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Within my classroom last year, I had a student who had a daily "check in-check out" sheet. Most days he would bring his sheet to me and I was able to mark "2s" for all of his columns. However, there was one day in particular that stands out to me. This student was in my homeroom, and I could tell when he came to my class that day that it had been a rough morning. The student was clearly less talkative with his peers and seemed less interested in the announcements and discussions we had during homeroom.  This student in particular had dealt with some social anxiety throughout the year, but this specific day seemed like something more severe. When I went to talk with this student, we discussed what had been going on. I used questions that would allow him to talk and explain what was happening with his day. A big part of my ability to turn his day around was the relationship I had build with him. He explained to me how he was very concerned about a test coming up later and that he and his friend group had not been getting along lately. For an adult whose brain is fully developed these factors could cause stress. In the young, adolescent brain, it becomes nearly impossible to function normally when considering the stressors he was facing. Being able to calmly discuss what was going on seemed to be all this student needed to decompress and get some perspective within his friend group. Also, reminding him that he had done well on most of the other tests in that class and that he had studied and would probably do well seemed to calm his nerves a little. When I talked to him the next day about the test and his friends, he felt like the test had gone well and that his friends and him had talked and were doing fine again. Being able to give him some perspective felt good and definitely helped improve his thinking, behavior, and learning experience for the rest of the day.

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This last school year, I dealt with quite a few students that lacked greatly in their independent skills. Although due to their area of disability, the student required accommodations and modifications to tasks, I had one student in particular that would often wait for an adult to get them started or walk them through tasks that they were academically and physically (writing, touch, point, trace) able to do. The student would often look to their peers to see what they were doing, but could not muster neither the confidence nor the initiative to start. At first, this what incredibly frustrating- knowing that a student was able to complete tasks, but essentially refused. After talking with the students mother, she communicated that "because he had and severe learning disability that he would never be able to do anything by himself." That was devastating to hear! After having multiple meetings with the mom and showing her just all of the things that her son could do- putting on his clothes/outer wear, bathrooming, eating, etc... I put an action plan in place. I started using over voicing "I" statements in my classroom. When a student, not just this student in particular would make a comment, I would over voice with "I can write my name", " I am mad", "I will put my shoes on" and tie them to the task or the emotion/action/etc. My staff also made these statements as well. After just one week of over voicing and tying to the expected task, students were beginning to say and do the statements themselves. Motivators and praises were awarded and I could begin to see a change in my room. After 1 month of really "practicing what we preached" this student who would not only do anything independently, but began making choices on his own. You could see the pride in his face and how he lit up feeling accomplished! This pattern of behavior and independence continued on for the next 3 months and then COVID hit. Struggling with such a transition, the student reverted back to "I need help" (I also think Mom didn't help the situation). So in meeting over Google Meeting we began our "I" statements again and I shared, again, with mom the power her son had! I also compiled a big task box with items that I knew the child could do (while continuing to still work on skills!). Google meet after google meet and we returned to some semblance of normalcy and the child was back to feeling accomplished and proud. I had the mom sit next to him while working and coached her to let him take the lead- it was really wonderful to not only see the shift in her son's independence and work ethic, but also the Mom witnessing just how much her son was capable of! The "I" statements will be something that I implement throughout my entire teaching career!

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I have a few students that have struggled with learned helplessness. A lot of the struggles with them was the lack of confidence in themselves both at school and at home. I had one student that struggles with read 1st grade level books in 5th grade. We really worked on the basics of reading and it really allowed him to thrive. Once he gained confidence in basic reading he was able to learn more. He began to be motivated by his confidence. He still struggled at home due to his mom not believing in him. I then had him read the book aloud to me and I recorded him and sent it to him mom. She still was in disbelief. She then came in and watched him read in my classroom. She then began to support him and this created more confidences . He began helping others in class. It took a lot of buy in from the student and trust in my teaching but he felt successful and proud. Then started to help him lose the learned helplessness.

