tia

Learning to Become Active Members of our Community:

Learning to Become Active Members of our Community Amanda Gibson: Ajg1110@knights.ucf.edu Tana Wilson: tana.wilson@knights.ucf.edu April 1, 2011 EEX 4070

Triangle Elementary Ms. Irby’s Class:

Triangle Elementary Ms. Irby’s Class Her class is an Intellectually Disabled Class (InD) that is considered a “trainable” state of mental handicaps. The class consists of eight children; two in each grade level (K-3 rd ).

Engagement Activities:

Engagement Activities Every Tuesday we visit her class for three hours and help the children work in small groups with reading and manipulatives. During our time service-learning, we played a large role in helping the children work on puzzles. These types of centers keep the kids engaged while improving their higher-order thinking abilities. Our main community participation took place on a field trip to our local Applebee’s. Our ESE class (grades K-3) combined with the older ESE class (grades 4 & 5) took this trip with a goal: we wanted students to practice being productive members of their community!!!

Participant Demographics:

Participant Demographics Eight persons were served during our service learning experience: Based on IDEA, these students have been formally diagnosed with specific disabilities. Male, Kindergarten, Caucasian, non-verbal, developmental delay Male, Kindergarten, Caucasian, non-verbal, down-syndrome Male, 1 st grade, Caucasian, verbal, traumatic brain injury Male, Latin American, non-verbal, down-syndrome Female, 2 nd grade, Caucasian, verbal, developmental delay Male, 2 nd grade, Latin American, verbal, developmental delay Female, 3 rd grade, Caucasian, non-verbal, multiple disabilities Male, 3 rd grade, African American, verbal, developmental delay

Service in Action Photos:

Service in Action Photos

Feelings/Thoughts/Perceptions:

Feelings/Thoughts/Perceptions

Connections to Your Course:

Connections to Your Course We completed the Teachers in Actions course for our Teaching Exceptional Students class (EEX4070) After working with the Intellectually Disabled Class we have a better understanding of behaviors, non-verbal communications, and accommodations. Behavior Management : “Often times, mild misbehaviors will disappear when the student is given structure within the class environment” (Wood, 222). Ms. Irby finds it very important to be consistent with her rules and regulations. Non-verbal Communications : We quickly learned that there are other ways the children learn to communicate, rather than through speaking. Sign language is frequently used in place of talking. Accommodations: The organization of each individual’s IEP allows Ms. Irby to accommodate according the children’s needs.

Slide 8:

This experience has allowed us to practice developing accommodations to better suit the individual needs of our future students.

Civic Engagement:

Civic Engagement By taking a field trip to Applebee’s, we helped provide a meaningful experience for the children. The students were able to practice their social skills by ordering their lunch and paying their bill on their own. The civic engagement provided the InD Class with an opportunity they may not have otherwise had. With the conditions of our current economy, many families are unable to provide similar experiences to their children. Through the process of our service learning experience, volunteering has made us realize that there is a tremendous need for more people that care.

Slide 10:

This has been a positive and eye-opening experience. We are now aware of the great need of more volunteers in our community. Our hope is to teach our future students the importance of civic participation. “There is no better exercise for your heart, Than reaching down and helping to lift someone up.” ~Bernard Meltzer