Conclusion Reflection

It is the final week of this class. I have really loved what I have learned in this class. When this class first began I didn't know what to expect to learn but walking away from this class I realize I have learned a lot more than I expected to. I am grateful for the things this taught class me. 

One of the most beneficial things I learned in this class was about the variety of different disabilities students may have. There are can emotional disabilities students are faced with, learning disabilities, physical disabilities and mental disabilities. In regards to this section of learning, one of the things that benefited me most personally was learning about speech and language problems that children have. I have shared this before but my dream is to be a speech and language pathologist. Although I know a little about children with these special needs, this class introduced me to more about programs that help these children. I was also able to review more about what can cause this in children and how we can best help these children as they continue their education. This part was really great for me and I enjoyed what I learned, I hope to be able to apply it in my future soon. 

Another section we learned about that gave me great insight was learning more about student behavior. I think I enjoyed learning about this because I could think of various examples in my life where I have seen my peers act in these ways. It was interesting for me to learn about ways to help them and why this may happen. I can see that as a teacher this may become a problem and you would want to make sure you understood how to deal with it. 

Overall, I have to say this class taught me that most importantly it truly is about helping the one. This class gave me such a better understanding of ways to be Christlike and truly give the help and support to those students that may need it the most. I can see that as we go out of our way to help our students find success this is what Christ would want us to do. I know that he loves his children that may struggle so much and he wants us to be a special instrument in their life to give them the help they need. 

I am so glad that I was able to take this class and learn so much from it. I hope to use the things I learned here in real life and remember to help the one! 

Lesson 13: Responding to Student Behavior

This week we read and learned about the many different types of behavior that we may experience students having in our classroom. We learned how to address these behaviors and how is the best way to respond to certain behaviors.
One thing that I learned in the reading this week that I loved is the concept that the root word of discipline is disciple. This means "a follower of a teacher." This is important to remember as you are the teacher of the classroom and trying to get students to follow your lead.
A few suggestions that we talked about for strategies a teacher could use to promote positive group behavior are..

• Implementing peer-mediated instruction, ex: peer tutoring.
• Cooperative learning 
• Using group contingencies

I enjoyed learning about this section because it focused on catching the children while they were being good and encouraging the positive behavior that we see. Sometimes by encouraging positive behavior that is just as effective as stopping the negative behavior. 

We also talked about possible functions of student behaviors, the chart in the book taught me that there is a function, a goal and an example of the behavior. 

Function: Power/Control

Goal: Control an event or a situation 

Example of Behavior: acts to stay in the situation and keep control: "You can't make me!"

Function: Communication 

Goal: Convey information to another

Example of Behavior: Hits head against the desk when tired of the assignment or activity

Function: Protection/escape

Goal:avoid a task or activity; escape a consequence ; stop or leave a situation

Example of behavior: has tantrum at the start of every math lesson; skips social studies class

For this week I also completed my last simulation activity which was learning disability. This was one of the hardest ones for me to do because I had to activity think to myself, "don't say an L or an N sounding word." The first activity I completed was to ask someone for directions. I did this while I was on campus, I stopped a book store worker and asked them where I might be able to find the bowling alley on campus. They gave me directions and it was hard because they told me to take a left. I wasn't allowed to say the word left so I had to stop and think about how I would repeat back those directions. I instead just used my hand and said, I will go this way? The worker gave me a funny look but then nodded indicating that I was correct. After the first time I was a little embarrassed to ask anyone else for directions doing this activity. I can see how people with a learning disability would find it easier to just stay quiet due to lack of confidence. The next activity I completed was to ask for help at the library. I was actually looking for a children's book for my other class and so I asked the man at the counter to show me the right way. This was once again hard to not say anything with the sound L or N. I didn't even realize that n is in so many words. I accidentally slipped and almost said the letter N, then I quickly stopped mid sentence and re-arranged my thoughts. I think the man helping me was a little confused. This activity certainly made me more aware of how challenging this disability can be for children who are learning or asking for help. 

