Managing Student Behavior

This week we talked a lot about managing student behaviors. We also went over the 13 categories of disabilities.

We talked about managing student behavior, which is so important for teachers to know about and to understand.  I feel like I have never been very good at responding to student misbehavior. I love that in the description for the Danielsen Framework (2D) it says, “Accomplished teachers try to understand why students are conducting themselves in such a manner…and respond in a way that respects the dignity of the student”. This is something that I want to work on. When I am in the moment, I always forget to think about why the student is misbehaving and I focus more on the behavior itself. Sometimes I think that I don’t go a great job of respecting the dignity of the student who is misbehaving because I am so focused on correcting the misbehavior. I understand that behaviors need to be responded to as quickly as possible, but sometimes I am not sure how to address certain behaviors that occur in the classroom. We talked about being able to catch the student doing something good, which I think can really go a long way in helping to build the self esteem of a child.

Talking about each category was very helpful to me. It is good to know what disabilities fall under every category. I feel that overall, I have learned so much about how to help and care for individuals with different disabilities of varying degrees. There was so much that I did not know! And so much that I still don't know! I realize now how important it is for general education teachers to be well versed in all kinds of disabilities in order to be able to help each student.

Guidelines for teaching one another

1. How do you feel about your lesson delivery and why? Was it effective, why or why not? I feel like our lesson went very good! Having the video simulation of what those who have ADD or ADHD go through everyday was very effective! I think that also having the statistics also helped show the class how common this disability is, so overall I feel it was a very effective lesson!
2. What evidence do you have (while delivering your lesson) of effective student engagement? Our students were very engaged as a group and discussing the video questions and discussing how hard it was to focus while watching the simulation activity.  
3. If you were to teach this lesson by yourself, not in a group, what would you change and why? If I were to teach this lesson by myself I would try to have a more hands on activity along with the video. Maybe while the video was going I would have the class do an activity and see how hard it was for them to concentrate with the loud noises and bright images on the screen. 
4. What could have been an area of improvement in your teaching? Honestly I think the only thing that we could have done better with is time. It is hard to explain such a common disability with only 15 minutes. There was so much more we could have said and done that we actually had to take out some information because it was just too much for the time slot. 
5. Based on the criteria for the “Teaching Experience” on our syllabus, would you give your group a 0, 5 or a 10?  Why?  AND would you give yourself a 0, 5 or a 10?  Why? I would give myself and the group a 10. It was so much fun planning this lesson with the group and the work was all very evenly distributed. Usually in group projects one person ends up doing more work or there is a slacker, but this group was awesome. We were all involved in the planning and I think it payed off. I would give myself a 10 because like I said the work was very evenly distributed.We each talked about and found research for 2 slides and it came together very nicely. 

Categories of Disabilities

This week in class we talked about the 13 categories of disabilities which include: OHI, emotional, mental, physical, language/speech, vision, hearing, ASD, Deaf/blind, developmentally delayed, orthopedic, traumatic brain injury, and multiple disabilities. I had no idea that there were so many different categories that disabilities could be categorized under. It was interesting to see what disabilities fell under which categories.

This weeks reading was about responding to student behavior. The reading taught me how I can/should respond to major and minor behavior problems. For managing minor problems it is important to catch them being good. Often times children act out because they aren't getting enough attention. If we as teachers catch them doing good things, we need to make sure that we acknowledge that and tell the student that we are proud and recognize his good behavior. For major behavioral problems I think the most important thing to do is understand why the student is acting in such a way, and then kind of go form there with how to respond depending on the situation. Peers can be a great way to help better student behavior in the classroom. You can have the students work in pairs and you could pair the student who has behavioral problems with a very well mannered student.

Behaviors and Review

     This week we learned about behavior of students and how to correct them to create positive behaviors. One thing that I thought was quite interesting was the different types of time out that can be implemented. I always thought of time out as just one thing and now I realize that there are so many different variations that can be used based on the child.
     Also reinforcers are something that need to be understood when dealing with children or a group that you want to behave properly. You need to know when to use them and when to take them away. As a teacher the plans that you make need to help with behavior need to include the reinforcers. Once you have created a plan you need to make sure that you observe the progress that a student makes while the plan is implemented. I like to think of these plans as IEP but for behavior. That's what I relate them to. They are also run a lot like and IEP. A group even gets together to create them for a student and then meets if changes need to be made to the plan that has been created and implemented for them.
     Also we reviewed in class all of the different disabilities and the types of disabilities that we have talked about this semester. It was fun to review these things and realize how far I have come this semester and how informed I have become as I have learned about special needs and special education. I feel that because of this class I will better be able to help my students because I have caught a glimpse of special needs and the role that I need to play. Also I have realized that my learning does not stop here in this class. Special needs and special education are always changing rapidly and I need to make sure that I take the time to study up on the changes so that I can be the teacher that my students deserve. I started out not liking this class and now I love it and all that it had taught me this semester. It has even taught me how to be a better student.

