Inclusive Learning Environments

This week, while attending the Careers Expo, I had a rich conversation with staff around what it means to support struggling students by creating inclusive learning environments. I started with the whakatauki: He waka eke noa, or canoe which we are all in, with no exception. My first reaction upon in the discussion was to focus on the word inclusive, and I thought of LGBT students and inclusive environments. Our Catholic schools are all about being inclusive. As Pope Francis has recently written, we as a church need to greet all with empathy and comfort rather than with unbending rules and rigid codes of conduct. Our national curriculum, NEGs and NAGs, all demand it. Creating inclusive environments are essential not only for learning but also for growth and development.

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As a restorative and PB4L school, we acknowledge schools that allow parts of the student body to feel unsafe, unwanted, or unknown, do a disservice not only to each child’s development but also to the learning process and culture throughout the entire school. You cannot have a school where everyone is included in learning or develop a culture that is inclusive of learning unless you are also inclusive of all tamariki.

The word inclusive can and does mean more than creating environments that are supportive of all. It means evolving environments that are inclusive of all and inclusive of learning. Our school should be creating a culture of manaakitanga and whanaungatanga.

We can develop environments that are safe and connected, but we must also establish environments that promote, expect and enhance learning. That is acceleration for all students. Schools and their classrooms must be environments in which the aim of learning is clear. They must be spaces where students understand that getting something wrong is part of the learning process. “It’s ok to fail,” is an important message. Our classrooms must be a place where it’s ok to speak out and suggest answers, where a culture of inquiry is the norm. I read
recently that learning is a culture. It starts as a culture with the students as human beings needing to understand their environment. It ends as a culture with students taking what we give them and using it in those physical and digital environments they call home. A culture of learning is a collection of thinking habits, beliefs about self and collaborative workflows that result in sustained critical learning.

The term inclusive can also mean that students are included in the learning. Not merely inclusive of learning but included in what gets taught and how it gets taught. Inclusivity brings people together and places us all inside the process. Whether we are discussing personalisation, differentiation, student at the centre learning, we are talking about learning that is inclusive of learning styles and interests.

Granting students more agency over their learning may seem like a leap in faith, but it will become infectious. Teachers will begin to realise the full potential of their students and how much they may have previously underestimated them. Furthermore, once students are empowered, teachers will truly understand who their students are and what they really need.

What do you think? Is your school an inclusive school? What are you doing to promote this in your classroom?

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