Harding,+Erica

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Learning Styles Reflection

**The results of Erica 's learning inventory are:** **Visual/Nonverbal 30 Visual/Verbal 34 Auditory 22 Kinesthetic 38** **Your primary learning style is:**

**The Tactile/ Kinesthetic Learning Style**
The test told me that I am a tactile/kinesthetic learner. This means that I prefer hands-on activities, demonstrations, and being physically active with my learning. I definitely agree with this. I have always learned things better by doing them than simply by listening to directions or a lecture. Some suggestions that this site gives for learners like me are also things that I practice. It suggests that I sit in the front of a classroom and take notes during lecture, writing words or phrases and drawing pictures. Although most of my classes are interactive and don't require notes, my Biology class requires me to do this. The Biology section of my notebook is almost full of neat notes and diagrams. I use my notes to study and have done very well using this technique. The learning styles survey also suggests using flash cards to study, something that I do for most of my tests. Overall, I am impressed with how accurate this survey was in pinpointing my perfect learning tools. Now that I know what type of learner I am, I know that my current practices are appropriate for my style of learning and also have some new techniques to further assist in my learning.


 * Cast Website**

Overall, I really liked the CAST website. Everything was easy to find and contained a lot of useful information. I will definitely be able to utilize this website when I need assistance with my teaching. I was particularly impressed with the book about Universal Design for Learning.

Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age really opened my eyes to the fact that students are unnecessarily categorized as being disabled. Things that we consider to be learning disabilities really are just due to the fact that everyone's brain works differently. I really liked how all the hypothetical teaching situations were in included classrooms. UDL is going to be so important for our generation of teachers because we will more than likely be teaching in schools with full inclusion. We will be able to make sure that our lessons are appropriate for every student.

I feel that I learned a lot about UDL from this book. Aside from the concept of UDL, which I have been familiar with, I became aware of the different modules of the brain and how they affect learning differently in each individual. All of the new information that I learned will be helpful to me as I begin teaching. I also really enjoyed the inclusion of real classroom situations so that we could apply our newly learned knowledge. This activity greatly increased my understanding of UDL.

I enjoyed the different material presented in the CAST website. I think that differentiated instruction is something that we all need to be familiar of and CAST is a great resource for current and upcoming teachers. Learning this will make me more aware of each individual teaching style in my future classroom so that I will be able to effectively teach all students.


 * Assistive Technology**

1. From visiting the websites and viewing the videos in Part I of the assignment, what information did you learn about assistive technology for disabled individuals? From this variety of resources, I learned that there is assistive technology available to help individuals with disabilities complete almost any task imaginable. Some things that we take for granted, such as being able to put on our own socks, are tasks that some individuals never have the hope of doing on their own. I never knew how many different forms of assistive technology there were out there. Thinking of the word “technology” I used to assume that assistive technology referred to computers and machines, but now know that it can be much more low-tech than that. Something as simple as a sponge on a stick can be considered to be assistive technology if it helps someone with a disability perform a task that they wouldn’t normally be able to.

2. Were there any sites, products, or resources that particularly impressed you and that you want to remember as you prepare to become a classroom teacher? Kathy Schrock’s website was particularly impressive. As stated earlier in this assignment, all teachers should be familiar with this site, so it is definitely a resource that I want to keep in mind as I prepare to teach special education. The site contained hundreds of links and is not just for teachers. There are resources for administrators, students, and parents as well. This site will be something that I remember throughout my life working with special education and I will definitely be sure to use these resources to my advantage. 3. What promises/potentials does technology provide for students with diverse learning needs? Technology today is allowing students with special needs to learn and participate in things that they never would have been able to before. Using technology gives teachers the ability to address every learning style of their students. Students who cannot see can get auditory versions of their text books. Lessons may be planned with multiple delivery methods using technology in order to get the content through to every learner. I think that with the increasing technology being used in classrooms we as educators will see a better performance from all of our students because we are addressing the needs of every learner.

4. Have you ever had a personal experience with a student or other person who has used some form of assistive technology to help them function in learning or everyday life? If so, describe what you observed from that experience in terms of meeting the special needs of those individuals. I worked with a few students that had severe brain damage when I was in high school. Writing was hard for them because their fine motor skills had been affected by their brain damage and they could not hold the pencil/pen/marker, etc properly. Their teacher had cut the handles off of a few milk jugs and used them as holsters for their writing utensils. When the children were able to hold the pens as if they would hold a handle, it required less fine motor function and they were actually able to write quite well. In this case, assistive technology that was as simple as cutting the handles off of milk jugs proved to be very effective for these students. Writing was something that they had to do every day in school, and their teacher found a way to make this possible for them.

5. From this assignment, what will you carry with you as you prepare to become a teacher – one that will, most likely, face the challenge of meeting the needs of special education students along with non-disabled learners? When I am teaching, since I am going into special ed, I will keep in mind all of these resources and the vast amounts of assistive technology that are becoming available to us now. I will never see an obstacle as something that I cannot overcome, because I know that it is more than likely that the technology that is available to us will fix any problems that I or my students may have. I will keep all of these resources for the future of my teaching because I know that I will need them. Especially after what I learned from these sites, I now know that EVERY student can be taught and there is no obstacle that is too great.

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