Learning Disability Experience

     For this experience I asked for help at the library to find a book and I went to a place and asked what hours they are open. When I asked for the hours I failed and ended up using a word with n in it. I had even planned out what I was going to say in my head before and I still failed after a very long awkward pause of trying to figure out what I was going to say to the person. When I asked for help finding the book I did a lot better and actually succeeded but I still had some awkward pauses and my sentences were not quite normal either. At first the girl was a bit confused on what I was even asking and then she figured it out thankfully because I could not think of another way to word my question.
     From this experience I feel like I was better able to understand what happens in a child's mind that has a learning disability. The world is moving so fast around you and the only way to get it to slow down is to ask but that is never a fun thing to do in front of your peers. I felt confused and my mind started racing trying to figure out what to stay and I still failed which was so frustrating. I honestly felt a little dumb because I could not think of any words to replace the words that I wanted to use to complete my thoughts. I also felt embarrassed because I could tell that the people that I was talking to were confused and that they didn't completely understand me.
     This has opened my eyes and made me realize that as a teacher I need to make sure that I slow down and give enough time for all of my students to understand what is being taught. I think to accomplish this I will need to provide a lot of scaffolding and also try to do small group instruction as often as I can so I can meet the individual needs of my student. Just because they may have a learning disability doesn't mean that they can't succeed they just may need a little more help or just simply for the teach to slow down a little bit.
     Although I learned quite a bit from this experience I feel like it would be more beneficial to have to write something without using l and n instead of going and speaking to someone and then having to document the time that you spent on it. I think it could be like a half page to a full page and maybe even a paper about yourself. Even then you might have to not even use your name because it cold contain l and n. Just a suggestion but it was a cool experience and I did learn from it.

Lesson 6/7 Blog

     I really enjoyed how the low incidence and high incidence disabilities were taught. I enjoyed teaching and also learning from my classmates. The disability that my group taught was learning disabilities. It was fun to teach this disability because it is an umbrella that encompasses so many common disabilities. Learning about these disabilities made me have more sympathy. I have always been pretty good at school. School is easy for me. It honestly just makes sense. Through learning about learning disabilities I was better able to understand others that I know some that are even close to me. I realize now that school can be a challenge and that we need to be willing to help those that are struggling and not just expecting them to do it on their own.
     I really enjoyed how we learned form others as well. I think having to teach and learn made us more active learners because it made us realize the preparation that other groups had to do because we had to do it as well.
     I really enjoyed that each group had to do something to model their disability. I really enjoyed the emotionally disturbed M&Ms modeling activity. It really showed me how frustrating it can be for students with disabilities if things are being done in a way that is frustrating to the way that they think and feel.
     I also really enjoyed the modeling activity for poverty. It really helped me to visualize how it must feel or even just how life is for those that are living in poverty. I honestly never thought of poverty as a disability until it was taught to me this semester and I realize that it is. I was so blessed to have the home that I had, the education that I have, and the life that I have.
     As I have learned about these disabilities I feel like we are all disabled in some way. This makes me realize that as a society we need to be more sympathetic to those that are around us because we all struggle in some way. It also made me realize the why of differentiated instruction on a deeper level. It is really needed to meet the needs of all students not just the ones with more prominent disabilities. All disabilities are important and have impacts on the people that have those disabilities.

Stuttering Experience

     This experience was actually one that I struggled to want to do because I knew that I would feel really awkward. For this experience I called and ordered a pizza and then went to an ice cream shop to get ice cream. When I called to order the pizza the girl treated me completely normal. I was actually really impressed with her because I thought that I was hard to understand and she understood me completely and was very kind to me. Halfway through our call the connection was lost and I had to start all over but the same girl answered the phone and was still very kind to me as I ordered my pizza. Honestly for me what I learned from this experience is how weird it must feel to not be able to say the things that you want to say in a quick and concise manner. It was frustrating for me to have to stop and think about how to say things and to wonder if she will even understand me or if I will have to try again.
     At the ice cream place the lady was nice to me and answered my questions but she had a really uncomfortable expression on her face. I could tell that she just wanted to get through my order quickly and let me be on my way. It wasn't that she wasn't being kind it was just that she felt uncomfortable and I could tell that she felt that way. I'm sure that it is hard for people who have a stutter and that they may get this uncomfortable look often.
     Because of my experiences I have been on the lookout for people that fit these disabilities. My husband and I played kickball together this semester and one of the games managers had a stutter. Since I had done these experiences I had more sympathy for him and also wanted to treat him the same way as anyone else because that is how I wanted to be treated when I did the experience. People who stutter look just like regular people. What really is regular people anyways? All I know is that we are all children of God and that is what matters. This is what these experiences and this class help me to see and also come to know.
Here is a really cool video that my sister showed me. I think that it is really inspiring. It is true that things can happen that could cause us to have disabilities so we need to treat people the way that we want to be treated because it could happen to us someday.

Lesson 6/7 Blog

I have really enjoyed getting to learn from the presentations of other students! I think that one of the coolest things for me was getting to experience all different teaching styles. I felt that there were a variety of presentations, and I learned a lot from each one.

One of the most memorable presentations for me was the one about poverty. The group had us do an activity where we were all in a line in the gym. People had different colored note cards. The majority had white, and then two small percentages of people either had pink or green note cards. (I think those were the colors.) The people presenting would read a sentence, and if it applied to you you would either take a step forward or backwards. They would be things like, "If you have a white or green card, you never had to worry about where your next meal would come from. Take a step forward" or "If you have a pink card your family never had a car. Take two steps back". I don't think that I have ever realized how lucky I was to have grown up where I did and in the way that I did. I would have always been put in the group that took steps forward. That has put my SO far ahead in life! There are lots and lots of people who are just taking more and more steps backwards and getting more and more behind in life. It makes me want to help people!

