Special Education for Beginners | Managing Paraprofessionals, Special Education Strategies, First Year Sped Teachers, Special Ed Overwhelm, Paperwork for Special Education Teachers

Simple, Effective Tips to Make Inclusion Happen

• Episode 208

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Surprise! April had five Wednesdays, so you're getting a bonus episode to wrap up our Inclusion Series—and this one is all about action.

Throughout the month, we’ve broken down the barriers to inclusion, defined what inclusion really means, explored reverse inclusion, and shared how to build strong inclusive teams. But there’s one piece we haven’t covered yet: how to actually implement inclusion successfully.

In this episode, I’m sharing practical, realistic tips to help you support students in general education settings with confidence and purpose—whether you’re a special education teacher, paraprofessional, or co-teaching partner.

In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

  • Why “hovering” isn't the best strategy—and what to do instead
  • How to use roaming support to increase student independence
  • Ideas for using small group instruction effectively in inclusive classrooms
  • What true co-teaching should look like and feel like
  • The biggest dos and don’ts for providing support during inclusion
  • How to keep collaboration strong and student dignity intact

Key Takeaways:

  • Inclusion isn’t about perfection—it’s about progress. It’s about taking small, intentional steps to help every student feel seen, valued, and supported.
  • The less you are doing for your students, the BETTER you are doing your job!

✨ Free Resource Alert!

To celebrate the week before Teacher Appreciation Week, I’ve teamed up with 12 amazing special education educators to give you a bundle of FREE resources!
From task boxes to IEP tools, impact statement support to classroom visuals—you’ll find tons of useful goodies for your program.

👉 Click here to grab your freebies (**You'll click this link to opt-in to each contributor's email list to receive the freebies**)


 Or head to spedprepacademy.com/podcast to sign up for the newsletter and get access there, too.

Thanks for hanging out with me today. You’re doing amazing work—and you’re never alone on this journey. 💛

Writing individual impact statements based on a student’s unique disability  and needs can be a big struggle AND a big time suck.! And in case you haven't noticed...extra time is not something you have a lot of.

My IEP Impact Statements Growing Bundle will give you  the resources you need to make writing impact statements a breeze.  





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Speaker 1:

All right, let's wrap up April with one final episode, all about inclusion. Actually, when I was mapping out each month's theme, I didn't even realize there were five Wednesdays in April. So, lucky you, you're getting a bonus episode. And if you listen all the way to the end, I have another surprise for you. So over the past few weeks we've covered a lot of ground. We've talked about breaking down barriers to inclusion. I shared five steps to build inclusive teams. Megan and Jen talked about reverse inclusion, and we also took time to really define what inclusion is and why it's so important for all students, not just those with disabilities. But there's still one really important piece we haven't touched yet, and that's how you actually do inclusion. I think for the most part, we can all agree that inclusion is important, but when it comes time to put it into practice, it's not always clear how to make it work, and that's what today's episode is all about. I'm going to walk you through some practical, realistic tips you can start using right away to make inclusion more doable and more meaningful for everyone involved.

Speaker 1:

Let's get to it. Hey, special educator, are you overwhelmed by the absurd amount of paperwork on your to-do list? Do you wish you had the skills to build a rock solid team with your staff. Do you find yourself scouring the internet for how to meet the needs of each student on your caseload? Well, hey there. I'm Jennifer Hopperberg, an award-winning veteran special education teacher and current instructional coach, who has walked in your shoes through each of these challenges and, yes, I have the metaphorical blisters to prove it. I have cried your tears and felt your pain, and now I'm here to support you in the way I wish someone would have been there to support me. Listen in each week as my guests and I dish out practical wisdom to help you handle all the classroom curveballs that are thrown at you and learn how to laugh in spite of the chaos, to celebrate those small yet significant victories that only a special educator can understand. So are you ready? Wipe your tears and put on your superhero cape, because together we are going to learn how to survive and thrive in the ever crazy, completely overwhelming laugh. So you don't cry.

