01. Supporting Every Learner: What My Research Taught Me About Inclusion

"Created for CI6103 – Curriculum and Instruction in Diversity"

TeachingEveryLearner.com | Grounded in Grace. Growing through Practice.

Inclusion isn’t just a buzzword — it’s the heartbeat of every classroom where students learn at different paces, with different needs, and from different backgrounds.

As a doctoral student and full-time high school teacher, I wanted to understand: How do teachers really feel about inclusion? What strategies do they find helpful — and where do they still feel unsupported?

My Research Journey

As part of my coursework in Curriculum and Instruction, I conducted a small qualitative study to explore the perceptions of general education science teachers in inclusion classrooms. I surveyed six teachers and asked them about the multimodal instructional strategies they use to support students with IEPs.

This work built on what I had been learning about inclusive instructional design, especially frameworks like Universal Design for Learning (UDL) that advocate for multiple modes of engagement, representation, and expression (CAST, 2018).

In this post, I summarize the results of a small action research study I conducted with six general education science teachers working in inclusion classrooms. Using surveys and reflective feedback, I examined how they use multimodal instructional strategies to support students with IEPs. The insights align with what I’ve studied throughout this course:

• Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

• Differentiated instruction

• Culturally responsive teaching

• Teacher perceptions and classroom management

• Lesson planning for diverse learners

Key Research Insights : What Teachers Said

• “When I use diagrams or manipulatives, I see the light bulbs go on for students who usually struggle.”

• “I want to support inclusion, but sometimes I don’t feel prepared.”

• “Collaboration with SPED helps, but planning time is limited.”

  
  

  These weren’t complaints — they were honest insights from teachers doing their best. This reminded me that inclusion is about more than strategies. It’s about mindset, flexibility, and a willingness to try.

  
  

  I realized how much teacher perceptions shape our classrooms. And how the smallest adjustment — a graphic organizer, a group role, a visual example — can make all the difference. Figure 1 displays teacher confidence in multi-modal strategies.

  
  

Figure 1. Survey data from six general education teachers in inclusion settings.

Strategy Highlights

🧠 Student-Centered Methods:

Teachers favored visuals, hands-on tools, and interactive labs. These promote access and engagement (CAST, 2018).

🌍 Diverse Learner Strategies:

Culturally responsive content and real-world examples increased student interest (Gay, 2010).

🧑🏽‍🏫 Teacher Perceptions:

Most supported inclusion in theory but needed more structured supports and tools.

🛠️ Classroom Management:

Engagement reduced disruptions. Clear roles, group expectations, and visual instructions were helpful (Larson et al., 2018).

📋 Lesson Planning:

Chunking content, peer discussions, and multimodal assessments helped meet IEP goals.

✅ Here are three practical strategies I recommend:

1. Integrate multimodal tools like anchor charts, simulations, and sentence stems into every lesson.

2. Plan collaboratively with your SPED team — even 10 minutes weekly can help.

3. Embed culture and identity into lessons. A simple example can validate a student’s background and boost participation.

   
   

   In my faith community, “PTL” means Praise the Lord. In this blog, it also stands for Professional Teaching and Learning — a space where we grow through evidence, equity, and grace. Inclusion is holy work. And every learner is worthy of intentional, inspired instruction. Thank you for reading Teaching Every Learner. I’ll be sharing more research, strategies, and classroom reflections soon.

   
   

   💬 Let’s grow together — grounded in grace, and led by practice.

   
   

Reference Section

Further Reading:

• CAST. (2018). Universal Design for Learning Guidelines. https://udlguidelines.cast.org

• Gay, G. (2010). Culturally Responsive Teaching: Theory, Research, and Practice. Teachers College Press.

• Kourea, L., Lo, Y. Y., & Owens, R. E. (2016). Ensuring social validity in classroom interventions. Intervention in School and Clinic, 51(3), 144–150.

• Larson, B., Gerber, M., & Davis, J. (2018). Proactive Classroom Strategies for Inclusion. Teacher Education Journal, 45(2), 88–95.

• American College of Education. (2025). Curriculum and Instruction in Diversity. Canvas.