I wasn't sure where else to submit these, so here they are:

Simulations Journals

Vision Impairment

-          It’s incredible how much you rely on your vision without ever really noticing it. I never realized how different the world could look until I wore those masks. It made it so much harder to find my way around, to see those around me, and to even see what my teacher was writing on the board. I must admit, it made me so incredibly grateful for my sight. When I was wearing those masks on occasion I ran into things, bumped a chair, and even tripped down the stairs (though sometimes I do that without wearing a mask). They were all just little things, I mean, none of those accidents actually caused me any harm but it was a little frustrating to keep bumping things, and tripping. After a little while I became frustrated with wearing the mask. I can only imagine that if every day you little accidents, or you have to move your head completely sideways just to look at the board it would get a little frustrating. I understand that as a teacher we might encounter multiple students that suffer from a form of visual impairment. I think that this simulation will help me to relate to those students better and also help me to think of creative ways to help those students when or if they do start to feel that same frustrate that I felt doing this simulation.  

Wheelchair

-          This by far was the hardest simulation to do. It was hard to remember that I had to stay in the wheelchair at all times. I almost just got up a few times from the chair. It was a really rewarding experience because it taught me just how hard it really is to be in a wheelchair all day. It was nothing something that I would wish upon anyone, but it really can be quite the eye opener. The few hours in the wheelchair really had its up and downs. Sometimes people offered to push me and other times the door was almost shut on me. Every task was difficult. Going through the door without the door opener took so much time. I felt like I really needed to go to the gym after trying to open the door. Going to the bathroom was interesting needless to say. Transferring to and from the toilet was hard because I naturally just wanted to stand up. I couldn’t figure out where to position the wheelchair to best get to the toilet. It was kind of funny, I’m not going to lie. All these different tasks just showed me that we are all so blessed to be able to walk and that if we really want children to feel comfortable then they need those accommodations to help them. When I couldn’t open the door, without a rail in the bathroom, and the other accommodations around the campus then it would be so difficult and in my opinion uncomfortable for those students. When I didn’t have the accommodations available I felt like I was in the way. It was discouraging to me. I can’t imagine how it would feel every day.

Learning Disability

-          Ask for help at a store....and then ask the clerk/sales person 1-2 questions about the item you are shopping for.

-          Ask for directions to a location. Repeat back part of the directions for clarification.

These were the two activities I did to represent a learning disability. First thing, I must say that these activities are so hard. It required so much thinking and processing.  I struggled to make the sentence/questions flow naturally. Both people that I was talking to looked at me with almost a look of impatience. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t want to explain to them that this was just for a class but I also didn’t want them to look at me that way. I was trying so hard to find the words to use. It made me realize how important it is that we treat the students with a learning disability with respect and patience. Patience is the key to helping students with this disability in my opinion. The part that made me so uncomfortable was the look of impatience. As a teacher, I can imagine that it would be hard not to be impatience, but I also think it’s important that we develop that trait so that we can help them succeed. They are going to need that encouragement and love to push through that trial of having a learning disability. I can only now imagine how frustrating that must have been for them.

Fluency Impairment

-          Go to a restaurant, order at least one item and then ask 1-2 questions to the waiter/ress about the item.

-          While stuttering ask for directions to a location. Repeat back part of the directions for clarification.

This experiment was really hard to do for me. It was embarrassing at first to talk to people with a little stutter. I felt like she was going to look at me with such a pathetic look but she actually was really patience with me. It was hard to form the words. At one point, I even felt like it would be an impossible task to accomplish. It was hard to be patience enough with myself to get all the words out. As I continued to ask questions, the waitress just looked at me with the most patience look. It really helped me to continue to ask questions with a stutter. The second challenge I had was to ask for directions and then repeat them back. Oh my, complicated! Enough said. Between the two activities was that it really is so challenging to have a fluency impairment. I can’t even begin to imagine how difficult it would be to have that impairment every day. I think that this activity really opened my eyes to see just how difficult it can be and helped me to see that as a future teacher there are so many things that I could do to help students with this kind of impairment.

I am very grateful for the opportunity I have had to learn so much about students with special needs this semester. I feel much more confident now about my abilities to differentiate and make accommodations for students struggling with disabilities.  I'm glad to know that we can collaborate with fellow teachers and staff to find solutions to help individuals students, rather than trying to figure it out on my own, just like we doing with the case study final.  I feel like I learned a lot just from completing it.  I like that we had time to really put a lot of effort into it and create something good.  Seeing what we were able to do helped boost my confidence in what we had learned.  I look forward to the time that I can adequately apply all that I have learned in class.

I was finally able to complete the wheelchair simulation this week.  In my opinion, whoever decided to put the little marble threshold strip under many of the doors in the Hinckley should be shot!  I got hung up on them several times!  It was one of the most challenging parts of the simulation.  Trying to figure out how to use the bathroom without using my legs was the hardest part.   Also, I wasn't very smart when I tried to do the hill because I forgot to figure out where and how the brakes worked BEFORE I started going down the hill.  I burned my hands trying to slow down the chair, and when I finally found the brakes, I didn't know how to use them and I ended up crashing into the grass on the side of the sidewalk.  Rather embarrassing!  It wasn't that big of a hill either!  It was interesting to see how people reacted to me too.  I could tell the people that had taken the class before because you could see the acknowledgement/empathy  in their eyes.  I tried to use the printer at the Ricks building while in the chair and I seriously had someone cut in front of me while I was in line waiting to print.  I couldn't believe it!  I'm hoping that they just didn't realize I was in line, and not that they took advantage of the fact I was wheelchair bound.  I do have a better understanding of what it's like to look at the world from a wheelchair point of view.  I am glad that I had the chance to do it.  

