the strengths and weaknesses of each grouping approach and then put them together to allow the teacher to best meet the needs of the classroom. (Ford, 2005, p.3) In my teaching career, I have used grouping as a tool several times in maths classes. First question would be ‘to use or not to use’? Not every group responds well to grouping. I had a grade 10 once that would not work well at all in groups. So much so that I had to have a seating arrangement where they sat at an arm’...

Introduction The purpose of education is “…to enrich the lives of students by expanding their world and creating a sense of curiosity and wonder”, (Beecher and Sweeny, 2008, p.10). To do this, one can use the diversity in a class as starting point to develop the curriculum, instead of considering it a barrier. In other words, differentiate instruction, which means “…“shaking up” what goes on in the classroom so that students have multiple options for taking in information, making sense of ideas, and expressing what they learn”, (Beecher and Sweeny, 2008, p.11). “People with disabilities suffer inequality in education because of their disabilities and discrimination”, (Flores, Monroy, Fabela, 2015, p.5).  While we may not be able to do much about the disability, we can certainly do something about discrimination. This is through programs in education that allow for inclusion of all. One such program is compensatory and remedial program. “Compensatory and remedial programs are two o...

Lesson Outline I am going to be teaching grade 7 maths, the chapter Quadrilateral. This is the lesson where the topic would be introduced. This is a class with special difficulties of language and behaviour. Hence the teaching strategies that I have chosen are ‘sheltered instruction’, ‘flexi grouping’ and ‘co-teaching’. Rationale This is a class with 20 students, with a diverse level of learning needs. Some of them are on an IEP and few are with special education needs. Yesterday when I told them that we will be learning about ‘Quadrilaterals’, several of them looked frightened as they could not pronounce the word. 1 of them, with ADHD, acts out when afraid and I can foresee him being difficult today. The students need to learn about the meaning of the term Quadrilateral and then move on to its properties. This is a tough word to pronounce! If they are afraid of the word itself, I wonder how they will proceed further! As per (The Hindu, 2012) maths is a subject classified as phobic. He...

“Who deserves accommodations? Everyone!”, (Olinghouse, 2008, p.1) My understanding of inclusive education so far tells me that I do have some knowledge and skills to implement it. However, I have a long…long way to go for there is no end to diversity. I also understand now why teaching becomes harder and then easier and then harder…and the cycle goes on. It is diversity that increases and once I overcome a challenge, a new set of diverse learners arrive and the work continues. Knowledge and skills I currently possess - I am taking different aspects of classroom work to analyse my skills. Content I work very hard to ensure content knowledge form multiple perspectives. Maths is not a collection of rules but a language with a history behind it and a purpose in life. I try to explore maths from a student’s perspective which is generally around the question ‘why are we learning this?’ I am good in this. Process “Curricular adaptations are instances where teachers adopt certain elem...

Introduction Inclusive education as an “…approach to learning aims to cultivate learning environments that are equitable and nurturing to every student” (Lathan, 2020). To have an inclusive education school, one of the chief ways is to introduce an inclusive education environment into our classes. This would mean continuously challenging the existing pedagogy and introducing new ideas by presenting the content in a way that engages all learners. “The teacher is the classroom leader who sets the tone and facilitates learning in the classroom environment” (Schiller & Joseph, 2010, p.3). In order to set a tone that is inclusive of all diversities in the classroom, teachers require research backed instructional approaches as base for the teaching plan. Such approaches provide a safety net to ensure that maximum pathways of the brain are covered. “Without the supporting pedagogy, inclusion in diverse, standards-based classrooms could not be successful”, (Voltz, Sims, & Nelson, n.d....

Introduction The ideal of an evolving school is when it keeps expanding its capacity and the capacity of its teachers in order to accommodate as many diverse students as possible. Hence the first thing that I noticed in this article was part of the title “K-12 School Districts Work to Improve Inclusion Through Teacher Training”. (Healy, 2016) I read this article several times to understand their perspective in trying out different strategies. What caught my eye Guilford County Schools (GCS):“…GCS analyzed student data and found that achievement outcome gaps were most profoundly noted around race and class.” (Healy, 2016). This was a surprise as I have blindly maintained that achievement and race or class are not connected all that or they can be managed. I now understand that we do have implicit biases that we become aware of only in certain situations. Since I have not been in a situation with students of multiple race in my classroom, this sentence made me sit back and recheck my vie...

What is Assistive Technology? “Assistive technology is a generic term that includes assistive, adaptive, and rehabilitative devices for individuals with disabilities and includes 'virtually anything that might be used to compensate for lack of certain abilities'…”, (Ahmad, 2015, p.3) Depending on specific need, technology tools are provided to compensate. For example: Audible books for difficulties in reading. Pen grips or typing tools for difficulties in writing. Audio lesson tapes for vision difficulties. Hearing aids for hearing issues. Calculators for dyscalculia. Does it help learners? “Effective technology integration can help provide all learners the ability to access the general education curriculum, offering them multiple means to complete their work with greater ease and independence in performing tasks that they were formerly unable to accomplish…”, (Ahmad, 2015, p.1). However, the equipment is expensive and not within reach for all learners. Also some cultures do ...

The true basis of an inclusive environment is an acceptance of diversity in human nature. It comes from the depths of oneness of humanity, a state of non-duality. Termed as “Advaita, (Sanskrit: “Nondualism”)” (The Editors, 2015), by ancient seers. The way to achieve an inclusive environment is two-fold, (a) by working on one’s own mind to grow towards acceptance and (b) by learning to use practical strategies in order to implement it. In this paper, my focus is to share an example of implementation. I need to create a learning environment “…where all students feel comfortable expressing their opinions…Using multiple teaching methods to aid the academic success of students with varying learning styles…Encouraging critical thinking and academic excellence in a respectful environment.” (University of Arizona, n.d.). The focus is on acceptance and space for expression for everyone. Learning Environment Chosen by Me The learning environment that I have chosen is an individual classroom....

The situation I am reminded of a grade 8 class I had. The students were very diverse. Indians from cities and villages, a student from Australia and one from The UK. Some of the Indian students were under special learning needs and 1 girl was completely Math phobic. She was also under therapy for emotional abuse by her father. My frustration I found this group totally unresponsive to everything that I tried with them. All activities, creative work, problem solving and collaborative learning attempts ended with fights, sulks or someone crying. I was ready to give up all attempts and simply teach using board and marker. I tried them all. “Time, structure, support, and complexity are four pedagogical variables that teachers must provide in differing amounts”. (Bray, 2005, p.2) My last attempt was a way to bring them in touch with their emotions, hoping for a way to have a cathartic experience for them. The experience “The three elements of instruction can be differentiated: content, proce...

A question repeats in my mind often and that is ‘what is inclusion?’ Although I have read many responses, I like the reply given by Giardina (2019, para 2), “Simply stated, inclusion is about ALL students belonging. Decisions are made on the basis of student needs and not on labels and places”. A standard way of creating an inclusive class is to ensure that “A variety of instructional strategies, materials, technology, and groupings are being used”, (Giardina, 2019, para 10). My favourite is to use flexible grouping as “Today, teachers are discovering that grouping and regrouping students in a variety of ways throughout the school day actually makes their job easier, and makes their students more productive”, (Cox, 2015, para. 3). The level that I teach is middle school or the group of adolescents. This is a transitory age as they move from childhood to adulthood. Adolescents have “a Preference for being with peers” which has an evolutionary advantage of helping create “affiliations ...