First week of teaching

The first three days of the school year were a challenge for me on many different fronts. First, I had just traveled from seeing my family after the flooding in Baton Rouge. It was comforting to see that they are all doing well and have made great progress on their recovery. However, the trade off was not being able to spend the time that I wanted to planning out the ideally the year, but practically the first week. I have previously taught and know that one of the issues that I struggle with is planning out lessons. I am inefficient in the process and spend a great amount of time doing it. I also know that I have a history of revising my lessons, taking up even more time. I hope that I can learn from this process over time become more efficient at identifying meaningful objectives for lessons, ways to assess them, and the learning activities that best bridge the two.

On the other hand, the time that I have spent in the classroom with the students has been fun. The group that I have the opportunity to teach has done a great job taking risks in the classroom, staying focused, respectful of the material, and working with each other. I have also always found that it is difficult to plan out too much of the class before I meet the students. For some reason I am unfocused and plan out too much. This week helped me to get to know that the students are here for their first high school experience in the classes that I am teaching. It is my job to make sure that they have a good one. I have a much more practical vision of what the class needs to look like and hopefully that will help with my planning problem.

Teaching Lori from Somebody Else's Kids

Essential Characteristics of the student

            The student that I chose to bring into my class is Lori. Lori is described as an exceptionally nice and kind child who has nothing wrong with her heart. Her problem lies in the brain injury she suffered as a result of severe abuse. She suffered a skull fracture that resulted in lesions in her brain in the area that processes written symbols (Hayden, 1981). This type of injury is known as a traumatic brain injury (TBI) (Kline, 2016). As a result of her injury she has epilepsy and is hyperactive, with difficulty sitting still, and poor concentration. This all results in her having trouble learning anything, even copying things that are written in front of her. (Hayden, 1981).

The class that she will be a part of is my upcoming anatomy & physiology class. This would be a very difficult course for her to be a part of, but by the same measure a great opportunity for her to grow. The material that is generally involved with anatomy & physiology are many terms and labels that are difficult for most students. I will attempt to put an emphasis on concepts and process, but there are still many new terms she will have to master. There is an opportunity to engage her in this class, as it will be an opportunity for her to learn about her injury and how it has affected her.

What are the accommodations?

The overall approach that is recommended for TBI is termed comprehensive neuro-rehabilitation (CN). It is a holistic treatment aimed at helping all areas of a person’s life (Kline, 2016; Sarajuuri et al., 2005). As such, every accommodation should be done as a team. There are many professionals who need to be involved in the care and a person who coordinates the interventions. With my level of experience with such a situation, I could not coordinate the accommodations, but have to understand my role in making sure they are followed. This should be foremost when planning and implementing, we are all in this for Lori.

There are several areas of classroom accommodations that have been recommended for students with Lori’s problems. First, is the idea of modifying the environment within the classroom. Since she has poor concentration and hyperactivity, it may advisable to limit the distractions that she may face (Gordon, Cantor, & Hibbard, 2002). This would include a seating arrangement that keeps her away from windows or busy hallways. Neighboring students would also be a concern to keep her part of the class, but not put her in a position where she would be tempted to socialize too much.

            Some students with traumatic brain injuries have found it useful to have access to daily organizers as a sort of external memory system (Gordon, et al., 2002). With the prevalence of digital devices and smart phones, there are many features that could be used to accomplish this. The calendar feature could be used to set appointments and the notes feature could be used to keep track of simple notes. Some people also find it helpful to simply take pictures of the things that they need to remember. This seems like it would help Lori remember things. I would have to work with the school to ensure compliance with any technology or cell phone policy. I would also have to monitor Lori’s use of whatever device she has access to, to make sure it is used appropriately.

