Rosemont Middle school has a student population with different needs, and all of them are not given an opportunity to develop their ability. The students with disabilities, culturally diverse, English language learners and the gifted receive similar treatment without considering their needs. It is evident that all the students spend over eighty percent of their school time in general education classrooms. Having a class with the above differences makes teaching exciting and also complex (Ford, 2013; Sakiz, 2017).
There are increased emphases on standard based reforms where all students are required to reach similar academic goals and standards. Students with disability and from minority groups have lower expectations and therefore teaching should be uniformly applied while giving particular attention to underperforming groups (Ford, 2013; Sakiz, 2017).
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Recommendations
Using differentiated instructions can help meet the needs of all students by changing what they learn, the process, product and learning environment. This approach involves a mindset shift about teaching and learning that ensures that the students have appropriate classroom experience. This strategy is ideal for students with learning disability and diverse learning needs. The teacher supplies instructional methods and materials that are matched to the needs of the students. The educators should possess flexible teaching techniques and be flexible to adjust the curriculum based on the needs of the students. Differentiated instruction has the advantage of providing learning opportunities to the diverse students in an inclusive classroom but might stigmatize some students as a result of receiving less challenging curriculum (Ford, 2013; Sakiz, 2017).
The school can adopt a co-teaching arrangement where a general and special educator works together. Students with disabilities are not removed from the class. The teachers can use either one teach one assist, station teaching, parallel teaching, alternative education and team teaching models. This approach is not only applicable to students with diverse needs but also help the teachers to differentiate their instructions (Ford, 2013; Sakiz, 2017).
The school can employ peer-mediated instructions and interventions. In this approach, students are used as instructors for other students in the class. The teacher facilitates the process allowing the students to provide instructions. The teacher, in this case, can focus on academic and social emotional development. Under this strategy, there are class wide student's tutoring teams, class-wide peer tutoring and peer assisted learning strategies. This approach is ideal for students who are gifted helping to challenge them. The school should change its culture to accommodate the uniqueness in the student population. The management should embrace diversity and promote collaborative efforts that are geared towards improving the performance of the students in all spheres. The management should involve all its stakeholders and conduct periodic reviews of its strategies to determine potential areas of improvement (Ford, 2013; Sakiz, 2017).
References
Ford, J. (2013). Educating Students with Learning Disabilities in Inclusive Classrooms, Electronic Journal for Inclusive Education, 3 (1).
Sakiz, H. (2017). Students with learning disabilities within the context of inclusive education: issues of identification and school management. International Journal of Inclusive Education , pp.1-21.
