To better understand Writing challenges go to this link.
To better understand Math challenges to to this link.
To better understand Attention challenges go to this link.
To better understand Reading challenges go to this link.
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Complete ONE of the Learning Challenges Links (Reading, Writing, Math and Attention). Choose a few videos to watch and reflect on your experience. What new ideas do you have about inclusion in schools, communities, and learning? As a new teacher, how do these experience help you become a better teacher? What take aways would you consider bringing to your classroom? Your initial post should be 200+ words with 2 comments to other participants. This site is a companion to the PBS special Misunderstood Minds, and profiles a variety of learning problems and expert opinions. It is designed to give parents and teachers a better understanding of learning processes, insights into difficulties, and strategies for responding. To better understand Writing challenges go to this link. To better understand Math challenges to to this link. To better understand Attention challenges go to this link. To better understand Reading challenges go to this link.
47 Comments
Victoria Guida
6/27/2017 09:37:24 am
What new ideas do you have about inclusion in schools, communities, and learning?
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Gabrielle Correnti
6/27/2017 09:33:15 pm
I really like how you used the phrase "it takes a village", I find that very relevant! Working as a para this year, it really did take a village to successfully accommodate one of my students. He had two paras who had to communicate with the head teacher, the school adjustment counselor, his parents and the special education liaison at the school. This communication made classroom inclusion even more effective because everyone was on the same page and there were no surprises. I believe parents should be actively involved in their students learning, especially at young ages.
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7/7/2017 03:25:32 pm
Victoria,
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Gabrielle Correnti
6/27/2017 09:29:36 pm
For this post, I chose to do the "attention challenges" activity. I did the activity where I had to read a paragraph with distractions occurring then attempt to answer multiple choice questions on what I read. This challenge was very eye-opening and also frustrating. I was frustrated because I was trying so hard to read the paragraphs, but distractions kept popping up in the background. As a result, I did not answer any questions right. However, it was eye-opening for me because I realized that this is a reality for many school-aged children. I believe inclusion in schools is crucial. Students want to feel included, and as if they are a part of the classroom community. Excluding students will give them a negative view about school and they will not want to participate. It is important for teachers to create lessons and activities that will include all types of learners. Not all students learn by listening to a lecture and filling out a worksheet. The teacher must familiarize themselves with the different learning styles of their students and modify lessons so all students can feel included in that lesson through their learning style. For example, a lesson on soil can be modified in numerous ways. Some students can read science magazines, other students can watch videos, and other students can actually look at and feel a real sample of dirt. This way, all students will be included in the lesson. The teacher also needs to be understanding of students with a learning disability. For example, if a student is getting visibly frustrated, the teacher (or a para) should properly intervene so the student does not become discouraged. I have found that even a 5 minute walk helps students in these situations. As a future teacher, there are many take aways I want for my classroom. I want all my students to feel included. Perhaps, at the beginning of the year, I can ask my students which way they prefer to learn so I can modify lessons accordingly. Also, I will be sure to incorporate technology into my lessons so I can make learning fun and so students with learning disorders can feel included as well. I will also be sure to work closely with school guidance counselors, school adjustment counselors, paras in my room (if any) and the special education liaison to make sure any students on IEPs or 504 plans can learn effectively and feel included in my classroom.
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Victoria Guida
6/29/2017 12:40:16 pm
I also did the activity and had to completely guess for all of the questions. It reminded me of the activity we did in class today where we simulated a learning disability. At some point it becomes impossible to do the task.
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Samantha Peter
6/29/2017 06:19:46 pm
Hi Gabrielle, I enjoy the way that you talked about how to modify lessons to accommodate all students! Looking into UDL when planning definitely helps all students to be able to access the curriculum. I completely agree with your ideas about inclusion, as I am also a huge proponent of it as well! If we give students opportunities to learn in ways that actually help them, then they will be able to constantly feel included in the classroom community.