            There are also suggestions about the manner in which Lori should be taught. It is suggested that students with TBI be given frequent breaks from activities, slower pace of learning, and repeating important information (Gordon, et al., 2002). It is also helpful to give TBI sufferers advanced knowledge of what is going to happen through a guided notes, summary sheet, or other tool (Gordon, et al., 2002; Timmel, 2006). Another recommendation that I think would help with the overall emphasis is to take a discovery approach with her learning (Kline, 2016). I think this would be helpful to think about the skills we are adding, rather than the things she is not capable of.

            Other teaching accommodations are to use thematic teaching: exposing students to concepts multiple times throughout the day. This requires the cooperation of other teachers, family members, and support personnel to coordinate the themes of the day and support them. It also is recommended that thematic teaching is only used at times when the student is ready to engage in it. When they are tired or frustrated they are not likely to learn (Timmel, 2006). Thematic learning in my A&P class may look like a lesson on the lungs, then going to a one-on-one session with a special education teacher where they talk about sneezing, and then talking about family members that have asthma when they get home. Coordination would be key with this approach.

            One of the issues that accompanies TBI is a lack of self-awareness after the injury. This leads to students not understanding their strengths and weaknesses and appreciating the tools that can help their weaknesses. To deal with that, it is recommended that students learn about TBI and the effects they have on people, especially the cognitive impact. After that, students should have their study skills formally assessed and then be trained in how to study (Bush, Hux, & Holmberg, 2011). This would be a team effort with all of the teachers that work with Lori. I could not handle all of this in my class, and would rely on the special education teacher to take charge of this or point us to the person who could. I would support these efforts in my class to help her be aware of her situation and how to deal with it.

            One exciting accommodation that I found was the use of art and art therapy (Kline, 2016). I have no experience with art therapy, but art has a very important place in an anatomy course. This is a situation where the team approach could really help by including an art therapist who could help us use this in the classroom. Lori has problems reading and writing, but she may be able draw out what she is thinking in terms of the anatomy. She also may be able to explain the process and what she is representing with her art. A common text is the anatomy coloring book, which may be very useful for Lori.

Drawbacks & Potential Issues for Lori

            The main drawback is that TBIs are difficult injuries that heal very slowly. The gains that she makes may be small if any while she is in my class. It would be very challenging for Lori and me to have to deal with failure on a consistent basis. This is compounded by the fact that she would be in a very challenging course for someone with her cognitive limitations. There are many opportunities for her to be discouraged. While Lori has an incredible spirit, it will be a challenge for her to go through this.

            The accommodations themselves would provide Lori with challenges because some of the things she would be doing would vary greatly with the rest of the student’s activities. She may be drawing out a basic anatomical structure while other students are identifying structures on anatomical models. This will take the support of all the members of her class to be effective. It will also put pressure on me to organize the class so the differing activities can take place. On days where Lori needs to be in a less stimulating environment I may have to modify the activities of the other students.

            As a teacher in this situation, I will have to be an effective teammate with all of the other professionals who will have to be involved with her schooling and care. This can be very difficult for many different reasons. In a school day time is always a precious commodity and it will be difficult to set up times to meet and establish clear roles and responsibilities. I may also encounter teachers who simply do not agree with the plan or do not follow through on their role.

            Some of the accommodations that I listed would push me well outside of my comfort zone as a teacher. I think that art therapy could be a great resource for her, but I am not prepared to lead in that accommodation. I would have to learn about art therapy, and probably work on my own artistic abilities to be able to help Lori use it as a helpful tool.

Conclusions

            Lori presents a very difficult student to teach in an advanced science class. There are opportunities to engage her, but she will most likely struggle with the material. The description of Lori makes you want to do everything that you can as a teacher to help her. While a lot of attention is placed on her failures, she is trying to learn and that is what should be rewarded. I also think that having to work through this situation would help me to be a better teacher overall. I would be a more creative and supportive teacher for having taught Lori.

References

Bush, E., Hux, K., & Holmberg, M. (2011). Learning and study strategies of students with traumatic brain injury: A Mixed method study. Journal of Post Secondary Educaiton and Disability, 24(3), 231-250.

