Observing differences among learners with disabilities, giftedness, and talents

Name of the School Observed: SEAMEO INNOTECH and Rosemary Hills Elementary School

School Address: Commonwealth Ave, Diliman, Quezon City, Metro Manila and Silver Spring, USA

Date of Visit: 09-15-2021

September 15, 2021 was the date I did my observation on these two classes, the SPED class with learners with intellectual disabilities and the SPED class with learners with physical disabilities. My targets here are class to see the differences in abilities of the learners and to try to identify the students who seem to be performing well and those that seem to be behind.

In the first video I had watched, the SEAMEO INNOTECH, there were 15 special education students. At the first glance, the students seem normal, and they participate well in the discussion of their teacher. The students answered the name on the picture correctly shown by their teacher, but I have noticed that some of the students were just following what others are saying to their response to their teacher. I have noticed also that there was one student who excel in the class and I think she's gifted. My goal here is to identify and observe those learners with intellectual disabilities. As I continue watching the video, I've seen that the teacher keep on repeating the sound of the beginning letter of the name in the shown picture. There were students also who seemed to ignore the teacher's discussion. The teacher also throws some questions to the students for them to practice sounding it. Because they are special, it is expected that they won't behave as the normal students do. They need more attention from their teacher. Even the teacher is done sounding slowly and repeatedly, naming what's on the picture, and keep on doing it again and again, at the end of their activity the teacher still repeating what she did at the beginning.

The second video, SPED class with learners with physical disabilities, the learners with autism at Rosemary Hills Elementary School. Autism disabilities are not visible in the same way that physical disabilities like down syndrome and cerebral palsy. As the teacher said in the video, that learners with autism are growing tremendously, their skills, and their needs. They don't really benefit from the traditional teaching and approaches, so they really need a systematic, structured kind of approach through the principles of applied behavior of analysis, as one of the teachers said in the video. I observed that the teachers were teaching and using sounds and sign language as another way of communicating.

ANALYZE

1. Did your observation match the information given by the teacher?

Yes, learners with special disabilities have many things needed to learn and needed to survive and grow well despite their disabilities.

2. Describe the differences in ability levels of the students in the class? What practices or strategies are done or should be done to differentiate instruction to meet the needs of the learners?

The learners with intellectual disabilities and physical disabilities required the best from their teacher. Their ability levels are not the same, learners with intellectual disabilities are capable to do the task and can communicate their teacher while the learners with physical disabilities need to learn some other way to communicate their teacher. The teacher really used the principles of applied behavior of analysis to the learners with physical disabilities.

3. Describe the methods used by the teacher in handling the students’ differences in abilities. How did the students respond to the teacher? Did the teacher use differentiated instruction? If yes, describe how.

The first video, learners with intellectual disabilities , the teacher used pictures in her discussion as her instructional materials. Through repeating the sound of the beginning letter of the name on the picture, the learners also keep on saying it repeatedly until they'll remember it. The second video the teachers were using some other way like making a sound through knocking the desk and sign language as a way or sign of their communication.

REFLECT

1. Recall the time when you were elementary and high school. Recall the high and low achievers in your class. How did your teacher deal with differences in abilities? Was your teacher effective?

When I was in elementary, I belonged to the slow learners because I believe the parents had an impact on the student's learning. Although it was many years ago, I still remember how my teacher treated me on those days. Because I was a slow learner and maybe due to the increased population of the students, I was left behind. I felt that she did not care if I learned something on that day or not. I felt jealous of those high achiever students because she treated them well. There's a big difference in treating the low and high achiever learners. The teacher feels very proud, and her attention is on yours. I think my teacher wasn't that effective because I've learned just a tiny bit compared to those high achievers and well-treated students.

2. What dispositions and traits will you need as a future teacher to meet the needs of the learners?

As a future teacher I will need to demonstrate a commitment to students' learning , promote student self-determination , and communicate effectively and professionally to meet the needs of the learners.