In this professional development course for teachers, you'll get the training you need to reach the diverse mix of students you face every day—learning proven strategies that turn diversity into opportunity. With a mix of students who have learning disabilities, neurobiological disorders, and physical challenges, the modern classroom requires an efficient and effective teacher who can prioritize under tight deadlines and be creative on demand. Over the next six weeks, you'll learn how to be the kind of super teacher who can guide every student toward academic success. And do you know what the best part is? You don't have to tear your hair out in order to adapt each lesson so that it makes sense for all your students!

We'll start our journey by talking about how students with special needs became a part of the mainstream. Then we'll discuss the inclusive classroom as a home for these students, exploring how all our kids can benefit from an adaptive learning environment. We'll examine how each child learns and what you can do to help him or her develop new strengths. You'll gain a deeper understanding about building collaborative partnerships with the special educator and classroom aides.

Over the course of 12 lessons, you'll discover creative, low-budget strategies for turning your inclusive classroom into a nurturing, supportive learning environment that helps every student. If you're looking for the right way to get all your students excited about coming to school, this is the course for you!

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Syllabus:

All courses run for six weeks, with a two-week grace period at the end. Two lessons are released each week for the six-week duration of the course. You do not have to be present when the lesson is released, but you must complete each lesson within two weeks of its release.

A new section of each course starts on the second or third Wednesday of each month. If enrolling in a series of two or more courses, please be sure to space the start date for each course at least two months apart.

Week One

Wednesday - Lesson 01

Have you ever wondered how you're supposed to teach a simple lesson with so many different student needs to take into account? Welcome to the modern classroom! Today, every teacher works with up to six kids with special needs, and this can feel a bit overwhelming. In our first lesson, you'll learn how your classroom came to be inclusive, what this environment looks like, and how it will benefit you and your students.

Friday - Lesson 02

A lot of teachers think the inclusive classroom looks much different from the room they teach in every day. But guess what? Your classroom is already inclusive! The adaptations you make to promote inclusion are ones that every student can benefit from—and they're simple changes. In this lesson, you'll learn about the décor, rules, and communication that make the inclusive classroom as effective as possible.

Week Two

Wednesday - Lesson 03

Just who are the special needs students in your room? Believe it or not, they're not that different from you or me. These kids have some extra challenges, yes, but that just means they have even more opportunities to grow. Today, you'll learn about the common learning disabilities, neurobiological disorders, and physical disabilities that we see in our students.

Friday - Lesson 04

If I had a nickel for every time a teacher has asked me how to manage the classroom, I'd be rich! But in all seriousness, classroom management is about the right techniques at the right time. See, we want to give students the ownership over their own success, the structure to make good choices, and the motivation to keep them coming back for more. You'll about these lifesaving management techniques in today's lesson.

Week Three

Wednesday - Lesson 05

We all know a little something about multiple intelligence theory and how it relates to the classroom, but do you understand how to help your kids identify their own smart parts and cognitive strengths? You will after today's exciting lesson!

Friday - Lesson 06

Once you understand students' cognitive strengths, it's helpful to do a strength-based interview to help kids focus on the ways they learn best. Once you've got interview data, you can help students formulate appropriate goals and meaningful learning strategies. It doesn't take a lot of time, but the results are impressive!

Week Four

Wednesday - Lesson 07

Now that you know more about students' strengths and how to turn them into goals and learning strategies, you need to stop and think about how you can help this process along. Making the right lesson modifications is the key to giving students equal access to learning opportunities. Today, we'll follow a very interesting social studies lesson to see how technology and creativity can help us modify and adapt with ease.

Friday - Lesson 08

As we go through the year, it's pretty common to see at least one or two students falling into common learning traps. In this lesson, we're going to talk about learned helplessness, tunnel vision, and isolationist thinking, three obstacles to student success. As we discuss each trap, we'll also discover ways to turn it into an opportunity so students can maximize their learning potential.

Week Five

Wednesday - Lesson 09

Well, we've already talked a lot about your classroom and your students, but we haven't spent much time on you! Teachers are the glue that holds the classroom together, so today let's spend some time talking about your own learning style and how it affects the classroom dynamic.

Friday - Lesson 10

As you may know from experience, the inclusive classroom can't function without productive collaboration—between you, your students, aides, volunteers, school support professionals, and the like. Today, you'll learn the joys (and common pitfalls) of collaboration so that you can start every relationship on solid footing.

Week Six

Wednesday - Lesson 11

Along with collaboration comes co-teaching, where more than one teacher works to serve the needs of all students. While this can turn into a sticky situation or a fight for territory, there's no need to make co-teaching adversarial! In fact, there are plenty of reasons to enjoy the benefits of this very adaptable teaching style. Learn how to make this relationship work for you in this lesson.

Friday - Lesson 12

We often get so busy teaching that we forget to stop and see how things are going. In this final lesson, we'll talk about the best ways to reflect on our inclusive classrooms and their successes and shortcomings. As we discover what works and what doesn't, we'll also look at some simple solutions for overcoming common obstacles.

This course includes a knowledgeable and caring instructor who will guide you through your lessons, facilitate discussions, and answer your questions. The instructor for this course will be Ellen Arnold.

A veteran educator, Ellen Arnold has been a reading specialist at the primary level, a social studies and reading teacher at the middle school level, and a special educator at the high school level. Ellen has spent years helping learners unlock their potential. She holds a bachelor's degree in secondary education and a master's degree in special education—credentials that prepared her to see each student for his or her greatest strengths. Ellen has taught hundreds of students and teachers the secrets to creating highly effective classrooms.

Requirements:

Internet access; e-mail; and the Microsoft Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox Web browser.

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