Speaker 1:

Profession of being a special education teacher. So if you've been wondering all month, okay, but how do I actually do this and make it work in my school and with my paraprofessionals? Today's episode is for you. What do you actually do during inclusion. Well, throughout my career, I've provided inclusion services to many, many students. I have also supervised paraprofessionals who have provided inclusion services. Sometimes it was just one student, sometimes it was two or three. I've even had as many as five students who were identified in the same room at the same time. Those services were mostly for academics, but some were also for behavior or social skills.

Speaker 1:

And my biggest pet peeve through all of it, and something that I stressed heavily with the paraprofessionals, is that I do not like to sit right next to a child. I feel like it brings undue attention. I feel like it creates undue attention. I feel like it creates learned helplessness. I feel like it limits their real interaction with peers, and I've taught the paras how to back off, to give students space, let them try things on their own, let them engage with peers on their own terms, without someone always hovering over them.

Speaker 1:

Our goal as special educators and paraprofessionals is to help our students become as independent as possible. My mantra is actually the less you are doing for a child, the better you are doing your job. Students can and will become dependent on prompts from adults. If you're going to do something for them, they're going to let you so, when working with students, refer to a prompting hierarchy and always use the lowest level prompt the student needs in order for them to be successful. If you receive my weekly newsletter, I will be sending out a prompting hierarchy I used in my program, so be sure to grab that if you're interested. If you don't receive the newsletter and want to go to spedprepacademycom slash podcast, that's spedprepacademycom slash podcast. With that being said, though, if that close support is truly something your student needs right now, then by all means continue to provide it, but I would urge you to evaluate the need for it, because our ultimate goal should be to help our students be accepted by their peers and to help them be included naturally, and when someone is sitting right beside them hovering, they aren't being included naturally, and when someone is sitting right beside them hovering, they aren't being included naturally.

Speaker 1:

Instead, I have done a variety of things over the years. The first thing I did early in my career was to simply roam the room, and at first, I'll admit, I felt like I wasn't being productive or like I wasn't needed, but later I realized I was being very beneficial to that teacher while I was helping the students become more independent. If I had ever been a general education teacher, I would have loved to have had another teacher or paraprofessional in the room to intervene when I couldn't. Whenever you have another set of eyes or ears in the room, you can catch some of the things that are going on that the general education teacher might not see. You can see if other students are struggling with something and intervene. You can prevent discipline problems from occurring. Of course, your first priority is always going to be that student who is on your caseload and if they need you, that's where you put your focus. But that shouldn't prevent you from stepping in to support the overall flow of the classroom when needed. Sometimes that means giving a quick redirection to a student who's off track, offering a simple clarification if another student looks confused, or even helping to manage materials or transitions to keep things running smoothly. Now you can see that that model just roaming is kind of on the opposite end of the spectrum compared to sitting right beside a child, and while it can be very helpful, it might not always be the best use of your skills either.

Speaker 1:

So there are other options as well. One effective method is working with small groups. If the general education teacher is leading whole group instruction. You might pull a small group that includes both students with and without disabilities to work on a related skill in a quieter, more supportive setting, or, better yet, you can both be teaching smaller groups of students. You can be working on different skills, or you could be working on the same skill with differentiation.

Speaker 1:

I once provided inclusion to three students. Of course, all three of them were on different levels, because that's always how it works out, and it happened to be a time of day where I had a free para as well, so we had three adults in the room and all three of us ran a center with a fourth of the class, while the other fourth was working independently. This was a very successful inclusion model. The kids rotated through us and therefore benefited from the different teaching styles, and they got more individualized attention without feeling singled out. It also gave us the opportunity to work with not just the students on IEPs but with all of the students, which helped build relationships, normalize support and promote that true sense of belonging that we're always striving for. Plus, by running small groups like that, we could better target the skills each student needed, whether it was academic, social or even just practicing group dynamics like taking turns and listening to others. It was efficient, effective and, best of all, it felt natural to the kids. No one stood out in a negative way and everyone was able to learn and grow together.