From this experience, and from other experiences that I have had in this class, I have started to think about teaching at an inner city school. To be completely truthful, I am not sure if I could handle it, but I believe that there is so much good to be done in the world! I believe that teachers can make a huge difference! An education alone will change someone's life, but I think that when a student knows that someone is caring for them and rooting for them, it will change them. They can find motivation to do and be better, all because someone cared enough about them to push them to be better.

I have also been inspired by the many teachers that do quiet things everyday to help their students, like making sure that they get breakfast in the mornings. They don't do it for recognition, they do it because they truly love and care for their students. This is the kind of teacher that I would like to be.

Learning Disability

This experience was very valuable to me, especially since I am going into teaching. All of the experiences are valuable for future teachers, but for some reason this one really struck me.

This was SO hard! I literally had to think about every single word before it left my mouth. Much like the fluency experience, I could feel people getting impatient with me when I was talking to them, asking questions, and repeating back answers for clarification. I was even getting frustrated with myself because I could not think of words fast enough to get my points across. I cannot imagine having to go through that for every single interaction with others.

As I was interacting with people, I was picturing a student with a disability like this in the classroom. I know that it must be so easy for teachers who don't understand to get impatient with these students. After all, how difficult is it to just give a simple reply to a question? But to students who may have difficulty processing the question and then forming the answers, it could be the most difficult thing in the world. Especially if you add in the factor of having to do this in front of a whole class. Talk about embarrassing! If it is hard enough to talk one on one with someone, adding in the stress of having to talk in front of a whole class must have a huge impact.

As a future teacher, this is something that I will be sure to be aware of in my classroom. I definitely need to have ways ready to accommodate for these students, and to help them be successful in their school experience.

Fluency Experience

This simulation was actually really difficult for me! I was reading on our blog a little while ago and someone talked about how this one was hard because people would expect you to be "normal" because they couldn't see anything that was wrong with you until they started talking to you.

It is SO true!

I remember one particular person that I was talking to at the library. I could see that the person was trying very hard to be patient with me. They thought that they were being helpful by finishing my sentences for me, and at first it was helpful, but then it got annoying! I can talk, ok? It just takes me a little bit longer to be able to get the words out! I could also see that they felt bad for me, and for some reason I really didn't like it. I didn't really want pity, I just wanted to be treated like a human being. At times, I didn't even want to talk because I didn't want judgement or pity.

While I did find it difficult, I ended up loving this experience because it gave me a taste of what it is like to have a fluency disorder. I now have much more respect for people who can go through life with disorders like this. I feel like I have a better idea of how to treat people that I come into contact with who have similar disorders.

Service Hours

     For my service hours I attended two of the special needs events and helped out with them here on campus. The first one that I volunteered for was the special needs fun run. I first helped with set up. I was surprised at how well organized the event was and also how official everything about it was. I spent a lot of time putting together the bibs with the numbers for our runners. I hole punched and put safety pins on them. What I liked about this is that they looked exactly like how they would look at a real race so I knew that those who were participating would feel special and accomplished as they completed the race.
     After I helped set up I was sent down to the finish line to finish decorating and to cheer on the runners and hand out medals as they crossed the finish line. As I helped I was able to learn more about the special needs program on campus and all of the fun things that they do. Then the runners started to come around the corner. It was amazing to see the looks on their faces as they crossed the finish line and were congratulated. I met this one guy named Jason. I don't know what needs Jason has but he is so fun and full of life. He gave me a hug and then asked my name. I told him and then he told me that we are best friends forever. It was such a sweet moment and such good memories as I got to get to know Jason and talk with him. You could tell how much that race had meant to him and how proud he was of himself. The spirit was there and it was an amazing thing to be a part of.
     The second thing that I did was attend the extravaganza. They needed more people to come be the audience and to cheer the performers on. It was such an amazing thing to be a part of. To watch these people perform something that took them a while to learn and then to watch their faces light up as we clapped and cheered was so heartwarming. Also how much better our world would be if we just cheered each other on no matter what our struggles and trials are. Wouldn't we feel more encouraged and lifted? I know that is what being a part of the audience did for those that performed and I think that everyone should have the opportunity to fee like that. I hope that next semester I can be more involved with the special needs activities here on campus. They are truly run with the spirit and do so much good.

Service Learning

For my hours of service learning I decided to go and sit in on the Deaf meetings on Wednesday nights. I took American Sign Language all throughout high school and I had gained so much respect and interest in the Deaf culture. Those who are Deaf are proud of it, they are proud of who they are and what they have accomplished all by being Deaf. It is interesting because we have the medical ability to help Deaf people through cochlear implants, but many still decide not to get one because they are proud of who they are. Anyways, I am just fascinated by Deaf culture and the amount of pride they have, it is awesome, that that is why I decided to attend these meetings.

It was cool to be surrounded by those who are Deaf and to just be around them in their normal atmosphere. Deaf people are generally so happy. They don't see their disability as being a handicap, it is part of who they are and not only do they accept that, they are proud of it. Going to these meetings and talking about the deaf community and being able to be in the presence of those who are Deaf. Since I know ASL, I have made it a goal to reach out to those who are Deaf and to have conversations with them. I am fascinated by the Deaf community, and I have so much respect for them. Being Deaf would be so hard, but they don't view it like that, and that is what I love about the community.      

