CEC+5.+Learning+Environments+and+Social+Interactions


 * 5. LEARNING COMMUNITY **


 * CEC Standard: **

__**5. Learning Environments and Social Interactions **__

//**a. Special educators actively create learning environments for individuals with ELN that foster cultural understanding, safety and emotional well- being, positive social interactions, and active engagement of individuals with ELN. **//

I have created comfortable and safe learning environments for students with ELN by designing instructional activities that use collaborative group work, team building, safety precautions, and the use of technology and manipulative materials. In one case I had a student who was paralyzed from his waist down and used a wheel chair for mobility. I made sure to place materials on tables that were easy access to him so that he could be involved within and handle the materials the other students were using. The incorporation of group work helped other students to accept these ELN individuals as peers with contributory abilities to the investigations they were conducting (5.a.1).

When I was at SWW I had my students participate in scientific investigations surrounding environmentally important issues. Students received a choice out of one of four topics they could investigate and were joined into groups based on there interest in each topic, which provided these students with a voice and autonomy in their learning. Students took ownership in asking their own testable question, designing a procedure and carrying it out to collect data, analyzing this data and evaluating the results to develop an argument that the students presented to the entire class as a group (5.a.2). Students learned valuable skills such as problem solving and critical thinking abilities by relating observational evidence to real-life issues and establishing solutions to these issues. Students also utilized useful capabilities such as voice and empowerment.

//**b. Special educators foster environments in which diversity is valued and individuals are taught to live harmoniously and productively in a culturally diverse world. **//

Collaboration is a big part of my classroom. I had multiple lessons where students were working in pairs or groups. These lessons included such things as conducting science investigations in student chosen groups, to jigsawing into random groups, to random paired placement by the luck of drawing the same index cards (5.b.1). These lessons aimed to include those students with special needs and provide them opportunities to access the materials. This classroom culture established an acceptance of others and a cooperation to work with others and learn from each other. All lesson plans included community knowledge sections, which were tied to students previous knowledge and experiences and how they relate to the context of that lesson. During class discussion each student had the opportunity to voice their views on the content and listen to other viewpoints. This established a social construction of knowledge that aimed at breaking student misconceptions and invoking conceptual change in their understanding of the scientific concepts.

Students in my classes are all diverse and come with different backgrounds, cultures, beliefs, values, disabilities, etc. Differences cannot be looked at as a negative thing, but rather are things that need to be embraced and celebrated. The way diversity can be valued is simply by having a safe, inclusive classroom, and constructing that culture with the students. Students have to know how to respectfully treat other students regardless of their difference, and how to see things from different perspectives and accept varying view points and learn from them. In my classroom, diverse learners are supported and encouraged to share their strengths in the way they learn and share knowledge, by providing them with options in how to present information to share with the class. Students know that if everyone was alike, and all produced the same products and shared the same information, then we would not be able to advance anywhere. Students in my classes are often able to do authentic investigations where they can take on different roles in groups that suit their strengths and complement their group member's qualities. In an article I read in ED 451 about having a student with autism in a literacy class and how it was a benefit to the other students. Students gained a different perspective on what real life was like, meeting, interacting, and working with all different types of people who brought different strengths to the table. They appreciated the influence that the student with autism was having on their classroom dynamic and the support that it fostered. It also made them learn how to clarify their thoughts and ways they expressed themselves so that the student could understand. These students learned how to work together with a student with a disability and recognized how much they could share with her and how much she had to share with them.

//**c. Special educators shape environments to encourage the independence, self-motivation, self-direction, personal empowerment, and self-advocacy of individuals with ELN. **//

I have made several inquiry science investigations that have allowed all my students, especially students with ELN, to feel empowerment, motivation, self-direction, choice, and voice in. For instance, in my placement at SWW I allowed students to choose one of four investigations to do on shrinking our environmental footprint. These students were grouped based on their interest in each of the topics and the choices they made for preference, which increased their motivation, advocacy, and empowerment in the investigations. During the investigations the students made their own testable question, developed their own procedures and carried out their own data collection, analyzed this data and problem solved out an argument to answer their question, which they then presented to the class (5.c.1). These investigations presented each student with an issue that was real to life and gave each student a goal to direct their learning towards, developing skills such as critical thinking and scientific modeling along the way.

I also included several demonstrations in my student teaching that asked for student volunteers. In particular, one demonstration involved the class community as one large group volunteer. This demonstration incorporated a van de Graaff generator to display how electrons move. Students made a human chain by joining hands and then touching the van de Graaff dome. One student was asked to join into the chain, upon which this student found that he was shocked. All students learned that electrons move in two ways, one through contact and one through redistribution inside of a material. Each of the students gained valuable interactions with the van de Graaff, and experienced a collaborative effect that allowed each of them to understand how electrons move (5.c.2).

//**d. Special educators help their general education colleagues integrate individuals with ELN in regular environments and engage them in meaningful learning activities and interactions. **//

All my lesson plans included a section that discussed the integration of inclusive instruction into the regular science curriculum and content. My lessons also included real-life applications to issues that were relevant to students lives. For instance, during my placement at East high school I had students conduct an investigation of acid rain. Students placed sand, granite gravel, or limestone gravel into cups and filled them with water to simulate lakes with different ground materials. The students then placed drops of vinegar into the lakes and measured the pH of the lakes. Students found that the lakes changed pH at different rates and they correlated this change to the different ground materials in the lakes. Students then made an argument that the ground materials affected the reaction the vinegar had with the water, which we discovered is true and the name for the ground materials is called a buffer in chemical terms (5.d.1). All students participated in groups to discover and conduct this lab investigation.