Speaker 1:

You can also implement a co-teaching model. A true team teaching model is where both teachers are actively delivering instruction to the whole class together. The biggest thing to remember with co-teaching is that it should feel seamless to the students. It's not about my kids and your kids. It's about our students and our shared responsibility to help every child succeed. Whether you are officially co-teaching or simply pushing into the classroom to provide support, the key is collaboration and finding what works for both the students and the staff. And then there are some important do's and don'ts for providing inclusion support that can make or break your effectiveness, and you're going to want to share these with your paraprofessionals as well.

Speaker 1:

First, do be prepared. Know what the lesson is, know what's going to be taught that day and know your students goals, and then figure out how to incorporate those goals into the instruction. Do have a good attitude. Flexibility and positivity are very good tools to have. Next, do provide instruction. Follow the lesson plans of the general education teacher. Hopefully you had a part in creating them, and then be consistent with the classroom rules and expectations and provide the accommodations and modifications listed on the IEP.

Speaker 1:

Another one is do facilitate engagement. Know when to step in and help the student interact, whether it's slipping them the correct answers so they can raise their hand and feel success, or asking a typical student to involve them in an activity. There are many ways that you can facilitate engagement with other students. And then the last do is do model for students. Show them instead of telling them For the what not to do's during inclusion services. The first one is don't be on your phone. Being on your phone during instruction time sends a message that you are not engaged and it can be very distracting to both students and staff. Plus, it models the wrong behavior for students who are expected to stay focused. So save personal phone use for breaks or emergencies. Another don't is don't leave the room unless it's an emergency. Your presence in that classroom is critical and it's also providing minutes that are legally supposed to be provided as per their IEP. If you leave unexpectedly, not only are your students losing their support, but it can also disrupt the flow of the lesson and the classroom environment. So, unless it's an emergency or something that's been pre-planned with the teacher, stay put and stay engaged.

Speaker 1:

Another don't is don't engage in conversations with students that lead them to off-task behaviors and I've had many conversations with paraprofessionals about this topic and it's not because they are doing it intentionally or even really realize they're doing it, but it's easy to get pulled into casual chatter with students. Kids want to talk, especially if you have good relationships with them, but during instruction the focus must stay on learning. The conversations you're having should support instruction and not distract from it. And then, don't overstep your roles and responsibilities. This ties back to the importance of clear communication with a general ed teacher. Know your role in the classroom and respect the teacher's instructional lead. If you are unsure about something, ask privately, but avoid taking over lessons or making instructional decisions without collaboration. And then the last don't is don't undermine the general education teacher in front of the students. Even if you don't completely agree with the approach being used, it's critical to present a united front to the students. Challenging or questioning the teacher publicly can create confusion, divide the classroom and weaken the authority of both adults. If needed, you can address those concerns respectively in private after class. And that's a wrap for our April Inclusion Series.

Speaker 1:

I hope today's tips help you feel a little bit more equipped and maybe even a little more excited about how to bring inclusion to life in your own classroom or school. With the end of the school year drawing near, you might have some time over summer break to brainstorm and make a plan for either introducing inclusion of some type into your program or tweaking your current practices to make them even better for everyone involved. Remember, inclusion isn't about perfection, it's about progress. It's about taking small, intentional steps to create learning environments where every student feels seen, valued and supported. Next week starts Teacher Appreciation Week, but because I know you need to be celebrated more than just one week out of the year, I have something special for you.

Speaker 1:

This week only, I have some amazing free resources that I want to share. 12 special education teachers, myself included, have teamed up to provide you with some extra love in the form of free downloads and helpful tools. So if you are listening to this episode in real time, which is April 2025, you have until May 3rd to get access to these resources. Each of these resources can be useful in a special education program. There are task boxes, there are life skills resources, iep communication forms, organizational templates, support for writing strong impact statements and so much more. So what you're going to do is click on the product you want, sign up and then receive the free resource. I will leave a link for that in the show notes and then I'll be sending out that link in this week's newsletter as well. Remember, if you want to receive the newsletter, go to wwwspedprepacademycom. Slash podcast. I'll be back next week for a brand new month and a brand new theme.