Week 15

CSD 764 Notebook

The notebook created in this class covers a wide variety of areas and includes many instructional strategies to help me in the future with my teaching career.  It not only includes instructional strategies but many other articles, handouts, and resources all covering topics that deal with teaching students who are deaf/HH.  My binder includes the following topics:

-Getting started: Setting up the classroom, etc.
-Instructional Strategies- Reading, Writing, Spelling, Social Studies, Science, Math, and Behavior Management
-Assessments
-Hearing loss degrees/Audiograms
-Websites and lists of apps
-Common Core standards
-Transition Process

All of these topics have a wide variety of information included in them.  All of the information in my notebook will be useful one day.  Everything in my notebook is of easy access and I can refer to it whenever I need.  It will come in handy when I need new ideas for teaching or other information regarding my students.  I know I will keep adding information to my notebook as I continue in my career. 

Week 13

3 Pointers

I have learned many strategies and more from Instructional Strategies: D/HH.  It is amazing to me how much information this one class has provided me.  There are three major pointers that I have learned from this class.

The first pointer is when teaching students who are deaf or hard of hearing we must think about their needs. When using strategies we need to think about adaptations we need to make in order for the strategy to be the most beneficial it can be. If a child is struggling through a lesson, we need to know how to adapt and use differentiated instruction to help them.  With all the strategies I have learned during this course, I want to make sure they are actually helping the child learn. Along with this tip, I just would like to mention that I have learned  we should push our students.  We want to encourage them and use higher level thinking skills with them so they can continue to grow in their education.

Secondly, I have learned a lot about behavior management from this class.  I know behaviors from students can be a challenge to deal with.  However, this class has provided me with many strategies and tips for working with the behaviors and minimizing them. I have learned there are a tremendous amount of resources out there to look at for help with behavior management.  Trying out different strategies on different behaviors may be what the student needs. 

The last and most significant pointer for me that I have learned in this course is all the different types of instructional strategies and the categories they fit in.  What I wanted out of this class was to learn when to use certain strategies for specific subjects. This course has definitely fulfilled that.  I have so many strategies to choose from and know exactly what could work for subject areas across math, science, social studies, writing/spelling, and reading.  There are just so many new ideas I have attained from this class. 

My Viewpoint on Teaching

My viewpoint has changed tremendously.  Before this class I thought about how I did not feel prepared to start teaching in a classroom. This class has definitely changed that.  I think I now have a very good sense of direction and know that I could take on curriculum and at least have a starting point on what to teach and how to go about teaching it.  I know it will take a lot of practice and planning to feel comfortable with the curriculum, however I think this class has prepared me so much for it. 

Week 12

How to Prepare for Transition

Transition is a very important process for students who are deaf or hard of hearing.  In order to prepare for the transitioning process I will need to look at all of my resources and try to see what may be the best choice for my student.  I will make sure I get input from the parents and the student.  I will use the many resources available to me and let the student look through resources as well to see what they may want to do with their future.  There are many resources out there that we can use with our students to help them learn more about their transitioning process and what it will include. We need to make sure we set realistic goals for the students and discuss the goals to determine if they are appropriate for the student and how they will go about achieving them.  Overall, it will be important to look at the transitioning process as a team and work through it together and make sure all the necessary steps are being taken in order to ensure a smooth transition.

What is important for students to learn as they prepare to graduate?

It is important that students learn what all of their options are after graduation.  It could be transitioning into further education or into a working position.  They will need to know what work is involved with each option and what they will have to do in order to transition into the next stage in their lives.  They will need to know that is expected of them.  It is important that they are educated on what they need to know in order to be successful in their future wherever it may be.  They need to know the transition is for them and about them so they need to be actively involved in the process and voicing their opinions on what they want out of their transition.

Week 11

Socialization with Peers

Deaf or hard of hearing students often have difficulty socializing and making friends with their peers.  In order to help with this situation, I would make sure to address the issue at the beginning of the year.  I would want to inform the whole classroom about hearing losses - if the student wants.  I would let the student have the opportunity to talk about their hearing loss and maybe show their hearing aids, or CIs to the class.  I would share with the class some suggestions on how to best interact with the student.  This way the students are all aware of the student with a hearing loss needs and hopefully it will improve the socialization aspect.  In regards to making friends I would encourage the student to interact with other students as much as possible.  I would make sure the student with a hearing loss hears everything the students they are playing with are saying.  If the student does something that is not okay when socializing I would stop them and explain to them that it is not okay and what they need to do to fi it.  I would encourage the student to tell their peers when they need something repeated. 

