Welcome to inclusionED

inclusionED is the online professional learning community, co-designed with educators, for educators. It provides evidence-based and research-informed teaching practices and tools to support diverse learners in inclusive classrooms.

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Are you passionate about inclusive classrooms and learning more? Join the inclusionED Community of Practice for regular posts about our practices, as well as strategies and ideas from other education professionals about inclusive education!

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Teaching practices

Explore the teaching practices below to see how they can help you to deliver student outcomes and meet your professional learning needs.

Classroom management

Classroom management

Effective classroom management is essential in creating positive learning environment for all students with minimal disruptive behaviours. Research suggests that students with diverse learning needs, including students on the autism spectrum, benefit from structured teaching and environments that cater to their sensory needs. The practices in these series provides teachers with tools and techniques create calmer classrooms that are accessible and engaging to diverse learners.

A row of labelled boxes with books
Organise your classroom environment
TEACHING PRACTICE
For student years
Preschool – Year 12
Helps students to
  • access all classroom areas
  • transition smoothly
  • a student raises a hand in class
    Establish classroom rules
    TEACHING PRACTICE
    For student years
    Preschool – Year 12
    Helps students to
  • know what is expected
  • understand consequences
  • Young student reading to teacher
    Interact with every student
    TEACHING PRACTICE
    For student years
    Preschool – Year 12
    Helps students to
  • feel valued
  • engage in interactions
  • Sensory considerations

    Sensory considerations

    Many students, including students on the autism spectrum, have specific sensory considerations and needs that teachers need to consider to create positive learning environments. Supporting these needs can make learning environments that are more accessible for more learners, with better acoustics to enable clear communication between students and teachers.

     

    Student studying near bench
    Provide a safe calm space for students
    TEACHING PRACTICE
    For student years
    Preschool – Year 12
    Helps students to
  • learn self-regulation
  • be less disruptive in class
  • Female student completing work with headphones on head.
    Meet students' sensory needs
    TEACHING PRACTICE
    For student years
    Preschool – Year 12
    Helps students to
  • engage in tasks
  • self-regulate
  • Child raises hand in classroom
    Improve your classroom's acoustics
    TEACHING PRACTICE
    For student years
    Preschool – Year 12
    Helps students to
  • hear in the classroom
  • Career and self-discovery

    Career and self-discovery

    Developing a career or training pathway after school often requires thinking about how these prospects link with personal strengths and interests. Supporting students to discover these strengths and interests will give them a solid foundation for their career journey. These career and self-discovery practices focus on how to use the myWAY Employability platform, explore career interests and strengths, and identify and plan for post-school pathways.

    Welcome sign
    Introduction to myWAY Employability
    TEACHING PRACTICE
    For student years
    Middle years
    Senior years
    Helps students to
  • explore a range of careers
  • develop literacy skills
  • explore why people work
  • Person looking down the road
    Self-discovery
    TEACHING PRACTICE
    For student years
    Middle years
    Senior years
    Helps students to
  • identify work-related strengths
  • discover career interests
  • Person standing with 3 arrows on the ground
    Work discovery
    TEACHING PRACTICE
    For student years
    Middle years
    Senior years
    Helps students to
  • discover training pathways
  • explore work experience
  • Adjustments and scaffolds

    Adjustments and scaffolds

    Inclusive teaching often requires adjustments and scaffolds to be implemented to meet the needs of every learner. Small changes can support a student to understand the learning content. Adjustments and scaffolds may also reduce anxiety and behavioural concerns. These adjustments and scaffolds practices focus on strategies that can support students with transitions, writing, and general learning behaviour.

    A person writing a checklist in a notebook
    Use visual self-management tools
    TEACHING PRACTICE
    For student years
    Early years
    Middle years
    Helps students to
  • build greater independence
  • maintain on-task behaviour
  • A teacher standing in front of a screen in a classroom
    Use instructional sequences
    TEACHING PRACTICE
    For student years
    Middle years
    Senior years
    Helps students to
  • transition smoothly
  • know what to expect
  • Teacher looking at sheets with visuals on them
    Use visual supports to increase understanding
    TEACHING PRACTICE
    For student years
    Preschool – Year 12
    Helps students to
  • learn new concepts
  • follow lengthy instructions
  • inclusionED Practice series

    Social/emotional wellbeing

    Social/emotional wellbeing

    The social and emotional wellbeing of students can strongly impact learning outcomes. Many diverse learners can find social activities challenging. These social and emotional wellbeing practices focus on social skill development, regulating emotions, and coping strategies for an overwhelmed state.

