Inclusive Practice
All pupils are unique and within
each class group in an educational setting individual educational needs will be
apparent amongst pupils. It is the role of the educator to facilitate these
needs within the mainstream classroom where inclusive practice is essential in
promoting the diverse range of educational needs and range of learners in a
setting. Schools and families collaborate to assist students of all ability
levels to achieve many skills, while co-teachers and all staff collaborate
together to teach and facilitate each student.
Planning for successful inclusion
includes allocating the time, resources, strategies, interventions, appropriate
student supports, and of course, can do attitudes. At times, inclusion can
include work with the whole class, small groups, and individual students.
Baseline levels inform teachers which students need direct skill instruction,
practice, remediation and/or enrichment. Inclusion at its finest involves
general and special education teachers and related staff forming collaborative
respectful partnerships that honor all students’ levels. Overall, the most
important thing to remember is to always have high expectations for your
students and to highlight their strengths.
Key Steps to consider when planning
for Inclusion:
- Establish prior knowledge.
- Pre-plan lessons with structured
objectives, but also allow for inter/post planning.
- Proceed from the simple to the
complex by using discrete task analysis, which breaks up the learning into its
parts.
- Use a step-by-step approach,
teaching in small bites, with much practice and repetition.
- Reinforce abstract concepts with
concrete examples, such as looking at a map while learning compass directions
or walking around a neighborhood to read street signs.
- Think about possible accommodations
and modifications that might be needed such as using a digital recorder for
notes, reducing the amount of spelling words, and having enrichment activities
prepared.
- Incorporate sensory elements:
visual, auditory, and kinesthetic ones, like writing letters in salt trays or
creating acute, right, and obtuse angles with chopsticks.
- Teach to strengths to help students
compensate for weaknesses such as hopping to math facts, if a child loves to
move about, but hates numbers.
- Concentrate on individual children,
not syndromes.
- Provide opportunities for success to
build self-esteem.
- Give positives before negatives.
- Use modeling with both teachers and
peers.
- Vary types of instruction and
assessment, with multiple intelligences and cooperative learning.
- Relate learning to children’s lives
using interest inventories.
Inclusive practice is evident in the
majority of my teaching practice due to the broad range of individual
educational needs within each class group. I aim to differentiate work as I set
fit in order to facilitate the learning of all pupils but also to ensure their
needs are met within the mainstream classroom. I have opted to introduce
elements such as creating all art history handouts/notes in Comic Sans to facilitate pupils with dyslexia. This allows the
pupils to read the notes easily. I also introduce differentiated worksheets to
pupils in order to facilitate their learning while giving them additional
assistance in comprehending the topic such as; the elements of art-line, shape,
tone, texture, painting techniques, positive and negative space.
Having visited the Perceptions Exhibition "The Art of Citizenship" with CCAD I was deeply inspired by the exhibition and the message which it was
communicating through developing an exhibition around various artists with special
educational needs. The Exhibition showcases a diverse
range of artwork by over sixty artists completed in supported studios in
Madrid, Bristol and Cork over two years, where visual artists with specific
health or social needs interacted and produced works in a collaborative space
in the artist studios in three cities. This process allowed the artists to gain
support and the opportunity to develop their social and emotional skills in a
fostering environment. The aim of ‘The Art of Citizenship’ is to promote the
perceptions and approaches to creativity and to promote the diverse approaches
to creative practices. The exhibition allows the viewer to gain an insight into
the process carried out by the artists and to observe that the world of art
promotes the inclusive practice of all individuals thus inspiring inclusive
practice within the subject within an educational context. The exhibition is promotes
inclusion within intelligences, perspectives, experiences and voices through
the subject of art.
Perceptions- The Art of Citizenship
Mental Health &
Wellbeing
Mental Health and Wellbeing are both essential
factors, which are arising in education in today’s society. Adolescents
can be viewed as the most vulnerable age group in society therefore it is
imperative that they are given many opportunities to engage in and develop key
skills to assist in positive mental health and wellbeing, within a setting in
which they feel comfortable. It is essential to give pupils as many
opportunities to engage in a “broad and balanced curriculum” in order to meet
their individual needs but also to recognise and affirm individual skills and
abilities through the arts. I agree with this statement as all pupils are
individual and have individual skills therefore it is essential to cater for
and facilitate their individual needs through offering a broad range of
subjects within a setting including the arts. However, I feel that there is a
traditional view which views the arts as extra curricular therefore time should
not be allocated within a school setting and pupils should participate in these
subjects outside of school hours. I strongly disagree with this view as
according to Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences (1991) various intelligences can
be identified throughout a school setting therefore, it is the role of an
educational facility to offer a holistic educational experience for all pupils
attending the setting.
