Activity 1: Special Educational Needs Quilt of Quotes

The following quotes are taken from IB documentation on special educational needs and inclusion. Display them as quotes on the wall in the form of a Quilt of Quotes. Use the Quotes that speak to me protocol to explore what the IB means by assessment.

• Ask each person to individually look at the ‘Special Educational Needs Quilt of Quotes'. Try to read everyone. Then choose the quote that most speaks to you.
• Table groups - each person picks a relevant quote. Tell  the “story” and significance of the quote to rest of group and explain how it exemplifies current and future practice.
• Have a group discussion around the quotes. Which themes come out of your choices – how do the quotes shape your understanding of what the IB means by inclusion and differentiation?
• Make sure your write these themes down on slips of paper to use in the next activity. Collate all the slips (themes) from the staff discussion.

Tip:

Ensure that in addition to the quote on the wall you have copies of the quote so that staff can take one away back to their table to discuss. Copies could be put in see-through folders below the quote in the quilt.

The following quotes are taken from Learning diversity in the International Baccalaureate programmes: Special educational needs within the International Baccalaureate programmes, unless otherwise stated.

The Quotes

“Difference and diversity are central in IB World Schools where all students enrolled in IB programmes should receive meaningful and equitable access to the curriculum.”

“In some schools special education is provided as a supplement to general education provision whereas in others the two are entirely separate. In recent years, the appropriateness of separate systems of education has been challenged, both from a human rights perspective and from the point of view of effectiveness…. With the right skills training, strategies and support, the majority of students with special educational needs can be successfully included in mainstream education.”

“The IB supports the premise that schools should be organized in such a way that student diversity of all kinds can be included as a resource, seeing individual differences not as problems to be fixed, but as opportunities for enriched learning. Diversity is a positive resource with regard to what it means to be internationally minded and interculturally aware.”

“Over time, changes have taken place that have altered the focus from a medical model of a student with a deficit to a focus on the whole child. This focus has shifted to practising differentiation through identifying a student’s learning style, scaffolding their learning, and differentiating the curriculum in order to develop the student’s true potential.”

“Recent research has found that ‘‘certain individuals or groups of children may benefit from adaptations to general teaching approaches, but in general pupils with SEN do not need qualitatively different pedagogy.” There is a shift from specialist teachers solving issues to collaborative planning by all teachers who are part of a student’s education anywhere along the learning continuum.”

“Inclusion is more about responding positively to each individual’s unique needs. Inclusion is less about marginalizing students because of their differences….Inclusion is a process by which schools and others develop their cultures, policies and practices to include all students.”

“The school community and other authorizing bodies should actively seek to remove barriers to learning and participation. All students should have access to an appropriate education that affords them the opportunity to achieve their personal potential.”

“Inclusion is an “organisational paradigm” that involves change. It is an unending process of increasing learning and participation for all students. It is an ideal to which schools can aspire, but which is never fully reached. However, inclusion happens as soon as the process of increasing participation is started. Thus, differentiation is inclusion in practice. Inclusion and differentiation are most successful in the contexts of learning communities where there is a culture of collaboration that encourages and supports problem solving.”

“There has been a tendency in some schools to assume differentiation is merely another word for helping underachievers. In practice, planning a unit of work or developing coursework to provide a range of learning approaches for achieving common goals should show that all students benefit from the differentiated process.”

“Differentiation was acknowledged as sound practice and principles for all students, particularly when the work of Gardner and Sternberg came to the fore in education. The work of Gardner on multiple intelligences has broadened the whole concept of ability. Sternberg’s Triarchic model of thinking styles reinforces the fact that as well as having the ability to do something differently, learners also have the ability to think differently, and to apply these thoughts in a different way to others in their cohort. Learners have a preferred way of thinking before doing that must be considered if an optimum match is to occur at various times throughout their schooling. If this match does not occur then many learners will become unhappy and disenchanted with the learning process and, therefore, may not achieve their true potential until they leave the education system. We, as teachers, must be sensitive to this variety, and be flexible enough in our thinking to accommodate those who may not perform in the generally accepted way. Tomlinson states that differentiated instruction may be conceptualized as a teacher’s response to the diverse learning needs of a student. Differentiation is seen as the process of identifying, with each learner, the most effective strategies for achieving agreed goals.”

“Tomlinson and Eidson (2003) state: “If, as teachers, we increase our understanding of who we teach and what we teach, we are more likely to be flexible in how we teach.”

“Differentiation should be visible and transparent in policy documents in order to meet IB expectations for authorization and evaluation.”

“Students with learning support requirements may need support and arrangements for both teaching and learning. Once a student with learning support requirements is enrolled in the school, it is the responsibility of the school to meet the student’s learning needs, including suitable arrangements for teaching and assessment.” (Candidates with assessment access requirements).

Although a number of inclusive assessment arrangements are available for students with learning support requirements, some subjects may pose difficulties for certain candidates. Careful consideration should be given to a candidate’s choice of subjects. The subjects chosen should allow them to demonstrate their strengths and empower them as learners. Schools may consult with the IB Assessment centre before confirming a candidate’s subjects. The inclusive assessment arrangements provided to a candidate must be planned in advance to give a candidate ample time to learn to use them effectively during classroom activities. 2.1.5 The inclusive assessment arrangements provided for a candidate must be carefully individualized, planned, evaluated and monitored. They should be based on current, and not past, requirements. (Candidates with assessment access requirements).

Activity 2: Reflect and Discuss

• Highlight the IB standards and practices that apply to inclusion
• Ensure you have a common understanding of the philosophical links between the following terms: special educational needs, inclusion, and differentiation.
• To what extent does your school apply the IB principles of an inclusive education? What are the implications for the development of your policy and practice?
• How do you celebrate people who have special educational needs? Do you have photos of famous people with needs around the school?
• We could describe the inclusion continuum as ‘Segregated – Integrated – Included’. What does inclusion look like in your context? Where are you on the continuum?
• It has been said that “it is not difference, but the difference we make of it, that matters”. (Minow, M. Making All the Difference: Inclusion, Exclusion and American Law. Ithaca, New York. Cornell University Press.1990). Discuss.

This is how Tom McLean, Upper School Principal, Hungary, explains his choice.

One of the really interesting challenges in my new job will be to build an inclusive and internationally minded culture in a country that currently has some very exclusive attitudes and policies.

The policy I have chosen is the admissions policy and the artifact is an image of a young girl trying to pass into Hungary beneath it's border fence.