At the beginning of the semester, I didn't think that the speech impairments would be the hardest part of this class, but they have been.  I really struggled to get them done.  I chickened out so many times because I didn't feel comfortable doing it in a public place.  I understand the reasoning behind it, but I struggled with it morally.  In the end, I decided that although it is outside the parameters of the simulations guidelines, I would only be able to do it if I did it in my own home.  I needed the support of my family, so I decided to do it with my family during a meal time, and they all had to do it too.  I can certainly understand why so many students with disabilities act out in frustration over not being able to communicate what is going on in their heads.  It's hard to think one thing, but not be able to fully or clearly say what you are trying to say.  I hope that I can remember to look for the reason why a student may be acting out, rather than just reacting to the misbehavior.  I have a better appreciation for their internal frustrations now.

Last Journal Post :O - April 03rd

Monday in class we discussed a learning environment and being a part of a team and really make an classroom environment that makes them feel important and apart of and I truly agree with the whole idea. The best way to make not only children with special needs but also all children feel included is to create a friendly welcoming environment where they can come and feel welcome, loved, and excited to be there. In class we talked about some ideas about how we can go about doing this and there were so many great ideas! Some of them that I really liked is at the beginning of the school year have the students help you create the rules and once finished have them sign it so it is their own personal contract with you. When I was younger something that my teachers did was "Star" of the week where everyone wrote something nice about you and you get to present some information about yourself during the class (with your poster going on the board for a week). Make sure to post their work or pictures of the class just so they know that they belong. Another thing I believe will help is make your class individual so there are things that stand out that give your class an identity and your students something to tell others that they are happy to be a part of. On Wednesday we mainly discussed part 1 to the final and we were able to meet as a group and really work on the assignment and I do have to say that after all of the information that we have learned throughout the class I feel a lot more confident working on this test compared to the midterm. After the information that we gained and all of the assignments that we were able to experience this semester I feel a lot more confident going on in my education to prepare to teach my own classroom. I really enjoyed this class and all of the learning and insights that we gained and I will truly miss attending this class.

Leson 12 Journal

I wish we had more time to discuss Chapter 12 in class, but I'm also grateful we had time to start our in class group project.I like that we talked about all students and difficulties they might have in the classroom, which can lead to misbehavior or acting out. Although the class is focused on students with disabilities, I like that we were given strategies to try with any student. Even if the student struggling doesn't have a disability, they are still not keeping up which can translate into seeking attention. 
I liked the section that talked about the root or discipline, and that the word means "a follower of a teacher". The students are learning how to act in the classroom, and what is acceptable. I also liked the way the book described what discipline should be, "it's not about having power or control over the students, but preventing and responding to their behavior." As a teacher, it will be our responsibility to do everything possible to prevent behavior problems by being an example and having clear expectations and making clear to all students what is acceptable in the classroom.
The chapter also talked about collecting data to better understand a student's behavior. We have touched on this in a few of my other classes, and discussed the importance of keeping anecdotal records of any inappropriate behavior or comments.  I think by keeping a record it makes it easier to look back and see if there is a pattern to the students misbehavior, or if something triggers it. 
I enjoyed this chapter and look forward to implementing some of the practices and methods in my classroom.

Simulations - Fluency Disorder & Learning Disability 

Fluency Disorder

For my first “exercise” I chose to ask someone on campus how to get the Kimball building. I do have to say that it was really embarrassing and I was actually kind of afraid to talk to him and ask my question. During asking I had a hard time keeping eye contact. I know that it is nothing compared to what others may feel that actually have a stuttering problem but from doing this simulation once I can understand a little bit why students with this difficulty don’t want to talk or are afraid to ask questions in class. The second thing that I did was depositing some money in the bank. The entire time I was driving to the bank I was trying to figure out how to stutter and how to make it convincing. Once I got there I had the hardest time actually doing it and I didn’t stutter as much as I wanted to, I actually ran into somebody that went to the same high school as me and I was embarrassed to talk the way that I did. Actually a year or two ago I had an FHE brother that had a really bad stutter, actually the worst that I have ever heard it took solid minutes to hear what he was going to say but during that time I really learned patience and not to judge others or their difficulties. I guess I never completely realized during that time how he felt because of his stutter but now I can understand a little more clearly what he was going through and a small portion of the hardships that he faced.

 Learning Disability

For my first choice I decided to ask someone in Wal-Mart where to find something and the entire time while I was driving to Wal-Mart and also looking for someone to help me I was trying to come up with things to say and I came to realize how hard it is to use a sentence without the letters /l/ or /n/. For the first minute I was okay and then after that I had to take some pauses to figure out how to respond, how to verify what they had just said and how to carry on a conversation. I understand in a sense what we were suppose to do, to really understand how students may have a hard time processing things or even to figure out how to respond, it makes me realize as a teacher that I need to understand my students, their difficulties, and if I do decide to call on them make sure that it is in the right time so they are not too overwhelmed with the task presented or don’t get too embarrassed about what they have to do. For my final simulation I went on campus to the library and I asked about the book Harry Potter. This time I tried not to think too far ahead so there would be some long pauses. It took me a minute to think of what Harry Potter didn't have a "n" or a "l" in it's title or it's number. Then it took me a minute to repeat what I said but overall I did once again come to the same conclusion as the first time that I did this particular simulation: that it is a struggle to speak this way, it makes me want to talk and contribute less and it allows me to better understand the students I may get in my classroom. I do want to make sure to allow any students with a problem like this enough time to respond and in situation that I know that they can succeed.

