Heater,+Sierra+Visual+impairment,+including+blindness

= //**Sierra Heater**//= = //**Introduction**// =

**Explain your education & career goals. **Hello, I am currently working toward my Masters in Teaching and desire to teach Middle or High School students Language Arts. I feel that literature can expose a world otherwise unknown or out of reach to many. Language skills are important to develop as they are used in all areas of life to bring freedom, careers, and possibility.

**What is your greatest fear about being a teacher? **While I'm extremely excited about teaching, I would say my biggest fear is that, as the years go by, I will become tired of teaching the same classes. However, I also know that there are ways to self-motivate and keep upgrading lessons to remain excited about my classes.

**Something that you want us to know about you or something about you that is interesting. **My faith in the Lord, great family, and fiance keep me focused on what is important in life. I am passionate about keeping educated regarding global issues. **What brings you joy? **Camping, hiking, kayaking and generally enjoying the great region we live in is also something I enjoy.

**Did you ever experience a time when something was extremely difficult to learn? ****Explain that time and //how it made you feel//. **When I was in elementary school, I struggled with math. My father would spend hours at the table working on problems with me. and my mom would take me in the kitchen to show me practical measurements using utensils I was familiar with. But still, it simply wouldn't sink in. My teacher was on her last year before retirement and simply didn't want to take the time I needed. Her solution was to put me in special ed. I felt excluded and cloudy in my mind. I was trying so hard and yet I just couldn't get it, not to mention all these adults were talking about me as if I couldn't understand what they were saying. My mother believed that special ed. wasn't necessary and though hours of work proved it. While math certainly still doesn't come easy for me, I feel that this experience partly shaped my work ethic in school. I work very hard and believe part of it stems from a young me desiring to prove I was smart.** How might this piece of your history help you connect to students with learning differences? **I believe that because of my former frustrations with learning, I will be much more understanding of my students' struggles regarding learning. It is important to me to see each student succeed and realize that though they may struggle in one area, they are intelligent and successful in many other areas.

**What do you want to gain from this course? **I previously worked at RCC in Disability Services and learned so much regarding how the system works and about the wide range of students I interact with. I'm excited for this course to expand my knowledge into the high school setting and enhance what I have already learned. It will be so beneficial to learn inclusion strategies for my own classroom one day.

= Disability Community Based Learning Project =

**Introduction **:

Visual Impairments are considered low incidence, that is it is not very common. My grandmother is visually impaired and as a result I have come to have great empathy for the struggles associated with this disability. There are a number of resources available for teachers to refer to and gather inclusion strategies and accommodations. Below you will find a number of great online resources including websites, articles, videos, interviews, and slideshows to refer to.

**Top Five things I learned: **

**1) **I learned that is a program which describes what is happening in a movie or television show. Resource number four discusses how this program works. The value is that students who are visually impaired will be able to understand what is happening in classroom educational videos. Closed captioning for the hearing impaired is a well-known assisted technology, but this program specifically for the visually impaired is less standard. It seems like a great program for schools to look into as a school wide investment.


 * 2) ** Often the entire class benefits from the use of inclusive strategies usually reserved only for those students with visual impairments. The nature of these strategies often includes very exact descriptions accompanied by the visual. In this way, both visual and auditory learners benefit. Also, students are exposed to the information in a number of ways which engraves it deeper into their long term memory. (See resource number five).


 * 3) ** Color, whether used in overlays or in highlight text, helps students with visual impairments (not blindness) distinguish text. Multiple sources stressed the helpfulness of color overlays. Its a great plus that these are inexpensive to purchase and implement. The most helpful color depends on each individual student and their specific vision impairment . Color also helps students with the learning disability Dyslexia which further shows the benefit of having color overlays available.


 * 4) ** I was introduced to the vast array of visual impairments. There are innumerable diseases that can affect one's eyesight. Each one changes the needs for that person. It is important to read students' IEP and talk to the Special Education teacher regarding each students specific needs. Also, though it may seem obvious, talk to the student often and make sure they feel welcomed and are able to keep up with the class. Form a good relationship with the student so they feel comfortable in your class.


 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">5) ** As a future language arts teacher, I couldn't help but notice the importance of language and verbal communication when visual senses are lacking. It is of utmost importance to describe surroundings and situations to students who can not visually take in their surroundings. It is easy to forget when you have a student with a visual impairment that he or she cannot see what you write on the whiteboard or show on the projector. That is why it is a good idea to verbalize everything you do as a teacher. Also, this makes you a good all around, inclusive teacher.