    Student studying near bench
    Provide a safe calm space for students
    TEACHING PRACTICE
    For student years
    Preschool – Year 12
    Helps students to
  • learn self-regulation
  • be less disruptive in class
  • Female student typing on iPad with robot on table
    Harnessing student interests
    TEACHING PRACTICE
    For student years
    Preschool – Year 12
    Helps students to
  • be more engaged
  • focus across topics
  • Teacher pointing to writing on a whiteboard
    Embedding opportunities for choice making
    TEACHING PRACTICE
    For student years
    Preschool – Year 12
    Helps students to
  • make decisions
  • build independence
  • School connectedness

    School connectedness

    Students who feel a greater sense of  school connectedness experience increased self-esteem, motivation and academic achievement. Fostering school connectedness also develops an inclusive learning environment. These school connectedness practices focus on developing home-school relations, collaborative partnerships, and establishing trust through communication.

    Teacher talking to parent
    Share information through home–school communication
    TEACHING PRACTICE
    For student years
    Middle years
    Senior years
    Helps students to
  • be supported across settings
  • Teacher greeting student
    Foster school connectedness using the WISE model
    TEACHING PRACTICE
    For student years
    Preschool – Year 12
    Helps students to
  • increase self-esteem
  • improve resilience
  • increase school connectedness
  • Students playing giant chess
    Strengthen school belonging and emotional trust
    TEACHING PRACTICE
    For student years
    Preschool – Year 12
    Helps students to
  • feel connected
  • feel valued
  • Behavioural support

    Behavioural support

    Unexpected behaviours are often the first sign that students are experiencing emotional overwhelm. While adjustments and scaffolds put in place can lessen the possibility of these behaviours, these moments can also be a great learning experience if addressed sensitively. These behavioural support practices focus on how to coach students through these experiences, and how teachers can respond constructively.

    A teacher and a student talking
    Respond constructively to student behaviour
    TEACHING PRACTICE
    For student years
    Preschool – Year 12
    Helps students to
  • build self-esteem
  • stay on task
  • Three children sitting together playing with fidget toys
    Supporting students to detect their own emotions from body clues
    TEACHING PRACTICE
    For student years
    Middle years
    Helps students to
  • recognise body clues
  • identify emotions
  • Teacher looking at a student
    Conduct an ABC analysis
    TEACHING PRACTICE
    For student years
    Preschool – Year 12
    Helps students to
  • be accepted by their peers
  • feel supported
  • Whole-of-school strategies

    Whole-of-school strategies

    Successful implementation of an inclusive school culture is based on clear communication, respect, openness, empathy, fairness and accountability. The strategies in this series will support the whole-of-school development of an inclusive culture that will benefit the whole school community.

    Students working together using iPad
    Using UDL in planning
    TEACHING PRACTICE
    For student years
    Preschool – Year 12
    Helps students to
  • engage in learning
  • improve learning outcomes
  • Teacher working with student
    Working with partners: Relationships, shared goals and communication
    TEACHING PRACTICE
    For student years
    Preschool – Year 12
    Helps students to
  • participate in inclusive culture
  • feel supported
  • Teacher, support partner and parent talking
    Establish collaborative partnerships - Collaborative Partnerships in Action
    TEACHING PRACTICE
    For student years
    Preschool – Year 12
    Helps students to
  • feel connected
  • develop positive relationships
  • Robotics

    Robotics

    Students assemble robotic LEGO vehicles
    Communicate effectively: Robotics social clubs
    TEACHING PRACTICE
    For student years
    Middle years
    Helps students to
  • collaborate
  • express ideas
  • Students work as a group to solve problems
    Negotiate, resolve conflicts: Robotics social clubs
    TEACHING PRACTICE
    For student years
    Middle years
    Helps students to
  • suggest solutions
  • compromise
  • Students assemble a walking LEGO robot
    Improve teamwork skills: Robotics social clubs
    TEACHING PRACTICE
    For student years
    Middle years
    Helps students to
  • collaborate
  • express ideas
  • compromise