Name: Carson Hope Program: Early Childhood Special Education
Name of Artifact: Collection of Disability Handouts – Traumatic Brain Injures; Sensory Sensitivity in Infants and Toddlers; Myths vs. Facts of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Artifact Source: ECS 103 – Introduction to Teaching Inclusive Early Childhood Special Education; ECS 304 – Supporting the Development of Infants, Toddlers, and their Families in Natural Environments; SED 360 – Teaching Children with Learning and Behavior Problems in the Regular Classroom
Instructor Who Originally Evaluated Artifact: Dr. Allison Jackson; Dr. Christine Spence; Dr. Kevin Good
Introduction to Standard Addressed
Common Core Teaching Standard 1
CCTS Standard 1 addresses learner development. The standard states: “the teacher understands how students learn and develop, recognizing that patterns of learning and development vary individually within and across the cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional, and physical areas, and designs and implements developmentally appropriate and challenging learning experiences.” In other words, this means the teacher has a knowledge for child development as well as understanding of the different learning styles and how children acquire knowledge. Furthermore, the teacher has competency planning lessons based on child development and the variety of learning styles, and designs lessons to meet the needs of all students and challenge each individual. Indicator 1(h) states that the teacher “respects learner’s differing strengths and needs and is committed to using this information to further each learner’s development.” This places importance on understanding how each student learns and what their strengths and support needs. After identifying needs, educators must use this knowledge to guide group and individual instruction. Council for Exceptional Children Division of Early Childhood Standard 1 CEC-DEC Standard 1 addresses learner development and individual learning differences. The standard states: “beginning special education professionals understand how exceptionalities may interact with development and learning and use this knowledge to provide meaningful and challenging learning experiences for individuals with exceptionalities.” In other words, early childhood special educators must understand how disabilities effect child development and learning acquisition and plan lessons that every student, including exceptional children, can succeed with but also be challenged at the appropriate level. Knowledge indicator K1.3 states that early childhood special educations must have awareness of “specific disabilities, including the etiology, characteristics, and classification of common disabilities in infants and young children, and specific implications for development and learning in the first years of life.” Knowledge indicator K1.4. continues this when it states that early childhood special educators must have knowledge of “Impact of medical conditions and related care on development and learning.” Special educators can use this awareness of specific disabilities and medical conditions to connect strategies for instruction and support that are effective in working with many individuals with a particular diagnosis.
Introduction of Artifact
These handouts were developed in three different classes and discuss specific conditions that affect the development of young children. The traumatic brain injury handout was developed in ECS 103. Each student in ECS 103 developed a handout on a different disability, and each share with the class. Students developed short presentations to share important information as well as potential strategies with the class. The sensory sensitivity handout was developed in ECS 304 and had a similar process, except the presentation in ECS 304 was much more comprehensive and included activities for the class to participate in. The presentations in ECS 304 were focused on how early intervention providers can work with an infant or toddler experiencing the described condition. The attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) myth vs. fact handout was an in class activity in SED 360 that was done after doing a small group “Quest into ADHD” project. This handout could be useful for teachers as well as family members as it defuncts some common myths about ADHD.
Rationale
In creating each of these three handouts, I learned about learner development in different ways. For example, I learned that if I student I had before their traumatic brain injury comes back into my classroom, they may lack memory of prior events or information learned, they will probably exhibit different behaviors than before their injury, and they will likely have trouble focusing. My handout also states that before coming back to school, “an initial readiness assessment is required” and then plans will be developed for the student’s school re-entry. My handout on sensory sensitivity in infants and toddlers explains that “feeding, response to touch, and response to environment” are all impacted by sensory sensitivities (hypersensitivity or hyposensitivity) and lists possible materials and assistive devices that could benefit the child, which as an early childhood special educator in early intervention I could suggest to the family or bring in to a home visit. The ADHD handout I developed provides educators with strategies for supporting students with ADHD in the classroom such as “ensuring consistent routines, enforcing clear rules, [and] providing support when transitioning between activities.” By creating this collection of fact sheets, I have researched several different types of disabilities and learning specific information on each and I have also learned strategies to support the strengths of learners in each of the potential areas I can teach upon completing my program (early intervention, special education for ages three to five, and K-3 education).
