As a future educator, I
there will be a time when I come across a student with a learning disability
and I have learned that one of the most challenging task is learning how to
accommodate a lesson for students with learning disabilities. Many times,
students come to school not knowing that they have a learning disability. Being
in a classroom filled with students from diverse backgrounds and different
learning styles, you want to ensure that every student succeeds in your
classroom. As technology is becoming more prominent, there are many tools to
help students with learning disabilities assuring they get the best education
provided.
In the video, Stem and
People with Disabilities it demonstrates diverse ways to modify a lesson plan
to accommodate a student with learning disabilities. Zach Hagstrom who has
dysgraphia, a disability that affects his writing and to accommodate his need,
he would either record classroom class discussions or use the computer for note
taking. Al Souma gave an example that in his classroom, during exams students
can either give an oral or written exam or a special project and class
participation as a third option. I think that the most important part to
include in a lesson plan is finding a way a student with a disability can
participate. In the video, Julie states “that if you wait for the student to be
in junior high and you do not instill the basis for it, they do not have the
natural love for it”. I feel that if you do not have the student actively
participating in activities, it would weaken the student’s learning capability.
When creating a lesson plan, teachers should include opportunities for
students with disabilities to be just as successful as with any other students.
As a future educator, there will be a time when I face a student with a
learning disability and in doing so I would need to incorporate my lesson plan
based on the ASSURE to give my student the opportunity to succeed. Talai (2017)
states, “Anything can be adapted for students with disabilities,
it’s just a matter of what accommodation you are going to give them.” The video
also discussed some tips to consider when creating a lesson plan. Some things
to consider was assistive technology, I feel that this tool for people with
mobility impairment would find it useful and physical access to laboratories
and equipment. Many people with learning disability need more time to grasp the
concept and if given the opportunity to physically access the resources it would
help them understand the content more.
It is important to
remember that the role of assistive technology is to assist the student in
learning. One of my colleagues from this semester uses an assistive technology
to help her in class participation and to navigate her way around campus. She
has visual impairment and the tool she uses is a mini camera attached to her
glasses. She indicated that the camera has a face recognition that allows her
to see who is passing by. She also uses a keypad for note taking that voice
records everything she had typed down. She said, it took time for her to fully
understand her tool and after she got comfortable using it, it made her feel
more confident coming to class.
In conclusion, I feel
that the development of assistive technology is great for students. The only
issue is that if you do not have the funds for the technology, teachers need to
find an alternative plan to assist the student with learning. Living on Guam, it
is uncommon to see students use assistive technology. Usually, we see students with
their one to one aid for assistance and sometimes that is enough to get by. Although
there is without a doubt that providing assistive technology to students will
give them the education they deserve.
Reference
Rivera, A. (2016). Importance
of Accommodating Elementary School Students with Learning Disabilities.
Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.csumb.edu
