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This weeks content has encouraged me to be more open minded to the different strategies in which you can differentiate within the classroom. It was eye-opening to actually understand the difference between exclusion, segregation, integration and inclusion and the ways in which you can create a more inclusive environment for all students. I in-particularly enjoyed the "Are you ready to include me video" which was a great insight to understand the perspective first hand of a student who is heavily supported by an EA. As a teacher you believe this is powerful (support from an EA) to ensure they are keeping up with the curriculum, however could be holding back their full potential. I believe it's powerful to create ways that you can include students with disabilities to ensure they are challenged not only by the work, but also to ensure they are thinking for themselves without relying consistently on extra support. So much to consider and take into our upcoming practicum in May.

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The most powerful content for me this week was identifying the difference between exclusion, segregation, integration and inclusion. Reflecting on my time as a student in primary and secondary school I realised that the schools I attended were guilty of excluding and segregating students who were deemed to have difficulties with learning and I now appreciate the damaging impact this may have had on these students' education and development. More importantly for my future practice, I am now aware that simply integrating students with learning difficulties is not enough as this can impact their autonomy and self-efficacy. Only inclusion will bring the best out in students and is the most effective way to enable struggling students to flourish.

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I found the UDL framework followed by Tomlinson's work on differentiation helpful as the succession firstly helped us understand why we differentiate and then secondly reinforced this ideology with research based strategies on how we can implement it ourselves. I particularly enjoyed the video of Carol-Ann Tomlinson, where she identified the 'non-negotiables' of differentiation. From this, I identified that where I had a general understanding of individual student learning needs in my classes on prac, a lack of regular, formative assessment was what I needed to improve on to truly understand student variants and then plan accordingly.

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When on professional practicum, I had a student with Down syndrome in my class who was always assisted by learning support and whose resources were heavily scaffolded. Consequently, what stood out to me this week was the clear difference between integration and inclusion and the impact of integration on students requiring extra assistance - something that I had not previously taken into consideration whilst on professional practicum and something to be reflective about

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My experiences on prac really highlighted for me how important differentiation is as a practice for teachers. When I was on prac and confronted with the diverse learning needs of students in each of my classes, I really struggled to even picture what effective differentiation would look like, let alone implement it. This week has provided a good foundation and calmed some of those fears and insecurities. I previously thought differentiation needed to be done for every lesson and found myself completely overwhelmed. It was reassuring to hear that good teachers differentiate when it is needed, which typically isn’t 5 periods a day, 5 days a week. Seeing some simple strategies has made me excited to get to try them in the classroom. It feels like a gap between my teaching philosophy and my teaching practice is starting to be bridged.

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This week has really helped me to engage more critically with the idea of an inclusive classroom.  I have always considered inclusivity to be one of the most important elements of my role as a teacher, however I have been a little daunted at the prospect of successfully putting the theory into action.  This week I was struck by how important it is to take a proactive approach to planning. When I reflect on my last prac I can see that I often slipped into the trap of simply having something extra on hand for the "fast finishers" rather than planning for these students from the very outset.  Following the tutorial discussions, I feel that I will be more likely to be explicit about differentiation with my classes, by clearly articulating why work is adapted and explaining to the students that my goal as a teacher is to support them all and help them to move forward with their learning goals.
- Kim

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This week I really enjoyed looking at the different definitions of segregation, integration, and inclusion in the classroom and the role that the EA plays. I think this has really changed the way that I will approach their assistance in the classroom in the future. My understanding of differentiation, has also been, deepened. I think it's important for me to imbed this thinking and planning to all of my future teaching.

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This weeks content has taught me much more than I was expecting. I have very little to no experience with people/children with disabilities and the content has really influenced me to do some research on the things that may affect students in my classroom. I was particularly surprised with my train of thinking that ramps or other UDL is just common sense to make learning accessible for all different types of people however this isn't the case and things need to change in order to make learning more accessible for everyone. As an Indigenous person I have often felt excluded in many settings and most of the time it's not on purpose, I found it hard to learn sometimes especially when teachers would struggle to maintain a relationship with me because there was a lack of understanding about Aboriginal history and culture in Australia. As a future educator I will now strive to think bigger, form strong relationships with my students and use the UDL framework in my planning.

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I had always had the belief that every student has the right to an equal education. Upon reflecting on my prac, I realised that myself along with other teachers still fall into the category of "perceived" inclusion or even segregation. I realised that by providing a separate 'easier' set of class work for lower ability students, I am unconsciously segregating them from their peers. Through session 1, I was able to explore various frameworks such as the UDL. Upon exploring the framework, I now know to use it as a guide in future practices to do better in supporting my students.
-Naomi Talag.

