Reflection Journal # 12

Describe your notebook or file box?  

My notebook is set up with a mixture of strategies to teach all the required subjects (science, math, writing, reading, social studies) and actual lessons that I would want to use in the classroom. Compiling all of these materials gave me some insight into how much knowledge is necessary to be a deaf educator and how much I still have to learn. I focused more often on strategies to teach subjects for my notebook because I wasn't sure what age group I would be serving but I did know what areas I'm not as confident in teaching yet. I really liked searching the internet for the strategies and lessons because it showed how many resources there are available to me with some looking. I also enjoyed having others describe their notebooks because I was able to get even more ideas in places that I had not thought to look at. I learned that Pintrest and teaching blogs are a great resource when looking for ideas for lessons to use in a classroom. Also, there are video teaching blogs on youtube that were a great help to me in lessons. In my notebook, there was also behavioral management strategies in my notebook to help with students and classroom management.  

Do you think this will be helpful in student teaching? Why or why not?

I absolutely think the notebook will help me during student teaching and beyond because I have many resources already available to me and know where to look for more if needed. I feel a little more prepared to go into student teaching with this notebook because no matter what level I will be teaching at, I have strategies that can be used across the spectrum.  

Journal reflection #11

What are 3 pointers you have learned in using instructional strategies?

• Resourcefulness- I have learned that you can find great ideas and teaching ideas in many different places and to not be afraid to use several resources for a different perception on a subject or of the learning needs of the student
• Collaboration- I learned from this class to collaborate with all the other teachers that you encounter. It's is okay to tap other teachers when you need help with a subject or when you are trying to pre teach a student. Also, always keep the regular education teachers informed about your projects and ideas with your student. Be  a team and get everyone together to better serve that student. 
• Creativity- For our students, we are going to have to be creative on ways to teach each individuals needs. Never be afraid to try a new idea, and don't give up on it right away if it isn't successful. Think outside the box and keep it fun for yourself and the student. 

Has your viewpoint of teaching changed after taking this course? How or how not?

My viewpoint of what it takes to be a deaf educator wasn't changed just reaffirmed. It takes a special teacher and person to do this kind of work because it will be challenging and rewarding at the same time. I feel so much more prepared for student teaching because I feel like I got a real world perspective on when it is going to take to succeed in this profession and the amount of work it is going to take, I have some great ideas and resources to take into student teaching and I can't wait to use them. 

Journal Reflection # 10

Students who are Deaf/Hard of Hearing often have difficulty socializing and making friends with their peers. How can you address this with your classroom?
The first thing that a teacher has to assess when addressing socialization of deaf and hard of hearing students is mode of communication. Do the students sign? Are they oral children? A communication barrier can be the first area needing to be addressed in your classroom. If a child signs, perhaps the mainstream classroom teacher can encourage the students to learn some signs or perhaps the deaf educator can make a point to go into the classroom and do a lesson with the students on signing. Also, encouraging the child to communicate with other classmates by saying hello or maybe encouraging them to ask questions to other students and facilitating that communication. I know that some schools have a sign club that allows the children to go after school and practice and learn signs. This is a great way to teaching deaf awareness within your school but also give the students exposure to another language. 

Communicating with parents is very important. What are some ways you can communicate with parents and is there a better way than another?
Given the amount of children we work with as opposed to other classrooms, I would think I would be more inclined to give out my cellphone number to my parents. I realize that this might extend my day into my personal time in the evening but I don't know that this can be avoided sometimes. I would also want to communicate with parents in the manner they are comfortable with be that text messaging, email, talking on the phone etc... Whatever I can do to establish and maintain that line of communication is what I will do. I would hope to have involved and active parents that are just as willing to work to make the student as successful as possible. 

Reflection Journal # 9

If you have a student who is having trouble paying attention in class, what are some strategies you can use to help the student attend?

Having trouble attending in class is something that I have a problem with too. One of the strategies that I respond to is what a teacher does before they start a lesson. If you don't hook a student right from the start you have almost no chance of holding their attention through out. One example is to use a little exercise or movement. Give the students a few minutes to do jumping jacks or stretches or dancing will up there energy levels and get their blood moving. This could help them be reenergized for the lessons to come. Another way is to tell stories to really get the student engaged then lead it into the lesson seamlessly. One of my favorite things is to peak a students interest. That can be accomplished by promising if the students work hard through the first couple of steps that the teacher will show them something really cool.  If the student gets visually distracted, it may be good to limit the distractions on the board or in the powerpoint etc... taking things off the students desk or limiting materials might be helpful as well. Incorporating music during journaling or writing time always helped me and could be effective for some students; however, it could be distracting for our students with a hearing loss. 