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I have a few students that I feel like would fall into the category of learned helplessness. One particular student would constantly say “I am no good” or “Why should I try, I can’t do it”. The class was working on drawing animals for the start of a project and he wouldn’t even try, just would sit at his table with his head down and say “I can’t, I am no good”. Thankfully this class was a little bit smaller and fairly independent, so I was able to sit next to him and do some guided drawing with him that broke down his drawing into smaller parts. He was able to finish his drawing and I made sure he knew how proud I was of him. Our next project, he needed a little bit of encouragement to get started, however he was able to work independently and I could tell he was enjoying what he was doing!! I think he just needed to feel like someone believed in his abilities and show him how to get there. My other students that struggle are sometimes in much larger classes and I still try to make this type of connection with them, however it is much more difficult. Making a point to make those connections outside of class, and encourage them even when they aren’t working on art can really make a difference too!

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While working through this module I reflected on two students.One who I considered to have learned helplessness and another who I hadn't considered as potentially having learned helplessness and have changed my mind about both. I'll start with the first student he is a 17-year-old boy who has Autism. This student has the academic ability to perform at the same level as his peers but is hindered by his behaviors. An accommodation in his IEP exempts him from formative work and he recognizes himself as an auditory learner. It seems as though he uses these as task avoidance rather than true accommodations. He has perfect handwriting yet will frequently refuse to write for himself, he is able to type yet will refuse to type for himself. These are some of the examples of things I had considered prior as learned helplessness, but I now consider them to just be behaviors.
The other student also capable and will occasionally comply with classwork, but I recognize the characteristics of learned helplessness him him more so. He definitely has a belief of "why bother? We have tried multiple strategies to engage this student including early release on Friday's to spend time with his grandfather. While this is something we know he enjoys, he still has an attitude of "not caring" whether that happens. When I first met this student I was sure he must have mutism and he REFUSED to speak or acknowledge that he was being spoken to. In meeting with his mother we agree that he has some significant depression. His mother has in the past and continues to seek therapy for him, but he refuses to participate. After this reading I believe this student does have learned helplessness.

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As a special education teacher, I work with many students who struggle with reading. Their difficulty with reading impacts their self-esteem and turns many of them off completely from reading, or even from trying, too worried they'll look or sound "dumb." Why would they risk that? When reading is challenging, it's not fun or enjoyable. I had one student who flat out avoided participating in the assigned readings and accompanying writing assignments in his English 9 class (and science and history). A different student struggled to make sense of Romeo & Juliet so I supplemented the reading with the film by Baz Luhrman. Why did I not take the time to do this for my other student? Looking back, there was more I could have done for him despite his tendency to not ask for help, or admit he needed help. I would read things to him, sometimes YA books just for a break and to try and snag him into seeing that reading could be more than just a chore. I think I could have done a better job with consistency, and relationship building with him. He was a tough cookie to connect with, but I love him. I could have done more to assist him access grade-level text and to find some enjoyment from reading. I wasn't teaching a reading course last year, but I will be next year. I've learned a great deal from the past year in addition to my graduate courses. This student is switching case managers next year, but I hope I have him in my reading course so I can do a better job of differentiating for him, and helping him approach reading tasks with a sense of confidence and the tools/resources to support his comprehension. Not just him, but all my students.

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I have a few students who have struggled to do any work independently.  One is a 4th grade boy with intellectual disabilities and the other a 5th grade girl with specific learning disabilities  They both knew what they had to do.  They both knew how to do it.  They both would not get started.  If I expressed frustration or disappointment, they would do even less.  And then we went to distance learning and the one did better at home, but that was because his sister or parent would walk him through. The girl did worse because mom was not there to hold her hand. With both of these students, I introduced a get ready do done activity to help them with the steps of what they needed to do. In both cases, they were able to tell me what they needed to do, the steps they needed to take, and the materials they would need. With this knowledge they could both complete tasks independently where they struggled to start before. What I learned is that by giving them the steps and the power to know they could do it, they did.

