Portfolio educ 2300 completed

David Johnson March 12, 2014 Time: 8:15 am - 3:15 pm Grade/subject observed: 9th-12th Grade Overview: Today was my first day of observing this classroom filled with children who have special needs.

This is not a General Education classroom. It is more of a resource room that the students spend most of their time with peers who also have a disability. Since today was my first day, I simply observed the daily routine. I also observed the teacher and student interaction to try and gain a feel for how to treat each student and how to avoid causing any problems. I did cause a problem however just by being there. One student likes for things to be ordinary and very regular. His schedule and even the staff working with him needs to be the same for him to function at his highest potential. I was not normally there so it threw his routine off and it caused a situation.

They asked if I could go help another aid instead and that solved the problem.

Reflection: Affect: This trip to service learning opened my eyes to what it is like to face a student with a disability day in and day out. This student could not function as he regularly would because I was present and he did not know me. We all do this when someone new comes to visit or observe we all are shy until we get to know them. I suppose that this incident showed me that there really isn’t anything different between me and the student with a disability except the way that a stimulant affects us and our reaction to it.

Behavior: Overall the behavior of the students was well. The staff are very open and willing to help me and my main focus is to be a help to them as well. I feel like they could have warned me about the student who thrives on regularity of schedule etc., instead of allowing me to cause an issue like I did today. In the future I will try to stay away from this student unless he approaches me on his own to show me that he is okay with me being at the school.

Content: We have been discussing how certain disorders make the students want everything to be lined out the same way every time. They function best, as we all do, when there is a set routine. And when this routine is disrupted they struggle to function as well. I received first-hand experience on this topic this week and hopefully have learned some strategies to help avoid it.