4/17/2020
Topic:
Students With Disabilities
Michael Lynch
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Think of a student with a disability you have now, or have had in the past. Identify their disability. Describe the way in which their disability affected their learning. Describe at least one or more ways you successfully accommodated or modified instruction for this student. Share your response in the threaded discussion.
I had a student in my musical theatre course that had a disability that caused him to be in a wheelchair. He did have the capability to walk, albeit very carefully and for short durations. Obviously, his disability didn't have that much influence on his ability to develop character and to emote, however, there was the struggle of choreography and sometimes blocking. I wanted this student to be involved in the entire performance, rather than just one song that I accommodated. There were some things that he was able to do out of the chair with simple movements and when he was done, his chair was waiting in the wing by our stage manager. Other times, the choreo was a bit more intensive and fast, so we worked with the choreographer to have others push the chair with the student using his upper body to interact. We were creative and actually was able to give him a moment on stage with him as the focal point of the movement. He excelled in Theater and never once did I let him use his disability to not participate. We always found a way to work a scene or activity that would work for him. |
4/24/2020
Topic:
Tools And Strategies
Michael Lynch
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Option 2: Describe at least one way you have used technology to meet the needs of a student with a disability in your classroom. Be sure to identify or describe the specific technology and the student's disability. Share your response in the threaded discussion.
We have the fortune of having Google Chromebooks for our students. When it was first implemented schoolwide, I had a student who had a visual disability (If I recall correctly, Nystagmus). I developed a guided notes in the form a simple graphic organizer so that he did not have to stare a screen for too long, but it also allowed him to enlarge the text, work on it at home. For productions, I selected ones that I could purchase classroom digital rights, so that I could upload it into the Google Classroom for him as well. When it came to assessments, in addition to verbal quizzes, I would also push out small checkpoints online. |
4/24/2020
Topic:
Assessment of Learning
Michael Lynch
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Option 1: Provide/Describe one or more examples of adapted or alternative assessments you have successfully used in the classroom for students with disabilities. Be sure to identify the student's disability. Share your response in the threaded discussion.
I had a student with a behavioral disability, which included shorten attention span and bouts of anger from minor frustrations. When we were doing a playwriting project to assess students understanding of plot development and dramatic form, he immediately got upset and stormed out when he heard the extensive requirements. I afterwards adapted the project so that it was not so lengthy, gave him extra time to work on it, and allowed him his own choices on the plot. I also made it a point to have daily conferences with the student to check in, and made sure to constructively point out issues I saw, one at a time so he did not feel overwhelmed. He ended up creating his own world, unique characters, a functioning plot, and was able to write a multi-page script following the dramatic form and formatting requirements. |