Becoming Involved

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

Hennick, C., & CDW. (2017, October 05). How Tech Can Help Students with Disabilities Thrive in STEM Education. Retrieved from https://edtechmagazine.com/k12/article/2017/10/how-tech-can-help-students-disabilities-thrive-stem-education.

Rivera, A. (2016). Importance of Accommodating Elementary School Students with Learning Disabilities. Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.csumb.edu