Overview

The Quick Guide supports an inclusive approach by:

• Encouraging reflective thinking about inclusive teaching practices
• Providing insightful guidance and strategies for promoting inclusion in the classroom
• Inspiring educators to take steps to create inclusive classrooms

It features:

• Powerful classroom strategies and approaches
• Practical templates for educators to use or adapt
• Online component with modifiable templates and links to helpful resources
• Inclusive classroom examples and stories from other educators

It is perfect for:

• Educators looking for practical steps they can take within their classrooms to create inclusive learning environments that support all learners.

Usha James, Executive Director of the Critical Thinking Consortium (TC²), shares her thoughts on five key points for creating inclusive classrooms.

0:00 Start
0:01 How can we create the conditions for inclusive classrooms?
2:17 What is an inclusive mindset?
3:14 When and how can we better know our students?
4:49 How can we differentiate?
6:29 When and where should we universalize our instruction?

Table of Contents

What do we mean by inclusive classrooms?

What is an inclusive mindset?

When and how can we better know our students?

How can we differentiate?

When and where should we universalize our instruction?

How to use

Why Is Inclusion Important in the Classroom?

Educators everywhere are grappling with how to best serve the needs of every student. Classrooms are becoming more diverse, and inequities continue to exist in schools, communities, and the broader society. Educators recognize the importance of inclusion in the classroom to address those inequities.

The benefits of inclusion in the classroom are clear: Students achieve better results when teachers plan appropriately and find ways to capitalize on the strengths and address the diverse needs of all students. There is no shortage of reasons to adopt an inclusive approach to teaching—the most important reason being that each student has a right to learn to their full potential.

What Is an Inclusive Classroom?

Inclusive classrooms provide all students with a sense of belonging and the environment and approach they need to succeed and thrive. At the heart of an inclusive learning environment is student-centred decision making and inclusive educators who adopt an inquiry stance toward their own teaching practices.

How to Create Inclusive Classrooms?

Creating inclusive classrooms is an active decision that educators must make every day. It informs all their choices from instructional and assessment strategies to the resources provided to students, to the way students are grouped, to how they respond and interact with students. Creating an inclusive learning environment that supports all learners takes commitment to inclusion guidelines and a willingness to critically examine their beliefs, assumptions, and practices.

How Does Critical Thinking Support Inclusive Classrooms?

It is important in an inclusive classroom to ensure that all students are presented with challenging opportunities to think about the curriculum. Critical inquiry invites students to examine the content being taught and to make a reasoned judgment rather than simply recount facts. By framing the teaching of content as a critical inquiry question or task that has multiple entry points and is scaffolded to support different learning styles, we can ensure that all students have an opportunity to think critically.