Kienle,Chris,+Science+and+Inclusion



My educational background is rather extensive at this point; I currently have a BS in geology, I am one class away from a second BS in biology, and two classes away from a minor in chemistry. I am currently in the one year masters of arts in teaching seeking endorsements in biology and integrated science at the middle/high school level and intent to take the chemistry test as well. As for educational goals, I intent to seek a master’s degree in biology at a later date. My career goals are to get a job teaching high school science during the school year in rural eastern Oregon and preform scientific research during the summers (working towards that masters!).

I feel most comfortable when I am outside in the forests with nothing but a daypack, a map, and my dog. One of my favorite past times is mountain climbing and I am in the process of climbing the 100 highest peaks in Oregon. In the world we live in today, filled with modern conveniences and short cuts that range from packaged food to air travel, there is nothing more satisfying than making to the summit of a mountain and knowing that the only thing that got you there was your body. Other outdoor activities that bring my lots of joy are day hiking and forging for native foods, particularly mushrooms. In addition to being outside, I also really enjoy taking an entire day to brew my own beer with friends. I find the process very cathartic and rewarding. Beer brewing is the ultimate science experiment!

A fear I have about being a teacher is not being able explain things in a way that students are able to comprehend. Last week I had a preview of how catastrophic this can be. While teaching 8th graders how to manipulate equations and convert between units I ran into a hole in my understanding. I have been converting between units for years both academically and in my personal life (a skill that comes in handy in brewing!) and there are certain tricks you develop that allow you to convert simply and effectively. This trick have become second nature for me but only came after lots and lots of practice and I totally forgot how to explain how to do it the long way in front of the whole class! After stepping back I figured it out and it became a great learning moment for me but this is probably my greatest fear.

After attending college level science courses for seven years I got really good at knowing myself and what effort things required to get an A. As a result, my undergrad GPA for biology is a 4.0. This really irked a lot of my friend off who struggled and barely passed. My favorite rebuttal was to tell them how much I struggled in elementary school. I was one of those kids that got pulled out of my regular class to go to a special reading and writing class. I didn’t learn how to competently read until sometime in 5th grade and I still struggle with basic spelling and grammar (seriously, I just spelt grammar wrong). Anyway, I am looking forward to learning strategies for inclusion specifically for science curriculum and ways of implementing them.

Science and Inclusion Science is something that is dear to my heart. I love science and I have a passion for sharing that love with other people. That is while I have made the decision to go into teaching, so I can take my scientific know how and inspire the love of science in students. Going into this program there were several things that weren’t on my radar, inclusive teaching being a prime example. However, now that we have spent the term talking about inclusion and I have spent several hours researching the topic independently, the thought that several of my students will not have access to my instruction if I don’t make modifications is a terrible thought. I want every student that walks into my classroom to be inspired by science and realize its power and knowing that several students won’t get that feeling causes a pit in my stomach. In addition to my passion to make science accessible to all students, science is a subject that requires extra thought when designing activities. While most disciplines must think, about how to modify curriculum in order to include every students, science teachers must simultaneously modify curriculum AND labs and activities. I chose to research science and inclusion to give myself a foot in the door in seeing what is required to make science a positive and rewarding experience to all students who walk through my class.
 * Intro **


 * Top 5 things I learned **
 * 1) Science labs require more modifications to make them safe and accessible that science curriculum!
 * 2) First aid kits, fire extinguishers, fire blankets, eye wash stations, and emergency showers are all things that are typically out of reach for students with physical disabilities.
 * 3) Many topics in science are “black boxes” meaning that they are very difficult to understand and not intuitively obvious, therefore, it is very important to do frequent checking for understanding when delivering new information.
 * 4) Checking for understanding is necessary during formal instructions and during laboratory activities to ensure the student understands the activity.
 * 5) Many interventions and accommodations help benefit students with disabilities as well as helping the entire class.