Creative engagement within the arts allows
pupils to engage in and interact in practical subjects where they can express
themselves and reach a level of self-actualisation. Through the inclusion of
arts education schools can offer multiple points of engagement for the pupils
where there is a positive energy created thus allowing the pupils to take
ownership of the work they carry out which can reduce the amount negative
behaviour within the school environment therefore reducing the amount of
discipline procedures implemented within the school. It also allows the pupils
to focus on contemporary issues which are imperative in todays society such as;
mental health, bullying, identity issues, gender equality and diversity.
Allowing pupils to have the opportunity to engage in such topics, facilitates a
pupils emotional wellbeing greatly thus having an impact on the issue of
mindfulness within education. The arts engage in much more than drawing and
painting as what is traditionally perceived pupils are supported in three
domains; cognitive, psychomotor and affective, therefore what right does a
member of a school committee have to comment on how necessary a subject is if they
do not have the correct knowledge or comprehension of the basic principles
introduced within a subject such as the arts.
A whole school approach to mental health is
essential in order to create school environments that are more understanding of
mental health, cultivating a culture of mental well-being within the entire
school community. The Children’s Mental Health Coalition wish to see this
approach developed across all levels of the Irish education system. Such an
approach would give everyone associated with the school a greater understanding
of mental well-being, while also tending to the needs of the few individuals
who may require further help. In identifying such requirements early,
that individual is given every chance to fulfill their potential. A
whole-school approach would help accomplish this; benefiting not only the
classroom, but ultimately society.
Within
the Irish Education System there is an introduction elements of social and
contemporary issues. In my current school placement a proactive approach has
been introduced to develop positive mental health and wellbeing among staff and
pupils. The subjects of C.S.P.E and S.P.H.E are essential subjects to address
the issues and challenges which adolescents are facing. I feel the subject of Art,
Craft and Design also has the opportunity to address some of these issues
especially in relation to sensitive subjects such as mental health. I
have observed this first hand within my practice to date as “mental health” is an extremely
sensitive topic which adolescents have to deal with on a daily basis therefore
within my placement school the art department have decided to embrace the
matter and encourage pupils to participate in a mental health poster
competition where they are focusing on incorporating this in a positive manner.
Niall Breslin addressing Mental Health
The poster competition was organised by Mental
Health Ireland and through
the introduction of the poster competition the school is offering the pupils
the opportunity to express their feelings/emotions through the arts. The pupils
are gaining an insight into the elements of self-awareness and social awareness
within the activity in an internal and external context. “The arts provide
opportunities for youth to discover in themselves” (Hoffmann, 2008, pp.26).
Overall, I feel the implementation of such an activity allows the pupils to
enhance their social and emotional skills within their education.
The pupils within the 5th year class
group developed strong concepts relating to the subject matter which the
majority of the pupils took a positive approach to promoting a positive message
to pupils which was extremely interesting to observe and the observe the
variety of approaches and visuals the pupils opted to feature within their
designs. The pupils were given the opportunity to use any medium they wished in
order to complete the poster designs which was also interesting where
photography was introduced along with a great deal of mixed media. Overall, I
feel this project worked very well as it addressed the topic of mental health
and allowed the pupils to discuss and express their opinions and ideas
regarding the subject in every day life.
Emotional Literacy
Emotional Literacy is a critical component of
student development. Pupils who experience emotional or behavioral challenges
often struggle to be successful in school settings. This hands-on visual arts
curriculum will allow teachers to explore various techniques for teaching and
developing social/emotional skills through the arts.
