Lesson 10 Differentiation

As part of learning about differentiation we got to teach a lesson using aspects of UDL and differentiation. UDL is a universal design of learning that can accommodate for all students. From this lesson plan all students should be able to learn what is being taught. We picked the topic of knot tying. We taught the square knot and figure 8 knot.
  Once we had the UDL we went to assess the current knowledge of the groups we were teaching and make changes according to the data that we collected. This was a challenge because we first started with wanting to teach the fisherman's knot. But once we got the data we soon learned that this was too advanced to just teach right away. Once data was received we did some differentiating to help our groups succeed.
   Working with the group was a personal struggle for me this week. Not a lot of people were willing to step up to help, and some did not come to meetings. I personally struggle with group work because in the past not all have done their part. This project some people did their part, but not everyone. also the topic wasn't one I really wanted to do because of the difficulty of the fisherman's knot, but the rest of the group liked the idea. As things went on and we were able to change things and make them more smooth the group was on track again and there was a sense of ease instead of chaos. I learned that sometimes you don't always get to have the best idea in a group setting and you have to let someone else take the lead and go for the idea as a group.
   Teaching this morning was the most fun. It was really fun and welcoming to hang out with our fellow students and teach them some fun skills.
  Differentiation is so important because not everyone is going to learn in the same way or at the same pace. This may be time consuming but overall will have a greater effect on learning than a regular lesson plan.

Visual impairment Simulation

One of the many benefits to our physical bodies is the function we have to see from our eyes and observe the world around us. But what would happen if that was taken from you? What if you could not see the world around you? There are many that suffer from visual impairments that do not have the ability to see. For this simulation I had to wear 4 different masks to simulate different types of orthopedic impairments.

   The first mask I wore was to simulate the loss of one eye. I could only see out my left eye and it was very challenging. At first, my depth perception was way hard, and I had a very difficult time cooking lunch for myself because of that lack of perception. But I was still able to see a majority of things clearly with little trouble. The longer I had the mask on the more acclimated my eyes became to the situation. While wearing this mask I typed some papers up and it was difficult, so much so that I was pretty close to the screen so I could see what I was typing.

   The Second Mask I wore was to simulate macular degeneration which is the loss of the central vision. This was very hard to see at first. It was hard for me to base my vision off of just my peripheral vision. This was very hard to do my typing of assignments on the computer.

The Third mask I wore was to simulate glaucoma with very limited field vision. It was easier to focus on one thing at a time unlike mask number 2, but I could only focus on one thing at a time. It was also difficult anticipate if anything was coming into my field of vision because of the lack of peripherals. I found myself having to move my head in order to focus on people or objects.

The fourth and final mask was to simulate issues with lens such as astigmatism and other visual loses of acuity. This one was the most difficult. I really could see nothing, the only thing I could see was a little bit of light and silhouette of some shapes. This made me so frustrated and I felt alone because of how dark it was. I also felt incompetent because i could not see well enough to do anything. I image this is how some people feel with this particular impairment.

This simulation was so frustrating to me because I have never been without my vision and it was awful to not have it. I do wear glasses but not to the point that I cannot see things without them. I definitely take for granted that I can see when there are many who cannot.

Service learning June 23, 2016

   I was so excited to go into service learning today. There is just something about the way you feel when you're there that brings hope and happiness. I just feel good around them and want to be there. Today I was there for 2 hours with the clients. When I got there, there were new clients that I hadn't met before. It was great to get to know them and hang out with some of the others that I had met before. For the first hour we played uno. Uno is THE game to play there. This was supposed to be a super short game that turned into the longest game of uno. It was awesome to see them individually see the color or number and put down a corresponding card. Along the way as people won we kept playing for 2nd place, 3rd place, and so on.  They began to help the others remaining in the game. Uno games here and never about winning really, they are about helping each other to succeed.
   The second hour I was there we watched a video about different national parks. The clients we able to see what other places look like, what kinds of animals live there, and what plants thrive in those specific places.
   I have loved going to service learning. When I came home from these experiences I have told my husband that we should go together, even after this is over, to volunteer and feel the amazing spirit that resides with these individuals. I know that feeling is the spirit. Heavenly Father loves them so much and wants them to success and that is why he has helped to provided special services for them so they can succeed.

service learning June 14

On June 14th I was able to go and do 3 hours of my service learning at the development center here in Rexburg. Honestly, I was a little bit nervous in going because it was a new experience and I didn't want to say or do the wrong thing. When I got there, they were eating lunch. I thought it was way neat that they prepared their own lunches, to the best they could, and they would clean their spot after they were done eating. This is a great thing to help with cleaning skills and taking responsibility for their actions.
  After lunch they divided into groups for some group time. The first group I was in we sat around asking questions back and forth and fostering a typical exchange of communication between people. It was really fun to get to know them more and it really built a relationship for the rest of the time i was there that day. They all learned my name right of the bat and were so friendly.
  The next group I was in we were able to put together 3 different puzzles. this was a great team building activity to help them learn how to successfully work in a team and help each other out when needed.
 Lastly we played the biggest, most exciting game of Uno that I have ever played with any group of people. This was really a group effort Uno game and it was awesome to see them all work together to help those who struggled more than the others did. It was also fun to see some of their personalities come out as competition heated up.
   I really loved the first experience I had there and learnd to be real with them. People with disabilities don't want to be treated out of pity or in a fake manner, but want to be treated as equals, as real people.

