Creativity and Inclusive Education Using the Waldorf Approach

Preparation:

The course provider will send to the participants a list of materials related to the course topic that they can read in order to prepare for the course. The course provider keeps in touch with the participants and tailors the course according to their specific needs. The course provider offers support if the participants need any information related to accommodation, plane tickets or other details necessary for organising the mobility.
Course description

It often happens that in mainstream education, the classes are mixed ability, comprising students of different intellectual and emotional abilities. Also, there are many children with special needs; very often those children are in the classroom together with other children, that have no special needs. The teacher has to deal with all students, special and not special ones. The teacher can feel the pressure to cover the syllabus with unmotivated students and prepare them for tests which do not always reflect the students’ true potential.
There are creative approaches to teaching and learning which enable both students and teachers to reach their full potential and enjoy the classes. Adapting activities to the students’ own level can be challenging and requires differentiating planning and preparation from the teacher. However, it takes time and effort to research alternative systems of education, teaching techniques and ways of adapting these to individual needs. Waldorf education is a unique and distinctive approach to educating children which focuses on the children as ‘whole’: ‘head, heart and hands’. Therefore, in the early years of schooling, children do not focus as much on academics as in the mainstream education, but on becoming a whole person and getting to love nature, themselves, their peers and learning. Focusing on arts, games, outdoor activities and science, Waldorf offers a range of techniques that can be easily adapted to mainstream classes and to the students with special needs who attend mainstream education.
The course focuses particularly on developing creative thinking in our students, be they mainstream or special needs students. The participants will improve their repertoire of classroom strategies aimed at developing creative thinking and valuing each student as a whole person, with different needs and aptitudes. The teachers will have the chance to see and try practical classroom activities, to involve in discussions and debates about these activities, to reflect on their own practice and plan to take future action based on what they have learnt. They will discuss how to engage parents in the learning process, how to communicate with them and see how special needs children should be included in mainstream education in a way they benefit from it. The course ends with a school visit where they can interact with teachers who have experience in Waldorf education and see the classroom settings. 

 Methodology:

• Ice – Breaking and Warm – Up Sessions;
• Energisers
• Group Discussions;
• Debates;
• Problem – Solving Activities;
• Inquiry – Based Activities
• Questioning;
• Goal – Setting sessions;
• Brainstorming;
• Star bursting;
• Planning and Structuring;
• Questionnaires

• Getting familiarized with Waldorf principles
• Learning the terminology regarding Special Education
• Trying tools and techniques for dealing with students with emotional and intellectual problems
• Becoming familiarized with using games in the classroom
• Increasing parental involvement in education
• Encouraging students to get involved in activities related to arts, languages, science
• Stimulating learner-based approach in education
• Exchanging experiences and cross cultural practices in dealing with students who have special needs

• Becoming familiarized with the principles and activities specific to Waldorf education
• Valuing creative solutions to classroom problems
• Getting creative practical ideas to apply in classroom
• Better understanding of the needs of the special needs students integrated in the mainstream education
• Reflection on one’s own teaching
• Enhanced intercultural awareness
• Broader understanding of practices, policies and systems in education
• Improvement of the teaching of mainstream and special needs children through techniques related to creativity and the Waldorf education
• Enhance diversity and intercultural awareness and critical thinking
• Encouragement of sharing best practices, ideas and materials between colleagues within the EU
• Acquisition of practical language to be used in the classroom, of new techniques, and ideas
• Provide teachers with a bank of ready‐to‐use materials
• Networking with teachers from various European countries

Follow-up

Trainees will be given soft and hard copies of all lesson materials, which they can present  to their colleagues at their own organizations to generate interest in the strategies learnt during the training course. In addition, a mailing list of participants will be created in order to exchange ideas/experiences. Self-evaluation materials will be provided. At the end of the course the participants will fill in a questionnaire in order to get a detailed feedback for the effectiveness of the training event.

Programme of training activities day-by-day:

Day 1 – MONDAY 

• Welcome and registration
• Introduction to the course and its aims
• Introduction to Creativity in class - how creative are you?
• Principles of Waldorf education
• The complete person: Why is Waldorf education suitable for special needs students just as well as for mainstream students?
• Organizing the classroom space for games - practical examples and activities
• Techniques for developing creative thinking in our students 

Day 2 – TUESDAY 

• Choosing materials and activities from Waldorf education to adapt to our classes
• Becoming a special education teacher
• Various categories of disability students attending mainstream education might have: dyslexia, ADHD, autism, mental retardation
• Helping students with learning disabilities through practical activities
• Classroom management of mixed ability classes
• Turning students’ ideas into projects and ‘works of art’

Day 3 – WENDESDAY 

• Developing creative thinking
• Learning with games using natural materials and toys
• Practical Exercises Aimed at Strengthening Students' Self-Esteem

Day 4 – THURSDAY 

• Elements of the Waldorf curriculum that can be adapted to mainstream classes
• Elements of the Waldorf curriculum which work well with special needs students
• The Importance of Parental Involvement in Their Children's Education
• How to turn an idea into a project: activities for arts, languages and science

Day 5 – FRIDAY 

• Evaluation of the course
• Planning to implement the new knowledge into your own teaching context
• Dissemination focus
• Awarding certificates

Days 6/7 – SATURDAY and SUNDAY Workshops and Cultural/Sightseeing Activities