As we finish these last weeks of SPED 310, a bittersweet feeling comes to me. I enjoy learning new things. I may not like all the work that comes with it, but I do find learning new things interesting. I learned so much this past semester in this class and I have developed a deeper love and understanding for not only the children with disabilities, but for all the adults who work together to help the child get the best education they possibly can. 
 This week we read chapter 12 which discussed Responding to Student Behavior. And I think that it is very important that we not only respond to bad behavior, but that it is essential to respond to good behavior. I also find it crucial to have expectations in your classroom so that every student understands what the rules are and what happens if you choose not to follow them. Consistency is key!

This week I participated in the stuttering simulation. I was preparing all week for this and practicing with my roommates. I felt bad and like I was making fun of people who have this, but I was able to experience some of the emotions that are felt when trying to talk to people. I used the stutter while calling FatCats about movie times and again when I went to pick up my ticket. Both encounters, the people were respectful, but tried to put words in my mouth and weren’t as patient as I hoped. I could’ve stopped the act whenever, but I wanted to get my sentence out so I kept up with it and thanked them afterwards for helping me out. 

I also watched the study guide video for the test and learned a lot more about each of the disabilities. I didn't do as well as I hope on the test. But my grade, doesn't reflect the amount of information that I learned from this video. 

I also worked with my group to finish our last group project on visual impairments and learned how to accommodate for children with this disability.

This week I was able to complete the Learning Disability stimulation. This was so difficult because I didn’t realize how many words that we use while speaking include the letters “l” and “n.” Some people had patience for me to think about what to say, and some were a little frustrated and tried to answer or speak for me. Other than that I liked reading about different teaching strategies for different subjects. These strategies would be very helpful to all children, even students without disabilities.

This week I did some of the simulations and these were my experiences: This stimulation gave me a headache. I used the loss of an eye mask. So my right eye was covered throughout the stimulation. It was very tricky to type and do assignments and I had to change the way I turned my head to do things. I also kept running into walls in my apartment because our halls were narrow and I didn’t realize how close I was to the wall. When I took the mask off, I was so thankful for having my right eye back. I don’t have perfect sight, and contacts help me get throughout the day, but this assignment has helped me realize how truly grateful I am for my vision. This stimulation was very difficult. I never realized how much upper body strength it requires to wheel yourself around. I had my roommate come help me and I was able to ask for assistance when going uphill or holding the door open. Getting in and out of the car was very tricky I have no upper body strength, so attempting to use the bathroom was super hard as well. Another thing that I noticed while participating in this stimulation, was that people were hardcore staring at me. I didn’t like all the attention that I was getting. Some people smiled, but most people just stared at me, watching me struggle.

This week I learned a lot by working on this exam with my group. The exam gave us three different areas we can teach in. Working through the exam made me realize that as teachers we will not only teach in the classroom but we can be given opportunities to teach anywhere. We are all children of God and it’s important that we be there the children in our lives, even if it’s outside of the classroom. 

I also enjoyed reading the case study. I loved how Ms. Whitworth managed her classroom. It must’ve been extremely difficult to have a class full of different children from different backgrounds with different issues. I love how Ms. Whitworth held class meetings and how the children got to be involved. I enjoyed learning about children who may have special needs, but don’t necessarily have any disabilities. These children may need the same amount of attention and help as some children with disabilities. 

This week I learned about classroom management and different strategies that I can implement to best suit all my students. I learned about the INCLUDE strategy, which stands for Identify, Note, Check, Look, Use, Differentiate, and Evaluate. While working on the case study for Mark this week, I was able to clearly understand how hard it can be for teachers to accommodate all their students. Everyone learns in different ways and having children with special needs in your class can make it harder to strategize. However, the INCLUDE strategy can help you narrow down what the child knows already and how you can help them learn even more! With Mark, I was also reminded that some children love learning but just simply can’t grasp certain concepts like others. One on one time might be all Mark needs to help him pay attention and catch up with his peers. This week’s learning was very helpful and insightful. I know I will be able to apply the INCLUDE strategy in my classroom someday.

This week I read about student’s needs. First, there are many assessments that take place These include:
• Screening
• Diagnosis
• Program Placement
• Curriculum Placement
• Instructional Evaluation
• Program Evaluation
There are also many sources for the child. These include:
• High-stakes Achievement Test
• Standardized Achievement Test
• Psychological Tests
• Alternate Assessments
• Curriculum-Based Assessments

I really liked the reading this week and it is super important to learn about all these sources and assessments because part of IEP is discussing standardized testing or alternate assessments.
I also read about hearing loss and all the resources that are available to help children with this disability to succeed in the classroom.