Orthopedic Impairment simulation

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to not have the use of your legs and wheel around in a wheel chair all day, everyday? For most of us we do not have to experience this hardship but for some it is a real struggle. Some live with this their whole lives and suffer the affects socially, emotionally, and even physically.  For class we had to go through this simulation in a wheel chair for 2 and a half hours to see whats its like from their perspective and it really helped me see the unknown challenges that come from being in a wheel chair.
1. Socially things can be awkward. I don't really remember a time wheeling around that people didn't look at me funny probably wondering what it was that happened to me that made me have to rely on a wheel chair. I got an occasional smile that was genuine but for the most part i got lots of weird stares. This really made me feel small, made me think that I wasn't normal and that I was not capable like others who have the use of their legs. But in retrospective, there were 3 people that really reached out to me through pushing my wheelchair and opening doors for me that not only assisted me physically but socially was greatly overwhelming. I felt as if there were seeing me as a real person who was normal just like them. I went from feeling judged to feeling special and of worth when they did talk to me.
2. Physically things are not as easy to get around as perceived. One of the biggest challenges I faced was going to the bathroom. but not just the get from the toilet to the chair and vice verse, I had a very hard time just opening the door and getting into the bathroom itself. The door was way heavy and not accommodating to those who use a wheelchair. I felt super embarrassed because of this and no one helped me. This bathroom said it was wheelchair accessible but not for getting into the bathroom. Another thing that was difficult was wheeling down hill. I was going really fast and I didn't want to fall so I would use my hands to try and slow myself down; but the wheels were so hot from the friction that it was hard for me to grab a hold and it not hurt my hands. Uphill was also hard but i was lucky enough to have someone offer to help me up hill.
3. When asking for help or directions I was talked to almost as a young incapable child. I remember asking one girl for help and she talked to me with this high pitched voice as if I were an infant that could not understand English.
I have always had great respect for those who are wheel chair bound because one of my best friends growing up needed to use a wheel chair. His disability never affected our friendship and i never saw him differently because of it. But I feel now that I have more empathy for those who do suffer from orthopedic impairments from the experience. If anything, I learned that it can be very socially awkward and embarrassing but that we as educators can have a tremendous impact to help these students feel just as accepted and normal as we can. They are normal, we are all normal; we all come with something different that makes us unique.

Week 8

Do you see this as a big problem? How would you feel if  you could not reach your own potential as an adult? Now think of how frustrating this can be to children who don't have resources to reach their potential in life. This is a big concern for educators and physicians, and what needs toe be done in order to help children reach their potential.
   There are really two basic ways we can help foster success in infancy, since brain plasticity is most critical the first 1000 days of life: GOOD NUTRITION and PLAY BASED STIMULATION. Play is way more important than we think because it helps to create and stimulate language, build communication skills, and leads to better cognitive development over all. Simply playing with your children during the day will give them better opportunity to succeed in the future. Good nutrition gives way for a healthy life style and helps in not only development of the body physically but all the brain as it continues to develop through childhood.
 These are some little things that we can do to provide the best education we can for our children.

Week 7

This week in class was a pretty big eye opener for me that I learned from just a little thing. In class we drew a concept map as w hole class to go over what it was that we read for that week. This last week was all about a classroom environment and different things we can do to enhance the experience the students feel. As we were going up we were hitting the big main points that were mentioned in the reading, but Brother Cloward kept telling us that we were missing something really important, but we all thought that we had hit the main points. He them started talking to us about individuality and we are all important, we are all children. This led us to adding things such as  we are all children of God and that every individuals progression is very important. This was a very good lesson for me to learn thing week. I feel sometimes we can miss out on this and just see our students as just students. We can get so caught up in just teaching curriculum, grades, or even just keeping our sanity throughout the day.  But when we really remember that we are all children of Heavenly Father and that we all have a purpose we go from a textbook kind of teacher to one who teacher by feeling and needs of the students. We should never forget the divine nature we all have a children of God, even in the classroom.                                                                                                                                                                                        

Week 6: Assessments

I have learned that assessments are so essential in the process of education on all levels: in the general education class and in special education. Assessment is how we evaluate needs and to what extend to administer needs.
It is important to make note that assessments need to be  appropriate for all levels of development. Lets take this picture for instance. this assessment indicates that all must do one exact thing even when ability is impossible. Sometimes we are teachers do the same thing to the kids we teach instead of giving appropriate assessments based in needs including culture.
  There are some assessments however that are standardized in nature, which is trying to determine how well students meet expected knowledge of curriculum. With these sort of assessments some students will need certain accommodations in order to perform such as having things read to them or take the test in a different room.
  It is also important to know that assessments should be taken frequently. Children are always learning new things so it is important to take frequent assessment on where they are at and their progression.