I need info about inclusion classes?

I'm not a teacher, but I thought maybe one of you ladies on this board could help....
I was talking to another Mother today and she said that she had heard that the first grade class that my son will be in this year is an "inclusion class".... I've read about it a little, but I don't know much about it, nor do I understand the pros/cons for my son who is very smart and a fast learner and has no learning disabilities.... Could someone please help me understand a little... I guess my main concern is that it could hold my son back
TIA!

Re: I need info about inclusion classes?

inclusion classes are run by two teachers - the general ed teacher and a special ed teacher. it's called "collaborative team teaching". when performed correctly it means that the teachers work together during lessons. for example, one teacher teaches the whole group while the other circulates and gives one on one help. there are generally a higher number of special education students in an inclusion class than in a non-inclusion class.

Re: I need info about inclusion classes?

I have done inclusion and have seen it done well and not so well.
I am a strong believer that inclusion classes are a great benefit for ALL the kids. Each child has two teachers in a co-teaching model. This can only benefit all the kids. I have never felt it holds back the higher kids, though I see your concern. Kids in this case can be grouped for work depending on their needs for that lesson.
The lower kids are helped, but the teacher also challenges the higher kids.

Re: I need info about inclusion classes?

I teach an inclusion class (Middle School). I have 5 periods of English that I teach each day and one of them is an inclusion class that I co-teach with another teacher. Within this class, there are 5 or 6 inclusion students. I teach the exact lesson in all 5 classes - the only difference in the inclusion class is that there is another teacher there who sometimes teaches part of the lesson. The way it's supposed to work is that the special ed teacher is supposed to help the inclusion students if they need help with anything, but in reality, she helps out ANY of the students if they need help with anything.
Every year, my inclusion class is usually my favorite because there are such diverse learners in there that everyone learns from each other. Every one of those students has something to offer their peers and it's really wonderful to see it all happening.
I wouldn't worry about your son too much - I think it could be a great experience from him!

Re: I need info about inclusion classes?

In my school, the inclusion classes have more teacher assistants during the day, so there are more adults in the rooms.

Re: I need info about inclusion classes?

I teach inclusion 9th grade. The way I explain it to all parents of the general ed students is that this is the best thing your child can have. They have 2 teachers to work with. In classes that are usually 22-24 kids the teacher student ratio is now halfed. The other teacher assists all students not just the special ed children. The class is not a "slow" class. I say u can switch your child out and it wil be the same exact curriculum and pace but less one teacher so your child def has the advantage

HTH

Message edited 8/21/2007 11:49:50 PM.

Re: I need info about inclusion classes?

i teach inclusion (but it has a different name in my district) for elementary school. the kids who are not identified as having a disability get more 1 on 1 attention (since there's 2 of us), are given more challenging work where appropriate (2 of us to plan), have parents who are kept in the loop about EVERYTHING (because there's 2 of us to make phone calls/write letters), etc. as long as the team gets along (which most do), ALL children benefit.

some parents have the mistaken idea that non identified students only "help" their identified classmates. this simply isn't true. they each have material that is geared to their ability levels, although the kids don't know it! they work in groups a lot (as do all classes in my school) and they help each other. so many identified kids help the NI kids in so many ways!! it's amazing how they learn and grow from each other. they teach each other things that i as a teacher couldn't do.

honestly, my class sometimes gets through more curriculum than a "regular" class. there's 2 of us so a lot more can happen! by the end of the year, i'd say 99% of the NI parents would love to keep their child in this setting if they could, because they see how much more attention their child gets.

think about it this way...if there's 22 kids and 7 of them are identified...that would mean a ratio of 11:1 with a teacher! even if you pulled those 7 into a small group, you're talking about a 15:1 ratio, which is much smaller than a "regular" class (whose numbers are kept higher)

i love this program and could talk about it forever! when i have children, i would LOVE for them to have this experience. feel free to FM me if you'd like more info

Re: I need info about inclusion classes?

I'm a collaborative teacher as well. I've been teaching under this model for seven years now. FM me if you have any questions.


PS - There are many models to collaborative teaching, not only the "one teach, one float" approach. This model is actually one of the least effective methods of collaborative teaching.

Message edited 8/21/2007 9:53:32 PM.

Re: I need info about inclusion classes?

Re: I need info about inclusion classes?

Posted by nyteacher13

Posted by dbleplay17

I teach inclusion 9th grade. The way I explain it to all parents of the reg ed students is that this is the best thing your child can have. They have 2 teachers to work with. In classes that are usually 22-24 kids the teacher student ratio is now halfed. The other teacher assists all students not just the special ed children. The class is not a "slow" class. I say u can switch your child out and it wil be the same exact curriculum and pace but less one teacher so your child def has the advantage

HTH

"regular" ed --> no no

"general ed" is the appropriate term nowadays. Regular ed implies that "other" students are not regular in some way. Just my two cents!

Re: I need info about inclusion classes?