I was able to use the masks this past week, and I didn't realize how frustrating it would be to not have the use of both eyes.  I felt like it took twice as long to get anything done!  I was surprised that I kept running into things because I couldn't see it in my peripheral vision.  By the time I was done with my four hours, I was so cranky!  I can understand now why some students with disabilities and other struggles tend to act out in the classroom.  Overall, it was a good experience.

I am struggling with the speech impairments, though.  I went to Walmart over the weekend with the intent to do the stuttering simulation, but I ended up not doing it.  Right behind me was someone that I haven't seen in 20 years, who happens to have a sister that struggles with stuttering.  I felt like I would be extremely disrespectful and mocking if I did it then.  I'll have to try again.

Although I enjoyed making the evaluation/assessment continuum on the board, my favorite part of the week was watching the video,"The Best I Can Be-IEP." I loved seeing how the students blossomed after getting more involved in their IEP process.  Their self-awareness really helped them to stand up for what they needed and gave them great confidence.  I would like to help all of my students to recognize their own strengths and weaknesses so that they could also know what works well for them and what they need to be the most successful.  I had never thought about self-awareness and self-advocacy as a skill that should be taught in the classroom, but I can see the importance of it now.

Journal #10-12

So a lot has happened, and I don't know how I am going to get it down all on paper. I am so excited to be almost done with the chapter of the book. It was a good resource, but glad to be done reading so many pages. I loved learning in class on Monday about iris and how to better involve myself with the things it has to offer. Iris is a good program to listen about a subject and to watch videos and even recording from people. It is very important because iris can teach can teach me so much about anything that I want to know. I loved learning about informal and formal assessments because in my other class we are learning all about this as well and how there is a right time and place for certain testing to happen. This last few weeks I was able to complete the last disability applications and thought it was pretty interesting. Here is both of them. I hope you find them amusing as I did when doing them.

This challenge was one that I have been putting off for quite some time now but finally did it. Overall it was embarrassing and hard. The two challenges I face was going to the library and asking someone at the service counter where a book was and while at Broulim’s.

Asking for help at the service counter:

I knew it wasn’t going to be easy. I walked into the library going through what to say and not to say when I got to the counter. The girl was sitting at the computer and looked up at me. The nerves hit and forgot everything I planned. Instead of walking away, I continued forward. She asked me how my day was going. I wanted to say fine, but instead I searched around for a word with no L or N and said “good.” She asked me what she could help me with and that’s when the challenge began. I searched around my head for words to say, I began to turn red. I couldn’t say need, I couldn’t say help. I began to say, “I’m request a book about the boy peter, it’s a movie, with a….character who has arrows. The girl replied, “The hunger games?” I replied “yes, that.” She was kind enough to tell me it was upstairs and wrote down the aisle it was in. I looked at her and said, “I appreciate the aid, so I go upstairs…..it is at this…..part of the card?” She was so kind and assured me that is was where she directed me at the beginning. As I walked away, I said, “Thank……uh…….I appreciate it.” I was doing so well until I knew I was at the end and almost said thank you.

Broulim’s:

Broulim’s was a bit more frustrating for me because I knew I could get many opportunities to talk and ask questions. When I first walked in, I was shaking and went over to the produce. I went up to one of the workers and said, “Hi, where are some of your fruits that……are better for you.” I wanted to say healthy, and organic. I challenged myself when I could’ve just asked for a specific fruit that didn’t have an N or L in it. Instead of pointing to where it was, he took me to the organic section and said, “Is this what you are looking for?” I said “yes, I appreciate it.” I grabbed a few apples and continued through the store. As I went to check out, I thought I could have gotten away with not saying anything, but the cashier looked at me and asked, “Do you have a Broulim’s card.” It was my luck that I left it at home. Once again I searched for words to say since I couldn’t say no. I looked up and said, “I forgot it.” She then moved on and told me the total. I then ran my card and asked for 20 dollars back. She asked how I would like my change. I could not say a twenty or ten, so I said “four, fives.” It was a good experience to go through as well. When I walked out of the store I took and deep breath and was relieved to be done.

Going through this challenge was hard but an eye opener for me. It showed me just what some children go through each day and how if we are not patient enough, that child will be pushed aside and left behind. I am grateful for the people who had patience with me and willing to help me through this experiment.

Disability Application Day – Fluency Disorder (stuttering)

Asking for Directions:

Since I already went into the library without N or L, I decided to go to the Kimball and ask someone at the front desk for directions. I pretended as if I was a new student and looking for a map of campus and how to get to the Hart building. I went up to counter and asked the lady, “Can you uh, help me uh find out how to get to uh, the Hart building?” The lady was kind and looked right past my stuttering. She explained to me the easiest way was to go in between the I-center and the mc and it was going to be the second building on my left. I repeated back to her to make sure I understand what she was saying. “So uh….I go out these back doors and go down the hill…uh in between the uh I-center on my left and uh the mc is on uh my right?” she nodded and gave me a map. I then thanked her and walked out the door.

