Equitable and Inclusive Teaching for Diverse Learners With Disabilities

Socorro G. Herrera is a professor of curriculum and instruction and executive director of the Center for Intercultural and Multilingual Advocacy (CIMA) at Kansas State University. Diane Rodriguez is a professor and associate dean in the Graduate School of Education at Fordham University. Robin M. Cabral is an educational consultant with a background in district-level administration, bilingual speech language pathology, special education, literacy, assessment, and intervention development. Melissa A. Holmes is associate director of CIMA.

Contents


Foreword  ix


Acknowledgments  xiii


Introduction  1


Part I. Historically Centering the Student Through IDEA


1.  Searching for Coal in a Gold Mine: Overlooking the Multifaceted Assets of the Learner  7

In Search of Answers  7

Beyond a Deficit Perspective: Exploring Gaps in Systems  9

The Foundation of an Asset-Driven Agenda  10

Conclusion  12


2.  Setting the Stage for Cognitive and Socioemotional Resilience: Reflecting on the Intersection of Policy and Systems  14

IDEA: With the Best of Intentions . . . Have We Arrived?  14

Response to Intervention: Moving Beyond Reductionistic Exercises  19

Biography: Noticing and Documenting Learner Potential  22

Conclusion  23


Part II. Applying Biography-Driven Practices in Inclusive Classrooms


3.  A Biography-Driven Individualized Educational Plan  27

Moving Beyond Good Intentions Toward Documentable Impact  28

Redefining Possibilities Through Equitable Instructional Delivery  33

Creating Conditions and Situations for CLD Learners to Thrive  34

“My Teacher Made Me Smart”  40

Teachers Who See, Teachers Who Know: Observation, Facilitation, and Affirmation  41

Building Blocks: Equity and Authentic Cariño  42

Conclusion  43


4.  Enriching Opportunities to Learn Through Collaborative Interaction  44

From “Me” to “We”: Community Processes and Shared Products  45

Maximizing Joint Productive Activity to Respond to the Whole Child  46

Fostering Joint Productive Activity Through i+TpsI  52

Using BDI Strategies to Guide Interactional Processes  53

Conclusion  57


5.  Creating Contexts and Conditions for an Inclusive Community Through Classroom Talk  58

Catalyzing Learning Through Community: Caring and Learning in Action  59

Beginning With Biographies: Equity Begins With “i”  60

Situationally Speaking: The Ebb and Flow of Reciprocal Talk  63

Collaboration: Affirmation as Equity  66

Agency “I”: Context, Conditions, and Situations  67

Conclusion  68


Part III. Reimagining Equity for All Learners


6.  Real-Life Language Development: A Bridge for Inclusive Classrooms  71

BDI as Treatment Context  72

Conclusion  83


7.  The Power of BDI for Students With Low-Incidence Disabilities  85

What’s in the Label: Categorizing the Contradictions  85

Social Model of Disability, UDL, and BDI  89

Conclusion  90


8.  Reframing Our Thoughts and Actions Through an Exceptional BDI Foundation: A Call to Action  93

With Dr. Natasha Reyes and Dr. Leonard Steen  

Exploring Perspectives of Referring Teachers  95

Examining Practices and Perspectives of Child Study Teams  96

The Elephant in the Process  98

Conclusion  105


Glossary  109


Appendix A: Overview of Select BDI Strategies  114


Appendix B: Template for Biography-Driven Goal Development Tool  116


References  117


Index  124


About the Authors  129