All Students Are Our Students: Nurturing Inclusivity in Today's Classrooms

In today’s classrooms, teachers and support staff are collaborating to educate a more diverse group of students than ever before. On any given day, many students receive instruction not only from their classroom teachers but also from the paraprofessional, the ELL teacher, the Math Interventionist, the Reading Specialist, or the Special Educator. These services ensure that scholars are positioned to succeed in school and access grade-level content.

But what happens when classroom teachers begin to think…"Phew, they're no longer on my plate." Or "It's time to take YOUR kids." These efforts to provide targeted support to scholars can lead to an understandable but unfortunate mindset shift for classroom teachers. The message received is that these students are now the responsibility of other educators. Often the teacher feels a “relief” that they no longer have to prioritize or include these students in their planning, their data analysis, or their inclusive practices. When this is the case, it shows. “Teachers play a central role in these social and emotional dimensions of student learning. Through the messages they send and the experiences they provide in classrooms, teachers shape students’ psychological experiences of schooling, their motivation to learn, and their achievement levels, a growing body of research reveals (FutureEd, 2019).”

“Recent comprehensive research reviews by the National Commission on Social, Emotional, and Academic Development, the University of Chicago Consortium on School Research, and the Science of Learning and Development Project have linked strong teacher-student relationships to a more positive school climate, greater student engagement, better school and learning outcomes, greater social and emotional competence among students, and an increased willingness to take on challenges. Students who feel supported are more likely to show interest and motivation in learning and are more willing to take the risks and show the persistence necessary to learn.” Claude Steele, a social psychologist at Stanford University, said recently, “Teachers have to build in students some sense of beneficence, that you’ve got my back, that the teacher believes in me and is going to support me and be with me.”

Think about it — you are on a basketball team, but you are only allowed to pass the ball, never shoot? Or you’re invited to a restaurant and not able to order your favorite appetizer from the menu. Now, think about how you would feel as you watched your peers attempt shots or order freely at that restaurant. These situations may seem unrealistic and not likely to occur, but they are strikingly like the “inclusive” educational experiences of many students with disabilities.

“For students to succeed, they must also develop a sense of themselves as learners who belong in an academic setting and who can persist and improve through focused effort. Much of that work starts with teachers’ own beliefs about intelligence and the learning process (FutureEd, 2019).”

How do we create an environment that demonstrates interest in helping all students, owning student growth, and modeling both high expectations and tenacity?

1. Be intentional about using similar resources and materials with ALL students.

Children are always watching, especially students with academic or behavioral challenges. While differentiating and providing support is critical, it is equally important for them to feel a sense of “same.” Our approach to instruction may be different for some; the materials may be scaffolded, and there may be flexible grouping, but students also benefit from similarities in classroom experiences, access to activities and themes, and peer interaction opportunities around the same topics.

Even when students with disabilities appear to be included physically — having a place or desk in the classroom — if the classroom teacher does not see them as their responsibility, then a full inclusion environment will likely not happen. It’s important to know that when students with diverse needs are placed in a general education classroom, their inclusive experience encompasses everything that there is to offer in that room. This includes interactions with peers, resources, materials, activities, and the same meaningful and rich coursework. To make this happen, teachers must be intentional about how they see and incorporate every student regardless of additional services some may receive.

All students being included and experiencing work at varying levels of rigor ultimately allows them to better understand that “their intelligence isn’t fixed and that they can do better or explore beyond their capabilities. They also learn that their efforts and contributions in class are valuable besides their intelligence. So by fostering an improved mindset, you encourage students to find solutions that help them learn better or develop their interest in learning (For the Love of Teachers, 2022).”

2. Create a classroom environment acknowledging cultural, behavioral, and learning differences.

Both students with and without identified needs benefit from a teacher that sees ALL students on their roster as their own. Modeling the inclusive mindset has a significant impact on those students that do not receive any specialized services. Lindsay, Proulx, Scott, and Thomson (2014) indicated that “inclusion provides the chance for non-disabled students to learn tolerance and appreciation for their disabled peers.”

