2018 TASH Conference

Limited research exists that describes how to include students with extensive support needs (ESN) in grade-level literacy instruction in inclusive classrooms. Therefore, the purpose of this project was to explore the relationship between the teaching strategies educators use during literacy instruction in general education classrooms and the engagement of students with ESN who are included in those classrooms. An additional purpose of this study was to investigate how educators learned about the teaching strategies they used and the reasons they selected those particular strategies. To answer the research questions in this study, we observed eight students with ESN and the educators who supported them in two fully inclusive elementary schools. During this session, participants will learn about the innovative ways students with ESN were supported to participate in grade level literacy activities that targeted skills in comprehension, phonological awareness, and vocabulary, to name a few. Further, participants will gain an insight in to the ways educators learned about these strategies. This information can be helpful for advancing inclusive education.