Group D focused on the
theme of ‘My Place’ where they carried out an architectural painting following
the opportunity to carry out observational studies on site of their favorite
place, most comfortable area or the area where they feel most secure within the
school setting as first years the transition into secondary school is a major
event within their lives so I felt it was important to address the topic and
speak about the school and the experience which the pupil had to date within
the setting. The project was extremely beneficial as it gave the pupils the
opportunity to work as part of a group to discuss the topic and brainstorm and
develop possible areas of interest which we as a group visited during a lesson
in order to get an idea of what the area looked like and discussed as a group
interesting elements which the pupils may include within their compositions. I
felt the group worked really well and maturely as they choose extremely
interesting areas and their rationale behind their choices was to a very high
standard which would have taken a great deal of thought and problem solving in
order to do so. The introduction of the Dr.Who video clip which depicts Vincent Van Gogh observing his artwork in the modern world was also something which worked effectively to encourage the pupils to introduce emotions within their artwork due to the moving scene where Van Gogh finally realises that his work is renowned around the world.
Vincent Van Gogh observing his artwork
During the discipline I
introduced Artists work in order to help the pupils gain an insight into the
work involved in creating an artwork relating to their chosen area within the
school setting in creating an emotional response to the brief issued. I
introduced artists such as; Henry Matisse, Stephen Wiltshire and Ian Murphy
these secondary visuals allowed the pupils to envisage how architectural
elements could be recorded and manipulated using the medium of paint. I also
introduced the designer/architect Zaha Hadid to the pupils in order to give
them an insight into the world of architecture and the concept behind building
which gave them a basis to work on prior to making the final decision regarding
their chosen composition.
Pupil Responses
The pupils had a
particular interest in Stephen Wiltshire’s work due to the fact that the artist
has autism and he was non-verbal until he was the age of seven where he used
drawing as a means of communication and expressed his emotions through his use
of media. The pupils were fascinated by the artists ability and spoke extremely
maturely regarding the condition of Autism and the exquisite skills of the
artist to complete artworks from memory. I feel this was a successful
introduction of a contemporary artist as the condition is something which the
majority of people can relate to as it is a dominant element in society but it
was also useful to see the benefits of incorporating elements of art in a
persons life and linking emotions to the use of visual arts.
Artist: Stephen Wiltshire
Relational Aesthetics
Relational Aesthetics is commonly referred to as
relational art or relational aesthetic practice (at other times as
socially-engaged art, community-based art, research-based or collaborative
art). This art practice invents, produces or reconfigures
social relations between individuals, groups and communities.
Gut Instinct Exhibition, Glucksman, UCC
Food has long been the
subject of works of art. In recent times, artists have also examined eating
behaviours and the mechanisms of consumption as a way to comment on
contemporary society. From artworks that explore the materiality of foodstuffs
to creative provocations that test the boundaries of good taste and revulsion, Gut
Instinct: Art, food and feeling draws on cutting edge research by John
Cryan, Professor and Chair, Anatomy and Neuroscience, University College Cork,
to explore how digestion relates to our mental and emotional states. 
The wider cultural
associations of food, its significance in the rituals and routines of everyday
life, are featured in several works. Abigail O’Brien’s installation
comprises sculptures, video and photography that reveal the role bread plays in
our shared culture: metallic loaves are arrayed across a series of tables
while, in her photographs, images of kneading and baking dough are named after
her female artistic peers. 
Marina Abramovic's film The Onion offers an uniquely
physical take on language and identity. The artist eats a raw onion while
recounting a litany of complaints, the camera offering an unflinching portrayal
of her discomfort and disgust.
The emotive connection
that individuals have to different foods is captured in Neil Shawcross’
paintings. His portrayals of tins of soup, bottles of ketchup, packets of cake
mix and various foodstuffs are rendered in expressive brush strokes, conveying
the emotional attachments we have for particular brands, comfort foods and
favourite condiments.
A similar sense is found
in Thomas Rentmeister’s Untitled, a vast, painted field of
densely textured Nutella chocolate spread. Just as the scale of the work
overwhelms the viewer, the sickly sweet smell pervades the gallery space,
conjuring a reaction that is at once enticing and revolting. In Rentmeister’s
other work here, a rounded mound of rich brown resin recalls a giant sweet, a
globule of chocolate that may have dropped from his nearby painting.
In Fiona Hallinan’s installation, plate-like platforms are suspended by cords and pulleys to create an interactive site that serves as both a sculptural arrangement and a space for public events. Food is not simply a means of sustenance: instead, it. Food is not simply a means of
sustenance: instead, it serves to encourage conversation, communication and
conviviality.
The correlation between
these two "brains"—the state of gut and the state of mind—is
exemplified in artworks that blur the distinctions between mind and body.