Testing Center:

I decided to go to the testing center and use my stutter because it would have given me an opportunity to ask a few questions while receiving my test. They took my I-card and said, “Tiana?” I said, “Yyyyyyyyes.” They then asked me what test I was taking, I then continued to say, “I-I-I am tttttaking the Mmmmath 205 ttttest.” They were so kind and said alright. I then asked, “I do do do not hhhhave a cccalculator, cccan I ppplease borrow one?” They gave me one and said my bubble sheet would come out by the printer. When I got to the printer, the guy standing there gave me my test. I asked, “Does iiiiit mmmater what rrrroom I ggggo to?” He said, “No it doesn’t, good luck on your test.” I said thank you and walked into the testing room.

I found this so hard to do both tests because not only did I have to say uh a lot but I also had to hold out letters longer to try and put together a word. I am so amazed by how children work through these disabilities daily. By trying to maintain a steady flow of pretending to have a disability, it was hard. I need to remember to reach out to those that struggle and always be there for them when they are in need of help, just like I was.

I think that learning about the different assessments will help me become a better disciple of the Savior. I think that I could use the assessments to really come to understand each of my students better and utilize the information that I gather to help each child with their individual needs. Each student needs a little extra help and support sometimes. You can use an assessment to find out with what exactly do they need help with. I think in a way assessments give a teacher the opportunity to personalize lesson plans for different students and see what as a teacher we can do better to educate the students in our classroom. I'm not sure if this makes sense, but I just feel like if as a teacher you used the assessments to help the students in the areas that they are struggling, and maybe even used them to gain an understanding of how that child thinks, what is going on in their mind, and what not you would becoming a true disciple of the Savior. We see throughout the life of the Savior, he asked questions, he came to understand how to teach different classes of people so that they would understand. The Savior used those informal assessments to see what the people clearly understood. I have always learned that the Savior was a master teacher, can I just say I love that the more I study in this major the more I come to realize all that the Savior really did as a teacher. It's truly incredible that even the Savior used different forms of assessments to teach those individuals around him.

March 27th (Chapter 10 & 11)

This week went very well. The weekend before it started I read both Chapters 10 and 12 and so it's a little more difficult to separate the material that I did read, but I do remember it listing all these different strategies for helping students become self-sufficient and I thought they were great ideas. I’m currently not sure how I feel about specific motivators (such as candy and small prizes) I've heard very mixed opinions about students expecting a reward after everything that they do good and how it's not a good self-motivator but more of an extrinsic motivator which doesn't help students in the long run. While at the same time I know that students need some motivation to accomplish tasks that they don't necessarily like. I feel as though it is a student-by-student judgment and you really need to know the student and understand what will work for them to succeed. On Wednesday we talked a lot about strategies for test taking which is also very important to understand how to better serve a classroom and students with special needs. I remember talking about things similar to this in the beginning of a section and I feel like I understand it even more; especially after all the material we have learned since then and we better know how to apply it into our teaching. One thing that we focused on today was formal and informal tests and the pro's and con's to each. To be totally honest, in my opinion, I believe that they both should be used in the classroom but each has its own specific use and purpose and we as teachers need to know when that is. When it comes to informal assessments those really help the students that do have test anxiety and it may even make them feel more comfortable and prepare them for formal test assessments. It also allows you to see how the student does in a regular classroom setting and it allows for some scaffolding. While formal tests it allows you to understand what exactly they are struggling with and could be a good measurement for what to teach/review and what the students already know. Formal teaching also allows you to prepare the students for more formal assessments that will happen from elementary school to college. With formal tests I believe it's just a little more necessary to help students learn to not be nervous when it comes to taking these tests. 

Lesson 10/11 Journal

 I enjoyed the subjects we talked about this week, and I thought it was intersesting to watch the video and see the benefits and methods to include students with disabilities with their IEPs and the meetings held in their behalf. I liked the dozens of strategies in chapter 10 to help students learn. I especially liked the ideas of self-monitoring and self-advocacy, and not just for disabled students. By giving a student the tools and knowledge to help themselves in the classroom, it helps to prepare them for life as well. I thought it was an important point to realize that when dealing with expected behavior from a student it's important that the teacher explains what she/he believes is appropriate behavior because the student may not understand what is expected.

I also liked the discussion we had in class about how to accommodate with tests and even grading. The options of changing grading criteria, or using alternatives to letter and number grades is a good way to show the student is making progress (or not) without letting them know so they don't get discouraged or overly stressed about their performance. I also think allowing disabled student tools like a rubric or alternate forms of questions can help a student understand the material better without needing to make big adjustments. Also, I liked the idea that instead of formal assessments, using a portfolio assessment can show the growth of the student throughout the year. If a student does not test well, even with accommodations provided, the parents and teacher can still see the improvement and skills that were learned throughout the year through records, interviews, work samples, and informal assessments.