Lesson 12: Evaluating Student Learning

This week in class we talked about ways to evaluate student learning. We talked about a variety of accommodations to make for students.
Before the test:

• Study guides can help students prepare to know what will be on the test and study what to learn. 
• Practice tests are also a good way for students to practice taking a test with the same material that will be on the real test. 
• Teach students test taking skills such as; chunking, mnemonics, Chrome strategy, key word method, Answer strategy for essay writing.  ( Chrome = C- categorization H- Hypothesis R-reasoning O-observation M-measurement E-experimentation) 

Accommodation during a test:

• Alternative forms of questions
• alternative ways of administering the test
• alternative test site 

Accommodations after the test:

• changing letter or number grades
• grading rubrics
• grading criteria
• alternatives letter and number grades

Other ideas to help grading students items or tests are:

• differentiated report cards
• daily activity logs
• separate grades
• avoid giving zeros 
• report students progress more frequently

To help individualized grading for students with disabilities some tips we talked about that I really liked were:

• Use standard-based grades 
• Basing all or part of the grade on progress on IEP objectives

This week was important to learn about a variety of accommodations we can use in our future classroom for students to help them succeed the best they can. This week we didn't have a case study to ponder but I was able to complete another simulation activity. At the beginning of the week before the snow hit I was able to complete the activity of being in a wheel chair. I was in the wheel chair for just over 2 and a half hours. There was a series of tasks we had to complete while we did this project. I struggled with pretty much all of tasks. 

1. Go to the restroom, enter a stall, and transfer your body from the wheelchair to the toilet. Reverse the process and return to the wheelchair. -Out of all the tasks this was the hardest for me to do. I almost fell while I was transferring my body onto the toilet seat. I can't imagine having to do this every time you went to the bathroom. Another problem I encountered while completing this task was waiting for the larger stall to open. I can see how there may need to be more than one large stall, otherwise you would have to wait for a long time. 
2. Get a drink from the drinking fountain.-This part wasn't too bad, I just had to go at the fountain with the right angle. I can see how if the drinking fountain was different heights then it might make things really complicated. I also had to push myself up a little in order to get a drink, I can see how your arms would get really strong from doing this. 
3. Go to another building and ask for directions/assistance (e.g., Kimball Building information desk (on campus) or another information desk).- I found it really interesting because I got a lot of sympathy while I was doing this. I went to the Kimball to ask a question about graduation applications and what office I should go to. The lady at the counter was young and she was really willing to help me. She gave me a big smile while she was helping me and asked if I needed help finding the office. I declined and said I would find it on my own. 
4. Ride an elevator. - This part of the simulation was actually fun, and I ended up doing it more than just once. When I was trying to get to my class I had to take the elevator because I was struggling pushing myself up any hills. I found it tricky to wheel myself right next to press the button, some elevators are easier to get around in because they are bigger but others feel so crammed. 
5. Go up and down a hill by yourself. -I will admit I was not very good at this part. My arms were so sore by the time I attempted to do this. I went down the hill pretty fast and I wasn't the best at stopping myself but going up the hill took a lot of muscle. I also had people ask if I needed some help, I told them I was fine and several of them watched as I attempted up the hill. This really made me think more about the paths I would use to get around. 
6. Go through an exterior public door without using the door opener. 
7. Go through an exterior public door using the door opener. -These two were pretty similar so I am writing about them together. HOLY COW it is almost impossible to open a door without an opener. I was struggling so bad and then someone came to open it for me, I didn't even stop them because I knew I couldn't get it all myself. The door openers make things so much easier and I was so happy that most doors have them. That is one of the little things I never would have even thought about before doing this experience. 
8. Ask for assistance to navigate a tough spot. -I asked my husband to help me when we were crossing the road. This was tough because I really didn't want to get hit by a chair if I wasn't pushing fast enough. 

