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