Gordon, W. A., Cantor, J., & Hibbard, M. R. (2002). Focus technical bried number 3: underachieving students. Focus  Retrieved 08/20/2016, from http://ktdrr.org/ktlibrary/articles_pubs/ncddrwork/focus/focus3/focus3.pdf

Hayden, T. L. (1981). Somebody else's kids. New York: Putnam.

Kline, T. (2016). Art Therapy for Individuals With Traumatic Brain Injury: A Comprehensive Neurorehabilitation-Informed Approach to Treatment. Art Therapy, 33(2), 67-73.

Sarajuuri, J. M., Kaipio, M. L., Koskinen, S. K., Niemela, M. R., Servo, A. R., & Vilkki, J. S. (2005). Outcome of a comprehensive neurorehabilitation program for patients with traumatic brain injury. Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation, 86(12), 2296-2302.

Timmel, G. (2006). Teaching students with epilepsy: Strategies for educators  Retrieved 08/10/2016, from http://www2.massgeneral.org/childhoodepilepsy/pdf/strategies_for_educators.pdf

IEP vs 504 Plan

IEP

An Individualized Education Program (IEP) is a written statement of the educational program designed to meet a child’s individual needs. Every child who receives special education services must have an IEP (Center for Parent Information and Resources, 2013). This is the result of special education law, specifically the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) (Hancock, 2009a).

The IEP has two general purposes: (Center for Parent Information and Resources, 2013)

1) Set reasonable learning goals for a child, and

2) State the services that the school district will provide for the child.

Steps to an IEP: (Hancock, 2009b)

Step 1: Referral for a special education evaluation

·      Request for referral can originate from a parent, teacher, or other school personnel

·      Initial request is for eligibility evaluation only, parents must consent for any type of services

Step 2: The evaluation eligibility meeting

·      To be eligible for special education services, students must fall under the category of one of the 13 types of eligible disabilities

·      This meeting is used to gather information to determine this

Step 3: Determining eligibility for the 13 categories:

Step 4: Write the IEP

·      The IEP is a written legal document that must include certain information.

Step 5: IEP Meeting

·      Meeting of the IEP team: Student, parents, special education teacher, classroom teachers, psychologist, school administrators, etc.

·      Contents of the IEP will be shared by the person who performed the evaluation

·      IEP team then agrees or disagrees with the plan.

·      Implementing the plan requires the consent of parents

Funding is provided by the federal government for eligible students (Lee, 2014)

504 Plan

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is a federal law that protects individuals with disabilities. It is enforced by the Office of Civil Rights to ensure that any institution that received federal funds do not exclude individuals based on their disability. Section 504 requires that school districts provide a free appropriate public education (FAPE) to each student (U.S. Department of Education, 2015).

Under section 504, modifications and accommodations to provide students building access, classroom accommodations, and curriculum modifications, are what most commonly occur. Section 504 usually applies to students who have “normal” ability to learn, but have some other major limiting factor such as a mobility impairment like being wheelchair bound. Students may also have medical conditions such as epilepsy, allergies, and cerebral palsy that qualifies them for section 504. Students who fail to qualify for special education services may qualify for accommodations and modifications under section 504 (Hancock, 2009a).

A section 504 evaluation can be asked for by any party involved with the student (parent, teacher, & school employee). It includes classroom observations, academic assessment, teacher reports, and assessments from other medical and learning professionals. The 504 plan that is generated should specifically outline the student’s disability and the modifications and accommodations that will be provided to address it. It must also contain who is providing the modifications and accommodations, and who is responsible to ensure that the plan is implemented (Hancock, 2009a).

Funding is provided by the local schools, no federal funds are available. The federal government can take away funding from schools that do not comply (Lee, 2014).

Similarities

Both 504 & IEP are federally mandated entities designed to protect student’s rights to educational services. This is done through accommodations and modifications to school activities.