Overall this assignment really gave me an appreciation for what it is like for people with a divisibility to get around every day. There are so many obstacles they face that I wouldn't even think twice about. I was glad I had my husband with me sometimes to help me when i struggled, those people have to be pretty independent to do all the things that they do. I was able to borrow my grandma's wheel chair to do this assignment and it worked out nicely. I felt a greater sympathy for her and what she has to go through every day to just get around. 

Strategies for Independent Learning

This reflection post for this week might be a little shorter than my usually ones. It is Thanksgiving this week and so our assignments were a little shorter, thank goodness! This week our reading was entitled, "Strategies for Independent Learning." The entire chapter was different ideas that you can use to help your students better learn on their. I love this idea of the chapter because I feel like that is really the basis of what teaching special needs students is, to help them eventually start to learn things on their own without as much assistance as the beginning.
One of the things that most stood out to me this week as I learned was the process of teaching independent learning strategies.
1. Assess current strategy use.
2. Clarify expectations.
3. Demonstrate strategy use.
4. Encourage students to memorize strategy steps.
5. Provide guided and independent practice.
6. Administer post tests.
I love that by breaking it down into steps this doesn't have to be a big scary process.
There are so many different acronyms and steps for student to be able to remember and learn different school subjects on their own. This week showed me there are a lot more then I ever imagined there was.

Differentiating Instruction

This week in our helping students with special needs learn class we talked about exactly what the title said, differentiating instruction. This is very important to study as a teacher because there are so many ways that you can make this possible but it is important to remember to still be fair. There are a variety of ways to make instruction best fit a specific need that a child may have. There are many different types of assignments that you can give and I feel that as we studied all this there are many good ones. I think you really have to pick the one that will best fit your teaching style, subject and the individual student. In this case, what works for one student more than likely will not work for another so you have to be very adaptable. I also think you have to be willing to try new things and experiment with what will work the best.
Differentiating instruction is important so that the student can get the knowledge and skills that they need, however, they may need it in a different way than you are giving to the majority of your students. One big theme that stuck out to me during this reading is the idea of communication. The parents should have an open line of communication with the teacher and vice versa. The student and teacher should also be communicating a lot about progress or problems that are arising.
This week as we met for a group to do our case study work it was very interesting to see that there are a variety of accommodations or adaptations that can be made for students but as teachers it is up to us to decide which of these are seen as fair and which of these are seen as unfair. In our assignment we were told specific class work that the child would be doing and then asked to identify which adaptations would be fair and why. We were also asked to identify which adaptations weren't fair and why. This was tricky because we realized that differentiating instruction affects more than just the child you are making the adaptations for, it also affects the other children as they see that some children may not be doing the same work as them. This is where conflicts can arise and so it is very important to make sure your adaptations are fair. I can see how teachers are put in very tricky situations while they are makings things fair for their students but still helping them succeed.

I also completed a simulation project this week. I choose to do the language impairment section. I order dinner at food and stuttered while I did so. I also asked the waitress if my meal that I just order would be very spicy and what type of beans it came with. The waitress was really nice but I felt so silly doing this simulation. I can see how people with this impairment would be really embarrassed to talk to others in public settings. The other project I did was stutter as I checked out at Walmart. I bought some Christmas lights and I asked the cashier if he thought my lights would be really bright. He gave me the weirdest look but pretended to be nice and answer my question. The person behind me was totally listening into my conversation so that made things a little awkward. So that was my simulation activity report for this week!

