The Role of Differentiated Instruction and Inclusion in Education

An inclusive education strategy that I use in my classroom involves differentiated curriculum design and instruction in my World Language Classroom. As a language educator in the US, I may have students with diverse language backgrounds, mental and physical abilities, previous experience in the language classroom and more. Each class has a varied group of students coming from different places and with different challenges and opinions about education. This makes a differentiated curriculum a critical component for any American teacher. In the video, the Inclusive School by Dr. William Cope, he talks about the 5 principles toward the Inclusive School. I believe that differentiated curriculum/the differentiation principle is critical to the success of our students. “Differentiated instruction involves teaching in a way that meets the different needs and interests of students using varied course content, activities, and assessments.” (https://ctl.stanford.edu/differentiated-instruction). In a nutshell, different students need to be taught in unique and different ways based on their needs. When lesson planning for my Elementary World Language class, I take into consideration my students who may receive special education services and have IEP or 504 documentation. I also will think about my students who speak the language I teach at home, and who have lots of exposure to the language every day. I will think about my students who have never been exposed to a language other than English. I will also take into consideration that some students may be coming to school struggling with a home situation or food/housing insecurity and may not be able to learn the same as other students who have different backgrounds in class. All of this is to say that it is our job as educators to teach to our students, all of our students, every day. It is a challenge but one that I think it so important so that our kids have access to a quality education irregardless of the unique differences that make them who they are

• Lauren Gagne

Productive Diversity from the word itself describe a a learning that sprouts from differences and diverse backgrounds of every learner resulting to inclusivity. In my opinion, we can only create inclusive education if we truly immerse ourself to the idea that every child in the classroom is unique with different capabilities and principles. Likewise, by upskilling and attending various workshop that discusses inclusive education can we build an educational institution where every learner can learn.

• Evangeline Frias

What does productive diversity mean and how can we create inclusive education?

On their Works & Days site, Drs. Kalantzis and Cope state: “Productive diversity straddles the actual and the possible, the emergent and the ideal. It builds on the foundations of realism about today but with a strategically optimistic view of what may be possible tomorrow. What we have called ‘New Learning’ is the kind of education that will best serve a world of work characterized by productive diversity.” (https://newlearningonline.com/new-learning/chapter-3/productive-diversity-towards-new-learning)

In her talk, Dr. Kalantzis outlines the 7 principles of productive diversity for educators:

Read learners, citizens, and workers in all their humanity to understand them in their individuality and in their uniqueness.

Create open pathways for each learner to be able to engage and make a contribution.

Design pedagogies and performance systems, where difference is not a barrier to recognizing the contributions that a learner could make.

Create space for learner, worker, and citizen agency; e.g., What do learners, in their difference, bring to any environment? What does a worker bring? And what do citizens bring to the community?

Allow for varied ways of learning and forms of knowledge and modes of representation that genuinely lead to equal outcomes.

Know what learners, workers, and citizens already know or have learned – nobody comes in as an empty vessel. They bring knowledge and experience that we have to understand and harness.

Create learning ecologies, social knowledge ecologies of productive diversity, where everybody in their difference can produce and contribute to the collective learning and to their individual enhancement.

To create inclusive education, we must first examine:

Who we, the educators (or Instructional Designers, in my case), are

How we are cultured

How we come to be who we are

So once we’ve examined ourselves, we can then understand and engage with students and learners.

Dr. Kalantzis summarizes the course with the following words: “We have to have the skills for negotiating cultural differences, and facilitating understanding and inclusivity. Because in the end, all of us share the planet. There is one race, it's called the human race, and we are all part of it. And our choices determine, our individual choices and their collective effect, determine whether we'll be able live in a planet of peace and prosperity, or one in which turmoil is part of our everyday lives.” Well said, Dr. Kalantzis.

In his talk, Dr. Cope calls upon educators to nurture productive diversity (the collaboration principle) as a means of learning from other’s differences.