Differences

IEP: is the result of educational law (IDEA). To qualify, students must fall under one of the 13 disabilities. A required process is followed with the result being a legal document with mandated contents. Federal funding is available

504 Plan: is the result of civil rights law (Rehabilitation Act of 1973). There is no formal process or legal document that results from this process. There is no federal funding for the accommodations or modifications, but schools can lose federal funds if they do not comply.

Venn Diagram

 

References:

Center for Parent Information and Resources. (2013). The Short-and-sweet IEP overview.   Retrieved from http://www.parentcenterhub.org/repository/iep-overview/

Hancock, M. (2009a). Understanding section 504: The American with Disabilities Act.   Retrieved from http://www.understandingspecialeducation.com/section-504.html

Hancock, M. (2009b). Understanding the IEP process.   Retrieved from http://www.understandingspecialeducation.com/IEP-process.html

Lee, A. M. I. (2014). The difference between IEps and 504 plans.   Retrieved from https://www.understood.org/en/school-learning/special-services/504-plan/the-difference-between-ieps-and-504-plans

U.S. Department of Education. (2015). Protecting students with disabilities.   Retrieved from http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/504faq.html

Time, Current Status, & Challenges of Special Education

Timeline

            Here is a preview of the timeline that I created to show the major events that have occurred in the history of special education.

 

Below is the link to my special education timeline, it has some interactive features to it, so please be sure to take a look:

https://www.timetoast.com/timelines/1313737

Current Status & Challenges of Special Education:

            As a new teacher and someone who has had limited exposure with special education I find it difficult to begin discussing the current status and daily challenges of special education. As a learning exercise, this may provide an opportunity for me to see how much I have learned, however at this time it is all very new to me. To try and familiarize myself with the topic I attempted a simple google search, “Current status of special education”. That did not help shed any light, but did provide some information for me to at least present here.

            The reading that was assigned in Module 1 focused on the idea that racial minorities are disproportionately represented in special education settings. This is termed “disproportionality in special education” (Skiba et al., 2008). This makes sense, especially in the light of all the racial disparities that are obvious on the news every night these last few weeks. However, the simple google search I referenced earlier resulted in another perspective. According to a team of researchers, the opposite is true, there are too few minorities in special education (Samuels, 2016).

            While I appreciate the debate that many professions have as it can result in productive struggle for the benefit of the people that it serves, this is a difficult debate for me. I am not familiar with any of the research and have limited prior knowledge of the profession. This seems like it may be more of a researcher’s debate, which leaves the practitioners to figure out what to do. As a result, it appears that the current status of special education of a bit muddied.

            From my perspective, if we ignore the side of the actual issue, it appears that there are some common sense guidelines that could help teachers dealing with special education situations from both of these research areas. Teachers should be trained in culturally and linguistically sensitive evaluation methods (Samuels, 2016) and intervene within their own classroom before sending a student to special education (Heller, Holtzman, & Messick, 1982; Skiba et al., 2008). While the details about the effects of race are important, the key issue seems to be focused on knowing your students and running the best classroom a teacher can.

            With regards to the challenges in special education, the simple google search did help to find a list of 10 challenges that a veteran special education teacher faces (Ferry, 2012). While each one could warrant a lengthy discussion, I will focus on the three that I would find most difficult to deal with. The author noted that paperwork is an issue, with one IEP coming back at fifty-six (56) pages long, and the norm being somewhere between 10-20 (Ferry, 2012). I have a great difficulty following that much paperwork in addition to the normal forms and documentation that is required of teachers.

            The next two challenges are related to each other: data collection and evidence of student growth. While there is a decrease in the emphasis on data that is being collected, special education teachers must be able to validate what they are doing with students. They must prove the claims of the IEP (Ferry, 2012). This can add an incredibly difficult new layer to working with the student and other teachers to collect this data and align it with the student’s needs. Data collection is also related to evidence of student growth, as special education teachers must prove the student is improving (Ferry, 2012). We have spent several weeks in this program on the use of formative assessments and the idea of trying to capture those into data or evidence the demonstrates growth. To try and align these with data that was used to demonstrate a need for special education services is not something I would do well.