SIMULATIONS ACTIVITY - ORTHOPEDIC IMPAIRMENT

This simulation was a lot more difficult than I thought it would be. I remember when I was younger I would find so much joy in riding in my grandma's wheelchair and actually my brothers and I would fight over who would get to ride in it first. After being in a wheelchair and having to navigate all those tough spots and complete all the tasks I was tired and ready to walk again. I felt better about doing things myself than asking for help, while during my times trying to be independent there were times that I would get so frustrated that I couldn't accomplish it that I would have to ask for help. Going through the door by myself was really difficult; I would see people in wheelchairs open doors they would swing it open as far as they can and hurry and push themselves in while all I ended up doing was opening it up barely getting in and having to push myself through. Today (the day after I completed the wheelchair activity) my arms are killing me, it makes me wonder that those that first have to sit in a wheelchair how badly do their arms hurt after being in there for a day, or a week, or a year.
I really enjoy the independence that my legs give me and all the abilities that are open to me and I didn't realize how much I appreciate them before being in the wheelchair. Having that wheelchair prevents you from sitting in certain locations because they may be too tight. It prevents you from taking certain routes because you need a ramp to get up. Not to mention I really didn't like all the stares that I got, I felt very self-conscious even though I know that they were just wondering how I got hurt and why I am in the wheelchair. I really do appreciate and understand those that have to go through this better and appreciate everything that they are and accomplish with the added difficulty in their life.

This has been an incredibly busy week for me, but I really enjoyed the low-key, no pressure opportunities that we had in class to learn about co-teaching and differentiation.  I have heard teachers talk a lot about how we need to assess our student's prior knowledge and then differentiate your instruction based on what they know, but I have been unsure exactly how I would do it in the classroom.  I enjoyed the whole process of planning our instruction, figuring out what we would assess and how that would change what we were going to teach.  It was simple really.  I don't know why I let it intimidate me so much.  I also realized that as Primary President a few years ago I would "differentiate" my sharing time lesson between junior and senior Primary.  I just didn't know that was what it was officially called!

Simulations Activities - Visual Impairment

In my bag there were only three eye masks, one had both eye covered, one had one eye covered, and one had no eyes covered (my guess was to understand what it's like to wear glasses). For the fourth one I created it myself, since I do wear contacts I decided to go an hour without wearing my contacts or my glasses. 

I have to say that I thought that this assignment would be a lot easier than it was. I started out with the eye mask that covered one eye and I never realized how important it is to have two eyes. For some reason my balance was off, my hand eye coordination also had issues (it took me longer than normal to try and grab things) which I thought was really strange, for some reason I never connected hand eye coordination with two eyes. Although it does make sense that eyes from two different positions help you find things more accurately. Both eyes open was pretty normal for me, I wear glasses a lot of the time once I get home. I remember that it did take a while to get use to because you don't have that complete vision field like you use to, because it does get partially cut off because of your glasses. The third mask was the hardest for me (the one where you couldn't see at all). I did try to get up and do things such as eat some food, put on my pj's and go to the bathroom and I definitely got frustrated. 

I have no idea how they can stay so happy and optimistic without seeing I know that I would struggle so much and I am so independent it would be difficult for me to ask for help but I know I would need it. The hardest part would have to have been eating food because I had to pour myself cereal and I was really nervous about spilling. I definitely have a new respect for those that are blind and have to get to classes and across campus without being able to see. 

Having my glasses off with no contacts I haven't done for a while and the first thing I noticed was how sore my neck was because I can hardly see without my glasses on I was squinting and leaning forward a lot!! It definitely must be difficult for those children that have a hard time seeing but don't realize that they can get glasses and help that.

 

 I hardly remember when I had to get my glasses for the first time but I do know that I was in 3rd or 4th grade and I remember coming out with my glasses on and being able to see so far away. I do have to say that I know that as a teacher it will be important to keep a watch on kids and if any of them are struggling it' important to figure out why that is and it really can be something as simple as not being able to see the board because they need glasses. 

I also realized how important it is to have accommodations or even modifications for those that do have these issues because it does impact their life very severely. Overall it was a very eye-opening experience and I know that I will work hard remember the experience that I had doing this for those students that have these disabilities and I will do my best to help them out with what they need so their learning can be equal to that of my other students.  

JOURNAL 9 (03-20-15)

 This week was definitely a really great week! I feel like I have learned so much and the material and activities that we did this week really stuck to me and stood out as a impactful and important week. I loved the reading that we had this week for differentiated learning because I know in the classroom this will be so important to help everyone learn because everyone has a different way that they learn best so it's important to not just teach one way (such as solely lectures) but to include different styles of teaching (such as doing something hands-on, in groups, learning games, or even PowerPoint's with the lectures). Our job as teachers isn't just to teach the information to the students but it's to make sure that the students are learning and growing and we need to individualize our teaching in whatever way we can to allow for that. 

The concept mapping really helped me out as well, it actually allowed me to think out of the box and branch out my understanding and comprehension on a bunch of different new concepts. Not to mention that when you are trying to teach somebody else something I think concept maps really help because you start out with the basics (the building block) and then you add onto that rather than starting at a higher level and those that don't understand just fail. 

I also really enjoyed learning about the different forms of co-teaching and being able to actually practice them on Wednesday really helped me out. I know that co-teaching will be really important for our future because no matter where we go we will have to use it in one way or another, especially for student teaching, where we are going to have to show our skills while at the same time working with another teacher. I actually really enjoy co-teaching because with that other teacher you are building upon each others skills and you can fill in their weaknesses and them yours. Not to mention you can share experiences and advice and I believe it is a great growing and understanding experience. Overall if you can't tell from how much that I have written I really did enjoy this week.

