¶ … Inclusion:

Koralek, D. (2009). Supporting all kinds of learners. YC Young Children, 64(2), 10-11.

Retrieved September 3, 2009, from ProQuest Education Journals. (Document ID: 1673585101).

David Koralek's 2009 article entitled "Supporting all kinds of learners" from the YC: Young Children education journal underlines the principle that including a student with special needs in the classroom is not simply a matter of adding the child's name to the roster. The classroom itself must be changed, physically and in terms of its curriculum. Ideally, the teacher of a mixed classroom must become familiar with the special needs child before the beginning of the school year. He or she must use the techniques of formal observation and informally talking with the child; clinical and parental interviews; examination of the student's previous schoolwork, as well as a through review of the student's previous, formal assessments. The article deals with the problem of putting the knowledge given by this qualitative and quantitative data about the student into action, and creating a balanced and individuated classroom environment that caters to the needs of all students, both with special needs and without.

Koralek provides a brief and broad literature review of educators who have addressed inclusionary classrooms. He surveys a variety of pedagogical strategies, including the use of scaffolding each child's learning upon existing interests and talents; supporting dual and multi-language speakers and learners in a culturally sensitive fashion; and the often-overlooked issue of physically making the classroom suitable to accommodate students with disabilities. The author tends to deemphasize standardized testing, and assumes that the optimization of learning as the goal of all teachers of mainstreamed classrooms.

Although Koralek offers a wide variety of points-of-view, his main intention is encouraging the reader to embark upon more individuated research, whether for ELL classrooms, or classrooms with students with physical and/or emotional and intellectual differences. The article provides informative resources, but not quantitative data. It assumes that teachers are actively seeking advice to create more effective classrooms for special needs students, and that teachers have active input into the creation of the curriculum and approach of the school towards its special needs students, including members of the ELL population. However, one possible critique of the article, particularly from teachers in large school districts, might be its lack of consideration of scarce resources or standardized assessments' influence in curricular design.