 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">The Best Resource I found: **

**Assisted Technology, Teaching Children with Visual Impairements**

=
Slideshare had[| this slideshow] with many resources listed for teachers to implement in the classroom. I chose this as my top resource because it gives definitions at the beginning and then many great accommodation suggestions, especially regarding technology. It highlights low vision, functional blindness, and blindness. The format is simple and yet organized nicely. I rate it__ 5 out of 5 __. ======

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 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Eight Additional Resources: **

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**1) Strategies for Teaching Students with Vision Impairments**

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;"> [|This website] offers great inclusion strategies for students who have visual impairments or blindness. It details different possibilities based on the environment and class activity. For example, categories include presentations, general courtesy, lab work, testing, and group projects. The website design and graphics may be a bit outdated, but the content is quality. It is a great starting point for gathering ideas and then looking elsewhere for some more detailed explanations. I give this a __5 out of 5__ rating.

**2) How to ensure Inclusion for the Visually Impaired Student**

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 21px;"> In [|this interview] a previously visually impaired (now blind) student discusses what specific strategies and basic methods assited her most in schooling. While it is long, I think it offers valuable information for any teacher. The student tells of the small things that really make a difference, things that many people might not think to do. For example, greeting her at the beginning of class and giving the chance to repeat to check for understanding. She also discusses how a tutor and screen reader has assisted her in the classroom. I think all teachers should take the time to view this. I give it a rating of __<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 21px;">5 out of 5 __<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 21px;">.

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 * 3) Out of Sight: Technology Helps Visually Impaired Students Thrive **

In [|this article], Sara Ring discusses available technology that may assist students with visual impairments. The article mentions some very useful tools; however, it was written in 2008 and since then there has been more progress in technology and students options have expanded.The article does offer many links to useful resources and it addresses a major concern: students not wanting to draw attention to themselves and thus not wanting to use the technology. I give this article a __3.5 out of 5__.

**4) Equal Access in the Classroom**

[|This video] is more of an infomercial than simply informative; however, the program highlights a major need in classroom for media such as television and movies to be described for those who have a vision impairment of some degree. This is something I did not know existed and thought it might also be new information for other teachers. Resources like this could be purchased for entire schools to make the classroom more inclusive. Because this is such a specific accommodation, I give this a solid __3 out of 5__.

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 * 5) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Differentiation strategies for the inclusion of students with severe visual impairment in MFL modules in Higher Education **

Strategies for inclusion are discussed in [|this paper] by Lewin-Jones and Hodgson. This article is very professional and addresses various methods to create an inclusive learning environment. Lewin-Jones and Hodgson discuss how to effectively use a student assistant and what his or her role should be. They also conclude that when strategies aimed to assist students with visual impairments are used for the entire class, all benefit. Because of how professional and well researched this article is, I give it a solid __5 out of 5__.

**6) Perkins Scout, Strategies for young Children**

The Perkins Scout [|website]is chalk full of well presented inclusion strategies. The home page says "Perkins Scout is a searchable database of carefully evaluated online resources related to blindness and visual impairment." While it is aimed toward younger children, much of the information is useful and can be adapted for use with older students. This website has many pages of information and links to sources. This is a quality website that I give a rating of __5 out 5.__

**7) Visual impairments and Shared Reading**

Scholastic offers a[| web page] with useful and easily accessible tools to assist students with visual impairments. While the suggestions are good, they are pretty basic and only cover physical accommodations vs. classroom strategies. This is one of the main resources that stressed the use of color overlays and highlighted text which I referred to in the section "Top five things I learned." I give this a rating of __ 4 out of 5 __ as it does not have the scope of some other sources.

**8) Inspirational Video**

This [|video] show the great potential and ability of students, even with a severe disability. As teachers we should remember to always focus on the abilities and strengths of our students and encourage them to advocate for themselves. This video shows a high school marching band during a performance. I give this a __3 out of 5__ because while it might not be informative, it certainly inspires.

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= //Disability Community Based Learning Project//  =

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> For this assignment, I shadowed special education teacher Laura Rogers at Hidden Valley High School on January 26th, 2012. Her class was third period English and because her students vary widely in ability levels, a type of co-teaching is implemented. Students are split into two <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 21px;">separate <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> groups each with a support teacher. Laura bounced back and forth between stations offering <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 21px;">supplemental <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> support such as pictures to go with a vocab word or probing questions to get students to think about how they came up with an answer. As the head teacher, she is responsible for curriculum choices, book choices, and lesson plan alterations. I sat near a station with Kim as the teacher (Kim is currently working toward her teaching license and has served for a number of years in special education as a volunteer) and three students she was working with. Students work through various categories and lessons such as vocab, spelling, corrective reading, comprehension, and timed reading. While the students were in high school, they read at a third or fourth grade level. Because of this, they attend special education during their English class period; however, the students spend the rest of their day in general education classrooms.

