4/21/2023
Topic:
Students With Disabilities
Jennifer Brooks
|
I currently have a student with an emotional-behavior disability, and a speech impairment. His ability to create independently is difficult and he struggles with oral direction, oral redirection, self advocacy, writing, and drawing. His motor skills are low and he does not like for others to see him struggle. As his Visual Art teacher I see his struggles and the effects they have on the art making process in my classroom. He has a very difficult time starting his artwork. He simply struggles with what to do first, he is lost. My student is very aware that others are watching him and at times this henders his productivity or outcome. He shuts down or gets very angry or frustrated. Typically he will throw his paper and pencil or throw it all in the trash. He does have an aid who accompanies him to my art class for additional support. (ONE ON ONE) Once I am able to give all oral directions and written directions to the whole class, my student and I sit down and take a moment to work through his strategies. Using a calm quiet voice I am able to gain his attention (most of the time) in order to demonstrate what he needs to do. Once he is ready and the aid is watching along side of him and he can see that no one is looking over at him, I show both of them how to begin his art assignment/project. I break the drawing or art skill down into 4 basic steps and modify the drawing. I continue to ask him to repeat the steps as I work and I give him preferential seating closer to my desk. As he begins his artwork with the aid, I repeatedly check in with him and the aid. I also leave my drawing example with him so that he can check his work. In addition he receives breaks as needed, and movement if necessary. The additional support that the aid brings to the student is an advantage, but it really takes both of us to get him to the end of the project. Sometimes he will go through 5 or more papers, front and back, to get a drawing he likes. |
4/21/2023
Topic:
Students With Disabilities
Jennifer Brooks
|
Thank you for sharing this. I really liked your idea of creating her own tool kit with supplies to help with limitations of mobility. Space is always difficult in the art room. maria emilia steiner wrote:
One student with a walking disability that I had in my clay class had difficulty with mobility due to the use of a wheelchair. Her disability affected her learning in several ways. The student had difficulty moving around and navigating through the classroom, especially when the workspace was not arranged to access her art supplies and tools.
To support her learning, I made several modifications to the classroom environment. I ensured that the workspace and the art supplies were arranged to suit her needs, and I provided assistance in positioning her chair closer to the sinks so she can wash her hands first than the rest of the class. I provided enough space between tables and furniture for wheelchair mobility. I also. Made her own tool kit so that she did not move around too much.
The student was also encouraged to ask for assistance anytime she needed it from me or the paraprofessional who came along to class. With these modifications, she was able to participate and create fantastic pieces of clay work. |
4/23/2023
Topic:
Students With Disabilities
Jennifer Brooks
|
I have several students with varying disabilities in my classroom. I have several ELL students who do not speak English. I have several students who only speak Russian, Spanish, French, or Portuguese. Communication is difficult for both student and teacher. Thankfully every student at my school is given an IPAD. Having the IPADs allows us to maintain quality learning with technology, but more importantly they have apps and tools that allow students and teachers to access translation tools. My ELL students are able to listen to videos with translation tools, have access to talk to text which reads text with translation tools, and participates in learning key art concepts in art class with visual references, modeling tools, teacher led models with examples. My ELL students are able to follow daily classroom instruction, best practices, and steps & routines by viewing task cards I have created for them. I build additional resources and instructional materials into their lessons and we are both able to sit down one on one to do academic check ins "communicate what they are learning, understanding, or not understanding". One example I have used with my ELL students is giving them a digital translation tool with their IPAD that helps then to navigate the Elements of Art through PBS. They are able to watch a series of videos through PBS about the Elements of Art and develop key concepts in order to take a short assessment from the video. My ELL students are also paired with peer partners. Sometimes the partner speaks two languages and they are able to interpret, or the peer partner can lead by example, HOW TO. |
4/23/2023
Topic:
Assessment of Learning
Jennifer Brooks
|
Where to begin with adapted assessment....For me I teach so many students with varying personalities, disabilities, gifted, mainstreamed, ELL, EBD, and general ed students. I have found that exit tickets are beneficial, writing is beneficial, kahoot games are beneficial, and "explanations of why" (a tool i created to allow students who are not interested in art explain to me why they don't like a skill, and why they do / one pro one con). I have found that when students are given a platform to communicate their interests or dislikes (in a respectful way) they are able to say more without feeling uncomfortable in front of the whole class. I rotate the adapted assessments to keep the students on their creative toes. By using multiple measurements I am able to see where students excel or struggle in the assessment process. I like to see their strengths and weaknesses. I realize instructional routines are key, and my approach to using more than 1 may seem opposite. However, I rotate the assessments in a regular routined order to help with that routine of consistency. |