Interventions for children

This week we talked about the variety of needs that many children face in the education system that we may see in our classrooms that are not disabilities. Some specifically that we talked about were: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), students that are gifted and talented, culturally diverse background students, students at risk and more.
Something new I learned this week was about ADHD. I didn't know that there was a variety of types and so many methods of intervention for these students. There is first the predominately inattentive type, where children have a hard time listening or following rules. Next there is the predominately hyperactive-impulsive type where they have a hard time sitting still or concentrating. The third type is a combination of both of the types.
I also learned about the interventions that are available such as: environmental supports, academic interventions, behavior interventions, parent education and medication.
For student who are gifted and talented there is interventions available such as: curriculum compacting, acceleration, enrichment, differentiation, and specialized intervention.
The section of students I was most interested in was the students that were classified as at risk. Their interventions, I thought, were something that was really good and actually something I could actually see myself using. The interventions for these students are setting a high but realistic expectations, establishing peers as teaching partners, collaborate with other professionals when needed for extra help,and make sure to get support from family and community involvement.
Overall I thought this week was a very good week for learning more about what we can do as future professionals in our future classrooms. For our case study this week one thing that really stuck out to me is to give children the success for social skills. For many children that struggle in school this could be the most beneficial gift that you can give them as a teacher. The teacher in our case study really emphasized this in her class and I believe that this was for her students to start to develop those relationships. I also believe that when a child feel safe at school and develops a sense of belonging, that is when we will see the best learning and development occur. I hope that all teachers can keep this in mind as they set the tone for their classrooms. A sense of belonging and safeness might just be a universal intervention for all students.

Instruction in the classroom

This week we learned about different ways of instruction you can use in the classroom to help students achieve success to the best of your ability as a teacher. There are a variety of different types of instruction that can be used. In most classes you see the regular things like large or whole class instruction where the entire class participates in a lecture or activity together. Then there is also small group instruction which is where children are placed in groups, sometimes depending on skill or ability level, and given an activity or assignment. Then there is a one-on-one instruction. I feel like this doesn't happen very often in a lot of classes because it is hard for the teachers to find the time to give that special attention to just one child, but when this is used it can be very beneficial to students.
The most important concept I learned this week is when getting ready to teach your class and figure out the type of instruction to use it is best to look at a variety of different things. You want to make sure the type of instruction used is going to best suit the needs of the students.
Here are a few tips that we read about:

• Check out the text book. Make sure it is high quality writing if you are going to use it. 
• Use manipulative and models in your classroom to give the children a hands on experience. This may be especially useful for children who need to be more active learners. 
• Use a variety of teaching materials for lessons
• Use technology in a way that will help the children when it is appropriate.

We also learned about a very important part of planning instruction for children who are needing help having accommodations in the classroom. This process has a few steps to take into consideration.

1. Identify Classroom Demands.
2. Note Student Learning Strengths and Needs
3. Check for potential areas of student success 
4. Look for potential problem areas
5. Use information to brainstorm ways to differentiate instruction
6. Differentiate Instruction
7. Evaluate student progress

This is a basic outline of the plan that can make a big difference in a students life. We got to practice using this outline in our case study this week. One thing that really stuck out to me as we were planning some instructional accommodations for this student was that sometimes teachers need to be more willing to switch things up in the way that they teach. One of this boys teachers wasn't willing to change class instruction just for him and that made it really difficult. I think that being a teacher we should more than willing to go above and beyond to help a student succeed in our class. 

Assessing Children

This week in class we talked about the importance of assessing children. We learned about a variety of different assessments that can be done to see what a child knows. I am currently taking a class called Observation and Assessment where all we do is talk about different tests and tools used to assess children and the importance of this. Assessing children I think can be a really great thing when it is done the right way with the right tools, but when it isn't I think it can be very damaging to children. We have to make sure we are doing it in the child's native language, that we are avoiding labeling the child and that we are following the assessment procedures in most cases.
I can see why a teacher would use assessments to see what the children have learned so far or what to teach next. I also can see why a teacher would use an assessment to see what areas children are struggling in or if there is a serious problem with a child that may require special services.
This week for our case study we were able to meet as a team to decide if assessments that had been done on a child were fair or not. The background of this little girl really pulled at my heartstrings and I read about how she had been in an abusive home in Mexico when she was younger, then taken to an orphanage where she didn't attend school but instead helped take care of the younger children. She was later adopted to a family in the United States and was tested in 2nd grade, she scored incredibly low for most all school subjects and was really struggling. She was given an aide where she could work one on one and started to improve her letters, sounds of letters and basic writing skills. For me personally I just don't see how you could classify someone as special needs when they first haven't even been in the country for that long. I know that for myself this would be extremely hard and I wouldn't want people testing me and judging me based off my very little experience with the language, culture and the fact that I wasn't familiar with a school setting at all. So I guess from this story my reliability on assessing children changed just a little. In the fact that I know believe that there are circumstances where assessing children isn't appropriate. I also think that judging a child in this situation based off assessments isn't a true determination of if a child has a mental disability.

