Inclusive Instruction

Educators are tasked with ensuring that students with significant cognitive disabilities have access to and make progress in the general education curriculum. Research shows that these students can acquire knowledge and skills tied to a wide range of grade-level standards and in every content area utilizing a variety of instructional strategies. Inclusive instruction is instruction designed to be accessible to a wide variety of learners. Inclusive instruction ensures that students with significant cognitive disabilities are presented accessible and engaging instructional activities, and are provided the accommodations and modifications to complete learning tasks alongside their peers.

Resources on Inclusive Instruction

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  This Is Who We Are and What We Do: A Case Study of Two Districts Exemplifying Inclusivity

  This study investigated districts that are positive outliers, that is, districts that have implemented inclusive education in a particularly robust and effective way. Two questions guided the research: (1) What are the experiences and viewpoints of district personnel and community members in exemplary districts? (2) How do district personnel and community members in exemplar districts perceive the community’s influence on inclusive education for students with significant cognitive disabilities? Interviews in two exemplar districts revealed that implementing an inclusive model of education for students with significant cognitive disabilities is not only feasible but results in positive outcomes for all students. Further, strong system-level practices and policies made an inclusive approach successful, but the specific policies and practices differed somewhat across districts as these were grounded in the particular district context. The particularity of context points to another key finding: that attentiveness to the community–in particular, enacting an inclusive model with community buy-in–proved essential in each district’s experience.

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  How Preparation Programs for Moderate-Severe Disabilities in Ohio Incorporate High-Leverage Instructional Practices

  This study addresses the incorporation high-leverage practices or HLPs into higher education programs for preservice and practicing teachers who receive preparation in inclusive education at Ohio colleges and universities. Data were collected through four types of research activities: (1) a survey of Ohio faculty members from educator preparation programs, (2) focus-group interviews with Ohio in-service special education teachers, (3) an analysis of syllabi from Ohio educator preparation programs, (4) and focus-group interviews with Ohio parents. Findings suggest, overall, that responding faculty and institutions of higher education are inconsistently teaching HLPs. Those faculty and instructors who incorporated HLPs more consistently tended to include the easier-to-teach HLPs. Because the ability to use HLPs may be an important prerequisite to competence and comfort with inclusion, this inconsistency represents a serious setback for Ohio students with significant cognitive disabilities. Based on the findings, the report makes recommendation for both practice and research.

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  Inclusive Education Roadmap (IER)

  The Inclusive Education Roadmap (IER) is a series of tools, guidance, and processes to be used by state, district, and school teams to build an inclusive system of education. The IER unpacks the complexities of how to create, expand, and sustain inclusive education systems.

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  TIP #24: Learners with Cerebral/Cortical Visual Impairment (CVI) and Augmentative Alternative Communication (AAC)

  Students with Cerebral/Cortical Vision Impairment (CVI) may have difficulty processing the images their eyes see, which can affect many areas of basic visual functions. This TIP focuses on students with CVI and how it relates to learners with significant cognitive disabilities who use Alternative and Augmentative Communication or AAC, with a particular focus on inclusive environments.

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  TIP #25: Preparing the AAC User for the Next Grade

  For students who are non-speaking and communicate using Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC), it is important to support their communication needs during grade level transitions to ensure that the academic, social, and communication gains continue into the next grade. This TIP provides concrete ideas to plan for successful grade level transitions for ACC Users.

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  Standards-Based Instruction for Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities

  What are alternate achievement standards and general education academic standards? How do they align and differ? What should instruction look like for students with significant cognitive disabilities? This short video provides key information that clearly illustrates these concepts and their uses in instruction.  

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  Communication Supports for Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities: What Parents Need to Know (TIES Center Brief #9)

  This Brief describes how families and other members of Individualized Education Program (IEP) teams can help students get the supports they need to build their communicative competence in inclusive classrooms.

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  Teacher Preparation for Inclusive Practices: A Resource for Teacher Educators

  The purpose of this resource is to support teacher educators as they develop inclusive course content by linking current TIES Center resources to teacher preparation standards across general and special education. Direct links to each resource on the TIES Center website are provided. This resource will be updated on an annual basis each spring.

