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Creating an Inclusive Classroom: Approaches to Supporting Learners with SEND in Computing

Explore ways to make your computing lessons more inclusive for learners with special educational needs and disabilities.

12,485 enrolled on this course

A collage of key illustrations that appear throughout the course representing the topic of Inclusion - such as students working together, resources, checklists, equipment

Creating an Inclusive Classroom: Approaches to Supporting Learners with SEND in Computing

12,485 enrolled on this course

  • 2 weeks

  • 2 hours per week

  • Accreditation available

  • Digital certificate when eligible

  • Intermediate level

Find out more about how to join this course

The CPD Certification Service

This course has been certified by the CPD Certification Service as conforming to continuing professional development principles. Find out more.

Discover computing activities to support and engage students with SEND

As educators, we should aim to provide every young person with the skills and knowledge to become active participants in a digital world.

On this course, you will examine the common barriers faced by students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in the computing classroom, and how to address these barriers.

You will explore a number of general approaches and specific computing activities that will help to include and engage learners.

This course will support teachers who want to create a more inclusive computing classroom for all of their students.

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Skip to 0 minutes and 3 seconds Are you a teacher that wants to include as many young people as possible in the learning that happens in your classroom? How can you create lessons that are inclusive by design? There are currently over a million pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, or SEND, in English schools. This free course will explore some effective approaches to teaching computing to learners with SEND. And you’ll learn about a range of activities and resources that will ensure all students are included in your lessons. You’ll examine how to create accessible materials, how multimedia can help learners retain information better, and explore the accessibility tools built into mainstream technology.

Skip to 0 minutes and 41 seconds This two-week course also contains peer-led discussions, trainer interaction, and feedback on your knowledge as you progress. You can learn whenever and wherever you want. So whether you’re a teacher with students of your own or simply curious about inclusion in the classroom, this course will help you to ensure you’re completing lessons are engaging and accessible for all of your students. Sign up now rpf.io/inclusion.

What topics will you cover?

  • An outline of the four broad areas of need, and of the common barriers faced by learners with SEND
  • General classroom approaches to include learners with SEND and reduce cognitive load in activities
  • Advice on how to create more accessible teaching resources
  • Specific approaches to support learners with SEND in programming tasks
  • An overview of how to make programming environments more accessible
  • The benefits of sensory outputs and using physical computing devices

Who is this accredited by?

The CPD Certification Service
The CPD Certification Service:

The CPD Certification Service was established in 1996 and is the leading independent CPD accreditation institution operating across industry sectors to complement the CPD policies of professional and academic bodies.

When would you like to start?

Start straight away and join a global classroom of learners. If the course hasn’t started yet you’ll see the future date listed below.

  • Available now

Learning on this course

On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

  • Reflect on the common barriers faced by learners with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in the computing classroom
  • Develop a toolkit of general teaching approaches to make lessons more inclusive for learners with SEND
  • Identify ways to adapt and improve teaching materials to make them more accessible
  • Develop effective approaches to teach programming to learners with SEND
  • Identify accessible programming environments and physical computing devices that can be used to make lessons more inclusive for learners with SEND
  • Model best practice by creating an inclusive computing lesson plan and materials

Who is the course for?

This course is designed for teachers of computing in primary and secondary school settings.

It will also be useful for special educational needs co-ordinators (SENCOs) and teaching assistants in schools to learn about specific computing approaches to support the young people they work with.

If you are a teacher working with students with severe special educational needs or disabilities, you will gain some useful insights during this course, however, you may need to consider more specific adaptations than those described here.

Who developed the course?

Raspberry Pi Foundation

The Raspberry Pi Foundation works to put the power of digital making into the hands of people all over the world, so they are capable of understanding and shaping our increasingly digital world.

National Centre for Computing Education

This course is part of the National Centre for Computing Education (NCCE). Funded by the Department for Education and partners, we aim to change the way computing is taught in schools across England, and enable more young people to benefit from studying this important subject.

If you are a teacher in England you can get free upgraded access to this course, and use it towards NCCE certification. To do this, you must join the course through the Teach Computing website

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Ways to learn

Choose the best way to learn for you!

Subscribe & save

$189.99 for one year

Automatically renews

Develop skills to further your career

  • Access to this course
  • Access to 1,000+ courses
  • Learn at your own pace
  • Discuss your learning in comments
  • Digital certificate when you're eligible

Cancel for free anytime

Buy this course

$44/one-off payment

Fulfill your current learning need

  • Access to this course
  • Learn at your own pace
  • Discuss your learning in comments
  • Printed and digital certificate when you’re eligible

Limited access

Free

Sample the course materials

  • Access expires 21 Feb 2023

Find out more about certificates, Unlimited or buying a course (Upgrades)

Sale price available until 28 February 2023 at 23:59 (UTC). T&Cs apply.

Find out more about certificates, Unlimited or buying a course (Upgrades)

Sale price available until 28 February 2023 at 23:59 (UTC). T&Cs apply.

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