1. Teaching Diverse Students

This project was designed to instruct me as a student on the various teaching strategies for students with disabilities. My chosen topic was epilepsy, so I had to find teaching strategies that would help students with epilepsy. If a student has epilepsy, he or she may have difficulty remembering information because of all the chemical energy occurring in the brain. Students may have brief fifteen-second seizures during class where the students seem to space out. In reality, the students did not hear or understand a single thing the teacher said during that time.

One strategy for students with epilepsy is the use of mnemonics, which are memorization helpers. For example, if you wish to remember the five Great Lakes, you might remember it as HOMES: Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior. The first letter of the lakes spells "homes," which is an easy key to remember. Not only do mnemonics help students with epilepsy remember information, but they help the rest of the class, as well. A second strategy is a buddy system. The class is divided into pairs, so each student has a buddy. Buddies keep accountability for each other. If one buddy is sick, the other collects the homework and notes for him or her. Buddies are also study partners. The buddy system is important for students with epilepsy because these students often miss a lot of class time for appointments, tests, and seizures. Buddies help each other catch up. A third strategy is the use of vocabulary flashcards. These are especially helpful for young children with epilepsy because many have difficulty developing language skills. Show different pictures of a cups, and the child will have to identify them as cups. This teaches the child that cups can look different, but they still have the same function.

This powerpoint shows understanding of teaching standard 1, "Teaching Diverse Students," because it shows that I understand "how to identify individual needs and how to locate and access technology, services, and resources to address those needs" (Standard 1, Knowledge Indicators 1G). Students with epilepsy may need extra help with understanding information taught in class. By introducing a mnemonic to the whole class, the student with epilepsy will also benefit and not feel excluded. Similarly, the buddy system is an excellent resource for any classroom, but it is especially beneficial to students who miss a lot of class time due to medical reasons beyond their control. This powerpoint also shows that I understand how to differentiate "strategies, materials, pace, levels of complexity, and language to introduce concepts and principles so that they are meaningful to students at varying levels of development and to students with diverse learning needs" (Standard 1, Performance Indicators, 1J). Differentiated learning strategies are essential in all classrooms because no student is exactly the same. In a diverse classroom, there will be diverse thinkers. Everyone thinks differently. As a teacher, it is important to recognize this and prepare different strategies for instruction. Mnemonics and vocabulary flashcards are both examples of differentiated teaching strategies.

Through this project, I learned how strategies targeted for one student can actually be used to benefit the whole class. By introducing a strategy to the whole class, it prevents the targeted student from being excluded and feeling "put on the spot." It is important that all students feel accepted and loved for who they are, not who their disability says they are. A disability does not take away from how great a student is. Disabilities add to the uniqueness and excellence of a student.

This is a lesson I created during Covid. Trinity usually has a group of students from Elim Christian Services who are in the transition program visit for a few hours each week (they are usually students with intellectual disabilities and are college-aged). We plan a theme for each time they come, usually something educational like college life, various college subjects, ordering food at the cafe, going through the lunch line, visiting the library, things like that. This year, however, the students were prevented from coming to campus due to Covid. For one of my classes, we created virtual lessons that we sent to them. These consisted of a video, a lesson plan, and an activity or two. This lesson that I created is about shopping for clothes at Target. It outlines the steps you follow (modeling) to complete the task. The lesson also comes with an outlined lesson plan, a role play practice activity, and an ordering the steps activity. Both activities come with both words and pictures so that students who can read or can't read can both complete the activity.

This lesson shows I have met Standard 1 by meeting knowledge indicator 1B which says that a competent teacher "understands how each student constructs knowledge, acquires skills, and develops effective and efficient critical thinking and problem-solving capabilities." I understand that every student learns differently, especially students who have different disabilities. This lesson was designed for a class of students with a wide variety of things they are able to do (some could speak, others cannot; some can walk, others control a wheelchair; some can count money, others would need a credit card). This lesson allows students with a wide range of abilities to participate. Performance indicator 1H says that a competent teacher "analyzes and uses student information to design instruction that meets the diverse needs of students and leads to ongoing growth and achievement." This lesson is designed for specific students. I already knew the students from past experiences with them, so I had a general idea of what they could do and what they had difficulty doing. With these characteristics in mind, I tailored this lesson to meet every need. I understand that one student's way of completing the lesson will look different than another's. Some students will need more help than others, but that is okay! We all have different abilities.

From this experience, I learned that something I do everyday might be challenging for someone who has never done it before. In this lesson, I model how to use the self-check at Target. If you have never used one before, it might be difficult to figure out how to use it, especially if you are pressured by people waiting in line behind you. I think the video does a great job of modeling the steps of buying clothes and paying for them. I also learned how to incorporate multiple modes of participation in the lesson. I have visual learning (video), gross motor (role play), and I have fine motor practice (cutting out the ordering steps and placing them in order form beginning to end).