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.