Blog For week Four

Make sure to include: A reflection of your process to learn it, and what you would change to learn more/better. My process in learning this week did struggle. I am still trying to get the hang of managing my time this semester with work, school, homework, projects, and the other happenings of life. In my effort to change my study habits for the next week I decided that I will take notes while studying before the next class. This will help to keep me engaged while studying. What experience or resource helped you learn the most. An experience that helped me the most this week was in my Preschool lab. We currently have child with an IEP in our class and learnign about Ecomaps and the grieving process helped me to see this child and her family in a different light and feel empathetic toward their situation. How well prepared are you for applying what you learned in the future. At this point in the class there is still a lot to learn. I know however though that a lot of what I do in this class will be a huge part of what I do when I finally do enter my career. There are laws and processes that must be followed so that all people involved can be successful in the journey. How well did your peers learn and what did you do to help them learn more. This week we worked on the first part of our case study. It was great to interact and create with my peers on a different level then in class. I feel I helped my peers my creating a real life scenario of the family that we were given and they helped me by also bringing ideas that were beneficial. Weekly Quote: This can be a statement from class lecture, peers, guest lecture etc. This is anything that stood out to you that you want to remember later in your professional life. In our group, during one of our discussions, a peer said to our group, "We can't help everyone. We can do our best and give families the proper tools, but ultimately it is up to them to be diligent with their child and accept that all situations are different. " No matter how others act, we can always try our best. HWD Paragraph: You will need to include a weekly paragraph regarding information you learned from class, other classes, your research etc. regarding your HWD topic/question. You need to provide a credible source for information that you gathered each week. Speech Pathology Options: Speech Pathology; Audiology The Speech Pathology and Audiology Department offers a graduate program leading to the MS with a Speech Pathology emphasis. This professional program provides the academic coursework for the Clinical Rehabilitative Services Credential and Special Class Authorization for the public schools, state license, and Certificate of Clinical Competence. Interested persons are advised to contact the Speech Pathology and Audiology Department for more detailed information. Admission as a classified graduate student in Speech Pathology requires: a baccalaureate degree; an undergraduate major in Speech Pathology and Audiology or communicative disorders; a minimum 2.75 GPA overall and 3.0 GPA in the major; Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores totaling at least 900 on the verbal and quantitative portions of the exam. In the event that 900 is not achieved, the minimum total score required is 1350 if the analytic score is included, or 4.5 on the analytical writing portion. (The GRE may be waived if the student has a 3.5 GPA or above in SPHP courses); three letters of recommendation on the department form; and a letter describing relevant experience. (See Undergraduate Advising Manual.) http://www.csus.edu/gradstudies/FutureStudents/Programs/speechpathology.html

A reflection of your process to learn it, and what you would change to learn more/better, -This past week in my learning process what I would change in my learning is to relate the information that I am learning more to the gospel. What experience or resource helped you learn the most? -The experience or resource that helped me the most this week was in class with my peers. How well prepared are you for applying what you learned in the future? -This week we discussed ecomaps in class and I definitely feel that I will use this tool in the future. It helps me as the teacher to learn about my student and the relationships that affect my student. How well did your peers learn and what did you do to help them learn more. -This last week in class when we were creating our ecomaps we had an in depth discussion of family relationships. I felt that I helped my peers learn more by going in depth into our ecomaps and helping them come up with questions that will make that possible. Weekly Quote: This can be a statement from class lecture, peers, guest lecture etc. This is anything that stood out to you that you want to remember later in your professional life. -A statement that helped me this week is when we were discussing the ecomaps in class and how to test them. The statement that was made was referring to using a computer while discussing the relationships of the student being interviewed. My peer said, "We don't use computers because it creates a disconnect from the task at hand in the moment." I felt this statement was powerful because it applies to more than just the topic of ecomaps. HWD Paragraph: You will need to include a weekly paragraph regarding information you learned from class, other classes, your research etc. regarding your HWD topic/question. You need to provide a credible source for information that you gathered each week.

