Sonu Khosla, Head of Inclusive Education/ Special Education Needs Department at Pathways School Noida, India
A PYP teacher shares the multi-sensory approaches to teaching and learning that she uses in her school.
“If a child can’t learn the way we teach, maybe we should teach the way they learn” – Ignacio Estrada
As parents and educators we all believe that every child is special, unique and different from another. Yet in many education systems, the child has to fit the curriculum rather than making the curriculum suit the child’s needs. In the PYP however, the notion of inclusion give us that ray of hope as curriculum allows for planning that best suit the needs of all students.
This brings me to an important question: “Is there an inclusive pedagogy?”
Differentiation is undoubtedly, an important strategy for inclusive teaching and learning which includes cooperative learning, peer-mediated instruction, collaborative teaching, classroom management strategies and social skills.
However, there is still room for some innovative thinking and collaborative learning around inclusion in the classroom. It may be that schools will need to re-evaluate assumptions about particular behaviour of learners, for example, a student who likes to talk while working is a helpful automatic self-expression.
Some strategies that we use in our school to support students in their learning:
- altering instructions
- adapting assignments
- frequent monitoring and feedback
- peer tutoring and mentoring
- offering choice on a variety of materials
- providing opportunities for students to develop their self-management skills
- mindful grouping
- carefully designing the spaces in the classroom
- movement breaks
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Sonu’s previous experience includes conducting cross-cultural training modules and In-company workshops on India as a Guest Speaker at ‘Royal Tropical Institute’ (Koninklijk Instituut voor de Tropen), Amsterdam and Zuyd Hogeschool, Maastrict. She has also worked at the British School in the Netherlands and De Walvis School in The Hague. She worked on research projects and clinical trials on Micronutrients in association with Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, Baltimore (USA).