Different people will learn in a variety of different ways, which means that anyone teaching must be aware of these differences and ensure their teaching methods take this into account.
Society today is incredibly diverse. Your class could include learners from many different socio-economic backgrounds, of widely varying ages and of different intelligence levels as well as people for whom English is not their first language. You may also teach people with differing learning needs and requirements. These may include disabled people (physical and mental), people who are dyslexic, discalculaic or dispraxic, visually impaired or colour blind, hard of hearing or with “invisible” illnesses like diabetes, epilepsy or fibromyalgia.
The basic premise of inclusive learning is that each learner is treated equally the same, is treated with fairness and is not excluded (directly or indirectly) from any teaching activities.
It helps you, the tutor, with fulfilling the lesson requirements if you can ascertain in advance any special learning requirements or needs your learners have during the time they are in your class. This may, for example, be access for a wheelchair, being aware if someone is dyslexic, if someone has particular religious beliefs which must be catered for or whether someone needs to take medicine at a certain time. Then, when aware of any special needs, ensuring that these needs are met in a caring and professional manner.
You can aim to discover some of these requirements either through a pre-lesson assessment, if time and opportunity allow, or by asking learners at the start of the first lesson, or alternatively, asking them to complete a questionnaire (this could ensure confidentiality) before the first lesson commences.
If the tutor can instil a culture of a positive learning environment in which everyone has an equal voice and a right to be heard, then the whole group can benefit from learning, not only from the tutor, but from each other. The culture could be aided by ground rules which contains statements to this effect – more about ground rules later.
(b) How to motivate and engage learners in an inclusive learning environment
A learners’ reason for wanting to learn something new can affect their motivation. A learner who is self-funded and wants to learn for personal or job progression reasons is likely to be more highly motivated than some who been “told” to attend, sent against their will or who is not interested in the subject.
Regardless of an individuals’ motivation, members of the group have a right to learn in a inclusive learning environment that is not marred by un- or de-motivated learners.
It helps the tutor to create and maintain a positive learning environment if they are aware of their learners’ motivations, as the less-motivated may have less focus and possibly be more inattentive, perhaps even disruptive, than other, more highly motivated learners.
So knowledge whether a learners’ motivation is from within (intrinsic) or from without (extrinsic) is an important factor for the tutor to ascertain, in order that they can provide a positive learning experience for all.
There are several factors involved in a learners’ motivation, which could include any or all of the following: how interesting or useful they consider the subject, how strongly they wish to achieve a result, their existing levels of ability, self-confidence and self-esteem and how determined they are to succeed.
It must be remembered that every learner will be motivated, or even de-motivated by different factors.
Reference to Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs (1954) can help with the understanding of motivation theory.
It is unlikely that any learning will take place unless a learners’ physiological needs are catered for – this means, in education terms, they need to feel safe and secure in the learning environment.
There are several things the tutor can do to help with learners’ motivation, which include:
Being professional in your teaching Treating everyone respectfully Ensuring clear goals are set for learning outcomes at the start Creating an environment which is suitable for learning by showing you are organised and have planned well Arranging activities which are varied, appropriate and of value to the learners Using different teaching style
Providing positive and constructive feedback frequently Avoiding the development of an overly-competitive environment
Being aware of attention spans is important. This is how long a learner can concentrate before becoming distracted. Focused attention can be maintained for a shorter period than sustained attention. According to Cornish and Dukette (2009), most adults can concentrate on an activity for approximately 20 mins, then on another activity for a further 20 minutes. Factors which can affect this include hunger, illness and tiredness. A range of short tasks and a variety of activities will help keep learners engaged, interested and involved. In summary, to ensure inclusive learning, the overall goal is to provide a learning environment which is safe, secure and supportive, so learners feel comfortable, valued, involved and safe.
