Final Case Study

This week was really just the Final Exam Case Study about Alex. We all worked together through a google doc and texting. It was interesting to see the different perspectives that we each had. We all had pretty much the same opinion, but for different reasons. This was a really hard Case Study for me because there wasn’t a lot of information. We were asked to make decisions based off of observations and tests we weren’t able to run. I think that teachers are often expected to decide absolutes without the needed information! I need to learn how to deal with this and explain to people why I can’t tell them the exact issue right away. The teacher needs to be the peacemaker J

Serious Simulations

This week was full of simulations! I did them all in two days which was good and bad. Good because it helped me to have more empathy for people with these different disabilities. It was bad because each of these experiences were more emotional than I anticipated and that’s a lot of emotions for two days.

Hours in a wheelchair: I was not too nervous about the wheelchair simulation, I just didn’t know WHAT I would do for 3 hours! Basically, anything in a wheelchair takes FOREVER so it really wasn’t an issue. One of the activities we had to do was get from the wheelchair to the toilet and back to the wheelchair by ourselves and without help. I did it and it wasn’t too hard, but I didn’t actually use the restroom! I literally don’t know how they do it. Also you would think that going down the hill would be the easy part of the hills on campus. Well going down the hill was terrifying. I couldn’t slow down and was SURE I would crash. My hands had a rug burn type thing on them by the time I got to the MC and I wasn’t sure how I would ever make it back up the hill. As I first wheeled out of the building I needed to zip up my jacket. Usually I zip it up as I walk out, but in a wheelchair both hands were busy. As soon as I was out of the building I was on a hill. I couldn’t even stop to zip up my jacket so I nearly froze to death!! I didn’t have to attend class in the wheelchair, but I thought about the classrooms on campus, they are not very wheelchair friendly! I imagine that if I had to go to class in a wheelchair I would be physically forced to sit in the desk closest to the door because I wouldn’t be able to navigate the room. This is definitely something to think about when I have and organize my own classroom.

Stuttering in Walmart: I was SO SO SO nervous to do this. I just asked if they had paper plates and if they had Christmas ones and where they were located. (She told me wrong…) When I was done I still had a super nervous feeling. I imagined how student feel when they actually have a stutter and have to give a speech or are just nervous to talk to someone. I can’t even imagine! I want to be very aware of my students and their fears and help them not to be scared when possible.

Learning Disability in Walmart: This was a simulation that I probably didn’t learn as much from because I anticipated it SO MUCH. I had been thinking about it for weeks and new exactly what I was going to ask so it actually came out pretty smooth. It honestly spent hours thinking about it, I am sure it’s a lot harder when you haven’t thought it through a MILLION times.

Hours in a mask: This activity was different than I thought it would be! I was pretty much nonfunctional, until I wore the mask with the bigger holes. I decided to watch a show that I had never seen before to see what it’s like taking information in with a visual impairment. I couldn’t understand half the show…. I couldn’t see well enough to read their lips and was reminded how much I rely on my eyes to hear! My roommate had to get everything set up because I couldn’t see well enough to do it. I also found that my eyes were SO TIRED. I just wanted to take a nap. I also got a bit of vertigo because I had to move my head around SO MUCH just to see the little I was able to see. If I have a visually impaired student in my class I will assign another student or two that will be in charge of helping them with the little things like getting up and getting glue. I want them to be able to focus on LEARNING. 

Real World Application

I was a sub in a middle school math class this week. I had already dealt with a lot that day. Sending kids to the principal’s office, toys being thrown around the room, cheating, and a LOT of tattling. When one boy walked up to my desk I thought I was prepared for anything. He said “I was diagnosed with diabetes last week and my eyes are doing weird things. Is that a 6?” I was NOT prepared for this. My first reaction was instant heartbreak. I know how difficult it can be to live with diabetes and especially at such a young age. I even had a kid in my high school who died from diabetes complications. My next emotion was relief that he wasn’t tattling or asking me to give him answers. After that y teacher instincts kicked in and I made some accommodations. I re-wrote all the small letters so he could read them. It took a few minutes, but it was totally doable. I had to do it for him a few times through the class period and he was so grateful every time. This experience was the perfect reminder that it is worth it to make accommodations. 

Helping Kids Help Themselves

This week we read all about strategies for independent learning. The chapter included four main sections: 1. Encouraging Student self-awareness, self-advocacy, and self-determination. 2. Teaching independent learning strategies in class. 3. How students learn to use strategies independently. 4. Examples of Successful learning strategies.

I appreciated that it taught not just what the strategies are, but how to use them. Teaching the strategies in a classroom is important because the student need to be able to learn for themselves. They should be able to learn many thing from a textbook without the help of a teacher. Teachers are an important resource, but they won’t always have a teacher in life. Someday they will have to learn on their own. 

No cutting Corners

This week we went back to a case study from a few weeks ago. We had previously made an IEP for Nathan, a boy who struggled with reading and comprehension as well as staying focused and not being distracted in class. We were given three different assignments to make accommodations for him. As we were writing out the accommodations they sounded pretty solid and like they had enough detail. But then I thought about it for a moment and how it would actually play out. If we did EXACTLY what we put on the paper, would he really learn? Would it really go smoothly? Would it take too much time? So, then we took a step back and re-evaluated the situation. We considered all the different aspects of the classroom and how we were going to make thing work for Nathan AND the rest of the whole class. We added a lot more detail to the instructions and felt good about the changes. We are confident that if we gave our list of accommodations to a teacher, it would really work in a classroom.

What this experience taught me is that we can’t cut corners. It doesn’t work in any type of lesson plan, and it surely doesn’t work when making accommodations for a student with special needs. There is no easy way out for a teacher, that is life and I need to realize/accept that. I think every teacher must feel a piece of the pure love of Christ to deal with what they deal with and keep going in their job. 

Sometimes you’re just thrown into cold water

This week was insane. I ended up having three times as much work to do as normal and I was completely overwhelmed. We also suddenly had an exam that we had not prepared for AT ALL! And to top it off, I got sick. REAL SICK. I ended up cancelling two different day trips and had to skip my usual Jr. High tutoring, which I LOVE! I slept a lot and worked little. By some miracle I still got everything done… God is real people. And miracles do happen!

For the exam, we had to write three different essays. One was what you would say in an IEP, another was how to teach about collaboration, and the last one was an outline for a special needs curriculum in the stake. These were all really good essays to write and our team came together perfectly! Nell and I ended up doing the bulk of the IEP “script.” Our role was a regular ed teacher who was asked to join the IEP meeting, her first IEP meeting. I realized that I could very well be that person in real life someday. I will someday have to attend my first IEP meeting and figure out what to say! This exam helped me to have a little glimpse of what it will be like. I will be thrown into cold water, and hopefully I can perform well. 

Case Study Fun

What I loved the most this week was the case study. It was really organized so I didn’t have to stress about just figuring out what was expected of me. I also liked that I did an assignment on my own, then together with my group. 
It was interesting to see what ideas we had that were the same and which ones were different. I loved thinking of how we could help Mark without sending him to a different classroom. We came up with some really great ideas as a group that I would feel confident suggesting in a real-life situation. This case study experience helped me to not be so nervous in the future when this is something I really have to deal with as a teacher