6/4/2020
Topic:
Students with Disabilities
Emily Mahlmann
|
In one chorus class I had 2 EBD students, a student with autism, and a student who was hard of hearing in one ear but no hearing aid. Each had their own challenges but also their strengths. I built a relationship with one of my students with behavioral challenges by accident and necessity. If his assigned seat was anywhere else in the room he would get off-task and bring 9 people off-task with him. I assigned his seat to be directly in front of me and when I saw his attention waning or his fidgeting getting distracting for others, I could give him a small reminder that didn't embarrass him in front of the class. Thankfully he responded positively and not with opposition. When reminders didn't work, I asked him to move his seat to one of our vacation spots just a few feet away from other students so he was still part of the activity but not tempted by peers immediately around him. After a while he would notice when he was distracting or other people would bother him and would ask if he could go to one of the vacation spots. He did very well with his grades with these reminders and his self advocating.
My student who was hard of hearing is also a terrific singer. The classroom change for him was most likely the simplest to implement. He is only hard of hearing in one ear, so his assigned seat and all the rest of the boy's section was moved so his good ear was positioned toward me, and he sat in front. I made sure I slightly exaggerated my lips as I spoke important points or when the rest of the room was working and I was speaking to just him.
My student with autism was enthusiastic but just needed reminders to stay on task, gentle wake up reminders as she curled up to sleep, or given an opportunity to demonstrate a concept in a different way. The biggest challenges were some other students mimicking her flapping hand movements. I tried to educate and set up buddy situations for empathy, but we didn't overcome this bullying. |
6/24/2020
Topic:
Students with Disabilities
Emily Mahlmann
|
Describe how two of the strategies discussed could potentially be implemented in your classroom. Be sure to identify the two strategies by name and describe how they could be used to address the needs of a student with a disability.
I plan on using centers next year as ways to review practice skills learned, to increase motivation, and to allow me to work with small groups. A student with a disability can benefit from centers by solidifying a concept in new way (visual, auditory, kinesthetic), and gives me an opportunity to scaffold the groups that need it.
I also plan on using cubed activities for tiered activities. Even if everyone gets the same list of 6 activities increasing in level of thinking based on Marzano's taxonomy, I can highlight one of those based on that student's readiness to learn, and they can pick 2 others; or I can highlight an activity for each student based on their level on the topic, they can work in a group and roll a dice for a second activity, and they can choose a third activity to work on their own. |