INCLUSIVE TEACHING
7.1: Models of Reflection
Inclusive teaching is vital in developing and maintaining a favorable learning environment whereby all learners are engaged and respected. Inclusive teaching strategies allude to the teaching approaches that take care of the varied needs of the students. Teachers should take special care if their class comprises students with behavioral, learning, and physical impairments. To promote inclusion, the teacher should learn about the needs of the students and work to create a learning environment that takes care of those needs. Reflective practice refers to the ability to reconsider one’s actions in order to encourage continuous learning. Students’ practice can be useful in planning, delivery, and assessment of inclusive learning strategies.
Critical reflection is vital in discovering the worthiness of one’s teaching. According to the Brookfield’s model, critically reflective teachers are outstanding teachers. In doing critical reflection, teachers should engage four lenses, which are self-reflection, learners’ input, peer evaluation, and theoretical writings (Maralani and Farahian, 2015, p. 261). Inclusion of students’ input in this model ensures that teachers can gauge the learners’ motivation to take part in the course and apply the results in improving the learners’ experience. In my specialism area (teaching TEFL and TESOL, we use evaluations, reflective journals, and interviews in obtaining feedback from the students so that we can improve our teaching. We consult learners in every stage of the curriculum development to be able to decide on the courses to run as well as the course content. Doing this ensures that the students are motivated to learn. Together with self-reflection, student’s feedback helps in revealing the teaching habits or practices that need adjustment to ensure student equity and engagement.
Donald Schön’s conceptions of “reflection-in-action” and “reflection-on-action” are also essential in enhancing inclusivity in teaching and learning. Reflection-in-action evaluates the decisions, processes, and feelings during the teaching experience (Hébert, 2015, p. 362). Reflection-in-action happens when teachers reflect on their activities as they are undertaking them in view of what the excellent practice would be. In my area of specialism, we apply reflection-in-action on new learners or at the start of the course. On admission, we have limited knowledge of the learners, but we are required to make quick and appropriate decisions about chaotic learners and those falling behind others. On the other hand, reflection-on-action entails reflecting on experiences that one has already had (Hébert, 2015, p. 362). In this case, we consider what could have been done differently to ensure that the learners were fully engaged or had an equal chance of learning as the rest. Reflection-in-action can be applied in planning and delivering appropriate course material and level of coaching for the EFL learners, whereas Reflection-on-action is essential for assessments and evaluations of the learners.
David Kolb’s model of experimental learning can be used in enhancing the language learning approaches in an EFL framework. The four-stage model allows the students to acquire knowledge through concrete experiences, reflection, abstract conceptualization, and vigorous experimentation (Bohon et al., 2017, p. 609). In our area of specialism, we expertly apply the Kolb’s model to ensure inclusivity of the learners. After introducing a new point or new grammar, we give the students a few minutes to reflect on it, and then discuss it for two minutes, before explaining it to them. We use our interactions with the learners as actual experiences. For instance, students may seem disengaged or not participative in a session. From the lessons, we reflect and compare it with other experiences after we make abstract conceptualizations of the problem. For instance, we may conceptualize that the students were bored because the course material was too complicated for them, or we did not engage the learners. Lastly, we experiment with new ways of doing things that might encourage the learner to participate actively during the lessons. Thus, Kolb’s theory underlines the importance of covering the course materials in a manner that allows for diversity in the classroom.
7.2: Improving the Students’ Practice
In creating an inclusive learning environment, there are various things to consider. First, the teachers should make sure that they understand their students by knowing them better and viewing each learner as an individual. Besides, the teacher should consider how the experiences and backgrounds of the learners influence their learning, motivation, and engagement. Second, teachers should reflect on their teaching persona. This reflection may involve considering how his or her cultural-bound molds influence the interactions with the leaners. Third, the teacher should restructure the course content to ensure that it fits the students’ needs. Finally, the teacher must make sure that the activities in his or her curriculum motivate the learner to learn and promote equity.
Bibliography
Bohon, L.L., McKelvey, S., Rhodes, J.A. and Robnolt, V.J., 2017. Training for content teachers of English Language Learners: using experiential learning to improve instruction. Teacher development, 21(5), pp.609-634.
Hébert, C., 2015. Knowing and/or experiencing: a critical examination of the reflective models of John Dewey and Donald Schön. Reflective practice, 16(3), pp.361-371.
Maralani, N. and Farahian, M., 2015. EFL Teachers’ Reflective Teaching and Their Amount of Experience. Int. J. Rev. Life. Sci, 5(5), pp.261-262.