**Observation Notes** > <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**Interview** Much of the information I mentioned in the introduction paragraph came from questions I asked in the interview. Here are some more questions and answers from both Laura Rogers and Kim. How many classes do you teach a day? Laura teaches all day with one free period to do paperwork. In the past, she did not have this free period and found herself working very late nights and early mornings because she is also responsible for most IEP write ups. Some of her classes are supplemental or replacements to the general education courses and take place in her own classroom. She also goes to many general education classrooms to offer support to specific students as an IEP accommodation. What kind of interventions, approaches, and activities do you use and why? Kim discussed her use of tone in her voice. She says she tries to never talk above her students. She sits with them at the table instead of standing above or over them, or in front of the class.This helps the students relax and know she cares both about their academic learning as well as each one as a person. Kim also discussed her methods of keeping students focused. She says that being well-prepared for the days lessons is key so that there isn't any down time. Every moment without a specific task is a moment for distraction. Shawn Treen was also visiting the class. She is the TRACT coordinator. I was not aware of TRACT and inquired about this program with Shawn. She informed me that when it becomes apparent that a student will not meet the criteria for modified diplomas (or other similar certificate), that student can move out of the high school and into TRACT. TRACT teaches life skills and transition lessons to help students move on to gainful employment. ** Reflection ** <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Spending time in this class and with these three teachers (Laura, Kim, Shawn) was really encouraging. All the teachers have spent years in this field and yet each one was enthusiastic, compassionate, and seemed to really love their jobs. They were very knowledgeable about curriculum choices and what methods work best. The room was energetic with the teachers and students discussing lessons. I did, however, feel that the teachers were over stretched. Laura was constantly running between the groups and then dealing with speech pathologists and other such folks stopping by her room to discuss other students. She seems to be the point person for all arrangements and IEP questions...which is a lot for one person to handle in a high school of that size. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> I want to add the special education endorsement later so I purposefully imagined myself in the position of these teachers. For me, this seems like a good fit in so many ways. I love the small groups of kids versus a large class. The personal investment seems huge. Laura told me that special education is a lot less teaching than in classrooms. "If you really love teaching, you will want to stay in the general education classroom." Laura says her job is much more paperwork and administration work than teaching, which is unfortunate. This is something I will have to weigh for myself. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%; line-height: 21px;">As I was observing and taking notes, it struck me how many of the methods used for teaching and for dealing with disturbances were simply good methods in general. Those same methods could easily be used in the general education classroom, and I'm sure they would be beneficial to all students. They are simply things that all learners enjoy, such as the gift of time and checking for understanding. I will certainly remember these for use in my own classroom one day. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%; line-height: 21px;">Overall, I really enjoyed my time at Hidden Valley High School and felt as though I was welcome and the teachers were excited to see a young face interested in doing what they feel is so important. Shawn invited me to connect with her and see what TRACT does and observe her program. These connections are vital for me in the future as a teacher in this community.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Kim always pauses for answers - gift of time
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">gave hints to help achieve answers instead of simply telling students the correct answer
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">gave positive and encouraging reinforcement
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">gets group consensus before accepting answer. "Does everyone agree?"
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%; line-height: 21px;">Probes for more info with quieter students, trying to get a bit of explanation (metacognative)
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%; line-height: 21px;">Kim doesn't say "no" if student answers wrong. Instead she rephrases question to keep students thinking and answering
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%; line-height: 21px;">Role play between teachers is used to hear words in common conversation - kids laugh and keep interest
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%; line-height: 21px;">Kim asks students how they came up with their answer
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%; line-height: 21px;">What if? questions are used to work thinking skills further
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%; line-height: 21px;">Students who are distracted or offer distracting remarks are redirected. Kim keeps eye contact with the student she talking to but addressed distracting student with her voice.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%; line-height: 21px;">Students are asked to repeat directions "And how many times are we going to write it?"
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%; line-height: 21px;">Students are asked to write answer before speaking to make sure quieter kids or those that have longer processing time have an answer before it is spoken.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%; line-height: 21px;">Sometimes, when a student speaks out of turn or is disruptive he/she's action is simply ignored
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%; line-height: 21px;">Even though the subject is reading/language, student are still asked question that integrate other subjects. "Do you know what coral is?" "Please count your answers."
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%; line-height: 21px;">Before reading a story, aspects found in the story are reviewed such as sounds and vocab.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%; line-height: 21px;">Kim paused and asked questions about what was just read. Checks for understanding and comprehension.