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1. Build relationships
- Understand the protocols for contacting families.
- Identify the Learning Diversity Leaders and/or NCCD coordinators in your school and discuss your student/s.
- Contact the student with a disability to introduce yourself to your student and their family.
- Contact the service providers and allied health professionals who support your students with disability, introduce yourself.
- Keep relevant notes that will help you connect with the student such as information about their cultural background, hobbies and interests, strengths and areas of focus etc.
- Undertake in regular check in times when you can have conversations, these can be a mixture of informal and formal meetings.
- Consult with other educational professionals who have taught and know your student such as other teachers and teaching assistants.
(see AITSL’s Inclusive education fact sheet for teachers: Connecting with Teacher Assistants)
2. Conduct research
- Ensure you understand your student’s learning needs and the impact this may have on your teaching and the classroom.
- Enquire about relevant resources and programs within your school and system/sector.
- Read the student’s files for history, academic performance and social-emotional development information.
- Explore appropriate adjustments that may support the student’s.
- Consult with Learning Diversity Leaders and/or NCCD coordinators in your school about the proposed adjustments.
3. Preparation before teaching
- Examine past learning goals and determine where student is up to with their next goal.
- Consider how the education environment may impact on the student’s learning experience (such as the tables, lights, visual elements and sounds).
- Consider how the curriculum may affect the student’s learning experience (such as content, cultural assumptions, delivery modes).
- Meet with the student with disability, their family/carers and service providers/allied health to discuss and decide on adjustments and NCCD levels.
- Document outcome of consultation through Individual Learning Plan and/or other relevant documents.
- Organise any required resources/program materials.
4. Teach
- Embed agreed adjustments into teaching practice.
- Assess progress by reflecting and taking notes.
- Collect work samples, assessments and anecdotal notes about performance of student with disability.
- Consult with the student and seek out feedback (you may need to do this discreetly).
- Alter teaching practice where needed based on reflections and analysis.
5. Evaluate
- Consult with student and other education professionals such as teacher assistants to review progress over time.
- Attend Individualised Education Program progress meetings (minimum once a term).
- In consultation - assess the progress of student, appropriateness of goals and levels of expectation.
- In consultation - make necessary changes to support further growth of student.
- Use information to inform next steps to adjust goals or develop new goals.
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