Exceptional Students

What a great semester! I have really grown a lot as a person and as a student. I have learned so many new and interesting things that I am excited to try out in my future classroom.

The most important takeaway from my Exceptional Students class is that we are all children of God and that is made manifest in different school practices. I have gained a greater appreciation for how much patience and sacrifice teachers give to their students. I have been able to reflect on my own teachers and the qualities that they possess that I want to have. I am reminded that each student is different in many ways and it is my privilege to teach them.


 

  

Student Behaviors and Visual Impairments

This week has been a crazy and extremely busy one. To sum it up...it is finals week. It has been hard but it has also been very rewarding. This past week I have learned many different strategies on how to help students manage their behaviors in the classroom. There are also some things that teachers can do to help their students.

One strategy that I think is important to use is positive reinforcement. This can help a student to keep them from displaying inappropriate behavior. This can also help to let the student know that they are loved and valued. I also think that this strategy is a good self-esteem booster.

Also during this week, I was able to complete the last simulation for this class. I had to wear different glasses to experience how it would be to have a visual impairment. It seemed quite easy as first but once I got started my perspective quickly changed. I got frustrated very easily because I couldn't see very clearly. My perception was very different. At one time I almost dropped a cup full of water because I couldn't quite tell where it was. This whole experience was very difficult but it made me more grateful for the eyes that I have and it allowed me to experience what it feels like for someone who does have a visual impairment. This will help me to be able to meet the needs of students with visual impairments in my future classroom.

 

    

How to Evaluate Student Learning

In my Exceptional Students class this week, I learned about a few different ways to evaluate student learning. The most common way to evaluate student learning is through testing. This will work for some students but for others it doesn't work as well.

Another way to evaluate student learning is through performance-based assessments. This type of assessment provides the student with the opportunity to demonstrate their mastery of a skill through the performance of doing a task. This task could be putting together a puzzle, growing a plant, or being able to match the word of an object to the picture.

This has really helped me to see how I can fairly evaluate the learning of my students. I will definitely be applying and using these two methods of evaluation in my future classroom.

I also completed another stimulation for this class that involved asking some questions to different people without using words that contained the letters "l" and "n". It was very hard to talk without using these letters. I had to really think and concentrate on what words I was saying. It also took a lot longer to ask my whole question. Through this experience I have realized that there are many words that I use all the time that contain these two letters. 

 

How to Differentiate Instruction in the Classroom

This week I was able to learn about how to differentiate instruction in the classroom to meet the different needs of the students. This lesson made me really appreciate all of the hard work that teachers, especially special education teachers, do to make sure that all of the students in their class are learning the lesson content.

Here are some suggestions that I found to be very helpful that I am going to apply to my future classroom:

• introduce new content and/or skills at a slow rate
• model the assignments so the students know what is expected of them
• provide lots of opportunities for practice and review
• create simple study guides, concept maps and diagrams
• use cue words and definitions or help with memory and retention
• give instructions orally and have them also written down for easy access

I believe that by implementing these suggestions I will be able to help each one of my students to succeed in the classroom and throughout the rest of their lives.

Looking Past the Phyiscal Disabilities

This week my eyes have been opened to many new and insightful things. It has been a crazy week with a lot going on but I have managed to get everything done that I need to get done.

The first eye opener is that I realized that the students in my future classroom might not have physical or identifying disabilities. I don't know why I never realized this before this week, but somehow it happened. When I think of my future classroom as a Special Education teacher, I think of students in wheelchairs, students who have limited use of their limbs, or students who are unable to talk and/or communicate. My view changed because I was able to learn that not all students who have a disability are in wheelchairs, many times their disability is not seen. What a mind blowing week this has been for me!

The second eye opener that I experienced this week is that I got the opportunity to spend a few hours in a wheelchair. I had certain tasks that I had to complete while in the wheelchair. It was very difficult. I could not go upstairs, I could not reach anything on the top shelf, and it was very difficult to maneuver the wheelchair out of tight corners. I gained new insights into what the world looks like from a wheelchair and a greater appreciation for my brother Jacob, who is in a wheelchair. His life is hard because of all of the things that he cannot do, due to being in a wheelchair. I was truly humbled by this assignment and am grateful for all of the things that my body can do.

Inclusive Classroom: What it Takes

This week I was able to learn about the INCLUDE strategy and how to implement it in the classroom. As I was reading I thought that this topic went really well with how to turn your classroom into an inclusive classroom. Here are the steps:

• Establish a sense of community in the classroom
• The classroom structure is well organized
• There are values taught in the classroom
• Each student is fairly evaluated in their school performance
• The rules of the classroom make sense to each student. 