Journal #9

          I loved this week so much it was amazing to me to learn about all the different kinds of co-teaching. There is:
One teach one observe
Supplemental teaching
Alternative teaching
Station teaching
One teach one observe
Parallel teaching
Team teaching
Each of these teaching techniques are amazing and can help not only the teachers but the students as well. The teachers are able to work with the class and figure out what way is best for the learning environment. I have noticed a few of these co-teaching techniques in the class we have right now. Our teachers both work together to help us grow. They attack us in different ways to where it is a balance. We have a firm yet nurturing classroom that is inviting to us. Our teachers work hard to make sure that we are understanding the criteria for that day and reading the assignments on I-learn.
          I also loved teaching other groups about a simple skill that we have and using our teaching techniques to get the other group we were teaching to understand as well. The group I was in was able to teach another group all about how to tell a quick story of Jack and the bean stalk and use props while expressing the story. I loved this because it gives a child something to do with their hands while they are learning. We were taught sign language from another group which was fun to do. I know a little but it was great to learn a few more words that the other group has prepared for us. All in all this week has been fascinating and look forward to next week.

Week 9

I thought learning about differentiating in the classroom this week was very helpful. I had touched on it in other classes, but I felt like we went more in depth with the activities and assignments we completed this week. I learned how to more effectively differentiate a lesson in a classroom, and the difference it can make to those students who need it. I noticed that differentiation is needed not only in the academic area, but sometimes physically and mentally too.  I liked the information in the reading that mentioned children's academic success between the ages 9 and 10 can be attributed to the amount of words and talk they hear from birth through age 3. I think that shows the importance of early learning in a child's life. 

I liked the class activity we did that allowed us to teach other students, and try to differentiate our lessons for each level. It showed me how simple it can be sometimes, but does require a little extra effort on the teacher's part to prepare the different levels of the lesson for each student. I look forward to using the techniques and methods we learned this week in my future classrooms.

This week was really interesting for me. I felt like I learned a lot about the different ways to teach. I never knew that there was so many ways to teach with a partner. I know that a lot of schools these days want teachers to collaborate more about lesson plans and such. I think this week really helped me to understand better all the ways that we can work together, and it gave me some perspective into which styles of teaching I like better and think would be the most effective.

March 13th, 2015

I really enjoyed the reading and videos that we had to complete for these weeks assignments, this week I decided to do a little extra reading for this class and so I did look up some information and I think doing the extra work really helped me out. I believe that this weeks material was very interesting and fascinating to me. I knew a little about the steps that had to be taken to report abuse but only because of substituting. I never knew that it had to be within a certain amount of time and that it had to be reported firsthand or else you could be sued. It just seems like such a hard spot to be in and it requires such precise steps to be executed with out any problems on getting help for that child. I also didn't know that we were allowed to take pictures, and I also think that that needs to be handled carefully as well. From the reading and the extra material that we had it talks a lot about what makes a happy child and what they need to grow and develop happily and well and there can be so many different factors that can be causing uncomfortability in a child's life. I really think that's why it is so important to make your classroom a safe-haven where a child feels comfortable and able to tell you how they're feeling and if they feel safe.

The week started off with finishing the presentations, including my part about things we can do in the  classroom to help students with ADHD.  I felt like I was a little rushed in what I wanted to share with the class because the rest of the presentation had already taken about 10 minutes the previous class period, and I didn't want to be the reason we received a lower grade for going well over our allotted time.  I tried to get the class involved and engaged, and although I seemed to have most everyone's attention, only a few people were willing to respond to my questions.  I did appreciate those that were really trying to think about what I was teaching, and hope that some of the classroom tips that I share will be useful to them later on.  This was actually what I was doing for my Higher, Wider, Deeper, so I appreciated the opportunity to share what I had learned from my research and interviews.  

For the rest of the week we focused on abuse and what our responsibilities are as teachers if we see evidence of abuse occurring.   I was a little intimidated at first because of the 24 hours we have to report abuse, yet we needed to have good evidence before actually reporting it.  I am feeling a little more confident now after going over it with these past class periods.  I have come to realized that essentially, if I see good enough evidence that could be abuse I need to report it within those 24 hours.  Then the agency, or my superiors at the school, will inform me the next steps I need to take to further document the evidence.  As I have continued to think about it, I think that if we follow the spirit in each situation we will know the right thing to do, even if it's hard to do.  We won't be lead astray if we follow the spirit.  These children need a champion even if it seems like we are the bad guys by reporting it.  They are helpless to do much about changing their situations, so we have to look out for them.  I'm finding out that teaching is much more complex than just teaching reading and arithmetic to children!

Journal #8

          I loved this week because I was pretty engaged in the lesson and even though we were just talking about children being suspected of abuse, I was pretty sad. As a teacher I will have to deal with situations when a child shows up to my classroom with questionable bruises. It is my duty to make sure I am taking the right steps to make sure that the child is safe and not struggling. I loved hearing about how a photo is a good source of evidence. Even though it is hard to take a picture of a Childs arm covered in bruises, it can help you if it ends up being a case that needs to be taken care of. I did not know that one step wrong on my part could result in hurting me, the school and the child. By making sure I am talking to the right people, will help the child and keep them safe.
          I also loved learning about the Cognitive Maps. They are a great way to write out the center of a topic you are doing. We watched a movie about brain functions in class and how it works. There are many different branches that come out of brain functions and how each of them have their own definitions and sections. I was able to find negative and positive sides to brain functions and listed examples as well as, giving kangaroo care, healthy nutrition and education. With each of these I was able to pull branches off them and give examples on some healthy ways for a brain to good nutrition. 
          We have been given the task to have an intervention plan for a specific element. I wanted to stay with abuse because I will need to know how to deal with as a teacher when I get older. I need to make sure I take the right steps and be the person who takes control. I am the person who witnessed the bruises and cannot pawn it off to the principal or another teacher. I need to be the one who calls the care line and gets the situation handled. Even if it means the parents are being investigated, then we can know that the child is being cared for at home or neglected. I loved this because just like I said before I need to remember to be the example and step up when a situation like this arises. By putting my foot down I am showing good leadership and being that help a child needs.