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I have a reading intervention group of 3 student (twin boys and one girl) who all have learning disabilities. When thinking about our time together, they were eager to learn when they entered my room, and I genuinely looked forward to our time together everyday. (I was surprised when their general education teacher reported the opposite feeling about this group.) Our time together flew by, and we got a lot accomplished in a short amount of time. This reflected highly in the district reading assessments, they made amazing progress! I was so proud of them! I will have this same group next year and want to give them more! They really enjoyed stories read aloud and games over the provided intervention curriculum. I plan on incorporating more variety into their learning. This group of students may not feel comfortable with their peers in general education because of their learning disability, so I want to provide them with as much learning as I can when they are in my classroom. I look forward to teaching them, I really missed them during the school closure. They were not able to connect with me virtually (due to home life and lack of computer knowledge- something I plan on working with them IF/WHEN we get to go back

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I have a student that has behavioral issues that impede them from completing assignments. Ever. Throughout the entirety of the trimester, this student did not turn in a single assignment in my class. After reaching out to their caseworker, I learned that the same was true for pretty much all their classes. So I learned it wasn't just me. The student seemed engaged in class, when they were there, but could not be bothered to turn anything in. I eventually had a conversation with them about how to get them motivated to do some work. When they realized this was the first ever class of its kind, they immediately felt guilty and apologized for being a crappy student. I assured them they weren't a crappy student, but suggested that they made some not so great decisions when it came to their education, but that improvements could always be made. In the case of my class, I then suggested they  create their final project using a video game that allows them to build and create. They beamed at this idea and created an incredible project, and presented it brilliantly. I made sure to let them know this at the end of the trimester, and even tried to recruit them to my theatre dept.

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I had a student who was having behavioral issues that were impeding his learning. He had been kicked out of 2 Gen Ed classrooms and 1 alternative education classroom. They basically sent him to the library with his book and packets and hoped that he would work on and keep up in the class without any guidance. So I stole him. We ended up making a connection where I gave him tough love, and help and he was able to turn his grades around and get back into one of his classes. This student said he felt dumb and that he hid how he actually felt with bad behavior. Just by sitting down with this student and letting him know that someone cared and that he was able to do the work really brightened his mood. He has passed every class this last quarter and with behavior interventions he is doing much better in his Ged Ed classes.

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Module 4 Exceptional Need, Stephanie Pasch

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Module 4 Exceptional Need, Stephanie Pasch

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At the high school,we have a classroom that is called the SOS (Servicing Our Students) room that is staffed each hour by a special education teacher and intended only for special education students. I was in there the same hour each day and typically had the same students daily. The room was filled with inspirational quotes. It also had 5 simple rules and one fun rule that the students would often comment on. One student that I worked very close with, was in SOS for emotional support and to complete late or missing assignments. One of his goals was to respond to adult direction positively and respectfully. He was an argumentative student but what I learned is that he responded differently in the SOS room compared to other rooms that I have observed him in. It was the way the space was set-up, who his audience was, and the rules that really set the tone of how he behaved in the room. He also knew he could grab a snack and listen to music in there which made the space comfortable for him. The power of suggestion was something that resonated with him, he was constantly told what to do, so suggesting things to him differently, made a big difference.

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I teach an elective class that crosses into what is taught in our ID room, so I don't have a lot of kids with exceptional needs in my classes. However, I look back at my first year and I had this sweet girl in my class who had Down Syndrome. She was the most wonderful student and was always excited to try everything. I feel like my interactions with her were always good and I feel like she really felt like she belonged in my classroom. When it came down to my ability to teach her in a way that she could learn, I truly failed her. I feel like I did not really get any solid direction on how to modify and accommodate during my student teaching, so I relied heavily on the para that came with her to class. The para that attended with her was able to help modify the assignments so we could get down to the whole purpose of it, simply because I was inexperienced. I still don't feel very confident in being able to modify for every student I have, but I definitely have grown enough to know how to ask for help when I need it. I am also thankful that my students can elect to take both classes 1 & 2, over 7th and 8th grade, so I get the opportunity to build a more solid relationship with them. I have one student who has a low reading level that I have had for 2 years now. I know her ability, I know who she trusts, so when I am not able to work alongside her, I know who can sit by her while they work.

-Becki Blaubach

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Charles Gholson

The exceptional need that I am investigating is Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD).  Reflecting on how my students with ODD have respond to the power of suggestion, it of course varies from student to student, but generally I have found that consistently modeling the desired behavior (academic engagement) with other students is most helpful.  Repeated positive interactions between myself and other students who find academic success and share interesting life events, demonstrates to the student who is oppositional that learning can be fun and rewarding.  The goal being to establish an intrinsic desire to mirror positive behavior.  Direct confrontation and making performance demands only feeds into the oppositional behavior in my experience.

