By Casey Stribbell

A key aspect of attending school is learning essential subjects, such as math, science, social studies and language skills, however, some students may struggle in certain areas, while others show signs of advanced capabilities and knowledge. Inclusive Education (I.E.) at TIS is a special department that is designed to help all students learn standard classroom material at their own pace.

I.E. is made up of students with a variety of needs. It’s called Inclusive because its purpose is to meet the learning needs of the whole student body population. If there is a student having difficulty with a particular subject or multiple subjects, I.E. instructors will work with the homeroom or subject teacher to differentiate the work for this individual or even modify the program and the expectations for the student in order for the student to be successful.

“By differentiating the work for a student, we aren’t necessarily changing the content and material, but are modifying how it is delivered and taught to them. We differentiate how a student interacts with the subject material and how they demonstrate their understanding of it,” says Student Services Department Head Chris Coates.

For students who may have ADHD, dyslexia, anxiety, autism, down syndrome or a specific learning disorder, the I.E. team uses a variety of strategies to help the students succeed at school.

“We constantly observe, evaluate and review the need of each student for ELL, learning support, speech and counselling in order to support students in accessing curriculum that is appropriate to their needs so that each student may experience achievement in his or her own way, ” says Inclusive Education Coordinator Karine Estadieu, adding, “A crucial part in education is to offer scaffolding for students to learn how to manage emotions, regulate behaviours and build adequate social skills as a foundation for learning ability.”

In order to provide the appropriate support, the I.E. team works closely with teachers, and when necessary, with the counsellors and therapists.

I.E. is also for students who show an advanced learning capacity for subject material. I.E. instructors will work alongside teachers to enrich the program and make the subject more challenging for those students who may find strength in a particular subject area or learn at a faster rate than others.

The department also emphasizes students’ strengths and identifies their weaknesses while giving them strategies to overcome and improve those weaknesses.

“We want to give students the opportunity to highlight and magnify the things they do really well,” Coates says.

The department is only entering its third year at TIS, but has bright plans for the future. With Phase II being built and the school increasing in size and student population, it’s likely that there will be more pupils who require individual support.

“We are looking at different ways to provide this one-on-one support. We are starting the co-teaching approach where an I.E. teacher and a subject teacher work collaboratively to deliver the academic material,” Coates says.

The idea of the co-teaching approach is to help the classroom teacher, who may not have the same training as an I.E. teacher, benefit by working side-by-side with a trained specialist to help them build their capacity, accommodate or differentiate learning material, and ultimately be on their own with I.E. students without additional support.

The I.E. department is no doubt a great feature of TIS – staff set parents and teachers at ease knowing that no one is left behind and also give students encouraging support to partake in new learning techniques.