I taught first grade "inclusion" last year. In my school the children with special needs start the day out in their own classroom and then are brought into my classroom with their teacher. I teach the lessons and the other teacher works with the children with needs. My lessons were modified by their teacher to meet their needs. I think it benefits the other children to be in an inclusion class because they become more understanding of the children's needs and want to help. I actually read to the class a book about a child with autism so that they would have a little understanding of the other children in the class and why they would do certain things.

Re: I need info about inclusion classes?

Re: I need info about inclusion classes?

I also think it's beneficial b/c it allows gen. ed kids and spec. ed kids (depending on the population) the chance to interact and kind of breaks down walls.

Re: I need info about inclusion classes?

Posted by browneyedgirl

i teach inclusion (but it has a different name in my district) for elementary school. the kids who are not identified as having a disability get more 1 on 1 attention (since there's 2 of us), are given more challenging work where appropriate (2 of us to plan), have parents who are kept in the loop about EVERYTHING (because there's 2 of us to make phone calls/write letters), etc. as long as the team gets along (which most do), ALL children benefit.

some parents have the mistaken idea that non identified students only "help" their identified classmates. this simply isn't true. they each have material that is geared to their ability levels, although the kids don't know it! they work in groups a lot (as do all classes in my school) and they help each other. so many identified kids help the NI kids in so many ways!! it's amazing how they learn and grow from each other. they teach each other things that i as a teacher couldn't do.

honestly, my class sometimes gets through more curriculum than a "regular" class. there's 2 of us so a lot more can happen! by the end of the year, i'd say 99% of the NI parents would love to keep their child in this setting if they could, because they see how much more attention their child gets.

think about it this way...if there's 22 kids and 7 of them are identified...that would mean a ratio of 11:1 with a teacher! even if you pulled those 7 into a small group, you're talking about a 15:1 ratio, which is much smaller than a "regular" class (whose numbers are kept higher)

i love this program and could talk about it forever! when i have children, i would LOVE for them to have this experience. feel free to FM me if you'd like more info

Re: I need info about inclusion classes?

it depends if you are LI or in NYC>

In NYC they follow a CTT model - most of what was stated above seemed to be more about NYC. I work in NYC - i dislike there Inclusion program - but thats another topic.

If you are on LI, commonly now, an inclusion class is a classroom in which (depending on district) 1-2 or even 3 students with some type of disability (could be ADHD, learning disability, emotionally disturbed or autistic) are INCLUDED into a general education class. Typically now, these classes are aided by a teacher assistant or teachers aide. The class is like any other general education class, however, students in that class get the assistance of a TA and of course their teacher.

I was a TA for a while and we often would no only help the student with the disability but the other students in the classroom. I was a tA in elem school and Middle school. I can tell you that we assisted all the students when possible and often - esp in middle school - the general ed students wanted to work with us as well.

I do not think that if your child is in inclusion on LI that you have a problem or have to worry about it holding him back.

If youhave any ? - FM me.

Re: I need info about inclusion classes?

Re: I need info about inclusion classes?

Posted by browneyedgirl

Posted by jgl

it depends if you are LI or in NYC>

In NYC they follow a CTT model - most of what was stated above seemed to be more about NYC. I work in NYC - i dislike there Inclusion program - but thats another topic.

If you are on LI, commonly now, an inclusion class is a classroom in which (depending on district) 1-2 or even 3 students with some type of disability (could be ADHD, learning disability, emotionally disturbed or autistic) are INCLUDED into a general education class. Typically now, these classes are aided by a teacher assistant or teachers aide. The class is like any other general education class, however, students in that class get the assistance of a TA and of course their teacher.

I was a TA for a while and we often would no only help the student with the disability but the other students in the classroom. I was a tA in elem school and Middle school. I can tell you that we assisted all the students when possible and often - esp in middle school - the general ed students wanted to work with us as well.

I do not think that if your child is in inclusion on LI that you have a problem or have to worry about it holding him back.

If youhave any ? - FM me.

our program on LI is completely different. I don't know what "CTT" is. what does it stand for?

we do not have TAs. there is a sp.ed. and gen.ed teacher, both FULL time, in the classroom at all times. any other adults would be one-on-ones. children on the autistic spectrum are not put in our blended classrooms as the point of the classroom is to be able to do gradelevel work. we do have children with PDD-NOS however as they can do grade work. there are NEVER emotionally disturbed children in our blended classrooms...there is another setting for them. we have up to 1/3 the class as identified students. so usually up to 8 kids (which we have this year).

it's interesting because it seems like the NYC model is completely different!

Re: I need info about inclusion classes?

There are different models of inclusion in New York City. I taught for three years in a 6th and 7th grade classroom and their were 2 teachers, a general ed and special ed, in the classroom at all times. It was absolutely wonderful because it enabled us to accelerate the curriculum for students who moved faster and slow it down for those who needed more help. If there are 2 teachers in the classroom (CTT) I would highly recommend inclusion. Sometimes within these classrooms you will also have paras for certain students. This is great because now you have 3 adults in the room.

Re: I need info about inclusion classes?

Thanks so much for all the info at least I have an idea of what I am talking about when I see his teacher... I'll let you know if I have any questions after I meet with her