Physically working alongside the student at a table or sitting in a desk next to theirs reduces the oppositional mentality some times.  Using a nonthreatening Socratic strategy to help lead the student to the desired conclusion also can be helpful.  A verbal engagement that approaches the student and topic from a nonthreatening angle can often motivate the student for a period of time.  Establishing intrinsic motivation is the long-term fix but getting positive results in small bits from time to time, can help to turn the tide on learned helplessness.

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Exceptional Need Reflections - Kristi Condie

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Exceptional Need Reflections - Kristi Condie

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Being a first-year teacher, as well as a “student teacher” (I spent this year on my emergency license) I had the opportunity to go back and view a clip that I recorded as part of my EDTPA.  This time while viewing, I was not focused on my “focus learner”, but rather a student of mine that I feel may have experienced “learned helplessness.”  For some background: this is a 3rd grade student that I have been extremely proud of this year. He entered the school district in October.  His IEP goals were rather simple and he spent most his time doodling in class rather than being engaged.  For math, his IEP goal was to simply add and subtract up to 5 single digit problems independently.  I worked really hard with this student, first with building a relationship, and then building self-esteem and motivation.  I knew this student was capable of more.  I was able to spend 30 minutes daily with him one on one on math skills.  I never gave up on him and would not let him give up on himself either.  We started small (and slowly) and by the time school abruptly ended in March I had him engaged in modified 3rd grade math!

In the video I chose to reflect on, he is one of three students in my reading group.  I can see that he is not very engaged.  He spends a lot of time doodling on his paper.  I work with my group using positive body language, adequate wait time, encouraging verbal and non-verbal language, and prompting questions to elicit deeper thinking.  One thing I notice is that this student is sitting furthest from me.  We are at a round table and he is sitting across from me.  This was the normal arrangement.  Although at times I try to draw him in by asking questions or reaching across the table to point to something in his reading, I see that a lot of my eye contact and non-verbal encouraging body language is going to the two students that are next to me and  engaged.  I may not be looking in his direction a lot, as he is not looking at me. One thing that I would change is having this student sit next to me in hopes that the proximity can help bring him in and engage him more.  I would also make sure that I am looking at all students equally, whether they are looking at me or not.  Although I am aware of his dis-engagement, and I try to engage him with simple questions, I believe that there is more I can do to excite him and motivate him for learning in this reading group.

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I will be in a new classroom with a new caseload of 7th grade students with learning disabilities. My students struggle with some of the skills their counterparts do not, and by 7th grade, this can impact their self-esteem and their motivation. I have been spending time for this assignment on reflection of how I want to deliver inspiration to my students. I want my students to grow in their self-worth and to foster a growth mind-set. I will be spending an ample amount of time with students working on reading skills and thus I want my classroom environment to instill a love of reading. I have communicated with my general education teachers and now have knowledge of the books the students will be exposed to in the gen. ed. curriculum. I plan to search these books to find one meaningful quote from each to post on the walls of my classroom. I will discuss these quotes with my students, but not reveal the source. I am hoping they will find that connection over the course of the year. I also plan to have a wall of favorite quotes that the students and I will both add to throughout the year. This way, it is not just messaging that I find meaningful in my classroom, but messaging that have meaning to my students that is in THEIR classroom. I also would like to add some inspirational quotes from sources they may recognize, such as popular movies, books, or sports stars. In doing this, I am hoping to add relevancy to these quotes and hoping we can reflect on how to apply them in our own lives and classroom. Here are some ideas I have found. There are a lot of good quotes, but I will need to be very selective and keep looking for quotes from relatable resources, such as music. I also need to be sure I am culturlly inclusive in my selection.

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My classroom environment impacts my interactions with students in a few different ways. First off, I try to make the classroom seem like "our" classroom instead of "my" classroom. This helps build the trust between us and makes them feel like they belong. The second thing I do is make the classroom cute and cozy. The students love the decorations in my room and comment on them frequently. This helps the classroom to feel more at home and peaceful than a room that is just four walls. The last thing I do is play music, turn on my salt lamp, and turn on my wax warmer. The students love these things and request them if I forget. Once again, it makes the classroom feel more like home and less like a place of lecture. By doing these things in my classroom I am able to build better relationships with my students. My class is the place they gather during passing periods, lunch, breaks, etc. and I love that.