How can we create inclusive education? An example:

My oldest son was in a multiage classroom for is elementary and middle school years: 1st and 2nd grade were grouped together; then 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades were grouped. In middle school, 6th, 7th and 8th grades were together. Mind you, this wasn’t the entire school – this was an approach used by a specific program in our public school district to foster and engage learning through peers and teachers. (Yes, a public school district.) The older students helped the younger. But everyone worked together and learned from each other. Boys and girls of many ages, religious backgrounds, economic statuses, and cultures together. It was quite a wonderful experience for him as well as me. (Also see “The Pros and Cons of Multiage Classrooms” by Danielle Braff, US News & World Report, January 24, 2023. https://www.usnews.com/education/k12/articles/the-pros-and-cons-of-multiage-classrooms.)

• Kristine Feko

What is Productive Diversity in the Context of Inclusive Education?

The term productive refers to achieving or producing a significant amount of goods or other commodities. On the other hand, diversity refers to all of the ways that different individuals differ in terms of culture, ethnicity, race, gender, age, physical ability and so on. Inclusion refers to valuing and integrating into one environment the different perspectives or ideas of different groups of people. This essay is about productive diversity in the context of inclusive education. Different countries varies with the school system and its policy. In my country, each school or university has diverse members of organization and they uphold to their respective values and vision.
In my own workplace, though diverse, the school administrator, faculty, students and other stakeholders cooperate in achieving the goal of the school. The values, mission and vision of the school are fostered in every member of the organization. The administrator, faculty and even parents through their organization are included in policy-making. The school administrator is the implementer while the faculty, parents and other board members are included in the legislation process. With this practice, all I can say that it productive diversity is very important in the context of inclusive education to the attainment of the goals and objectives of the school. This could also help the school system improve their ranking in terms of district/regional or even national examinations.
Diversity and inclusion are interconnected with each other. The two terms are not just about culture, gender and physical ability but they are more than policies and programs in different workplaces. It is also about having respect to the different needs and potential of all the members of the organization. A diverse and inclusive workplace school system is one that includes all the members of the organization, teaching or non-teaching personnel do business to achieve their goal. Moreover, making them feel equally respected, supported and involved in all areas of the school system. With this diverse productivity and inclusive education, I am very certain that all organization or workplace can attain good results and progress. They can improve the growth of the personnel and even increase their revenue. With diverse productivity and inclusive education a school will have a higher retention rate of their teachers, workers and most importantly their students.

• Ericson Mabale

Productive Diversity

Diversity encompasses race, gender, ethnicity, sexuality, age and religious beliefs. Over the years, the focus of diversity has moved from strengthening inter-cultural tolerance to developing new ideas about diversity and inclusion such as enhancing human learning experience, giving rise to the so-called ‘unity in diversity’.

In education, ‘unity in diversity’ is a globally acclaimed statement for the 21st century educators. This is accomplished by using technology to connect students with the outside world, in terms of knowledge and cultures, making the learning environment multicultural and diverse. Exploring differences enhances the learning experience. Studies have shown that promoting diversity in the classroom has huge impacts on students’ overall performance. Moreover, students achieve more and work harder in multicultural environments. Also, when the school curricula reflect the students and their varied backgrounds, they develop a deeper understanding of a subject as they look at it from varying perspectives. Diverse class environments also encourage creativity when interpreting and using knowledge and facts. Group activities with diverse group members help create a positive atmosphere and collaborative learning. Diverse classrooms help learners to develop tolerance and have a greater sense of belonging among their peers. It also helps students to respect other languages and cultures, encouraging them to be inter-culturally sensitive.

Inclusive Education

Inclusive education has been defined in various ways. According to the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN 2016), inclusive education means having a fundamental right to education; a principle that values students’ well-being, dignity, autonomy, and contribution to society as well as a continuing process to eliminate barriers to education and promote reform in the culture, policy, and practice in schools to include all students.