In Siobhan McGibbon’s sculptures, pristine white figures appear to
melt into indefinable masses of dripping fat and flesh, while her drawings
depict microbes merging with simplified human forms.
Elif Erkan’s Lotus Eaters also employ an unusual
approach to her materials, as the artist "feeds" vitamins such
as St. John’s Wort and Omega 3 into abstract plaster forms to
reveal unexpected juxtapositions of the organic and the synthetic.
The infusions either disappear into their materials or slowly, visibly,
rot and decay. In the work of Domestic Godless, performative events
introduce participants to strange—and often repulsive sounding—new recipes.
Their installation explores notions of disgust and digestion and includes
custom-made toothpastes and suppositories.
Pupil Responses in Print Workshop
The
pupils are very excited to begin this process and get involved in creating
contemporary practice elements within their exhibition. The brainstorming and
research process when they return to school following the Christmas Break where
their work will be facilitated by Tadgh Crowley Education Curator of the Lewis
Glucksmann Gallery.
Exhibition
The pupils carried out an exhibition in relation to the Gut Instinct exhibition in the Glucksman,UCC. There were three elements carried out within the exhibition; print work, a short film and an instillation piece. The organising and planning for the exhibition began in January 2017 where the pupils began completing print work relating to the Gut Instinct exhibition.
The instillation which was created was in relation to foods and peoples reaction to food. It was created in a frame construction where a range of food and emotions were featured and the viewer then used string to nominate a food,emotion and age group,thus creating an artwork in its own right.
The pupils carried out a short film where they focused on the effects which food can have on our bodies. The pupils asked 5 pupils from the school to participate in the film and organized a range of foods which would feature within the film. The film was carried out in UCC with the assistance of Tadgh Crowley. The film was nominated for the First Cut film festival and won the Best Secondary School Short Film Category 2017.
The Power of Taste - Short Film
First Cut Film Festival - Best Secondary School Short Film
Inclusive Practice
Planning for successful inclusion includes allocating the time, resources, strategies, interventions, appropriate student supports, and of course, can do attitudes. At times, inclusion can include work with the whole class, small groups, and individual students. Baseline levels inform teachers which students need direct skill instruction, practice, remediation and/or enrichment. Inclusion at its finest involves general and special education teachers and related staff forming collaborative respectful partnerships that honor all students’ levels. Overall, the most important thing to remember is to always have high expectations for your students and to highlight their strengths.
Key Steps to consider when planning for Inclusion:
- Establish prior knowledge.
- Pre-plan lessons with structured objectives, but also allow for inter/post planning.
- Proceed from the simple to the complex by using discrete task analysis, which breaks up the learning into its parts.
- Use a step-by-step approach, teaching in small bites, with much practice and repetition.
- Reinforce abstract concepts with concrete examples, such as looking at a map while learning compass directions or walking around a neighborhood to read street signs.
- Think about possible accommodations and modifications that might be needed such as using a digital recorder for notes, reducing the amount of spelling words, and having enrichment activities prepared.
- Incorporate sensory elements: visual, auditory, and kinesthetic ones, like writing letters in salt trays or creating acute, right, and obtuse angles with chopsticks.
- Teach to strengths to help students compensate for weaknesses such as hopping to math facts, if a child loves to move about, but hates numbers.
- Concentrate on individual children, not syndromes.
- Provide opportunities for success to build self-esteem.
- Give positives before negatives.
- Use modeling with both teachers and peers.
- Vary types of instruction and assessment, with multiple intelligences and cooperative learning.
- Relate learning to children’s lives using interest inventories.
Inclusive practice is evident in the
majority of my teaching practice due to the broad range of individual
educational needs within each class group. I aim to differentiate work as I set
fit in order to facilitate the learning of all pupils but also to ensure their
needs are met within the mainstream classroom. I have opted to introduce
elements such as creating all art history handouts/notes in Comic Sans to facilitate pupils with dyslexia. This allows the
pupils to read the notes easily. I also introduce differentiated worksheets to
pupils in order to facilitate their learning while giving them additional
assistance in comprehending the topic such as; the elements of art-line, shape,
tone, texture, painting techniques, positive and negative space. |
| Perceptions- The Art of Citizenship |
Mental Health & Wellbeing
Within
the Irish Education System there is an introduction elements of social and
contemporary issues. In my current school placement a proactive approach has
been introduced to develop positive mental health and wellbeing among staff and
pupils. The subjects of C.S.P.E and S.P.H.E are essential subjects to address
the issues and challenges which adolescents are facing. I feel the subject of Art,
Craft and Design also has the opportunity to address some of these issues
especially in relation to sensitive subjects such as mental health. I
have observed this first hand within my practice to date as “mental health” is an extremely
sensitive topic which adolescents have to deal with on a daily basis therefore
within my placement school the art department have decided to embrace the
matter and encourage pupils to participate in a mental health poster
competition where they are focusing on incorporating this in a positive manner.