Being apart of an IEP

This week we studied a case study that asked us to hold a mock IEP and it was actually a lot more difficult than I thought. I choose to be the administrator and so I was chosen to be one that didn't really think the boy needed special education services. This was really difficult because everyone else in my group was all for making sure this child received services. It was interesting to talk with everyone and hear what their roles position was for this child. I realized it takes a lot of effort to help a child receive special services and it is more than just quickly labeling. We also had to make sure that we could all agree on some goals we would set for the child and when these goals would be reached. I found this part of the meeting really interesting. I think it is great to come together in this way to create goals and timelines for the child because that way you are getting more than one perspective and professional opinion on the needs of the child.

One thing I learned by actually doing a mock IEP meeting was to make sure that the parents know their rights and the other members of the meeting should be counseling with them. It is important to ask them questions and see what they are wanting for their child, after all no one knows their child better than them.

I am really glad I got this opportunity to learn more about IEP and to become familiar with more case studies so we are able to learn better by actually getting involved in something similar. My heart really reaches out to these children and I want nothing more than to make sure they are getting the proper services they need.

Favorites from this week

I have never really known all that much about the laws of special education but this week I was able to dive deeper into the laws and what they actual provide for the children. I think it is really comforting to know as a future educator and mother that there are laws out there that will protect children's education and give them a chance to be the most successful that they can be. One thing I really loved this week was learning more about the laws because I think it is really important to be aware of what has happened before us and how that changes things for the future. There are so many court cases and so much to memorize that comes with this but there are a few things that really stood out to me. There are 6 categories that fall under IDEA which is the main law for special education. It stands for Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The 6 things are important to helping you understand more about this law, they are....

1. Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE). This is saying students can attend public education and receive the education services to help their needs. 

2. Least Restrictive Environments (LRE). Students must be educated in settings most like that without students with disabilities where they can be most successful.

3. Individualized Education. Tailoring the information to the needs of the student.

4. Nondiscriminatory evaluation. Being assessed with instruments that don't discriminate against race, culture or disabilities. 

5. Due Process. Solving disagreements concerning a student's disability education plan. 

6. Zero reject/child find. All students are entitled to receiving public education, regardless of disability.

One other thing I loved about this week was that we got to work as a group to study something I am very passionate about. Basically everyone who knows me, knows that I dream of being a speech and language pathologist. Although this dream is still a few years away it was so great to be able to research and learn more about speech and language problems. I never realized that the statistics for children who struggle with these problems are so high. It really made me excited for learning more and eventually making a difference in the lives of children. 

 