The INCLUDE strategy can be described as: a strategy to help differentiate instruction for students with special needs in the general education classroom. By using this strategy, teachers are able to make sure that all of their students are learning and expanding their knowledge in their classroom. I believe that if teachers will create an inclusive classroom than the INCLUDE strategy will just naturally follow. 

For more details and information regarding the INCLUDE strategy see the graphic below.  

 

How to Assess the Needs of a Student

This week I learned about all of the different kinds of assessments that are a part of the public school system. These assessments are used to measure certain levels of performance in different school subjects. All students are required to take these assessments but there are certain accommodations for students with disabilities. These accommodations include: extended time, frequent breaks, take the test in the special education room instead of the general education classroom, change the response and presentation format of the test so the student can understand.  *please see the image below for more details about assessments.

Through these different assessments and tests teachers are able to determine the needs of a student. They will be able to know how to adapt the curriculum to help the student learn. They will know what the learning style and preference is for that student so they can change and adapt their lesson plans to benefit the student.

This reminds me of FAPE, which stands for Free Appropriate Public Education. I think this is a great example of how to make the curriculum appropriate for all students.

The Power of Teamwork

This week in my Exceptional Students class I learned about collaboration and teamwork. There are a lot of people that have to work together to provide services to just one student. To help me connect the dots of what collaboration is I created a concept map, which I have included down below, for your reference.

I was able to put what I had learned from the lesson this week as I worked on two different group projects. It was really interesting to see how teamwork and collaboration fit and work together in this setting. Communication, as always, is extremely important! This is key for everyone to realize and be able to put into practice.

Procedures and Services in Special Education

Do you know how many people are involved in making special education happen in the school?  Some of the people involved include:

• general education teacher
• special education teacher
• school psychologists
• speech/language therapists
• social workers
• paraprofessionals
• physical therapists
• occupational therapists
• sign language interpreter

All of these professionals and more are involved in making sure that special education is available for all students attending the school.

When I was attending high school I had no idea that all of these professionals worked at my school. I had some interaction with a few of these professionals so I thought that was all that was provided.

I also learned about the process of how students can obtain special services/education. It can be a long process but very rewarding for those students. I think that this is important because it shows that teachers and administrators are concerned about the students in the school and they want the very best for them.

Here is a concept map of everything that I learned this week to help you to connect the dots.

Communication

What a crazy week this has been! It has been full of school, which includes homework and unexpected group assignments, work, and family. But the one thing that has been constant throughout this week has been communication. There has been some good communication and some miscommunication.

This week I was able to learn about the process of creating an IEP (Individualized Education Plan). This is a very complex process because you are trying to meet the needs of the student with disabilities, in regards to their education, while making sure that you are meeting the needs of the parents that they request for their son or daughter. The key to making this process go as smoothly as possible is having good communication between all of the parties involved.  

Education for ALL

This week I was able to take a trip into the past to learn about all of the laws and legislation that brought about education for every child. It was very hard and it took a long time for all children to be able to receive an education. I was surprised to realize that all of this happened not very long ago. I feel like sometimes we think this great movement took place a long time ago, but in reality it was not that long ago. 

I am extremely grateful for all of the brave men and women that stood up and decided that something needed to be changed in the public school system to include all children. Because of this great movement my brother, who is in a wheelchair, was able to attend high school and who is now attending a university to further his education. Along with continuing his education, he has a job working at the local Wal-Mart.

He is able to do both of these things because of the ADA act. He has found a new purpose to his life and he feels like he can actually do something productive with his life. If he had lived 50+ years ago, he would not be able to do these things. What a huge impact this has made in his life and in the lives of others.

We are ALL children of God

Hello everyone! It has been a while since I have posted but that is all about to change...right here, right now. Ready, set, GO!!!!

I just started a new semester at BYU-Idaho. I am currently a Special Education major and am talking a class called, Exceptional Students. In this class I will be learning about how to include those exceptional students in my classroom. Each week I am given the opportunity to reflect and share what I have been learning, which I am now going to be doing in my blog.

This week I read some amazing talks about the power of inclusion and looking out for the one.  I recommend that you take a look and read these talks. Here are the links: The Doctrine of Inclusion, The Moving of the Water, Concern for the One.

The main message from all of these talks is that we are all children of God. We don't all look, talk, think or act the same but we all came from the same being. To sum up everything that I learned, I created a concept map linking everything back to, we are ALL children of God. Here is my concept map so you can get an idea of what I am talking about.

With this map as the backdrop for my learning in this class, I am confident that I will be able to teach in a classroom where each student can feel the love and support of their Heavenly Father in their learning endeavors.