The fact that not all students are the same is true and each student has their own strong points and weaknesses. For many years, the Indian higher education system has been following a ‘one size fits all’ approach of teaching where little to no effort is given to understand the requirements of an individual student and help him/her to identify their true potential. This style of teaching has had an adverse effect on the development of the Indian education system and more importantly, this has destroyed the future of many students who were deemed unworthy by their facilitators.
With growing concern against this issue, many educational institutions have started to create inclusive classrooms. This inclusive learning environment has been a welcome change for the Indian education system. Simply defined, an inclusive classroom creates a supportive and welcoming environment for all learners and thereby creating a responsive learning environment that is engaging for all students. Many developed nations have introduced this style of learning in their classrooms for many years now which has helped them to build a strong learning foundation for their students. There are numerous reasons why an inclusive learning environment is the way to go in the future and below are some of those reasons.
- Tailor-made Teaching: As mentioned before, not all students are the same and neither are their abilities. The objective of any educational institution should be to help the students identify their hidden skills and potential and encourage them in their development. This was not the scenario in classrooms across the country and students were taught the same content in the same way with little effort put in to address the needs of the students. This resulted in students getting categorized into different groups based on their academic performance which only worsened the situation. With inclusive learning, each student is met at where they are academically and the teacher will help the student to improve their learning while at the same time allowing the students to be more involved in the entire learning process.
- Bridging the Differences: As different students’ study and grasp information at a different rate, a divide might appear between the students. This can be disheartening for the students that are slow learners which will reduce their interests in studies even more. In an inclusive classroom, the teacher will, first of all, identify where each individual student stands academically and take measures to reduce the learning gap. In this scenario, the students will feel like they are part of the class and help them to be more motivated to learn and perform well in their tests.
- Offering Support: In an inclusive learning environment, support from the facilitators is an essential part. This attention offered by the teacher will go a long way with the development of the student and will encourage him/her to feel much more confident and comfortable in the whole learning process. It is this support which is lacking in many classrooms which is having a negative impact on the development of students. With proper support, a teacher will be able to create a deep connection with the student which will allow them to identify what the student lacks and help them to overcome their difficulties.
- Improving the Overall Learning Conditions: By creating an inclusive learning environment, the needs of each individual student are taken care of which will improve the learning conditions within the classroom. With students much more engaged in their education, their performances will also automatically improve that can massively improve the results of that educational institution. If this happens in every institution then the overall quality of education along with the academic brilliance of our students will be enhanced multifold.
While there are many more advantages that make creating an inclusive learning environment the go-to style of education for creating a better student population. This method of teaching will also help educational institutions to nurture inspired learners who are capable of making a positive impact in their communities and the world as a whole.