Lesson 6/7 Blog

Over these past few weeks, we have been teaching each other about all sorts or disabilities, everything from OCD, ADHD, depression, language impairments, poverty, blindness, hearing impaired, etc...It has been so eye opening learning about all these different disabilities that my future students may have. It has been a huge help learning about these disabilities because I feel more prepared on what I can do as a teacher to help my students.

My group taught all about ADD/ADHD. This is a disease that is very common, and we are practically guaranteed to have a students who has ADD/ADHD in our classroom at some point. We talks about the different ways that a teacher can help a student who has this disease such as fidget tools, explaining directions more then once, having the student sit closer to the classroom, eliminating distractions, and the list goes on and on. There are so many different ways that we can help those who have ADD or ADHD be more comfortable and focused.  

Learning about the disabilities themselves were very interesting, but learning about them from other classmates and having the opportunity to teach about ADHD was also very cool. Every group approached and taught their disability from a different angle, and so these presentations didn't seem repetitive. After doing the little activities such as organizing the M&Ms (OCD), watching the simulation video on ADD, doing the poverty activity, etc...was so eye opening! Even just doing those activities was hard for me, I can't imagine that being my everyday life. I have gained so much respect for those who have disabilities, and it has encouraged me to learn more about them so that I can help my future students. 

Learning Disability Simulation

Not using words that have an "l" or an "n" in them is much harder then you think! For part one of this simulation I went to the grocery store, I was looking for bread crumbs anyways so I figured why not! I went up to the worker and asked him if he knew where the bread crumbs were. He told me that if I kept walking straight down they would be down isle 9. I just stood there looking at him (which by the way is super awkward and uncomfortable!) and I then repeated the words back about 7 seconds later. On the simulation directions it said that some students take 20-30 seconds to process things, but 7 was so awkward I couldn't wait any longer. You could tell that the worker was thinking, "What the heck? Is she going to keep walking?" But you could also tell that he didn't want to be rude and just walk away. This was an uncomfortable situation for me but it was probably even more uncomfortable for the worker. When I slowly repeated back the directions he gave me to get to isle 9, you could tell he was trying to be nice and patient, but you could also tell he was getting frustrated when I would stumble upon words with a "l" or "n" in them and also because I was processing everything for a while before speaking.

This is one of the disabilities that I hadn't thought much about. In early field last year we learned you're supposed to wait 7-10 seconds before calling on a student to answer the question you just asked, and now I know why. When I was in the elementary classrooms I would do this, but it is awkward just sitting there for 10 seconds that feel like 10 minutes, but now I personally know why that is so important. 7-10 seconds is hoe long it takes for the average student to process the information, those with learning disabilities will take longer. This is something that I definitely want to implement in my classroom. I want all students to have an opportunity to think of an answer, because every student deserves that opportunity to learn. So it may be a little awkward at first, but it will be worth it. I have gained respect for those who have learning disabilities and how frustrating it can be to have someone else getting frustrated with you.    

Wheelchair Experience

     Today I did the wheelchair experience. I thought the blind experience was hard but this one was a lot more difficult for me. I did fine in the building maneuvering but once I decided to go to the MC to get something to eat I struggled big time. It was a good thing that I had my husband close by when I went to the MC or I'm pretty sure I would have hurt myself and a few other people. I'm also not sure if I would have ever made it back to the Hinckley building either. Since there was construction in front of the Hinckley building I had to go all the way down around the gardens by the Ricks building. That is a pretty steep hill and once I got going on it I could not slow down. Also my wheelchair kept drifting right so I almost ran off  the curb a bunch of times. My husband had to keep chasing after me and catching me before I crashed. By the end of the experience my arms hurt so bad from going up the hills. I obviously need to go work out more often. Also when I went to one of the counters in the MC to get directions it took a while for them to even notice me because they couldn't see me over the counter. It was very frustrating to me and I'm sure that this is also a very frustrating thing for people who are actually in wheelchairs. Also I struggled big time with transferring myself to a toilet and back. I honestly could not figure out how to do it. The last thing that I found to be quiet difficult was the handicapped doors. A few of them were broken or they did not stay open long enough.

     This experience was truly an eye opener for me. It truly gave me great respect for those who are in wheelchairs. I always thought they looked fun and even sometimes easier than walking. Today I realized that that is not the case. They are difficult and require a lot of strength and skill. They limited me in so many ways including how easy it was to do my homework on my lap. People who are in wheelchairs must have very strong arms. They must also have good self esteem or they need it built up because I definitely got a lot of weird looks today. I also realized how not handicapped accessible places can be. I had to take way longer routes to get to places and even though my bathroom stall was a handicapped one it was not big enough by any means. My wheelchair barely fit in it. This experience has really changed my outlook on people and wheelchairs and it has really gotten me thinking about how I can make accommodations for students that are in a wheelchair or have limited mobility.

Wheelchair Experience

After doing the wheelchair experience, I have a lot more respect for people who are in wheelchairs everyday. I knew that it would be hard, but I had no idea that it would be that hard!

The first challenge for me was learning how to work the wheelchair itself. I decided that I would take some time to ride around the Hinckley to figure out how it worked. At first, I kept running into everything! You name it, I ran into it. Walls, benches, people, basically any object, inanimate or moving was hit. No one was safe. Eventually, I figured out how to wheel myself in a straight line. Then, I decided to conquer the door. The trick is to open the door and propel yourself through it fast enough so that you don't get stuck in between the door and the door frame. As you might guess, this is not humanly possible, so I did, in fact get stuck in between the door and the door frame. Eventually I figured it out and managed to get through the door. There were so many physical challenges!