Most importantly, inclusive education means that students with disabilities and other disadvantages are taught with their peers in a mainstream classroom for a majority of the school day. Inclusive education begins with the assumption that all children have a right to be in the same educational space (UNESCO, 2016). Inclusive education is the most effective way to give all children a fair chance to go to school, learn and develop the skills they need to succeed. It allows students of all backgrounds to learn and grow side by side, to the benefit of all. It promotes real learning opportunities for children both with and without disabilities or other disadvantages like speakers of minority languages.

Inclusive education systems value the unique contributions students of all backgrounds bring to the classroom and allow diverse groups to grow side by side, to the benefit of all. However, inclusive systems require changes at all levels of society. At the school level, teachers must be trained, buildings must be refurbished and students must receive accessible learning materials. At the community level, stigma and discrimination must be dealt with and individuals need to be educated on the benefit of inclusive education. At the national level, governments must have laws and policies to ensure that all children have equal and equitable access to school premises with appropriate facilities.

Inclusive Education Strategy

An inclusive education strategy will require school transformation as well as systems change. Inclusive education has demonstrated positive effects on student achievement and social well-being of all learners. A successful inclusive practice will be beneficial for children with different attributes such as ethnicity, language, gender and socio-economic status. Inclusive education is a continuous process of educational transformation and a clear set of equity indicators which can support inclusive education implementation as stated by UNESCO, 2017. A successful inclusive education strategy should include measures of educational quality, outcomes, and experiences. Understanding and evaluating teaching practices plays a key role in this type of system.

The inclusive education strategy will include implementation at the school and classroom levels such as school reviews and plans; training and supporting all teachers in inclusive practices and supporting school leadership to have an inclusive vision for their schools. National-level implementation will require having policies to promote and support inclusive education; having strong systems for data collection and management; providing flexibility in curriculum; and liaising with other factors such as the labour market.

https://news.un.org/en/story/2016/09/537952-inclusive-education-vital-all-including-persons-disabilities-un-rights-experts

https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/education/

https://en.unesco.org/gem-report/taxonomy/term/197

https://www.unicef.org/education/inclusive-education

https://www.allfie.org.uk/definitions/what-is-inclusive-education/

• Ysheeta Ramjutun

According to Kalantzis and Cope (2016: 323) productive diversity may be described as a more inclusive alternative to traditional didactics:

“The principles of reflexive/inclusive pedagogy realize some long-held aspirations for education, based on longstanding critiques of didactic/mimetic pedagogy, from Rousseau to Dewey, Montessori, and Tagore. If our aspirations are not new, then our contemporary educational media are. Today, networked digital technologies underpin the many-to-many media of the internet. In schools, many-to-many media have the potential to transform our pedagogies. New educational media have simply made it easier to manage the logistics of reflexive and inclusive pedagogy. Productive diversity in learning becomes more practicable. In fact, in this new social and educational milieu, an inclusive pedagogy that honors learner differences and positions them as resources for learning, become easier and more effective than one-size-fits all teaching.”

This view is underpinned by four principles, which in broad terms highlight the unique possibilities for productive diversity in the digital classroom by allowing for more flexible pedagogical approaches, which ultimately allow learners to co-create knowledge through interaction and differentiated curriculum.

Personally I think that productive e-learning ecologies that successfully harness the potential of reflexive pedagogy sounds great. In my own teaching experience (classroom experience mind you) I have strived to employ some of these principles. For example, in a MA course I taught, I let different students study different theories, which then sparked interesting debates and disagreement when we moved on to look at concrete empirical cases. Not only did this allow students to learn the perspectives of other students through interacting with them, but it also taught them the powerful mediating effect of debating with someone who holds a different ontological position than oneself. All in all, I think that these tools are even more productively employed in e-learning settings, where students are empowered to seek out answers for themselves and co-create knowledge drawing on a whole range of different perspectives and cultural/disciplinary/technical backgrounds.

Kalantzis, M. & Cope, B. (2016). New media and productive diversity in learning. In S. Barsch & S. Glutsch (Eds.), Diversity in der LehrerInnenbildung. Waxmann: Münster: pp. 310-325.

• Reidar Staupe Delgado