A reflection of your process to learn it, and what you would change to learn more/better, -This past week in my learning process what I would change in my learning is to relate the information that I am learning more to the gospel. What experience or resource helped you learn the most? -The experience or resource that helped me the most this week was in class with my peers. How well prepared are you for applying what you learned in the future? -This week we discussed ecomaps in class and I definitely feel that I will use this tool in the future. It helps me as the teacher to learn about my student and the relationships that affect my student. How well did your peers learn and what did you do to help them learn more. -This last week in class when we were creating our ecomaps we had an in depth discussion of family relationships. I felt that I helped my peers learn more by going in depth into our ecomaps and helping them come up with questions that will make that possible. Weekly Quote: This can be a statement from class lecture, peers, guest lecture etc. This is anything that stood out to you that you want to remember later in your professional life. -A statement that helped me this week is when we were discussing the ecomaps in class and how to test them. The statement that was made was referring to using a computer while discussing the relationships of the student being interviewed. My peer said, "We don't use computers because it creates a disconnect from the task at hand in the moment." I felt this statement was powerful because it applies to more than just the topic of ecomaps. HWD Paragraph: You will need to include a weekly paragraph regarding information you learned from class, other classes, your research etc. regarding your HWD topic/question. You need to provide a credible source for information that you gathered each week. This week for my own personal research I decided to look more in depth into different kinds of Master's degrees. For this paragraph I am going to list the multiple degrees that I have found. -Master of Education (M.Ed.) This degree is specific to already certified teachers. This is a deeper knowledge into the field of teaching that focuses on a certain concentration. -Master of Arts in Education (M.A. Ed.) This degree is considered more flexible in the field of education. There is a wide variety of concentrations and specializations. This type of degree is filled with a more theoretical study which can allow for work more involved in education or less involved. -Master of Science in Education (M.S. Ed.) This type of degree is centered more towards those who want to go into the administrative aspect of education. This could serving in a school district level or as a principle. It is also for those who have a background of special education. -Master of Arts in Teaching (M.A.T.) This type of degree is for those who want to enter the field of education or they want to change their specific concentration to something else. Source: http://www.topmastersineducation.com/types-of-masters-in-education-degrees/

Blog Number 2

A reflection of your process to learn it, and what you would change to learn more/better? -This week we learned about family characteristics and a couple of the family subsystems: medical vs. social. My process in preparing for the material learned this last week was reading the assigned pages before coming to class. During my readings I took notes of information that I felt was important or stuck out to me. One thing I could change during my studying would be to read the reflection first before going into the main reading because then I would know what will be important in the chapter. What experience or resource helped you learn the most? -The resource that helped me the most this week was my textbook and the information it provided. How well prepared are you for applying what you learned in the future? -I feel there are confidentiality laws that the class went over that I did not know which is something that I will definitely apply in my future. How well did your peers learn and what did you do to help them learn more. -How my peers and I helped each other this week was by our discussions in class. When asked questions in class, my peers would give insights that I had never thought of before which helped me in my learning process. Weekly Quote: This can be a statement from class lecture, peers, guest lecture etc. This is anything that stood out to you that you want to remember later in your professional life. -I do not have the direct quote, but there was a student in class that stated we cannot fault people who feel uncomfortable with people with special needs if they have never been around them. But we can learn from this for the next generation and try to be more inclusive in our classrooms of children with special needs so that we may help the other students as well. HWD Paragraph: You will need to include a weekly paragraph regarding information you learned from class, other classes, your research etc. regarding your HWD topic/question. You need to provide a credible source for information that you gathered each week. -This in my research of my Higher Wider Deeper project, I started by researching different universities in the country with a masters degree in Education. I thought I would make this first search more broad because eventually I will be narrowing it down. The universities that stuck out to me were the University of Washington, the University of Oregon, and the University of San Diego. The reason I was more interested in these schools is because my family is from California and I want to live nearer to them. The cost of these schools was not as expensive as I thought they would be. UCSD would be cheaper because I am a resident of California. The University of Washington was an average of $9,000 dollars a semester which I felt was do-able. The University of Oregon was a little more expensive but I have had a few family members attend their that felt the education they received there was worth the expense. Resources: http://www.masters-in-special-education.com/best/top-innovative-masters-degree-programs/

