Inclusive Secondary Science Education Position Statement

 To overcome physical and educational barriers for all students in secondary science I believe the best practices for educators are to:

-Assume that all students are competent, capable of learning, and able to complete projects which challenge them

-Understand each student's educational needs, strengths and weaknesses and provide appropriate challenges that deepen individual engagement and understanding of material

-Ensure that assessments are not used to punish or minimize student achievement, and that they are used as a way to gauge learning to improve lesson planning and class structure in the future

-Incorporate literacy and mathematical tools into lessons in order to help students across subjects subjects and minimize the barriers students may have in these disciplines

-Promote an inclusive environment where every individual is an equally valued member of the learning community and feels safe to express ideas and ask questions

-Encourage peer collaboration through the use of project work, discussion, and exploration based inquiry

To accomplish these goals in the classroom I aim to:

-Provide many ways of learning material for all students that include textual, visual, kinesthetic, and exploratory learning while providing educational aids such as technology (assistive and otherwise)

-Make all classroom and out-of-class work accessible to all students by miming physical, auditory, or visual barriers

-Select curriculum that presents diverse people with a range of abilities that reflect classroom, as well as diversity outside of the classroom and role models for students

-Create meaningful connections to students and their families to promote trust, communication, and accomplish learning goals both inside the classroom and out

- Design and execute varied assessment tools with choices and accommodations so that all students can demonstrate their knowledge and communicate effectively what they know and are able to accomplish

-Provide students with relevant examples to real life science applications and careers