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Eilish Reynolds
6/28/2017 11:59:45 am
I chose to do the attention experience. This experience had me read a paragraph and then answer three questions within a minute or so. However, the passage had images moving in and out of the screen, consistently, making it very hard to focus. When I went to go answer the three questions, I got them all wrong, because I was unable to focus on the text with all of the distractions around. It was a very good experience because it provided me with a new perspective on what it means to have an attention deficit disorder. As a teacher, I have noticed students in my classroom with attention problems, but it is definitely hard to tell if they are just distracted, have no interest, or have a real attention disorder that needs to be addressed. This simulation was helpful in understanding what someone with an attention deficit might be feeling when they are expected to focus.
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Caitlin Kelleher
6/28/2017 11:22:22 pm
I did the attention activity and got all of the visual multiplication problems wrong. I retried taking the activity multiple times, but kept getting the answers wrong. I have student in my classroom that get distracted easily, but I never thought it could be like the activities we completed. I want to know how I can help future students in my classroom that do have an attention disability.
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Victoria Guida
6/29/2017 12:41:58 pm
Love that you take the time each morning to get to know your students. Relationships with students are always evolving and it's awesome to hear that you actively work to develop that.
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Meredith Chen
6/29/2017 02:45:46 pm
Eilish,
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Sara Cane
8/10/2017 12:07:13 pm
Eilish I appreciate your thoughts on getting to know your students as individuals. I think this is so important and can frequently be overlooked when teaching. Forming these relationships are essential to build trust within the classroom and accumulate the most success from both you and your children.
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Meredith Chen
6/28/2017 08:02:47 pm
The Misunderstood Minds website provides great insight into the various learning problems in classrooms. After completing the attention auditory activity, I felt frustrated. Initially, I felt motivated to continue to try, even though it was harder to hear the teacher. But eventually, I lost all motivation to try. I gave up, and didn’t seem to care any more. This learning challenge simulation, paired with the activity we did in class on Wednesday, has truly made me put myself in the shoes of students I’ve had, and students I will one day have. Teachers need to have a strong understanding of their learner’s strengths and weaknesses in order to support them effectively. We need to spend time getting to know how each student thinks and learns, and how we can meet their needs. This certainly means we must be willing to change our methods of instruction, and differentiate. Misunderstood Minds touched on something that is so important – parent-teacher cooperation is hugely important to supporting students with learning disabilities, especially with setting goals and regularly monitoring progress at home and in school. The practice of teachers collecting data on students is also beneficial as it can help influence instruction.
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Caitlin Kelleher
6/28/2017 11:19:46 pm
Demystification is something I have never heard of until the other night when I was completing the blog. I think it is important for parents to talk to their kids about different disabilities if they do or do not have a disability. My co-teacher and I did an ELA unit this year on authors that have different disabilities to show the student that people can accomplish their dreams even with their disability.
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Samantha Peter
6/29/2017 06:22:57 pm
Hi Meredith, I have been thinking about demystification as well! I think that both students and adults benefit from the conversations, but they definitely can be hard to initiate. However, I feel like , like in your situation, if they are happening constantly, then it removes the stigma and awkwardness of the conversation. I feel that it is good for all students though. It makes me think of a unit that the Fourth graders do at my school which is about looking at differences, and they spend time in class learning about different disabilities and what they look like and how they can help. I think that it definitely helps them to understand that though they might not have it, it all still applies to their lives.
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Caitlin Kelleher
6/28/2017 11:14:48 pm
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Gabrielle Correnti
6/29/2017 01:07:21 pm
I did the attention activity as well and greatly struggled. I got frustrated too because I wanted to complete the activity but couldn't because of all the distractions going on. Also, I do believe that everyone learns best in a community. During my senior year of college, I tutored in a first grade classroom in New Bedford, MA. There was one student who had severe ADHD as well as other behavioral disorders. Whenever he was placed in a group for group work, his partners did all the work because they did not want to deal with him and hold his hand through the assignment. They found it easier just to let him do his own thing. This made me sad because he wanted to participate but his learning/behavioral disorders made it a true challenge for him. I wish I had the education at the time to help him feel more included.