References

Ferry, M. (2012). Top 10 challenges of special education.   Retrieved from http://www.friendshipcircle.org/blog/2012/02/01/the-top-10-challenges-of-special-education-teachers/

Heller, K. A., Holtzman, W. H., & Messick, S. (1982). Placing children in special education : a strategy for equity. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.

Peterson, J. (2007). Timeline of Special Education History.   Retrieved from http://www.fortschools.org/m/content.cfm?subpage=62980

President's Panel on Mental Retardation. (1963). Retrieved from Washington, DC:

Samuels, C. A. (2016). Are there too few minority students in special education?   Retrieved from http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2016/06/01/are-there-too-few-minorities-in-special.html

Skiba, R. J., Simmons, A. B., Ritter, S., Gibb, A. C., Rausch, M. K., Cuadrado, J., & Chung, C.-G. (2008). Achieving Equity in Special Education: History, Status, and Current Challenges. Exceptional Children, 74(3), 264-288. doi:10.1177/001440290807400301

Turnbull, R., & Turnbull, A. (2015). Looking Backward and Framing the Future for Parents’ Aspirations for Their Children With Disabilities. Remedial and Special Education, 36(1), 52-57. doi:10.1177/0741932514553124

Dotstorming web tool

Dotstorming.com

Using Dotstorming

            Dotstorming (https://dotstorming.com) is a very simple web tool that allows you to brainstorm ideas by yourself, or with others. This is done by creating a topic and inviting people to join the dotstorm. People that have joined the topic can make idea suggestions and chat about the ideas that other people see. One of the key features of the dotstorm is that participants can vote on the ideas that people suggest to come to a conclusion.

            It is a free website to use for all, but there is no need for students to join. A teacher can join, create the topic, and then invite the students to join the dotstorm. The interface is very simple to use when creating the topic, adding ideas, and chatting. Voting is also easy by clinking on a circle on the lower left corner of the idea that pops up. Students can also make comments on each individual idea within the topic to have a discussion on those ideas.

            The creator of the topic also has control over several aspects such as the number of votes each individual has. Ideas can be added at any time, or the teacher can close the “board” so that only comments and voting can take place. The youtube videos below give a good description of how to use the website and what can be done with it.

Videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTDbzdIC0BM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gq-j1dY8Q6U

What literacy skills does Dotstorming support

            Dotstorming can be used to meet all of the literacy skills that we have identified (Shanahan & Shanahan, 2008). The skills that are developed will depend on the way that this tool is used. Basic literacy could be addressed through using this tool by having students focus on the sentence structure and finding key words by having students list out these words. Intermediate literacy could be addressed by having student suggest vocabulary words or answering generic comprehension questions.

This could also be a tool that is used to address disciplinary literacy skills by setting up a problem-based activity in the dotstorming and asking students to use the texts that they have access to, or finding new texts to address the problem that is identified in the topic. The flexibility of this web tool allows it to address many skills. However, this means that a teacher who uses it must tailor the activity to address the specific skills that need to be focused on.

How you could differentiate for content, process, or product using the tool

            The flexibility of the dotstorming platform allows teachers the flexibility to differentiate many aspects of an assignment through this website. The content can be differentiated by specifically referencing what texts are to be used for the topic. On the other hand, it could be specifically stated that new texts are to be found to address the topic. This allows the teacher to gear the topic to any level of reader and any complexity of text.

            The website also allows teacher to create a topic that takes the form of many different processes. A dotstorming could be a simple engagement activity where students brainstorm out a list of key concepts of a topic, similar to a semantic map or a pre-reading plan. Students could have their comprehension guided by completing a adapted form of paired summarizing, where student post summaries of a section of readings. Students could also take part in authentic activities by have problem based activities posted on the dotstorming website.