In all honesty though, I think that the hardest thing for me wasn't all of the physical challenges. I really don't like feeling like I'm drawing a lot of attention to myself, and I hate the feeling of being stared at. That is how I felt while I was doing this activity. I felt as if everyone was noticing me, and pitying me, and I hated it! I knew that I looked different, and I knew that life was much harder during those few hours, but I was still a regular human being! This activity has made me think twice about how I view those with disabilities. Yes, accommodations and modifications need to be made to better help those with mental and physical challenges, and yes, help is great to have! Ultimately though, we are all children of God. We should never talk down to or look down on anyone.

Teach One Another- Emotional and Behavioral Disorders

My group taught the class about emotional and behavioral disorders. We focused mainly on depression, bipolar disorder, OCD, anxiety, schizophrenia, PTSD, and conduct disorders. Through our research on this project and through putting it together, I have learned a lot about different disorders that people have, and I think that I have developed more sympathy for people who struggle with these things. 

I felt that we had a pretty good lesson delivery for the most part. I think that we used a variety of strategies to teach and to get our point across. These strategies included using a movie, doing a scenario, and using a powerpoint to teach.

I liked the game that we used, and I think that it was really good for getting the attention of our class. I also thought that it was helpful in getting people to experience what it is like to have these types of disorders, especially OCD and anxiety.

If I were to teach this lesson by myself, I would have probably adjusted the pace of the lesson a little bit more. This is harder to do in a group because you want to make sure that everyone gets to say the part that they prepared and that everyone gets equal talk time. There were different parts of our lesson that probably could have been more emphasized, but I am glad that everyone got to talk and share experiences.

The pace of our lesson could have been an area for improvement. I also think that it might have been good to focus in a little bit more detail on less, than just covering the surface on a lot. For example, I think that we could have talked more about ways to help our students who suffer from these kinds of issues.

I couldn't find the criteria on the syllabus, and I will keep looking, but I think that we did well on our lesson. We did all that was asked of us on the actual assignment on I-learn. We could have done better at explaining different vocabulary terms, but I think that we did have vocabulary that the class learned.

Service Learning-Buddies Program

For my service learning experience I have been volunteering with the BYU Idaho Buddies program.
The program is incredible! Each month, I get to spend a couple of hours with a buddy who has special needs. We have gotten to do a lot of fun activities together, like having a luau and feeding the ducks at a local park.

I am always amazed at how open and loving these people can be. There was a boy who I had never met before, and he just came up to me and gave me a hug and talked to me. No hesitation, just pure acceptance and love. I have felt this with each person that I have worked with there. I found myself wishing that this was how everyone could be all the time!

One of the things that I love about the program is that the people that attend are all so kind and loving to one another, and this is such an important part of communication. When people feel loved and when they help other people feel loved, communication is facilitated. Everyone is free to be him or herself and to express the opinions that they have without worrying about being judged. I feel that communication is so effective among the people there. I also feel that there are so many people who don’t know how to communicate with or even act around people that have disabilities. They are people too, with likes, dislikes, and interests. I think that just reaching out and being friendly can go along way when it comes to someone with a disability. You do need to be sure to not overstep your bounds though, as some people really need and appreciate their space.

I love this program! It has been an amazing experience to work with such incredible individuals. I am so excited to continue to volunteer with them throughout the semester, and I want to continue with the program in future semesters to come. I feel that I get to learn something new every time that I spend my time with these people, so I am really the one who benefits from the program!

A Weekend With My Roommate

I substituted a weekend with my roommate for the mask activity.

Sounds like an average weekend, but it definitely wasn't.

My roommate is deaf, and so we were barely able to communicate all weekend. I have been trying to learn sign language for my HWD project, but I definitely no not have enough of a vocabulary to communicate.

The weekend was very interesting, to say the least. We went to Idaho Falls on Saturday to go to Ulta and Target. Then, we got dinner together and watched a movie. The whole time we could kind of communicate, with me signing and spelling a little bit, but in large part we talked through written notes on our phones.

I think the weirdest thing about my experience was going to church on Sunday. There was some confusion about who was going to interpret for her. She thought that her interpreter was coming to our sacrament meeting and he thought that she was going to go to his sacrament meeting, so we ended up sitting in our sacrament meeting, with me not being able to tell her what was going on. I could kind of tell her the gist of what was happening and of what people were talking about, but for the most part, I couldn't really tell her anything. While we were singing the hymns, I would just point to the words, and she would sign along, which was really cool.

One of the funniest things, I thought, was when I got to talk to people, I kept trying to sign to them! When I got the sacrament passed to me, I signed "thank you" by accident.

The weekend really opened up my eyes to what it is like to not be able to communicate with people. It is SO hard! And even though I respected my roommate before, I have a lot more respect now for her and for what she does everyday. She is so patient!

The Importance of Play

Something that really stood out to me this week in SPED was the video that we watched on Wednesday. To me, it really emphasized the importance of play and nutrition in children's lives. Often times, children who live in poverty are lacking in these areas. They do not get the chance to play, and sometimes do not know where their next meal is coming from. This seriously puts children behind! The good news is that they can catch back up by having proper nutrition and by having the opportunity to play.

