Practical Strategies for Creating Inclusive & Equitable Classrooms

Creating a learning environment that supports all students can be challenging as there are numerous ways inclusion and exclusion manifest in the classroom; for example, student-student interactions, faculty-student interactions, course content, course policies, and assessment. While inclusive teaching gets a lot of attention on campus, these topics rarely get discussed in a manner that provides practical strategies for instructors to address course participants’ individual and cultural backgrounds and experiences. This panel brings together Dr. Raquel Wright-Mair, Dr. Rashida Banerjee, and Fleurette King, educators guided by the principles of inclusive teaching, to share their practice. Panelists will share how they create a classroom climate that values students’ varied identities and experiences, how they ensure that all students are set up for success, how they select course content and assessments that recognize diversity, and how they create accessible learning experiences

Preschool inclusion: Key findings from research and implications for policy

A recent policy statement issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and U.S. Department of Education (DOE) on early childhood inclusion presents extensive recommendations for state and local actions that could improve young children's access to high quality inclusive preschool programs (HHS/DOE, 2015). This brief builds on the research review and policy recommendations in the HHS/DOE policy statement. It highlights research relevant to three questions, outlined below: 1) What are the effects of inclusive preschool on children's early learning and development? 2) What is known about the quality of inclusive preschool programs? 3) What is known about how to improve the quality of inclusive preschool? In a final section, this brief presents recommendations for policies that are supported by research, including policies related to the funding of early care and education programs, states' professional development systems, and investments in gathering critical information about inclusive preschool programs for ongoing monitoring and quality improvement

Theories and Practices about Bilingualism on the Education of the Deaf

Issues, challenges, and benefits of bilingualism have been frequently discussed in the literature for children who are hearing. This paper outlines the bilingual approaches for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing. Using this framework, we present issues and challenges to consider for transition from the first language in sign to reading and writing in a different language. Finally we present evidence based and promising strategies to assist professionals in supporting language and cognitive development for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing.</p

Preschool inclusion: Key findings from research and implications for policy

A recent policy statement issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and U.S. Department of Education (DOE) on early childhood inclusion presents extensive recommendations for state and local actions that could improve young children's access to high quality inclusive preschool programs (HHS/DOE, 2015). This brief builds on the research review and policy recommendations in the HHS/DOE policy statement. It highlights research relevant to three questions, outlined below: 1) What are the effects of inclusive preschool on children's early learning and development? 2) What is known about the quality of inclusive preschool programs? 3) What is known about how to improve the quality of inclusive preschool? In a final section, this brief presents recommendations for policies that are supported by research, including policies related to the funding of early care and education programs, states' professional development systems, and investments in gathering critical information about inclusive preschool programs for ongoing monitoring and quality improvement

Assessment and Early Identification of Young Children with Social Emotional Difficulties and Behavioral Challenges

This paper discusses the issues and challenges to the assessment and early identification of social emotional and behavioral issues in young children birth through five years of age in the United States. The linked system framework of social emotional assessment and intervention [1] is outlined, and recommendations for authentic assessment of social emotional development are provided to assist professionals in identifying young children early for amelioration and prevention of behavioral challenges