Often, varied social skill development may be a reason teachers resist placing students with disabilities in general education classrooms. Additionally, “students who have disabilities are often socially isolated” even within general education classrooms (Stanovich, Jordan, & Perot, 1998, p. 124). On the other hand, conflicting research suggests that in inclusion classrooms, “over half of all social initiations were made by individuals with disabilities” and “students with disabilities made approximately two-thirds of social related initiations” (Carter, Sisco, Brown, Brickham, & Al-Khabbaz, 2008, p. 485).

Within inclusion classrooms, when the teacher creates a safe space that regularly addresses differences, this may promote social development and prosocial behaviors that otherwise may be lacking in some students. When students are more often surrounded by other socially impaired students, due to language challenges, learning difficulties, and behavioral needs, those teachable moments are less likely to occur.

3. Create collaboration practices and expectations that emphasize awareness across stakeholders.

When the classroom teacher sets a tone of accountability for ALL students, it also impacts the interventionists and service providers. There is the reassurance that there will be both a thought partner and another set of interested eyes in their work.  

The classroom teacher can maximize the input and information provided. They facilitate meetings where inquiry about intervention goals and student engagement are discussed. When this happens, there is an increase in opportunity for problem-solving, and all stakeholders are transparently aware of how each bucket of work supports the other.

TRY THIS: Follow a consistent meeting schedule where teachers and interventionists pre-fill important data points (attendance, task completion, progress monitoring data). Ensure the meeting agenda has high-quality guiding questions that will support problem-solving and productive discussion. An MTSS platform like Branching Minds makes this practice much easier, as student data is accessible and actionable for all stakeholders. Learn more.

💡 Additional Resources:

• GUIDE: The MTSS Meetings Guide and Toolkit
• BLOG: Top 5 MTSS Collaboration Tips From Branching Minds
• ON-DEMAND WEBINAR: “Mindset Is a Resource:” Using the MTSS Process To Build Community and Collaboration

4. Engage ALL students in regular goal setting and data review.

A teacher with an inclusive mindset also understands the power of consistent data use. One great way to utilize data is through goal setting and regular discussion with all students about their growth areas. When teachers provide the space and tools to set appropriate goals coupled with ongoing reflection, students, in turn, make the connection between understanding where they are and working hard to get to where they need to go. Oh, the buy-in this creates!

Goal setting is an essential component for growth and development in our students for several reasons (Edutopia, 2021):

• It personalizes the learning process based on their needs.
• It creates intention and motivation that empowers students.
• It establishes accountability to shift responsibility to students.
• It provides a foundation for students to advocate for their needs.

Structured and thoughtful goal setting can be done at the classroom level with a focus on consistently completing an identified task. Students learn to celebrate one another as well as hold each other accountable. Individually, after unpacking specific data points, students can have a voice in what they think they can accomplish in a given time. Both approaches, coupled with a teacher who believes every student can reach their goals, are the magic formula!

Closing

In a classroom body filled with varying needs and personalities, the classroom teacher is the heart. The way each child is perceived has a significant impact on how they see themselves, how they are viewed by their peers, and ultimately their growth and success. It is critical that educators increase self-awareness and engage in regular reflection on their mindset and how they demonstrate their beliefs. After all, a healthy mindset yields a healthy classroom, which ultimately instills healthy habits for ALL the students and teachers that connect with that teacher.  

As educators, it is our job to own ALL of our students' growth areas and needs.  

• We must demonstrate our interest and ownership through modeling best practices for support staff and interventionists. 
• We must create space for targeted questions and problem-solving strategies. 
• We must communicate with students about their strengths and improvement needs. 
• We must celebrate successes with colleagues and scholars. 
• Utilizing support tools and quality resources, we must prioritize the inclusion of ALL students.