I was also thinking about the amount of play that children get who do not live in poverty. I was wondering about the effect of video games on development, because it don't think that it really counts as playing. We talked in class about parents encouraging their children to play. This can mean actually getting on the floor and playing with them! We also talked about how playing doesn't always mean a child sitting on the ground with toy cars. Playing can mean a child sitting in a high chair dropping food over the side. Instead of stopping that, we should be facilitating it. This makes me wonder about how I can incorporate this in my classroom as a future teacher. I definitely want to be able to facilitate this in my classroom!

We also talked about different kinds of stress. There are some kinds of stress that are good. It can motivate us to do better in life, and it can help us to perform well if there is the right amount of it. Children who live in poverty experience toxic or extreme stress, which seriously hinders growth.

Making Accommodations

     This week in SPED we talked a lot about accommodations for those that need them. In my group we had to make a list of requirements for a portfolio that we would use for all students. We had to make sure that the requirements were fair for all of our students. As we created this we realized how we could word things in our classroom to meet all the needs of our students. One thing that I realized is that options places a huge factor in this. You can't expect all of your students to be the same so when requirements are listed they have to be able to fit each student and that is where options comes into play. When you give a child options they can pick which thing will be best for them or best fit them. Also it is okay to have some requirements for things but you also need to have the options too. The requirement needs to be something that is easy for all students to achieve. Ours was that their tests were a required part of their portfolio. All of them would be taking the test so it would be easy to put into the portfolio. Everything else that they put in their portfolio would be a choice or an option. This would allow mercy if a child was to ose something or had a bad day and was not proud of their work.

     Another thing that really stood out to me this week was the fact that fair and equal are not the same. I need to treat my students fair not equal. Equal means that they would all get the same thing but all children do not all need the same things. If things are fair then they meet each child's needs to the extent that they need their needs met.

     The last thing that I thought was interesting is that playing can be learning. I never thought of it in that way but we do learn a great deal when we play. Especially when we play with others. This now has me thinking more about how I can implement play into my own classroom. Do I get to decide or is it all decided for me. I would like to incorporate play into learning so that my students find learning to be a lot more fun.

Evaluating/Accommodations CH11

This weeks reading was about evaluating student learning and how we as teachers can make helpful accommodations. Some different types of assessments that students can use to help evaluate themselves are portfolios and performance based assessments. This are both great, non-traditional ways that you can assess a students without having them take the traditional multiple choice/essay test, and it still shows that the students know the material and have a grasp on what they should be learning. I am personally a fan for these alternate ways for assessing students because I know that I am a horrible test taker, and I wish that my teachers would have done some other assessments rather then just exams because it does help students get involved with their own learning.

Assessments is one way we can make accommodations for students, some others are report card grading and also accommodations before, during, and after a tests. When I first read about the report card grading I was a little confused because why would I change students grades? But that is not what this is about. Report card grading is referring to grading practices that benefit all students, using standard based grades, and basing grades on IEP objectives. Grading should be based on the same scale for all students. In class we also watched a little video that talked a little bit about accommodations. We should not act as a crutch for those who have disabilities, but we should motivate them and push them to their fullest potential.

Visual Impairment

I honestly had no idea that these tasks would be so difficult, but of course I was wrong! Wearing the masks and being blind was a lot harder then expected. I knew the one where you couldn't really see out of either eye was going to be hard, but I didn't know being blind in one eye would be such a challenge! When I was in class with the mask where you could see out of your left eye, I was trying to take notes off of a powerpoint and it was extremely difficult! It was really hard for me to focus on the projection and then looked down at my paper to take notes and then look back up. I felt a headache coming on because it was so hard for my one eye to keep refocusing. I know that y right eye is dominant, but I thought that I would do fine while only have vision in my left! Having both eyes being covered and having to look around big black circles was really hard. I took the elevator because I did not want to fell down the stairs, I could see very little on the power points in class, and I would constantly be asking my friend "what does that say?". Not having that center field of vision made it very difficult to do normal, everyday tasks. Oddly enough, the longer I kept the masks on, the better my eyes would focus, but it still by no means was crystal clear.

I know that I have been saying this in all of my simulation reflections but the respect I have gained for those who have visual impairments is huge. I do wear glasses, but I am nowhere close to being as blind as I was when wearing the masks. I know people who are blind in one eye, and I also know a girl who sees like a fist is right in the middle of here eyes so she has too look around it (like the mask where it blocks out your center field vision). I was nervous to do all these simulations at first, but I am so glad that I did and that it is a requirement for this class because it really puts you in someone else's shoes and lets you see a glimpse of how some people live. Even though it is only for four hours, it is still so beneficial to see how others see, and a huge amount of respect is gained for those who have these disabilities 24/7.

