Module 2

F.A.T Video

What was your reaction to the video? What part of the video impacted you the most and why?

My reaction to this video was sad because every point Dr. Lavoie was making was very common and I have seen it before in the classroom. Even though I never had a learning disability, his examples of going extremely fast and calling on a student, them not knowing the answer and embarrassing them was very relatable. I never would volunteer in school, and I would look away when the teacher was trying to call on a student all the time. I was always afraid of the teacher embarrassing me if I got it wrong and how I looked in front of my friends. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like for someone who had a learning disability. The part that impacted me the most was when he was asking questions to the adults in the simulation and pressuring them to respond, and moving quickly. It was nerve racking being behind the screen watching it. It opened my eyes to what students with learning disabilities think and feel on a day to day basis in the classroom. The point that he made about not helping one student because you have 25 other students stood out to me. He compared it to someone who was experiencing a heart attack, and him knowing how to give CPR but not helping because he has other students. I thought that made a great point for teachers.

3 points Dr. Lavoie made that were new to you or provided a good reminder

• That children who experience anxiety the first thing they do is look away from the factor that is causing them anxiety, and we have students look at us in the eye (the main factor of anxiety).
• He made pointed out an example of students with a disability processing the first question while another student answered it, the teacher asks a the student with a disability a different question and they answer the first question. Which then causes disruption because students will be laughing. The point is to keep a slower pace, and maybe have that student answer the first question, but give them time to think. 
• He made a point, imagine being the student who have a learning disability and being the only one who can't do things.
• Fairness is what students need. 

Identify at least 3 strategies that you, as a teacher, can implement in your future classroom for students who experience frustration, anxiety, and tension.

• Pull students who experience anxiety, frustration, and tension aside. See what works best for each individual student.
• One possible strategy is giving students time to think of a response.
• Call on those students first for a response if you think they know it, give them time before calling on them.
• Stand in front of the student if you will call on them so they are ready for a response, without other students knowing. Discuss on the side with them.

Misunderstood-Minds 

Did the simulations help you better understand a disability in each of the areas? How?

Yes this helped my understand disabilities in each of these areas better. Actually going through the activities put you in a person with disabilities shoes to be able to understand what they go through.

 As you were going through the simulations, were there things you wished you had (e.g., more time) or that you could do (e.g., refer to your notes) that would help you?

Most of the simulations I needed more time or better focus to do the activities. The ones that I needed the most time would be the memory activity where the lines would disappear every so many seconds. I was too busy trying to read as quick as I could that I didn’t have anytime to comprehend what I was reading. I felt pressured to read quick; therefore, I needed more time on this simulation. I also got frustrated with the auditory activity with listening to distractions. I felt the teacher was giving instructions to quick and not letting the class be quiet before moving to the next instruction.

Four supports or accommodations you could provide to students in your classroom who have difficulties with learning, motivation, attention, and/or memory

• Learning- To help reading comprehension, tell students the purpose for reading and what to look for in the passage. Also, having prompts to help with the learning task.
• Attention- In chapter 11 it gives a few examples of support or accommodations for a student who struggles with attention. One that I could provide would be to give verbal cues to alert students. This could be words such as “listen” or “ready?”, use the word when you want to gain everyone’s attention.
• Motivation- A support for motivation of students would be to have a schedule of the day, and mark what is completed. This will motivate students to know what is to do next and how much left they need to accomplish.
• Memory-If a student is struggling with memory, the misunderstood-minds website suggested having memory aids called mnemonics. You could make memory aids for any subject area that needs memorized.

What effect does your participation in these simulations have on you as a future teacher?

It has helped me understand more what it is like to have a learning disability. I will definitely take this into consideration in my future classroom. I will go at slower paces and make sure that all students are on the same page, even if I have to do extra things to accommodate all students.

 Visual Support 

I chose a daily schedule for the visual support for students with autism. This could be in the front of the classroom or you could make an individual smaller one for the student with autism if necessary. The teacher will give cues before switching to the next time on the chart to reduce stress. Then after the teacher has given cues he or she will move the arrow to the task that the class is suppose to do next. If this is an individual chart the student can do this their selves, it could also be replaced with an arrow and have different markings to put when one activity has been completed. This will increase on task behavior for students. This will help increase the student’s understanding of the environment and decrease the amount of stress during transition time. The students will always know what they should be working on and what will come next. I believe this visual support could be for all students if it is in the front of the classroom. This support if given an individual schedule, I think this would be an individualized approach, but if it is in the whole classroom for all students to see it will support all students. It is good for all students to have structure and know what they should be doing and what comes next.