Week 8 Journal

This week's topic is a hard one, because it is something that a child isn't born with but something they have happen to them. I liked the exercise we did in class where we were given a case study then had to come up with in intervention plan, or ways to help the abused student. I was surprised at how difficult it was to find ways to help the student without breaking any rules, or completely alienating the parents. In my discussion, we talked about pairing the student with a friend girl for buddy reading so she could work on her social skills with girls. We also talked about keeping a record of notes and pictures until we felt it was enough to go to child protection services. Talking about the case study showed me just how little we can do as teachers sometimes, and how frustrating it can be. 

I like the short c-map we did from the video. It offered more suggestions on how to help abused children that we may have in our classroom, and how we can help with their development in the few hours they are with us. 

I also did my wheelchair simulation a few weeks ago. I think the most frustrating activity was using the bathroom and getting through a door without pushing the automatic door opener. I was constantly banging the door against the wheelchair, my arms, and feet. My hands also hurt from trying to keep me from rolling backwards down the hill. It was scary to think of losing control of the wheelchair and I imagine it's even more so if I didn't have control of my legs to help. 
I also noticed the upper body strength I needed to do all the activities was considerable. I was exhausted by the time I had completely my time. I felt the easiest was to ask for help, but I knew people would be willing because not only am I at BYU-I, but others knew what I was experiencing. I'm grateful I had the chance to experience how it feels to be wheelchair-bound, and better understand the difficulties, frustrations, and hazards it includes.

This week was a really personal week for me. I recall when I worked as a camp counselor and I had a student that confided in me that her soon to be step-mother was hitting her. It was a tough situation. I knew that I had to report if, but she was really scared of what was going to happen. The rest of the week I tried my best to keep her calm all week. When I finally reported everything, the man that I reported to said that he couldn't help the young girl. It was not the outcome I was expecting but I know that I did what I could.
Being a teacher, its so important that report when these kinds of things happen. I know that a lot of times maybe we can't do anything to help them in their home life but we can do all that we can be to Christ like in the classroom and show them the love that they long for.

It's been good to go over the different high-incident disabilities this week through the student presentations.  I have found through conversation with family members that all of us have misconceptions about different disabilities.  Going over them in class is helpful to getting rid of any misconceptions that we might still have.  I liked what Nicole Call said about her brother in the ADHD presentation, that he never felt like it was a learning disability because he didn't have any problems with learning.  It made me realized that we can take that same approach to help our students by realizing it is a physical hurdle to overcome, but it doesn't accurately describe the person when we focus only on the disability.  I know that I struggle with my own school work each day, but I can't imagine what it would be like to add a disability  to my difficulties.

I unfortunately, was one of the only ones that didn't get to present my information to the class yet, so I feel that my reflection isn't applicable at this point.  I was a bit frustrated with my group that I was working with because I was unfamiliar with any of them and found that our personalities and approaches to projects like this were quite different.  I wasn't sure even after assignments were made, that the group would actually cover everything that was required.  Even with assignments, it seemed like everyone was doing their own thing rather than what they committed to doing, which was leaving gaps in what was to be covered.  In the end, things came together, but it was literally the minute class started that I knew what part each person was going to do.  For this reason, I would only give our group a 9.  I will have to share the rest of my reflections after I teach next week.

March 6th Journal

Up until this week we have been focusing more upon the ways that we can help students in the classroom and certain strategies to help students. A part of understanding what they they’re going through is understanding the disability itself and their own personal experiences. I believe that in each class it’s extremely important to combine both the material that we read about outside of class, the material we cover in class, and especially our own person experiences that we have learned an grown through. If you draw from different experiences and situations I believe that it really helps to further your understanding and make you more willing to learn about what is being taught. I know that I need to work really hard to understand each disability so when I become a teacher I won’t just know the procedures that need to be followed and understood but also have that ability to truly get to know and relate to each student and make them feel welcome and loved in the classroom. If I have that level of trust in my classroom I believe it will allow for better learning as well as a level of trust where they feel comfortable talking to me about what is difficult for them or what they need help with because in order to really teach and help understand what students need to learn I need to know where their background is and what specific things help them learn and grow. I also need to make sure that there is acceptance by their fellow students because those students may have misconceptions about these disabilities that they have learned from friends, family, or just general experience where they didn’t’ understand. I want my students to be able to understand that each person is important and everyone has a struggle their going though some may just be more apparent than others.

While at the same time I don’t want to make a disability seem like a weakness where they use it as an excuse not to learn but instead allow their disability to make them grow and develop stronger (by overcoming hurdles) rather than fall behind because they don’t want to try their very hardest.