            Another key aspect of this web tool that I think would be beneficial to students and teachers is the ability to group students. Much like what could happen in a classroom a teacher could choose to group students in many different ways, really in any way that we have discussed in the class. A group of struggling students could be grouped together and questions tailored to their needs with more teacher input to their comments. English language learners could be grouped together with other teachers and support personnel who could help with their comprehension of English.

            Lastly, the product that students result in is another positive aspect of the dotstorming website. I feel like the best use, or the use that most interests me is utilizing it as a formative assessment. Students could post ideas, comment, and vote in a quick time frame which gives the teacher a quick snapshot of their level of understanding. This could also be done anonymously, ensuring that students’ grades are not an issue. There could also be a summative or formal assessment that takes place by providing a rubric. This could include areas like suggesting two ideas, making three comments on other students’ ideas, and providing references to support your ideas.

            We have discussed the idea of representations and this could also be addressed through this medium. Students could post pictures as their ideas through a google image search, or they could draw a picture, take a picture of it and post it. I believe that videos could also be posted if that were a medium they wanted to express themselves in. Any form of the written word could be used, and it may be fun it all ideas have to rhyme or in poem form.

Classroom Examples

            The example question that I have been working on for our assignment next week is should people have access to exogenous erythropoietin? With this in mind I set up an example topic and added a few ideas to see what it looked like. Below is a sample:

I am looking at this question as a debate that takes into account the information, medical benefits, ethics, and morals of any drug use. The dotstorming platform appears to lend itself to setting up a forum where students could present their ideas, make comments, and vote on ideas. I could do this in stages to help build the knowledge base by addressing the positive disease treatment issues, then the performance enhancing issues associated with its abuse. In this way I could scaffold the texts that are used and the process so that they students have prior knowledge to be able to take part in a productive debate.

            Another area that I would like to use this is for reviewing for tests. One of the activities that I have done it the past is to have students write their own test as a review. I think this would be great to do on the dotstorming website. I would most likely start by creating a topic about essay questions for a test. Students would be asked to submit one essay question as an idea and then in the comments of the idea add in what they think the best answer is. Other students could then comment on the question and the answer. After a period of time, students could vote on the question and answer combination that they like the best. I could even limit the test questions to their top 3 responses, with only two appearing on the test.

Pros & Cons of Dotstorming

            Pros of the dotstorming website are that it is flexible and easy to use. No complex sign ups, it is free, and open space with few restrictions. However, this does result in some problems for the teacher. There is more work to ensure that assignments are created such that they address the intended issues, skills, and assessments. However, I side with enjoying the freedom and taking responsibility for ensuring that the assignment is created to accomplish its task.

            Other issues that would come up are those that come with the internet and social type tools. The website is not perfect, I ran into problems logging on from the Safari browser and was not able to load pictures for about 15 minutes once. I guess these are the issues that come with a free site and one that looks like it is run by one person. There is also the possibility of inappropriate online activities such as comments and pictures that should not be there. With the opportunity to post anonymously this would be an issue to address with the class and regularly check postings to ensure this is not happening.

            One of the problems that I have with all digital tools is lack of engagement. If all a tool does is the same thing that a face to face class does or less, why not just stick with the regular class activity? The key element is to ensure that the students are engaged in this online learning tool and growing as students as a result of it. There are too many digital tools that I have looked at that are no better (and some worse) than what we are currently doing. I feel like that is a waste of time and want to avoid it in my class. I honestly feel like this is a tool that could be used to help students develop informational skills and communicate ideas outside of the classroom.

Shanahan, T., & Shanahan, C. (2008). Teaching Disciplinary Literacy to Adolescents: Rethinking Content-Area Literacy. Harvard Educational Review, 78(1), 40-59.