5/16/2023
Topic:
Students With Disabilities
Maria Kanga-Jamba
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I’ve had this student since he was in 6th grade and is one of my Covid 19 survivor babies. I remember one of his first art projects in class was creating a mask which he assembled with all sorts of found objects. I soon learned that he was hearing impaired by listening to his speech but also after his parents sent me an email to be aware of his situation and to allow him to sit closer to the front to help him follow along more successfully. It was a challenge at first because I had to repeat myself quite often and used various methods to post instructions including on the board, on the at home-learning portal through Teams due to covid, on Focus where assignments and grades are typically posted and sometimes even emailing him instructions when he requested clarification. The other challenge was him being pulled out of class several times for speech therapy and when would come back in class he would ask what he missed or what we were doing. I would often work with him one on one. He is now in 8th grade and his speech has improved tremendously although I can still hear a bit of unclear words and phrases. I have had moments when he would misunderstand me and I’d have to repeat myself. However, he is very proactive in his learning and is not shy asking questions. I rarely had to encourage him to get his work done. His skill level is not as advanced, but he has made a lot of improvements with guided portrait drawings, weekly sketches, group projects, quizzes, final projects and project reflections. He will be moving on to high school next year and I am extremely proud of him. |
6/8/2023
Topic:
Tools and Strategies
Maria Kanga-Jamba
|
- 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.
We recently worked on a Kehinde Wiley inspired self-portrait project. I gave students handouts to take notes as I introduced the artist on a PowerPoint. The Guided Notes strategy was useful to give students information about the artists while keeping my presentation interactive. Students were listening and watching but also taking notes of key points that they needed to fill out in the blank spaces provided. This allowed them to be fully engaged. I also stopped from time to time to monitor the pace and to walk around to make sure students were following along. When I presented a video about the artist the following day, I would pause to ask a question that was also on the Guided notes handout and would select a few students to verbally respond before moving on. This gave them opportunity to verbally respond but also kept my students with classroom behavior issues engaged.
The next strategy that worked well was breaking tasks down into steps. I had actually never heard of task analysis before, but I have been doing it without realizing it. Knowing my students is key with task analysis because wrong assumptions can be made about what students know or do not know. But I was introducing a unique grid drawing method and therefore made sure to break everything down. In creating their self-portrait, I taught my students how to first make the grid and then I showed them how to use it. I provided both written step by step instructions of what to do as well as digital examples with each step on how to create a grid. I then showed them how to use the grid by demonstrating on the board or on the projector where exactly I would look for the outlines on the face in their photographs compared to the corresponding grid lines on the paper. I even demonstrated how to focus on specific details such as the shape of the lips, eyes, nose and even the shadows and highlights etc. Even though there are various ways to make a grid, in this particular project I wanted all my students including SWD to learn how to create this unique grid method by me breaking it down into small steps for them to understand and to avoid confusion.
edited by Maria Kanga-Jamba on 6/8/2023 |
6/12/2023
Topic:
Assessment of Learning
Maria Kanga-Jamba
|
I have had a student whose exceptionality is gifted with language impaired. When I first met him in the 2021-22 school year, he was very quiet and always to himself. His laptop was always attached to him. I made sure to drill the classroom expectations, rituals, and routines for all my students in the very first two weeks of school and reminders throughout the year. Despite the daily reminders, he would still get out of his seat to come to me to ask what to do and many times his classmates would get irritated with him and would say something to him. I always remind the class that we need to value and respect all members of our classroom family. One day he pushed his chair violently and ran outside of class and cried. I didn’t know quite what to do, so I asked him if it was ok, if he could sit in the closet while the door was open whenever he felt frustrated. He agreed and came back into the classroom. He was very hard on himself and when he asked me for help, he would get very impatient and constantly apologize. It was a challenging 6th grade year for him. However, he did make some progress throughout the year. He is very determined to succeed. At the beginning of the year, I told his father that I was very proud of him and that he had made great progress.
Managing large classrooms has always been a huge problem for me and I’m sad and regret that I have not always paid very close attention to my students’ 504 and IEPs to best accommodate my students. I have, however, made accommodations in the best possible way I thought I could to help my student's succeed. Now I’m realizing that, had I paid close attention to the recommended accommodations, I would not only have helped meet my students' needs but also would have cut down so many behavior issues I endured so far. This year, I started paying close attention to the 504’s and IEP and did my best to follow the recommended accommodations. For example, with this student, I have understood that he needed a safe and quiet place where he could calm down whenever he could not regulate his feelings. I made sure to remind him of the behavior expectations especially during transitions because he would always want to be at the door first waiting to be dismissed. I would remind the entire class that we should wait at our table for the teacher to dismiss and not the bell. I would allow him to go to the restroom whenever he needed. I gave him opportunity for movement whenever he would just get up out of his seat to get supplies or go into the closet to get water. He always came to show me his work and I would give him verbal encouragement because of how frustrated he would get. Because he always kept to himself and was always seen on his laptop, I would provide proximity control to make sure he was on task and give him feedback so that he would not just rush through his work to get on his laptop.
I provided support for following directions in both print and on the online gradebook platform, so he could check what the assignments are and what he could do next whenever he would finish an assignment. I also posted on the board for all students. I would give step by step instructions as well as examples with pictures and samples of artwork for him to see and touch in the classroom. Whenever I demonstrated a technique to learn, I would pause to repeat directions and clarify or ask for a volunteer to come to the front of class to demonstrate to the class what the teacher just demonstrated. He would at times volunteer as well. This benefited all students.
My assessment methods included checking understanding at the end of a reading assignment introducing a topic, artist or project, project reflection and biweekly sketches which I would check every other week. For my students with disabilities, I would give immediate feedback since my classes were so large but also that they could begin making the necessary adjustments right away.
My assessments accommodations that have benefited this student in his fine arts learning have been mostly motivational accommodations. I would give him and others who show efforts verbal encouragement but also to remain on task. The way this benefited my student was in the way he remained on task, became more calm and more confident whereas before, he would get very frustrated when things didn’t go his way. He scored very well on quizzes.
Another assessment accommodation that seemed to work for all my students, including this student, was prior to administering tests or before a final project is assigned, students are assigned various practice activities including guided step by step practice with teacher and activities in small groups. My emphasis this year was more on the process rather than on the product but in the end the outcome of the final products have been amazing.
A third accommodation that I also enjoyed myself was playing soft, calming music to minimize distractions and it also helped put me in a calm mood. I made sure not to play music that students would sing along to because I found that that caused even more distractions.
At the end of this school year, my student was more self-reliant, more confident and was getting out of his seat less and less for help and I also saw less outbursts of frustration and his work was looking more advanced. The closet was now only used to get water cups for painting. |