Language Impairment

Doing the stuttering simulation was surprisingly one of the hardest. When doing the wheelchair or the blind masks, people knew you have a disability, where as the stuttering you just looked "normal" and people would stare when you opened your mouth. I did a similar activity to this in high school. I was taking ASL and we had to pretend that we were deaf for the whole day so we could see how difficult that would be. This simulation reminded me a lot of that. When my husband and I went to order food at a restaurant and I stuttered, it was like the cashier person didn't know how to respond. She kept asking me to repeat things which made it that much more frustrating. At the begging of this semester my husband and I moved to a new apartment. We had to sell our previous contract and the guy who bought it had a language impairment. When talking to him he had a large stutter, and he would take a few seconds to thing about what he wanted to say, and he had a loss for words a lot. Being in SPED 310, I know how frustrating and hard it can be to have a language impairment and so I was being very polite towards him and I wasn't getting frustrating. I could tell that he was embarrassed by his disability and that he was getting frustrated. I felt so bad for him because I know that those who aren't informed about language disabilities will judge him or even make fun of him. While doing this simulation I was thinking about the boy who bought our apartment. You could tell then whenever I would talk to someone they would get annoyed because they couldn't fully understand what I was saying.

Doing this simulation was probably the biggest eye opener for me. The other simulations were difficult, don't get me wrong, but having a language disability doesn't make you look like you have a disability on the outside. Disabilities in now way should every define a person, but I feel like when you are in a wheel chair or blind people feel bad for you and have respect for you but with a language impairment I didn't really feel like this. I felt like people were judging me and looking at me like I was stupid. I have gained so much respect for those who have language impairments because I have seen a little glimpse at how frustrating it can be to keep repeating yourself or having people constantly saying "what???".    

Disabilities

Over these past few weeks, we have been teaching each other about all sorts or disabilities, everything from OCD, ADHD, depression, language impairments, poverty, blindness, hearing impaired, etc...It has been so eye opening learning about all these different disabilities that my future students may have. It has been a huge help learning about these disabilities because I feel more prepared on what I can do as a teacher to help my students.

My group taught all about ADD/ADHD. This is a disease that is very common, and we are practically guaranteed to have a students who has ADD/ADHD in our classroom at some point. We talks about the different ways that a teacher can help a student who has this disease such as fidget tools, explaining directions more then once, having the student sit closer to the classroom, eliminating distractions, and the list goes on and on. There are so many different ways that we can help those who have ADD or ADHD be more comfortable and focused.  

Learning about the disabilities themselves were very interesting, but learning about them from other classmates and having the opportunity to teach about ADHD was also very cool. Every group approached and taught their disability from a different angle, and so these presentations didn't seem repetitive. After doing the little activities such as organizing the M&Ms (OCD), watching the simulation video on ADD, doing the poverty activity, etc...was so eye opening! Even just doing those activities was hard for me, I can't imagine that being my everyday life. I have gained so much respect for those who have disabilities, and it has encouraged me to learn more about them so that I can help my future students. 

Visual Impairment

     This experience was quite interesting for me. I actually did this experience on a day when I had quite a lot that I had to get done. I still had homework to do that morning and classes to go to. I started off the four hours with what I thought was going to be the easiest mask for me but it actually was quite hard. I was wearing the mask that covered my right eye only. My right eye is dominant but I thought that I would do fine with my left eye. I was trying to type something on my computer and I really struggled to focus with my left eye. My vision started to get all blurry and I started to get a headache. The next three even though they impaired me more I didn't try as hard to see and something amazing happened. I started to be able to see without a blur. When I wasn't trying so hard to see it became so much easier for me to focus my eyes. It was however interesting switching from mask to mask. After an hour I would be used to the mask that I had been wearing and the switch was something that I had to adjust to. Overall though it was quite fun and quite a challenge. I know that those days I did not get quite as much out of class because I couldn't read everything that was written on the board or on the projector. I started to get better at it as the day went on however.

     I feel a new respect for those that have vision impairments now. I have gotten just a little glimpse of how hard it really is to function without vision. Honestly it is amazing to me how much these people accomplish and how they live with their circumstance. They must be very positive people. I feel like this experience will help me have more compassion for those with loss of vision in life and especially in my future classroom. I understand a little of how it feels to have the disability so now I need to as a teacher help those that have this disability by making accommodations or modifications for them. This experience has truly changed my knowledge and outlook on disabilities as a whole.

Teaching Reflection Learning Disabilities

     I feel that our lesson delivery went really well. We tried really hard to deliver the information in a clear and logical manner. We also were able to include visuals personal experiences, and hands on experiences to help teach the content. The students were engaged in the discussion. We allowed them to share their own experiences with the class to help us to better understand the disability that we taught. We also gave them a worksheet to write notes on as they listened to our presentation and as I looked around the room I could tell that most of them were actively engaging in the handout that we provided for them. If I were to teach this again by myself I would have more hands on activities. I think that we should have done more of those to help the students better understand what we were teaching. Also I think we focused too much on one of the disabilities under the umbrella. I would try to hit at least three and then mention the other ones that fit. I think the other things went well. We had good tips and information. Also, I think the video that we showed at the beginning did a good job of explaining our topic quickly and then we were able to go more in depth with it.
   
      I really think that we needed improving on our hands on experiences and again we needed to focus on more than just one of the disabilities under the umbrella. I felt that the presentation was good it just needed the content vamped up in those two areas. Our group all helped quite a bit. I felt like the work was evenly distributed and that everything came together quite nicely. We used a google power point so that we could all work on it at the same time and add new things in. We worked hard and I think that the people that we presented to came away with something new. Because of all of these things I would give our group a ten. I also put in my effort and time and was at all of the group meetings and did my part of the research. I also participated in presenting our presentation and trying to clarify things when people had questions. Because of this I would give myself a ten. This was a fun way to learn about all of the different disabilities this semester. I feel like I have learned a great deal from teaching and from being taught by my peers.