Another example of this integration between regular environments and ELN students comes from my placement at SWW. Students here participated in a science investigation to try to shrink their environment footprints. Students received choice to investigate one of four topics related to ecological footprints and were then grouped based on their interests. These four topics include wind energy, household chemicals and plants, home insulation and retention of heat, and ethanol production with fruit and other foods. Students made their own testable question, designed their own procedures and carried out their data collection, analyzed this data and evaluated the results, developed an argument and then presented this argument to entire class (5.d.2). Students learned valuable skills such as problem solving, critical thinking, and modeling and also developed capabilities of voice,.ownership, and empowerment in their learning.

//**e. Special educators use direct motivational and instructional interventions with individuals with ELN to teach them to respond effectively to current expectations. **//

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">I provided opportunities for ELN students to participate in demonstrations in real leadership roles. An example of this is the van de graaff generator lesson where students learned how electrons move. The students made a human chain with one end touching the van de graaff dome. Then one student joined into the chain and was shocked because the chain was charged through the moving of electrons around each student. Students found excitement in this lesson because it involved teamwork and collaboration, and the excitement of knowing what would happen when a student joined into the chain and anticipating the reaction (5.e.1).

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">I have also included visual aids to accompany written instructions on laboartories for students with ELN. These students had difficulty with writing and reading, and the visual aids helped to show the materials and steps students would need to complete the procedures for data collection. Along with these visual aids I provided students with demonstrations and run-throughs of the instructions, often having a student volunteer assist me. These aids helped to interest and motivate these students with ELN to contribute to the science investigations and provided them with contexts that they could understand and follow (5.e.2). In addition, I believe that conveying high expectations and positive reinforcement can have a wonderful influence on how the student himself views his work, and what he realizes his potential is. Knowing those high expectations, students will work to match them, when given the tools, accommodations or modifications that are needed.

//**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">f. When necessary, special educators can safely intervene with individuals with ELN in crisis. **//

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;"> I have not necessarily had to specifically intervene in a major crisis with an individual with ELN, but I understand that may have to happen one day. Students with ELN can have a very hard time coping with situations they are not used to. Either they are socially unaware of how to act or are not understanding what they are doing. Other times, it could be that an individual with ELN is struggling in the classroom and at one point gets extremely frustrated and goes into crisis mode. In ED 446, we also talked about a student with autism who had behavior episodes and one time a crisis when a certain peer would leave the classroom. He felt a comforting connection when that peer was around and would follow her everywhere. When she left, he had a very hard time dealing with that. Students can also sometimes unknowingly become violent to themselves or others if they start to throw something or have any tools that might be capable of injuring someone. Special educators need to understand the individual and the situation in order to be able to rightfully intervene. Often times, these need to be dealt with on a case to case basis. I know that students with behavioral issues or emotional disabilities can become very violent to themselves or others. Special educators need to know what to say to calm a student and not let the behavior progress. It is also important to be able to suspect that something might happen by a change in a student's behavior earlier that day. Teachers need to recognize what triggers a crisis, and how to relieve it or settle it without escalating the problem.

//**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">g. Special educators coordinate all these efforts and provide guidance and direction to para-educators and others, such as classroom volunteers and tutors. **//

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;"> As a special educator, it is important that to put forth much effort to provide guidance to para-educators and other classroom volunteers or tutors. When working with paraprofessionals special educators need to to provide them with the training and tools needed to do their jobs effectively and benefit all students (Doyle & Giangreco, Chapter 10). Special educators must talk with para-educators so that together they can decide where they think each will be able to help out the most. Para-educators are not trained to do the job of the teacher, so it is important that teachers do not pass over all of their responsibilities to them. Paraprofessionals can be such a great addition to the class and a wonderful help to the students, so it is necessary to always be open to collaborating with them, supervise them, and be sure they get the information they need about the classroom culture, the students, and the curriculum (Doyle & Giangreco, Chapter 10; French, 2003). I will be sure that any professional, tutor, or volunteer that enters the class is offered the respect they deserve and the chance to improve and learn about the ways they can help. One of the biggest problems of having a para in the class, is that often they are never given explicit directions of what to do or what is expected of them. Because of this, very little collaboration occurs between the para and the special ed teacher and the para is not used as effectively as they could be. Special educators need to speak directly with the paras, respect them and their work, and encourage their involvement with the students, and guide them on what their role should be in the classroom so that they have the opportunity to do their job well and to the fullest (5.g.1).

[|DSC00412_2.JPG] || Group work || Reference 5.a.1 || Groups - jigsaw, paired placement || [|DSC00412_2.JPG] || Van de Graaff demonstration || [|20100330-EastHighIU#5&6-MSaunders.doc] [|20100327-EastHighAcidRainLab-MSaunders.doc] || Visual aids and demonstration run throughs for instructions ||
 * **EVIDENCE #** || **EMBEDDED OR LINKED OBJECT** || **DESCRIPTION** ||
 * 5.a.1 || [|DSC00419.JPG]
 * 5.a.2 || [|20091214-SWWLesson2-InvestigationTopics-MSaunders.doc] || SWW investigations ||
 * 5.b.1 || [|20091105-SWWSeriesof3-Lesson1-MSaunders.doc]
 * 5.c.1 || Reference 5.a.2 || SWW investigations ||
 * 5.c.2 || [|20100319-EastHighObs2.ActivityPacket-MSaunders (3).doc]
 * 5.d.1 || [|DSC00568.JPG] || East high Acid Rain ||
 * 5.d.2 || Reference 5.a.2 || SWW investigations ||
 * 5.e.1 || Reference 5.c.2 || Van de Graaff demonstration ||
 * 5.e.2 || [|20100331-EastHigh-MSaunders (2).doc]
 * 5.g.1 || [[file:20100805-ED446ProfCollabPlan-MSaunders.doc]] || ED446 Collaboration Plan ||

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