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Isaac Galef-Brown
6/29/2017 11:42:21 am
I completed the attention learning challenge link. It definitely helped me empathize with students that have this type of learning challenge. When lead-teaching in a classroom, one of the last things on my mind is asking myself what it is like for those students that I see who are having trouble paying attention. It is much easier to get frustrated with off-task behavior and not question why it is happening. The activities on this learning challenge link helped me to understand why some students are so challenged with the task of paying close attention for lengths of time.
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Jenny Steiner
7/1/2017 01:57:31 pm
That's a good point about how it's frustrating for a teacher to repeat themselves a bunch of times, but some students just might not be able to listen the first few times. I agree that it's important to give directions through multiple mediums or writing the directions up on the board.
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Victoria Gaulin
7/2/2017 09:37:31 am
I understand being frustrating, especially in that whole class setting, but you're right, taking the time to think about what's going on with your student and understand their perspective is vital for success.
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Samantha Stanley
6/29/2017 01:04:24 pm
For the misunderstood minds website, I tried a variety of activities to have an insight on how children in my classroom might feel with various learning challenges. I first did the reading link about memory and recalling. There was a paragraph that you had to read but as you were reading each line started to disappear. After reading the paragraph you needed to answer questions. I found it very frustrating that I could not remember the paragraph after it disappeared and therefore couldn't answer the questions that followed. I also tried the learning challenge link of attention. I completed the visual activity that was challenging you to read with distractions. At first it was not super hard to read when images were coming up in the background but after a while, that is all I could concentrate on. At the end, I essentially could not remember anything I had read but remembered some of the images that were shown. These activities are very eye opening for what some children may go through in your classroom. It is important to be aware of these learning challenges and come up with strategies to help these children. When I think about the activities I did, as a teacher we should think about breaking up content so students have an easier time recalling information. Another way is to instill strategies of remembering information. For distractions, teachers can move children closer to the board so they have less to look at around the classroom. Either way, it is important for teachers to get to know their students so they are aware of their learning challenges.
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Meredith Chen
6/29/2017 02:48:18 pm
Sam,
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Sara Cane
8/10/2017 12:04:59 pm
Samantha,
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Victoria Gaulin
6/29/2017 01:04:33 pm
For the purpose of this post I examined the the challenges surrounding attention. At first glance the symptoms surrounding ADHD appear as a defiant child who is actively choosing not to participate, ignores teacher and peers, and engages in alternative activity. For new teachers this may look like a behavioral problem but that’s why it’s imperative that teacher be able to differentiate between the two. The hyperactive component of ADHD is that area that may present as defiance. Teachers, especially new teachers need to assess the antecedents of behaviors and determine its cause. Of course there will some students whose behavior is a result of a behavioral concern, however some students may be demonstrating symptoms of ADHD. Knowledge and eventual experience is the only way for new teachers to understand the differences. Experience working with both populations will help to understand and recognize the similarities and differences of these conditions.
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Jenny Steiner
7/1/2017 01:54:18 pm
I think you bring up a really good point that the hyperactive aspect of ADHD can manifest in different ways. When I was growing up, the hyperactive part actually meant hyperfocusing on things or having a really hard time coming back after zoning out. Because it was such a passive thing, it basically went unnoticed by my teachers. I love activities like this that help teachers understand what it might feel like and recognize the characteristics.
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Jen Whitman
7/3/2017 05:54:27 pm
Victoria, I think you make several important points. It is crucial that teachers determine the actual cause of students' behavior. Too often, students are mislabeled, and because of that, do not get the support they really need. It is easy to make assumptions about students based on the outcomes of behaviors, but we need to look back at the cause for behavior if we truly want to understand our students.
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7/7/2017 03:28:24 pm
Jen,
Samantha Stanley
7/4/2017 06:07:26 pm
Victoria, I think you made some great points in your post. I think it is really important to notice similarities and differences among students who have ADHD so that you can help them with strategies in the classroom. I think it is also important for teachers to be aware of students with ADHD so they don't just level them a behavior concern rather help them in other ways.