Service Hours

Rachel VanOrman                                                                                                                              SPED 310                                                                                                                                           Service hours                                                                                                                                       April 6, 2015

During this semester I’ve done over four hours of service for children with special needs. The first place that I did service was for a benefit dinner show in Salt Lake City, Utah on February 19, 2015. I worked for two hours at the benefit to help raise money for a non-profit organization called “Kindness For the World.” This organization was raising money for a humanitarian trip to the country of Peru. The members of the organization were going to help to build, clean, and remodel schools for children in Peru. The event started at 6:00pm and ended at 10:00pm. I don’t count the first hour because we were just setting up the decorations and cooking at that time. During the last hour, everyone was cleaning up. I helped to raise money by giving temporary tattoos to everyone (child and adult) who attended the dinner benefit. I charged $1.00 per tattoo. I had a lot of fun doing this because it allowed me to work with the kids and to apply my artistic skills in a way that I never had used them before. Although I’m not counting the first and the last hours as service hours, I still did work hard to help decorate so that the benefit would look good. And I worked hard at the last hour to help pack up everything when the benefit was over. It made me feel really happy to be a part of a service project to help children (disabled and non-disabled) who don’t have as near as many or nice things in a foreign country. Thanks to the “Kindness For the World” organization, there are a lot of schools in Peru now that clean, safe, and healthy environments for kids to go to school. The members of the organization also provided the children with brand new backpacks that contained needed school supplies. My family and I  helped to put those backpacks together for the trip to Peru during the Christmas 2014 break before school started this year. I don’t count all the hours that it took to put those backpacks together as part of my service hours because I wasn’t in this class yet. But it still makes me happy to know that that was something else I did to help the children in Peru.

The next service project that I worked on this semester was a special needs St. Patrick’s Day dance at the Kirkham Building on March 20, 2015. I worked there for over an hour by helping to set up the decorations and to make the gym look nice for everyone who attended. Besides setting up the decorations, I also helped some of the special needs kids work on their arts and crafts. It was a lot of fun to see their faces light up as they cut out shapes and glue pieces together. A lot of the kids who came to this dance were not able to speak very clearly or do things by themselves. Doing arts and crafts is a fantastic way for them to learn how to express themselves and to exercise their talents. Not to mention that dancing is a great exercise for their physical bodies. I’m so glad that BYU-I has activities and opportunities for special needs kids that will build and strengthen their self esteem and talents. I enjoyed watching them have fun while dancing to the music and play games with each other. I always enjoy playing with kids and seeing them happy. As a future special education teacher, I look forward to seeing my students faces light up when they learn and accomplish something.

The last service project that I worked on this semester was the Special Needs Extravaganza on March 27, 2015. I worked there for over an hour to make the little theatre in the MC building look nice for everyone who would be attending this event. I helped to put the pictures and crafts up on the walls in neat order. We hung paper rockets by the door for everyone to see by tying strings to them letting them hang.  I also helped set up the food table neatly for people to come and have refreshments. I love that at this event, everyone (students and parents) get to come and see all of the art and talents that kids with special needs have worked on during this semester. To be able to express and share talents is such a great tool for building self esteem. This event is another great tool to show kids with special needs that they other people love them, support them, and want to see them succeed.

Last Blog

Imagine you are the 5th grade classroom teacher and have two students in your class on IEP's. When it comes time to do report cards, your principal informs you that the grade you assign these two students should reflect their progress toward IEP goals and not how much of the in-class material they have mastered.  You also cannot make any notes to indicate this in the report card because that is illegal (this is true in Idaho and maybe other states).  Essentially, these two students will get A's in reading because they are making good progress, but they are unable to do 5th grade level work equal to that of most of their peers.  Please explain your thoughts about this.

3/27/2015

Some educators feel that there is too much testing in the schools.  What would you tell a teacher who says that doing pre and post assessments is just time wasted that could be used for instruction?