Niall Breslin addressing Mental Health
The poster competition was organised by Mental Health Ireland and through the introduction of the poster competition the school is offering the pupils the opportunity to express their feelings/emotions through the arts. The pupils are gaining an insight into the elements of self-awareness and social awareness within the activity in an internal and external context. “The arts provide opportunities for youth to discover in themselves” (Hoffmann, 2008, pp.26). Overall, I feel the implementation of such an activity allows the pupils to enhance their social and emotional skills within their education.
Niall Breslin addressing Mental Health
The poster competition was organised by Mental Health Ireland and through the introduction of the poster competition the school is offering the pupils the opportunity to express their feelings/emotions through the arts. The pupils are gaining an insight into the elements of self-awareness and social awareness within the activity in an internal and external context. “The arts provide opportunities for youth to discover in themselves” (Hoffmann, 2008, pp.26). Overall, I feel the implementation of such an activity allows the pupils to enhance their social and emotional skills within their education.
Emotional Literacy
• Pupil to
pupil interaction with dialogue and group work.
• Self-awareness
to develop emotional responsiveness.
• Access to
viewpoints of others for promo.ng analysis and reflection.
• Opportunities
for inner anxieties to be worked through.
Group D focused on the theme of ‘My Place’ where they carried out an architectural painting following the opportunity to carry out observational studies on site of their favorite place, most comfortable area or the area where they feel most secure within the school setting as first years the transition into secondary school is a major event within their lives so I felt it was important to address the topic and speak about the school and the experience which the pupil had to date within the setting. The project was extremely beneficial as it gave the pupils the opportunity to work as part of a group to discuss the topic and brainstorm and develop possible areas of interest which we as a group visited during a lesson in order to get an idea of what the area looked like and discussed as a group interesting elements which the pupils may include within their compositions. I felt the group worked really well and maturely as they choose extremely interesting areas and their rationale behind their choices was to a very high standard which would have taken a great deal of thought and problem solving in order to do so. The introduction of the Dr.Who video clip which depicts Vincent Van Gogh observing his artwork in the modern world was also something which worked effectively to encourage the pupils to introduce emotions within their artwork due to the moving scene where Van Gogh finally realises that his work is renowned around the world.
Vincent Van Gogh observing his artwork
Pupil Responses
Artist: Stephen Wiltshire
Relational Aesthetics
Gut Instinct Exhibition, Glucksman, UCC
Food has long been the subject of works of art. In recent times, artists have also examined eating behaviours and the mechanisms of consumption as a way to comment on contemporary society. From artworks that explore the materiality of foodstuffs to creative provocations that test the boundaries of good taste and revulsion, Gut Instinct: Art, food and feeling draws on cutting edge research by John Cryan, Professor and Chair, Anatomy and Neuroscience, University College Cork, to explore how digestion relates to our mental and emotional states.
Pupil Responses in Print Workshop
Exhibition
The pupils carried out an exhibition in relation to the Gut Instinct exhibition in the Glucksman,UCC. There were three elements carried out within the exhibition; print work, a short film and an instillation piece. The organising and planning for the exhibition began in January 2017 where the pupils began completing print work relating to the Gut Instinct exhibition.
The instillation which was created was in relation to foods and peoples reaction to food. It was created in a frame construction where a range of food and emotions were featured and the viewer then used string to nominate a food,emotion and age group,thus creating an artwork in its own right.
The pupils carried out a short film where they focused on the effects which food can have on our bodies. The pupils asked 5 pupils from the school to participate in the film and organized a range of foods which would feature within the film. The film was carried out in UCC with the assistance of Tadgh Crowley. The film was nominated for the First Cut film festival and won the Best Secondary School Short Film Category 2017.
The Power of Taste - Short Film
First Cut Film Festival - Best Secondary School Short Film
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