Communication with Parents

Communicating with parents is very important.  What are some ways to communicate and is there a better way than another?  There are many ways in which a teacher can communicate with parents.  One way is by email.  In the beginning of the year the parent should receive the teachers email so they know they contact the teacher with comments, questions, or concerns.  Another way is through phone.   The teacher may give the parents the option of contacting them through their personal phone.  Another option with the phone is through texting. If the teacher and parent have a close relationship they may decide on texting because it is quick and easy.  Another possible way for communicating is by sending home information or notes with the student.  This should be used with caution because the parent may never go through the student's backpack or the student may do something with the note before the parent gets the chance to see it. 
When it comes to which option of communication is the best, it all depends on the people involved.  I think it should be established early on how the parent wants to be contacted.  For very important things I think there should always be an email sent so there is evidence of contact happening.  But overall I think it depends on how the people want to be contacted.

Week 10

Difficulty paying attention?? What can a teacher do for their student?

If a student is having trouble focusing in their regular education classroom there are many strategies that can be used to help with this problem.  It is important to look at all possible reasons for this to be happening.  Are they close enough to the teacher? Are they bored? Do they have the necessary background information to understand the concept being taught?  There are a variety of strategies that can address each of these questions.   The teacher may need to remove the student from the regular classroom and directly teach some background information to help with the concept being taught. One strategy that comes to mind are redirection.  Encourage the student to complete a task by getting their attention and redirecting it so they come back to the material.  The teacher can make it into a game so the student has some motivation.  Another strategy is just moving closer to the student to be nearby so a simple tap can help them see they need to start listening again.  Another strategy could be giving them a little extra something to do during the lesson.  This may include highlighting or writing things down multiple times to give them something to do.  A teacher will learn many things about their student as the school year progresses.  Knowing the students interests and learning styles will increase the strategies used to help them focus in the classroom.

 

Positive Behavior Supports

This program seems like it would be very beneficial for a school or district to implement.  The information from nasponline.com describes it as a function-based approach to eliminate challenging behaviors and replace them with prosocial skills. Its approach is to not just focus solely on the child and their behavior but to look at all aspects such as the task demands, curriculum, instructional pace, and individualized reinforcement. The website states that harsh punishment and zero tolerance has not been effective, thus this program is a possible solution.  This program is successful in promoting positive behavior. It uses different strategies to maintain appropriate social behavior. There are many facts that support this program and I believe it would be beneficial for all districts.

Week 9

Vocabulary

Science and Social Studies are two subjects with a lot of vocabulary. In order for students with a hearing loss to be successful with these subjects a lot of pre-teaching of vocabulary may need to happen. This can be done in a variety of ways.  One way that I believe is helpful for students is flashcards.  Flashcards can be very useful for students to have quick access to when looking for a definition and a great tool for reviewing and studying.  Another way a student can learn vocabulary is through graphic organizers.  Students can be responsible for completing an organizer on a specific vocabulary word which will help them gather information on the word.  For science there is a lot of vocabulary that can be covered by watching videos.  Videos help give these students a visual of what is happening and what something may look like.  There is also the option of making a model of the terms used in science for example, a model of a cell. Students can always be encouraged to use these words when writing to help enhance their understanding of the word. 

How will I prepare to teach science and social studies?

I will need to take a lot of preparation to teach these subject areas.  In order to effectively teach these subjects I will need to look at the material ahead of time.  It will be important to look up how to sign various words for the student to understand.  I want to be knowledgeable on the subject as much as possible so I will be able to answer any questions the students may have.  When it comes to vocabulary I will need to think about other ways I can explain it to the student in case they do not understand the definition in the books.

Similarities/Differences to Metaphors/Analogies

The most common way for students to organize similarities and differences among a topic is through a graphic organizer- Venn diagram.  This is a great strategy for student to have a visual on what is different between two things and what they have in common.  In order to take it to the next step, I believe students need to incorporate it into writing.  They need to be prompted with questions that encourage them to relate information to other things.  This is where the higher level critical thinking questions should be used.  It will take a lot of modeling and examples to get these students to think outside the box. 

Week 8

I agree with the authors and their views on the lag in the development of mathematics.  The authors noted difficulty with the concepts of mathematics due to delays in language, development, lack of exposure to life-based problem-solving, and inadequate pre-service teacher preparation in this area.  I agree that the difficulty is a direct result of the delay in language development.  Students who are deaf or hard of hearing have trouble understanding language in general. The language used in mathematics is even more complex and brand new to these students. There will obviously be a delay in learning the terminology involved in math because the students have to not only learn all of the different names for things but also apply them in order to solve a problem. 

 

I can also see how lack of exposure to life-based problem solving is a cause for the lag in development.  Students, who are deaf or hard of hearing, often miss incidental learning opportunities.  They cannot always over hear their teachers, peers, or parents working out a solution to their problems.  This can also be because these students are often given the solution rather than having them try to work it out on their own first. 

 

Finally, the authors mentioned inadequate teacher preparation.  I would like to disagree with the authors on this one, however I believe this could be true.  I think it depends on the teacher, however I know math is changing rapidly.  The way math is taught now is not how I learned it.  I know if I were to go into a classroom right now and had to teach math the way it is required now, I would not be able to do it unless I took the time to learn the new methods.  I think teachers need to be aware of what level of math they need to be at in order to successfully teach their students.