One of the most important things in an inclusive environment is coordination between the various professionals involved in the education of the children. Special-education professionals won't be working with special-needs children in a separate environment anymore. Instead, they work within the classroom and with regular teachers. Professional development may focus on the development of strategies and procedures that allow special educators and educators to work well together.
One reason that middle-school educators and administrators have problems with inclusion strategies is that not enough measurable data exists on the students that come into their classrooms. Professional development in the area of inclusion may focus on strategies designed to implement a documentation or record-keeping system that will compile more measurable information on special-needs students and their progress. By having more measurable information on hand, educators know how to accommodate students more quickly.
Professional development may center on a specific discipline such as learner-centered education that has supporters who say it increases the education of all students in an inclusion classroom. This philosophy focuses on concepts such as building strong relationships in the classroom and paying attention to the learning abilities and challenges of each student in the group. The goal becomes to alter the curriculum, teaching methods and communication style to ensure that all learners, including those with developmental needs, measurably learn during the term.
Some small variations on the support model might be implemented that would need professional development days for educator training. For instance, an inclusion-support model would mean middle-school educators and administrators need to learn how to structure support time for students with disabilities. Individualized support sessions that look at basic skills or sessions for reinforcing class content, and how these sessions are best conducted, are important areas in which to train educators.