Plenary Session IV: Bridging the Social Divide through Inclusive Education
Pedagogy for Inclusive Teaching: Learning Studies
Vivian Heung, Associate Professor, The Hong Kong Institute of Education, SAR Hong Kong, PR China
This paper describes a recent innovation in developing coherent pedagogical practices for inclusive teaching in mainstream schools. It represents an attempt to rethink teaching practices and challenge the long-held assumption that special children require specialized instruction in studying with their peers in the mainstream classroom. The approach was based on the theory of variation (Marton & Booth, 1987) and Learning Studies (Lo, Yan & Pakey, 2005). It works on the premises that the achievement of students is not a direct result of their ability, but the variation in (i) the object of learning, (ii) the way students learn the object and (iii) the way teachers teach the object of learning. Teams of teachers were invited to work on over 26 learning Studies in the area of English, Chinese and Mathematics to cater for diverse learners in the classroom. Teachers were encouraged to design assessment tools to collect data regarding students' learning and select curriculum content to facilitate meaningful learning. The major findings showed that inclusive teaching is not about adding some features to existing practices. It requires a transformation and the best way to help teachers change is to provide them with the opportunity to observe the impact of different pedagogies on students, particularly those with special educational needs.
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