Positive Behavior Supports (PBS) is a program that some districts or schools implement. Complete a mini-research regarding the program. Do you think this is a beneficial program? Why or why not?

The positive behavioral supports system seems like a great idea. Is a school wide system put in place to catch students and facility doing something good and positive as opposed to catching students breaking the rules. Its meant as a positive reinforcement as opposed to a negative. I would hope that there will be a positive behavioral support  in the school that I work at because I think it reminds us to focus on the positive aspects of all students and not the negative. I saw a positive behavioral support at KSD when I went called PRIDE, each letter stood for an action P-preparedness  R- respect and so on. I loved the concept and how their charts gave examples of ways to show each concept. 

Reflection Journal # 8

What are some ways you can teach vocabulary presented within science and social studies?

There are many ways to teach the vocabulary of science and social studies. I remember copying the definitions from the glossary, that is not everyone's favorite but it works for some. You can show videos or look at pictures that help represent the concepts being taught. For sign language users, many science words and social studies words are only fingerspelled. This can take away from the sign context clues that may help the student remember the vocabulary word or give a hint to its meaning. Pictures or flowcharts or hands on presentations of a concept or word are always the best but sometimes there isn't any available.  I like the idea of having like a matching game in class to help review the vocabulary. I think games that are fun help solidify learning.

Reflection Journal #7

The authors noted the lag in development of mathematics concepts is due to delays in language development, lack of exposure to life-based problem solving, and inadequate preservice teacher preparation in the area of mathematics. Do you agree or disagree? explain your answer.

I do agree with the authors statement about the lag being attributed all the areas mentioned. A language barrier is something that has to be addressed before teaching the math content. Math is very vocabulary based whether working on word problems or otherwise. Early math can be supported with manipulatives and visual representation. That will be a lot harder as the math concepts become more abstract. A strong language base is needed for not only deaf children, but hearing children as well. Another area of need mentioned was a lack of exposure to life-based problem solving which is often a problem with deaf and hard of hearing children. When children have to be directly taught, as opposed to gaining knowledge incidentally, sometimes it is easier to do things for them watch them struggle and become frustrated. Our job as teachers is to help develop those problem solving skills by giving them opportunities to use and improve those skills. I do agree that the training for teachers of the deaf and hard of hearing lacks content based instruction and that we have to be resourceful to learn subjects on our own. This sometimes can lead to a lack of preparedness on the part of the teacher. I believe, as teachers we have to accept that we are not strong in all areas and to reach out to others to help us with difficult subjects. This could mean working with the regular education teachers to get a better grasp of the content then modifying it for our students.  

What areas do you feel need you need to develop to teach math?  
The first thing I need to do is to develop a better knowledge of math sign language. That will be a must. Also, I feel I need a better understanding of how to teach both concrete math concepts and also the more abstract. Math is a daunting subject to teach in general, but add in a language delay abstract thinking and it can be overwhelming. I am a little nervous about this subject and will be seeking out a lot of outside development to build my confidence to teach this subject.

Reflection journal #6

Research the CAEBER (center for ASL/English Bilingual Education and Research). How would you incorporate some of these techniques into your classroom. 

One of the things I like best about CAEBER is the inclusion of deaf studies into the classroom. I always want to promote successful deaf individuals to my students to show through hard work, you can accomplish your goals. Also, I want my students to know the history of deaf and hard of hearing individuals and their struggles and accomplishments. I want to use their ideas of professional development to keep current on statistics and data to better teach my students. I think that we are gaining better knowledge of how to educate D/HH students and also technology to help our students be successful in life. I know that sometimes we are the only deaf educators in the district. If I were in a school where their was more than one deaf educator, I would hope to incorporate the planning committee and keep a consistency for our students. I know the communication modality the student uses is whatever works best for them; however, I would hope to be able to teach them about ASL and sign and would be knowledgeable enough to know what sign systems will work best for the student,  if any. Incorporating cultural and more than one language is hard, but if you start young, I believe, it can be achieved and beneficial to the students.