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  Preparing School Psychologists to Promote Inclusive Practices for Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities

  School psychologists are expected to serve school-age children and youth with a wide range of needs. However, their preparation in graduate school tends to focus on supporting students experiencing the learning and behavioral concerns that are most prevalent in schools (e.g., learning disability, attention concerns, behavioral challenges). This report explores how graduate preparation in school psychology can be expanded to better equip school psychologists with the competencies and experiences needed to be strong advocates for the quality inclusion of students with significant cognitive disabilities.

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  PI #4: Providing Specially Designed Instruction with Considerations from Distance Learning

  Through distance, hybrid and in-person learning, collaboration has remained a vital part of providing Specially Designed Instruction (SDI). This article provides key strategies for consideration when planning SDI.

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  TIP #22: Planning for Whole Group Discussions

  This TIP will provide an example of how educators can work collaboratively to create more opportunities for all students, including students with significant cognitive disabilities, to actively participate in whole group discussions in an inclusive classroom.

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  The Power of Peers: Peer Engagement Implementation Guides

  We invited leading experts to share their expertise on implementing these nine educational interventions to promote meaningful engagement and relationships among students with and without disabilities. They created short, practical implementation guides based on their extensive experience working with local schools.

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  Reading Literature Inclusive Lesson Planning (Inclusive Big Ideas)

  Plan inclusive reading literature lessons for grades K-8 using grade-level standards.

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  Design for Each and Every Learner: Universal Design for Learning Modules

  Designing inclusive instruction takes intentional planning and collaboration. The goal of these modules is to learn more about Universal Design for Learning (UDL), a framework developed by CAST, and how to support educators to design learning experiences that are inclusive for each and every learner. 

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  PI #3: A Collaborative Start to Behavioral Supports When Returning to the School Building

  Positive and consistent behavioral supports are needed by all students, and for some students, they are absolutely vital for meaningful engagement to be achieved. During distance learning it was important to know what behaviors could be supported through collaborating with families. When returning to school, it remains important to intentionally identify, collaboratively communicate, and consistently follow through on the identified supports for students with significant cognitive disabilities.

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  Understanding the Role of Paraprofessionals in Your Child’s Education in Inclusive Classrooms (TIES Center Brief #7)

  It is important for parents to know what paraprofessionals should be expected to do in inclusive classrooms. Parents should also know what qualities paraprofessionals should have, and what supports and training they need to be successful in their role. The purpose of this Brief is to address these points. It also pro-vides examples of appropriate use of paraprofessionals in inclusive classrooms and some red flags that might indicate a need to adjust paraprofessional support or training.

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  PI #2: 5 Back to School Positive Behavior Strategies

  Now that we are back to school, it is important to remember how to positively support behavior. It is especially important to consider those students who might need more support after being away from the school building last year. 

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  Creating Communities of Belonging for Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities

  Everyone wants to be valued and have a sense of belonging in their community.  The need for valued belonging is true for students in a school community as well.  Although belonging is equally important for all students, students with significant cognitive disabilities are less likely to experience a deep sense of belonging.

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  PI #1: Planning for Students Transitioning Back to School - Three Important Components

  As teams manage various scenarios for when and how-to students will return to schools, proactive thinking about what needs to be considered to successfully transition students back to school is of utmost importance. This article will  facilitate this transition for school teams, students, and their families.

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  Pivot to In-Person Instruction: An Overview Framework

  The TIES Distance Learning Series provides multiple strategies for supporting students with significant cognitive disabilities during distance and hybrid learning. The Pivot to In-Person Instruction Series applies the same principles, as most students are returning to in-person instruction. However, we expect that some schools will need to pivot between the various instruction models given the changing nature of the COVID-19 virus.

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  Comprehensive Inclusive Education: General Education and the Inclusive IEP

  This resource is intended to guide IEP teams in a comprehensive inclusive education planning process based on the expectation that each student can actively participate, belong, contribute, and learn in the school and larger community. 

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  TIP #18: Choosing Accessible Grade-Level Texts for Use in Inclusive Classrooms

  This TIP will outline considerations for choosing appropriate accessible grade-level texts for students with significant cognitive disabilities in inclusive classrooms.

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  TIP #19: Creating Accessible Grade-level Texts for Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities in Inclusive Classrooms

  This TIP explains ways teachers can adapt text and provide scaffolding to ensure each and every student is provided access and opportunity to meet grade-level learning expectations.

