How to Implement the Self-Determined Learning Model of Instruction in Inclusive General Education Classrooms

Self-determination is defined by acting as a causal agent in one’s life. To be a causal agent, one must act with intent to set and go after goals using skills that include choice-making, decision-making, problem solving, goal setting and attainment, planning, self-management, self-advocacy, and self-awareness. Supports available in the general education classroom can significantly influence the degree to which students develop causal agency and self-determination. Although teachers rate self-determination instruction as important, they also report providing limited instruction on skills associated with self-determination for a variety of reasons (e.g., instructional time constraints, unsure of how to deliver instruction, perception that not all students need instruction to develop self-determination). This article provides a step-by-step guide for teachers to use to implement an evidence-based intervention designed to promote student self-determination, the Self-Determined Learning Model of Instruction, in inclusive general education classrooms by blending instruction in core content and skills associated with self-determination.