1. How do you feel about your lesson delivery and why? Was it effective, why or why not?
1. I think that our lesson delivery went well. It was well organized and included the most important details. It was effective, in my opinion, because it allowed the students diversity to learn the material. During the presentation, we used different activities to help the class understand the material.
2. What evidence do you have (while delivering your lesson) of effective student engagement?
1. The students were reading the material, and answering our questions. This made them seem the most involved.
3. If you were to teach this lesson by yourself, not in a group, what would you change and why?
1. I think if I was to change anything, I would just have incorporated more activities.
4. What could have been an area of improvement in your teaching?
1. I think that I could have been more prepared and thought out deeper questions to ask.
5. Based on the criteria for the “Teaching Experience” on our syllabus, would you give your group a 0, 5 or a 10?  Why?  AND would you give yourself a 0, 5 or a 10?  Why?
1. I would give both the group and myself a 10, we worked hard on the presentation and covered all the required material.

Journal #7

I loved learning so many different things that the other groups have presented in the presentations. I loved the activities and seeing the tarantula. Listening to what the students learned really helped me understand the disabilities better. I love listening to the professors, but when a student in the class teaches me, I understand so much more.

This week we all were able to present to the rest of the class about what we have learned. I think our group did an amazing job. We had so much prepared to talk about with so little time. We have been asked the following questions:

1. How do you feel about your lesson delivery and why? Was it effective, why or why not?

I think the delivery went well. I was able to express my part of the presentation to the rest of the class without having to worry about being nervous. I was teaching the class about prevalence. I think it was pretty effective, the class was participating and asking us good questions for feedback.

2. What evidence do you have (while delivering your lesson) of effective student engagement?

The evidence was not only from me, but it was pretty amazing. We had people not only asking questions but giving us examples that they have had. We also had handouts that had the class working hard to solve. It was amazing to see and hear everyone trying their best to decode the sentences and say the tongue twisters. By using our personal experiences or experiences of someone we knew, it helped the class know that speech language disorder.

3. If you were to teach this lesson by yourself, not in a group, what would you change and why?

I would’ve made it shorter, that way I would be able to hit every section of powerpoint.

4. What could have been an area of improvement in your teaching?

I should’ve studied my part a little more. I got nervous presenting and began to stutter a little bit and then began to forget what I have worked on to say to the class. I looked at the group a few times to help me think of a word that I was trying to use.

5. Based on the criteria for the “Teaching Experience” on our syllabus, would you give your group a 0, 5 or a 10?  Why?  AND would you give yourself a 0, 5 or a 10?  Why?

I would give us a 10 because we all contributed and all had something different to share to the rest of the class. We all studied our part of the presentation and came together to teach everyone else.

 

Week 7 Journal

This week I enjoyed listening to the lessons presented by my classmates on the different disabilities we may encounter in our classrooms. I thought each group presented very well, and I feel like I have a better understanding of how students with learning, speech, emotional and language disabilities struggle in the classroom. As a student myself, I have struggles with time management, difficult homework, and understanding new concepts. I can only imagine how frustrated a student would be trying to do all that, and have a disability that is added.

I did the visual and speech disabilities simulations last week, and I found they were much more difficult and frustrating than I had previously thought. One eye disability was like looking through binoculars, and I caught myself squinting frequently to try to improve my vision. This in turn gave me a headache. The mask with just one eye with an opening, strained my other eye and made my headach increase. By the third mask, with one eye open, the other pinhole, I could feel my eye compensating for the small area of sight in left eye. By the time I finally finished the fourth mask,

one open, one closed, I had progressed to complete irritation and a raging migraine. The last mask felt like I had eye patch on. I was constantly turn to see things on my left. At the end of the simulation, I took the mask off, popped three Excedrin, chased those with a Pepsi and went to lie down.

With my speech simulation, I was frustrated to the point of anger to not being able to use /l/ or /n/  because I had to choose my words carefully and avoid any words that included those letters. It slowed down my speech considerably, and knowing what I wanted to say and not being able to say it was annoying. I am glad I did the speech simulation however, because my father had a stroke last November and lost control of the right side of his body. He has been slowly working to regain it, but now he stutters, and it's  heart-breaking to see him try to make his mouth form the sounds and words, when his brain know what he wants to say. The more tired he gets, the slower his speech and longer the stuttering. 

After only a short time of being visually and speech impaired, I developed a greater respect for those who suffer through these disabilities daily. I also hope I have developed more patience with people, like my father, who need a little more time to say what they want, or to formulate an answer. I hope to take my new knowledge and use it in my classroom to help my students, and make those without disabilities more aware of their classmates that have them.

TEACHING REFELCTION

I believe that our group presentation for Autism went very well. We were able to have solid information and had multiple ways to teach it to allow for better understanding. I believe that we had so many activities and so many different components that our presentation was effective.

Students were actively engaged in the presentation because we asked questions, we had handouts for each student to look over and take notes on, and we also brought an in-class activity that they could do or work with while we were presenting. We also put all of our information on a PowerPoint to allow for more than once sense to be present while the class was learning, which increases knowledge understanding.

If I was teaching the lesson by myself one thing that I would change is the way that the case study was done. For our group we read out of the book, I feel as though choosing to do a case study that we have experienced ourselves allows others to feel that it is more real and relatable and even easier to understand because of the connections. Before we presented I worked on memorizing my information to allow me to not have to worry about reading from the slides and sound better instead of sounding like a robot. Something that I could have improved on is understanding and memorizing the material more so I didn’t even have to read from my notecards. I would give both my group and I a 10. We worked hard on understanding the information, we divided the responsibilities so everyone had an equal say and factor in the presentation, and we spent time outside of class discussing what needed to be done. I would give myself a 10 because I worked hard to get the information that I had and I spent time outside of class trying to comprehend my information better and trying to remember so I didn’t have to read from the slide and appear more professional.