Abby Isom RISE Teacher Work Sample 11524035 I Contextual Factors This practicum took place from March 18 to April 10 2014 at RISE School at the University of Alabama The observations were completed in Melinda Ingram s two year old class from 11 00 to 12 15 on Tuesdays and Thursdays The child that I chose for this Teacher Work Sample is a two year old female that has Autism The student is extremely smart but has a hard time communicating what she wants with words She uses hand motions most of the time and occasionally you are able to understand a word or two to make out what she is trying to say The student s level of inclusion is full time SPE classroom She is fully included in all classroom activities with the other students Learning Environment This classroom consisted of students with various disabilities as well as general education students Every day the students have the same schedule and Mrs Ingram was very well organized each day She always had something new planned for the kids to do which kept them engaged and excited for the day The way the classroom was structured helped the kids out a ton because they knew exactly what to do when they got there when it was lunch time and when it was time to go home I was usually there around lunch time and every single kid knew to go straight to their chair that has their name on it when it was 11 15 The student that I observed would go to her chair strap herself in and take her shoes off every single day She was only allowed small portions of her meal to begin with which usually consisted of a sandwich Once she finished her sandwich the teacher would bring out her chips and yogurt You could tell yogurt was her favorite part because her face lit up and she went straight for that right when it touched her plate Some of the other kids talked during lunch time and interacted with the other students but the student I observed hardly ever interacted I would try to talk to her some and she usually shook her head but hardly ever spoke After lunch it was nap time So when this student was finished with her lunch she would point to the bathroom and that usually meant she was ready to go to the bathroom and then go lay down When she came out of the bathroom she knew exactly where to go to find her mat that has her name on it Each student s mat has their name on it and is in the exact same place on the carpet every day This helps the transition from lunch to nap time go very smoothly Once the students lay down we would pat them until they fall asleep Patting the students helps them fall asleep because it is the same repetitive motion It usually did not take this student long to fall asleep once I started patting her back Teaching Strategies Instruction One teaching strategy that I observed was that if a child was not eating his or her food one of the teachers would take their tray away from them and make them sit at the table while everyone else at lunch This usually changed the way the child thought and they would want to eat their lunch Another unique strategy that I noticed was that the teachers referred to the students as friends This provided the students with a positive outlook on one another and made them want to be around each other Technology The student that I observed did not use any type of mobility aid nor did any of the other students in this particular classroom One piece of technology that was used was an iPad during nap time The teachers would turn the lights off and put it on the Sleep Station on the Pandora App on the iPad This was very calm and soothing music that helped put the students to sleep very quickly II Reflection Self Evaluation Two Learning Goals Observed The first learning goal I observed for this student would be her speech and language skills getting her to use more words and less hand motions The second learning goal would have to do with her social skills Interacting with her peers more and more each day will be very beneficial for her social skills Learning Goals Successful Unsuccessful I think that both of these learning goals will take time to complete I was only there for a short time but even in my short time I saw her improve in her speech Her social skills will come over time The more she is around her peers the better they will get Impact Practicum Observations had on my Development as a Teacher This practicum experience was extremely impactful on me I am an Exercise Science major but I love working with kids specifically ones with disabilities I learned so much about what is effective with students with disabilities and what is not It was interesting to see how students without disabilities interacted with the students that have a disability The biggest thing that I learned is that no two students are the same A certain strategy that worked with one student may not be effective with another student This experience was nonetheless life changing and I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to work with these students as well as an amazing teacher