Running head: LITERATURE REVIEW DOMAIN C

Votendahl 1

Literature Review Domain C

Brittany Votendahl
National University

Abstract
This paper reviews the article, Whole-Group Response Strategies to Promote Student
Engagement in Inclusive Classrooms by Sarah Nagro, Sara Hooks, and Dawn Fraser. The
article goes over the importance and strategies of using whole-group teaching and getting all
students, even those with disabilities, engaged.

LITERATURE REVIEW DOMAIN C

Votendahl 2

The article, Whole-Group Response Strategies to Promote Student Engagement in

Inclusive Classrooms by Sarah Nagro, Sara Hooks, and Dawn Fraser, discusses the importance
of student engagement especially with students with disabilities. They explain the challenges
students with disabilities face in classrooms because of their deficit and many cannot assess their
own comprehension of materials and need extra help (Nagro, Sarah A; Hooks, Sara D; Fraser,
Dawn W, 2016). All these things play into how much a student will actively participate in
classroom discussions and activities (Nagro, et al., 2016). I completely agree with them.
Engagement is already difficult enough for many teachers but throwing students with disabilities
into the mix only makes it more challenging.
Small-group learning has been found to be effective with students with disabilities
(Nagro, et al., 2016). However, finding strategies to engage these students in whole-group
learning is just as important (Nagro, et al., 2016). Whole-group instruction gives the teacher the
ability to effectively monitor student progress and give opportunities for student socialization
(Nagro, et al., 2016). Some strategies for this type of engagement are opportunities to respond by
prompting students through verbal, gestural, written or digital modes of responses and this is
important for inclusive classrooms because opportunities to responding are normally limited to
individual student responses (Nagro, et al., 2016). I personally do not have students with
disabilities in my classroom. However, I did observe an inclusive classroom at my school and
noticed she did a lot of whole-group learning, as do I in my classroom. She did a lot of individual
calling on students and rarely gave students with disabilities the ability to respond. I found this to
be a bit disheartening because those students do need the same treatment as the mainstream
students. I agree with the article that teachers need to find effective strategies to be sure all

LITERATURE REVIEW DOMAIN C

Votendahl 3

students, including those with disabilities, are included and given the same number of
opportunities.
One strategy mentioned is the use of response cards. These are cards with predetermined
responses on them so when the teacher asks a question, the students respond by holding up the
card with their answer (Nagro, et al., 2016). This can help with knowing which students need the
extra guidance without mixing up students during choral responses (Nagro, et al., 2016). Many
students with learning disabilities struggle with writing mechanics, such as handwriting, spelling,
vocabulary, and text structure (Nagro, et al., 2016) so this really helps those students still be
able to respond within the group and not get discouraged.
This article was a fantastic read. I learned a lot about including students with disabilities
in whole-group learning. I also found some great strategies to use in my classroom right now and
in the future.

References

LITERATURE REVIEW DOMAIN C

Votendahl 4

Nagro, S. A., Hooks, S. D., Fraser, D. W., & Cornelius, K. E. (2016). Whole-group response
strategies to promote student engagement in inclusive classrooms. Teaching Exceptional
Children, 48(5), 243-249. Web.