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On my first prac, I taught large, multicultural classes of students that had a variety of diverse needs. I felt overwhelmed by this, and as a result, I think I attempted to "teach to the middle". This week has encouraged me reflect on that experience and realise that perhaps I was excluding students without intending to. After learning more about the universal design for learning framework, moving forward, I believe I will be better placed to adjust my teaching, to be more accessible to students with different needs. In addition to this, I had never considered how a student with an EA may feel, particularly when comparing themselves to their peers, and found this to be really interesting.
- Harriet Kent

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Prior to this week, I thought I had a relatively good understand of classroom diversity and student differentiation, however, this weeks content have provided me with a new perspective into this area of teaching. I have never considered the difference between exclusion, segregation, integration and inclusion and the impact each of these has on a student. On my first prac, all classes were mixed ability and some of my classes had some very low ability students who genuinely struggled to keep up with the other students. It was a challenge to always give them the attention they needed, particularly when there was so many to get to and I often wondered if mixed classroom was the best for them. This context has better explained to me why some schools run in this way and how the student is better off in an inclusive environment - Olivia Bozich

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Having completed my first prac last year in a high achieving school I found there was quite a bit of pressure from teachers to differentiate effectively for students needing extension without the same focus given to children in my classes with learning difficulties. Through my work as a support worker I have developed a real passion for working with children with disabilities and hope to use concepts like Universal Design Learning to improve outcomes for all my students.

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Like some other students have noted, I often feel a bit overwhelmed by the prospect of figuring out how to meet the learning needs of a diverse group of learners. I worry about letting students down through lack of knowledge/experience, despite my best intentions. I'm sure other new teachers can relate to this. I felt reassured by this week's content that there are proven frameworks and strategies out there to help guide us. We can also work collaboratively with our colleagues to continuously improve as we share ideas. This made the weight of responsibility feel a little lighter :-) I look forward to delving more deeply into this topic throughout the unit.

Louise

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This week’s content was an eye opener for me. I thought I have understood what it meant to implement strategies, policies and practices that address the different needs of students. However, the differences between exclusion, segregation, integration, and inclusion proved to me otherwise. The Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework is a great starting blueprint for me to use in creating and adjusting my instructional goals, teaching strategies, and materials to fit and cater the needs of my students. These should continue to be “flexible approaches that can be customised and adjusted for individual needs”. In turn, these adjustments should allow me to eliminate the barriers with my students, and in addition engage the students to further progress their own learning. I will continue to learn more about the UDL guidelines/principles to improve on my teaching and apply to create an inclusive classroom.
- Alvin

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After this week's activities, I found the comparison between inclusive education and integrated education the most beneficial to my teaching philosophy.
I feel that inclusive education is a holistic process, that properly address the needs of students, compared to integrated education which seems to address the needs of the school. It may not be on purpose, however just integrating students with different education needs into a classroom doesn't benefit the students, so they it inherently cannot be student first.
In my practice moving forward, I will aim to always treat my teaching as inclusive and student centered, to achieve the best practice I can.

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I found the theory from this week (e.g. three pillars, UDL) to be really useful as a starting point for guidance on the framework for differentiation. I often feel overwhelmed by the concept of having to cater to so many different needs in a classroom so having the base theories to work off is really helpful. I also found the concepts of exclusion vs segregation vs integration vs inclusion to be really interesting, and the video was very eye-opening. I always thought that EAs would be very helpful but never considered the drawbacks for students.

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Influence upon philosophy of teaching and understanding of inclusive education, differentiation and diversity

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Influence upon philosophy of teaching and understanding of inclusive education, differentiation and diversity

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I have always wanted to build curricula that provide for a diverse range of student needs from the ground up.  I think if you start with all the assistive technology embedded that is available; you are off to a good start.  I believe a range of neuro-diversity within a group of students is a healthy classroom.  I have looked at UDL in my research in the area of visual communication and look forward to building upon this knowledge from an education perspective.  Graphic support, multiple modes of representation as well as Deci & Ryan’s Self Determination theory are areas I will build upon in this class.  During my first prac I had a Year 10 Computer Science class with both advanced students (gifted) through to a child with Ticks\Tourette syndrome.  This took careful management however; it was my favourite class and made me smile.  This week’s content helped me cement what I know of inclusivity, differentiation and diversity while pointing me in the direction of areas I know nothing about that are Tomlinson’s framework and Assistive Technologies.

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This week's readings helped clarify the differences between integration and inclusion in the classroom. I've seen integration a lot, especially on my prac, but I'm keen to find out more about how schools can foster genuine and meaningful participation of students with additional needs. Reflecting on my past plans using the UDL framework has really helped clarify some areas for improvement.

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This week we have learned more about how to differentiate teaching and to create an inclusive classroom for all students. My personal experience from the workplace is that we still have a long way to go in terms of incorporating these principles fully in Australia. I have seen students with ASD segregated and belittled infront of their classmates. It is hard to know what to do in these situations. When there has been systemic neglect of this kind, it is hard to know how to turn the tide. It remind me very much of how Indigenous people are treated in Australian society to this day.