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  TIES Brief 6: Grading My Child with Significant Cognitive Disabilities in an Inclusive Classroom

  Grades are assigned and report cards given in inclusive classrooms. It is important that thought has been given to how work from students with significant cognitive disabilities will be graded and what will be in the report card. The purpose of this parent Brief is to (a) identify the IEP team’s role in grading and report cards, (b) provide ideas for how to talk to teachers about grades and their meaning, and (c) suggest what to do if the school or district has not yet identified grading and report card considerations for students with significant cognitive disabilities in inclusive classrooms.

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  TIP #14: Academic Standards for Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities in Inclusive Classrooms: Same Content Standards, Alternate Achievement Standards

  The purpose of this brief is to clarify what academic content standards and alternate achievement standards are, how they are different, and how they contribute to inclusive education.

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  TIP #15: Turn and Talk in the Inclusive Classroom

  In this TIPS Brief, we show how to remove barriers to allow students with significant cognitive disabilities (SCD) to engage in Turn and Talk activities during instruction in general education classes through the UDL framework and examples from an inclusive classroom.

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  TIP #16: Making Inferences in the Inclusive Classroom

  In this TIPS, we give suggestions for teachers on how to teach inferencing skills to all learners in an inclusive classroom.  The examples presented are reflective of a collaborative process required to plan the use of inferencing strategies in inclusive classrooms through a Universal Design for Learning framework.

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  DL #23: Pivoting Between Paraprofessional Support in Inclusive Schools and Distance Learning

  Paraprofessionals are central to the success of educating students with disabilities in general education contexts, especially students with significant cognitive disabilities. Distance learning is pushing the field to consider how paraprofessionals can fulfill their roles in new and creative ways, particularly with the use of technology. Apply the Learning Components framework to clarify paraprofessional roles and how they can be carried out whether instruction is in-school or during distance learning. 

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  Lessons for All: The 5-15-45 Tool

  This tool will help you go from a borrowed, bought, or mandated lesson to a more inclusive lesson for all.

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  TIES Brief 5: The General Education Curriculum–Not an Alternate Curriculum!

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  TIES Brief 4: Providing Meaningful General Education Curriculum Access to Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities

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  Tip #10: The Use of Graphic Organizers in Inclusive Classrooms for Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities

  Classroom teachers have used graphic organizers for years to help students gather, sift through, organize, and share information.

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  TIES Distance Learning #12: Promoting Engagement for Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities on Group Learning Platforms

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  TIP #8: High Leverage Practices Crosswalk

  High Leverage Practices (HLPs) are strategies every teacher should know and use. The purpose of this TIPs sheet is to provide ideas for inclusive general education classroom implementation of HLPs that are common to both general and special education.

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  TIES Distance Learning #3: Effective Specially Designed Instruction (SDI) Within the Distance Learning Environment: What in the world does that look like?

  TIES Distance Learning #3: Effective Specially Designed Instruction (SDI) Within the Distance Learning Environment: What in the world does that look like?

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  TIES Distance Learning #1: Morning Meetings

  TIES Distance Learning #1: Morning Meetings

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  TIP #7: Homework in the Inclusive Classroom

  This TIP provides information and recommendations for collaborative educational teams on how to make homework successful for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities in inclusive classrooms. 

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  Instructional Practices for Students with the Most Significant Disabilities in Inclusive Settings: A Review of the Literature (TIES Center Report #104)

  The purpose of this report is to update previous literature reviews on pedagogical practices for students with the most significant disabilities in inclusive settings.

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  TIP #2: Using Collaborative Teams to Support Students with Significant Communication Needs in Inclusive Classrooms

  This TIP outlines how to employ collaborative teams to support students with significant communication needs in inclusive classrooms. Collaborative teams will require additional planning for general and special education teachers as well as related service providers.

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  Creating Inclusive Schools: What Does the Research Say? | Impact | Winter 2018/19 Volume 31, Number 2

  Review of the research on inclusion, presenting the essential practices that create inclusive schools as well the benefits of inclusive education.

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  TIES 101: Communication Supports in the Inclusive Class

  TIES Communication 101 is a new asynchronous professional learning series created with our partners at the University of Kentucky (UKY). It provides evidence-based strategies for supporting AAC users in inclusive classrooms. One hour of ASHA credit is available for Speech-language pathologists at no charge.