Importance of IEPs and Becoming Blind

This week for class I learned more in-depth about IEP's and what they are. This was really great for me because I haven't ever learned about how the meeting actually works and what they do until this class, but in my other classes it has been mentioned a lot. I love how IEP's are so child focused and I also love that the parents get to be involved, not just the teachers. I also thought it was really neat that in most cases doctors or nurses are included in this decision making process. After watching a video to show how one works I really think that IEp's are great for all children that might have a harder time learning and need some individualized help.
This week for class we also read a case study about a young boy who needed to get certain help at school but the school district wasn't allowing it anymore. We got to act out different parts of this case and I was the parents. As all the members of my group were voicing their legal sides about why or why not this is fair it was really interesting to watch and learn from. I learned a lot from my part as the pretend parent of this child though. I was able to express to them the concern I can imagine a parent must have for their child and their education and testify that these children go through enough stress in their life that our job really should be to help them out in any way possible. This experience really opened me up to the stress that many parents go through in fighting for their children.
The last experience I want to talk about this week is one of my simulation activities. We have a list of activities to do that are similar to a disability a child might have. This week, for example, I did the visual impairment simulation. This was really challenging as I felt completely useless and out of control. I was trying to eat and I kept missing my mouth, it was a struggle to even get food onto my fork. I also tried to do the dishes but it was so hard to focus on any objects. My husband was watching me and started feeling bad for me so he tried to get me to just sit down. This made me realize I can see how easy it is to get discouraged with a disability because it really is a lot of work trying to accommodate for it. I have trouble seeing in real life without my contacts or glasses and so I figured I would be pretty good at this one but it was completely different then what I thought it would be. I am really more thankful for my vision after doing this and I am definitely more sensitive to visual impairments in others.

Inclusion of Special Needs Students

This week was really eye opening for me as I read a lot about the different special needs that students have, along with the different programs that are available for them to get the help that they need. During this reading I couldn't help but reflect on the time I spent from the time I was in middle school all the way through high school that I had the chance to be a "peer tutor". This was a class at my school where we got to go into the special needs classroom and work with the children. I had the chance to go sit in other classes with them, teach them math, help them read, play games with them, go grocery shopping and even go swimming once a week. One thing that I loved about this program was that it gave those children a chance to get to know their peers better. This made for a better atmosphere when we would see each other at school because they felt like they already had a friend. I also liked that in my school system those children came to a lot of the same classes I did and then they went to work on their individual needs in a different class. I felt like this was a great solution to the issue of whether or not to let them be full-time in the regular education classes.

This week I learned a lot of what shaped the influences of special education. Some of the most prominent ones the court cases that I am sure most people involved in education have heard about such as; Brown vs. Board of Education. I think this case is so important in the history of education because it really changed the way of how we can view everyone as having a right to education, regardless of abilities or color.

I also learned a lot about the key themes of special education which was interesting for me to dive deeper into this content. The more I learn about this class the more I realize there is a lot to know and I still have a long ways to go but I am really enjoying what I am learning so far. Overall, for my reflection this week I would say it has been interesting to learn more of the terms and come to understand how those are actually used in the real education field. I look forward to learning a lot more. Have a great week and remember, spread kindness to everyone!

I'm back

Hello fellow blog readers, as you can see I am back. This is a blog I originally used for a class that focused on the family and it's importance but now I have a class that I am going to be blogging about. This class is actually a different type of class but it is one I am really excited for. It is called Exceptional Students. (You may remember from previous posts that I am a child development major on my home stretch here at BYUI and I am hopeful to one day become a Speech and Language Pathologist! So this class will help me achieve that goal and learn a lot along the way!)
For this blog I will be updating what I learn in class every week to reflect on the principles I have learned and how I will better apply them in my life experiences of working with some of our Heavenly Father's dearest children that have special needs.
So for this week we got to read some amazing talks given by apostles of our church and I loved reading them and relating them back to how I can apply the things they were teaching me when I am working with children. One of the biggest things that stuck out to me was in a talk called, "The Moving of the Water" by Boyd K. Packer. The main idea that stuck out to me was that we need to try ourselves to become angels that move the water for others in our lives. He also emphasized the importance of remembering the bigger picture in this life. This stood out to me as I thought about how important that is when working with special needs children, they are God's children and we need to help them realize this mortal life that they have this disability is only limited. He also said, "affliction comes to the innocent." This struck me very powerfully as I was reading because that is so true. Most of these children can't control their situation and why their disability happened to them so we must always remember they are innocent and never judge.
Overall this week I have learned that working with exceptional students will take a lot of practice to know what to do and how to do it but in the end it will be very rewarding. These are some of Heavenly Father's most beloved children and we are lucky to be trusted to help them along this earthly path. I look forward to this class and learning more to take with me in this semester! See you next week!