Creating Inclusive classrooms for Culturally and Economically diverse students

Creating Inclusive classrooms for Culturally and Economically diverse students hopes to add tremendous value to teachers of diverse students with diverse needs.

What you’ll learn

This course invites you to a journey with four stops.

1. At Stop 1 we take stock on what we all believe about inclusion:  Do we think our job is to ‘overcome the challenge of difference?’  Do we wish our students were more homogenous and more like us to make the job easier? Is inclusion a ‘problem to solve’ in our classrooms?
2. At stop two we’ll explore a more helpful idea of inclusion: Difference as Normal. We consider that students and teachers need not hide their differences but that being different is each person’s unique contribution to the ‘normal’ whole.
3. At our third stop we’ll consider the world we are preparing our students for and the opportunities that lie in their diversity to develop critical future skills.
4. On our fourth and final stop we look at how we can take the lead from our students as to what inclusion actually looks like.  We’ll see that we are able to learn from children’s ability to include and accept, learn and grow.

Stories are central to this course because they inform, challenge, and invite reflection. The course is an experiential learning journey, not a list of teaching practices or theory modules. Features diverse voices: Emkae, Victoria, Carmen, Rita, and Mvuse, sharing personal stories on inclusion, exclusion, and teacher impact. Topics covered: experiences with inclusion/exclusion, the impact of teachers, the significance of diversity, and hopes for their children's future. The course avoids over-explaining stories, focusing instead on personal reflection and connecting with students' needs and desires. Reflection questions will help deepen your understanding of your own teaching practices and how to create a sense of belonging for students