Wheelchair Simulation

This past week I did my wheelchair simulation assignment and man as it tough! I honestly wasn't expecting it to be so hard. The day that I signed up to be in a wheelchair was a Tuesday which is that day I have my PE class. Whoever was teaching that day had to make accommodations for me to play the activity. I got the wheelchair and wheeled over to my first class and had to open the door. This was hard because I had to maneuver myself in the doorway before it closed and the door kind of closed on the wheelchair. Once I was in the classroom I had to move a chair out of the way so that I could wheel up to the desk, this was hard because you can't get very good control over the wheelchair and once you do, the wheelchair barely fits under the desk. After class was done my friend opened the door for me, (much easier that way), and then I wheeled myself to the bathroom and drinking fountain. This was an impossible task! No matter how hard I tried I could not get my body onto the toilet without using my legs! My next class was down the huge hill, going down was easy, going back up? Not so much. I was surprised that nobody offered to help to be honest. I really didn't want anyone to help me, but it was weird that nobody offered. When I got back to the Hinckley, finally, I rode the wheelchair back up the elevator and returned it.

I don't know why I thought this would be easier then it was, but I gained so much respect for those who have disabilities and are in a wheelchair. It was sad that nobody offered to help me. I don't know if this is because they're just rude, but I think it is because most people know that it is a requirement for SPED and they have been in my shoes. I had people open doors for me and they would say, "Ya I've been there" but nobody actually offered to push. I was proud of myself for being able to go up and down the hills though. This experience was really an eye opener for me. I have always felt bad for those who are in wheelchairs, but I never understood how difficult it really is until now. I know a lot of people in wheelchairs want to be independent, but now that I know the struggle I will always offer to help.

Strategies

         It was interesting to learn about strategies this week and how in some cases they can help and in other cases they may hinder a child in their learning. I enjoyed the activity we did that marked our participation and acts of affirmation. It really did help me to be a more active participant in the class and to get more out of the class. I normally try to stay a little more quiet in my classes but when I actually thought about participation because I had to mark it down I wanted to participate more. It was interesting though to see when it did not help other students in the class. It really opened my eyes to the fact that not all strategies will work for all students so I as a teacher need to recognize this and allow my students to have other options. My classroom needs to be flexible and for this to happen I need to be flexible as well in the ways that I use strategies and the ways that I teach. I also think that it is quite important to know the strategies well before I implement them in my classroom. I need to know that they make sense before I implement them in my classroom.

         I also think that it is important to allow the self in your students to happen. They need to learn to do things on their own. They need to learn how to stand up for themselves. They need to learn how to learn on their own. So many things they can learn to do on their own if a teacher allows them to learn these things. These things can be so easily taught in a classroom but as a teacher you have to allow them to be taught. This means loosening the reigns on your students and allowing discovery. In the end these things learned will be so beneficial.

Success For All Students

This week in SPED 310 we have been talking about strategies for independent learning. There are so many strategies that can help our students. I love that we have a variety of strategies that we can use to help individual students to be successful.

One activity that I really liked was the tallying activity that we did on Wednesday. For me, I felt that I was more focused on keeping tally marks than I was on the actual conversation that was taking place, but I can see how it would be helpful for students that are on the quiet side to speak up. As we were doing the activity, I was reminded of an experience that I had in my high school Spanish class. I was a really quiet kid, and I was always told to speak up. In Spanish, participation was a part of our grade. I was really shy, and I didn't want to speak up, so my grade was starting to suffer from it. My teacher noticed it, and asked to talk to me. I told her that I didn't really like to talk in class because I was afraid of getting the answers wrong. She was so nice and said that she would work with me. We came up with a plan. In class, we would usually have work time, and then we would go over the assignment. During work time, I would go and talk with my teacher, or she would come by my desk. I would show her one of my answers, and she would make sure that it was right. Then, when the time came, she would call on me to answer that question.

I was so thankful for my teacher being willing to find out what the problem was, and for being willing to help me succeed. From that experience, I have learned a lot about about advocating for myself. Not every teacher will do that for me, so if I have a problem I need to go to them. This is something that I hope that I can teach my students when I am a teacher. I would hope that most teachers are willing to sit down and work with the students that they have because it makes a huge difference!

Strategies for Independent Learning

This week we talked all about the different strategies you can use for helping students be successful with independent learning. Some of these strategies will be successful for some but not others. In class on Wednesday we answered a bunch of questions in groups and we were asked to keep tally of how many times we participated and how many affirmations we gave. This is a great strategy to help those students who are quiet are are usually not involved, get involved! However, for me this was annoying. I felt like I had to make comments even when they weren't necessary and I felt like I was concentrated too much on making the tallies rather then being in the discussion. Like I said, some strategies will work better for others and we as teachers need to figure out what strategies work best for which students.

We also talked a bit about paraprofessionals. This was interesting for me to learn about because growing up there was never a paraprofessional in any of my classes so I loved hearing my classmates stories! Paraprofessionals can be a great resource in the classroom if you use them more as a co-teacher rather then a babysitter. The main thing we don't want is to have the students become completely dependent on their para, that they stop trying. We are the teacher of the classroom and we need to communicate with the paraprofessional and let them know what we want. It is our class, we make the rules. It might be awkward especially if they have been paraprofessionals for a long time, but it is still our class.