4/28/2019
Topic:
Students With Disabilities
Wendy Holt
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Bobby L. came to me as a high school junior with partial hearing loss. His disability affected his learning in my class in several ways; however, my approach to having his disability have the opposite affect took a holistic perspective. My teaching methods encompassed the collaborative input of an IEP team. The classroom environment had to be conducive to his learning needs. Additionally, I needed to self-modify my teaching style to provide him with maximal access to the curriculum.
His learning in my class was based on a “road map” created by a team of experts -from testing results to goals for progress- which in turn added up to my best abilities to convey a program of instruction and supports that met his needs in order to improve and build skills. The IEP team was pivotal in insuring that his disability not affects his learning via strategies and techniques which created the least restrictive posture.
As for the classroom environment, some of the modifications and accommodations included my decorating with rugs and other sound absorption materials. I used a lot of visual supplements (projected materials, whiteboard, charts, vocabulary lists, lecture outlines). I knew fundamental sign language, so I could get his attention, pause and check for understanding. Bobby was given extra time to complete assignments, and he had a buddy note-taker.
Moreover, in order for Bobby’s disability to not affect his learning, I needed to self-modify my teaching style to provide him with maximal access to the curriculum. For example, I was mindful of not talking with my back to the class. I offered pre-tutoring for vocabulary assignments and provided extra practice time. In addition, I developed alternative curriculum. Although I am writing about Bobby L., all my students would have received the same services, or even more, had the modifications been needed for their success. |
5/28/2019
Topic:
Tools And Strategies
Wendy Holt
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The Tools & Strategies Overview ask for me to describe how two strategies could potentially be implemented in my classroom, and how they could be used to address students with disabilities. The two strategies I would implement would be graphic organizers and mnemonic strategies. Graphic organizers, such as cognitive mapping, may allow explicit instructions whereby my students develop deeper connections between major ideas and correlating relationships, using lines or arrows, to connect ideas with written language. Mnemonic strategies provide a systematic procedure I believe will enhance memory skills by encoding information that may result in ease of mental retrieval thereby enhancing cognitive development. |
6/4/2019
Topic:
Assessment of Learning
Wendy Holt
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I am a relatively new teacher, so my experiences with a variety of alternative assessment tools are limited. However, for a past student whose disabilities made it difficult to read standard print and to stay focused. I fortunately was able to use text-to-speech software. It benefited the student by having test questions read to her which, in my opinion, placed her on a level playing field in comparison to the other students who could read the questions themselves. Additionally, the student an issue with hyperactivity, I made a whole class assessment one which involved group work for the creation of a skit performance set to music, and I assigned criteria for the evaluative measures. It resulted in an opportunity for movement and interaction which kept my student on-task and involved. Along with a couple of other modified assessment, she was quite successful in meeting the class goals which positively correlated with my other students' success. |