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Samantha Peter
6/29/2017 06:17:22 pm
For the misunderstood minds activity, I chose to do the attention activity. I became so frustrated so quickly with both the verbal directions and the reading activity! I could not do it, and even though I was trying, there were so many other obstacles for it. This makes me think about the students that are in our classes and what happens when they really cannot focus on what is going on around them. If students miss one direction, and the class moves one then typically they get in trouble. However, if we do give them ample ways to access the directions or the task then how are we helping them? They are not refusing to follow directions, but they simply were not able to focus on them. This is why we need to utilize UDL to make sure that they are able to access the directions in multiple ways, and we need to be able to restate the directions so they are able to understand them. Giving students multiple ways of accessing everything gives them a chance at being able to do what we are asking of them.
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Jen Whitman
7/3/2017 06:00:21 pm
Sam, I think you make such an important point. Students do not miss important directions on purpose, they would much rather understand what is going in their class. However, we often treat students like they missed the direction on purpose and should be blamed for it. Instead, we should be reflecting on the way that we give directions so that we can give our students the fullest opportunity to be successful in our classrooms.
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Samantha Stanley
7/4/2017 06:10:07 pm
Sam, I completed the same activity as you and was equally as frustrated. It really put me in the shoes of children with attention difficulties. I agree that it is important for teachers to create multiple ways to reach students and make sure they can access the information that is given to them without feeling frustrated like we did.
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Rebecca Pellegrine
7/16/2017 12:30:06 pm
Hi Sam,
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Jenny Steiner
7/1/2017 01:49:58 pm
For the learning challenges activity, I chose to look at the writing section. I chose the decoding activity, which involved reading a short passage to recognize phonemes. The entire passage was filled with words that had the incorrect phonemes present to show how a student might struggle to decode. There was a key to show what phonemes and letters were being used and the correct letters, but it was extremely hard to follow. I found myself completely ignoring the key (because there was too much for me to remember), and trying my best to independently figure out each word by whole-word recognition. I imagine this is one coping strategy children with issues decoding try as well. It really opened my eyes to how it might feel to not have phonological awareness!
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Victoria Gaulin
7/2/2017 09:36:02 am
An inclusion setting where teachers work to differentiate instruction is the most ideal setting I think a student can be placed in. It definitely takes more time and energy on the part of the teacher, but isn't that why we do it, to give kids the best shot for success?
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Jen Whitman
7/3/2017 05:51:54 pm
I did the learning challenges for math. Math is something that always came easily to me, so I was interested to see what it would feel like if it was a struggled. The learning challenges opened my eyes to the struggles that so many students have with math everyday. This experience made me think about the fact that there are so many math supports we can give students that do not directly give away the answers to the work they are doing. If they are not being tested specifically on multiplication, there is no reason why they shouldn't have access to a multiplication table in order to do their work.
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Rebecca Pellegrine
7/16/2017 12:32:47 pm
Hi Jen,
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Gabrielle D'Avolio
8/5/2017 03:38:40 pm
Hi Jen,
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7/7/2017 03:19:34 pm
• Multistep Problems:
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Rebecca Pellegrine
7/15/2017 03:45:51 pm
I looked at the attention difficulties page, and I tried two of the experiences. The first experience I tried was listening to the verbal directions with distractions. I chose this because I think that teachers often give verbal directions once and children miss the directions for a variety of reasons. This experience stimulated a classroom with many interruptions and distractions. This experience was extremely frustrating because I found it challenging to hear the directions and follow them. I imagine that many children, with and without attention difficulties, often feel this way in classrooms. It is important as educators to create environments for students with limited distractions, but also give directions in clear and single steps and allow children to have time between steps. I also believe that it is important to have visual cues to go along with these directions. Children with attention difficulties often develop anxiety and challenges in school and as teachers it is our job to make sure we are reducing this anxiety and creating a safe learning environment for all students.
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Gabrielle D'Avolio
8/5/2017 03:29:00 pm
Hi Becca,
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Kyssandra Perkowski
8/8/2017 04:53:34 pm
I like how you chose experiences that you feel we need to improve as future educators. It's a really good way of seeing exactly how we can reverse the problem and practice improving our teaching. Environments are such a crucial part of our job that isn't always taken as seriously or with enough attention. I agree with all of your points!
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Gabrielle D'Avolio
8/5/2017 03:17:08 pm
I chose to complete the reading challenge activity. This activity was challenging and frustrating to complete, which made me empathize with people who have learning disabilities and the struggles they may go through with reading. This will impact them in all subject areas, which this activity showed with the science topics. These challenge activities are a good way to get a glance at what your students with learning disabilities or attention disorders may be going through, which will help as a teacher to empathize and accommodate for their needs. These may include extra time given to complete assignments or modifying readings to be at a specific students reading level, so they can successfully participate and access the curriculum.
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Kyssandra
8/8/2017 04:48:46 pm
I agree that the activities were challenging but helpful to seeing perspectives. I think it's important to explore "activities" like these to properly accommodate like what you are saying. Students success is crucial and we can get there by understanding the many students. I agree with all of your points!
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Kyssandra Perkowski
8/8/2017 04:44:55 pm
I completed the writing challenge and valued the experience. I think the website developed an accurate stimulation for students and teachers to see and experience a perspective to better understand those with writing difficulties and disabilities. I also watched a few of the videos which had similar themes of focusing on the positive aspects of life even with challenges; however, raised equally as important points of being aware of the negative and challenges in everyday life with disabilities but being realistic about what can and cannot be changed and how to cope/live with that idea. The idea that stuck with me most is from the tedtalk "My Philosophy for a Happy Life" he said that people ask him everyday what his everyday challenges are and that it must be hard to live with his disease. This is an important thing to remember as a future educator and how I want to facilitate discussions within my classroom and with other faculty, staff, and students around what the student with a disability has in common or CAN do not on what might need to be changed to help the student succeed. Seeing a student with such positivity against all of the challenges is inspiring and important to share this mind set in my teaching. I also will take with me the stimulation I did and the perspectives it provided to keep in mind and make my classroom as accessible as possible, and consider differentiating more than I might have previously. I valued hearing these perspectives and seeing so many journeys who have been able to accomplish tasks that most would have seen as impossible and I look forward to being a part of someone's journey and helping them accomplish something they thought they couldn't by accommodating their needs in my classroom.
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Demi Kalambokis
8/9/2017 12:49:56 pm
I focused on Attention while viewing the "Misunderstood Minds" website. I first took the visual activity where you are given a passage to read while the screen fades off and on to change to different pictures. I was able to read the passage, but not in enough time before the screen goes completely white and ends. I had to keep going back just to replay the video.
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Sara Cane
8/10/2017 11:58:35 am
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Will Friedland
8/13/2017 10:23:02 pm
I chose to focus on the attention activities on Misunderstood Minds. I looked at the auditory distractions and visual distractions. As someone who struggles with attention I found both of these activities to be difficult to complete. However I do feel that even without an attention problem the auditory distractions activity was very difficult with all the background noise. This is a problem in so many classrooms. It is so vital for teachers to reduce distractions in their classrooms for all students.
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Krista Pupillo
8/13/2017 10:43:58 pm
I chose to interact with the attention videos. I was really taken aback by the way I was affected by the videos and how difficult it was to get the information with all the noises and images changes. As hard as I tried to concentrate and maintain focus, it was impossible to get the information. I found myself more and more frustrated. It made me realize how important it is to acknowledge the challenges faced by students with attention difficulties and the way that distractions can affect learning. As a teacher, I would try to proactively eliminate as many of these distractions as possible. The use of preferred seating, noise cancelling headphones, barriers between students, and microphones would help students limit the distractions from others.
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Created byErin Turner
Curry College Updated November 23, 2020 |