Rating: 5. This source uses real world and concrete experiences to illustrate how to modify group activities and the classroom in order to make a science class an ideal spot for students with disabilities. Some ideas for modifying the classroom include making lab benches, storage, sinks and first aid kits accessible for students with physical disabilities. Lab instruction can be modified for students with learning disabilities making the instruction more organized and presented in smaller chunks and it can be modifies for students with physical disabilities by modifying the equipment and/or procedures. Also, placing the student with physical disabilities with a bubby who understand their limitation can be very helpful. Equipment modifications can include braille rulers, microscopes that don’t require fine motor skills, and projection scopes for students with visual impairments. As if this wasn’t enough, this source also gives suggested ideas for alternative methods of assessment that center around laboratory activities.
 * Top resource **
 * Science Classrooms for Students with Special Needs by Wendy Shermann McCann**

Rating: 5 This resource was close to being my number one. The reason I liked it so much we because of its potential application for coming up with RTI interventions or planning with an IEP in hand. This website is specific to science education while simultaneously giving the reader lots of information about different disabilities. The website is organized by disability type. Click on any disability and a new page pops up with background information about the disability, general strategies specific to that disability, laboratory strategies, group interaction strategies, reading, field, and alternative testing strategies. Very useful.
 * 8 other resources **
 * 1. www.as.wvu.edu/~scidis/sitemap.html**

Rating 3: This source is a short article written by a teacher which tells that story of how she first came to have an inclusive classroom. She provides several strategies while telling her story that I can see applying or modifying to my own classroom practices. She also talks about her fear and anxieties she had at first and what she did to relieve these internal tensions. All in all, this article has a positive attitude towards
 * 2. www.educationworld.com/a_curr/profdev007.shtml**

Rating: 4 This article takes a standards based approach to explain why it is important for every student to have access to the science curriculum. To help struggling teachers make this a reality, several accommodation strategies are presented. Strategies are broken down into categories of areas where students might need extra attention. The categories that are presented include attention issues, information processing and communication issues, organization issues, social interaction issues, and issues with time management and transitions.
 * 3.** **www.glencoe.com/sec/teachingtoday/subject/special_ed.phtml**

Rating: 4 This source is specific to making science labs accessible and safe to all students, especially those with disabilities. The safety tips are presented in addition to accommodations that students with disabilities can benefit from. The accommodations are organized by disability type.
 * 4. Making Science Labs Accessible to Students with Disabilities by Sheryl Burgstahler**

Rating: 3 This source provides accommodation ideas that are divided into two categories or objectives: gaining knowledge and demonstrating knowledge. This sources uses the “the student who has difficulty…. Can be accommodated with….” format and is organized in a very easy to understand way. All accommodations fit into the universal design format of instruction.
 * 5. Working Together: Science Teachers and Students with Disabilities by Sheryl Burgstahler**

Rating: 4 This source provides strategies for marrying a science curriculum with special education support resources in order to best serve the student. This article gives strategies and a rationale behind curriculum modifications which are designed to befit students with disabilities. In addition, alternative assessment and rationale presented including portfolios and performance assessments.
 * 6. Building Bridges Between Science and Special Education: Inclusion in the Science Classroom**

Rating: 5 This source is a fantastic resource as it provides a list that includes 545 difference annotated resources cited in MLA format. The list of sources are divided in to subjects and includes individual disabilities, collaboration, information technology, differentiation of instruction, curriculum development, language, and provision and practice. This is a source I intend to keep at my fingertips as a classroom teacher as it is a mini directory. It provides a lot of information in a short document.
 * 7. Bibliography of Science and Special Needs by David R. Wilson**

Rating: 3 This website is run by the University of Wisconsin’s Education Materials Center and provides several links to examples of special education lesson plans. This is helpful as it provides a concrete example of what accommodations look like on paper. In addition, it provides a wealth of links to other special education resources.
 * 8. www.uwosh.edu/library/emc/lp_specialed.html**

CBL Project Observations Reading: Answering questions about reading: Spelling review: Computer activity:
 * Asked students to read aloud, helped students with larger/ more challenging words.
 * Read one page of text as a class. Students took turns reading. Teacher divided page up by paragraphs and subdivided large paragraphs up into smaller sections to not intimidate students.
 * Lots of positive affirmations when students successfully read large or difficult word and when each was finished reading their assigned paragraph to the class.
 * Asked for student volunteers to read questions and venture answers.
 * When students stopped wanting to answer questions, teacher asked for responses with hands; thumbs up means you think it is the right answer, thumbs down means you think it is a wrong answer.
 * Having students answer ambiguous questions is a good thing to practice as those are the question types they will be answering on the OAKS test.
 * As a class, everyone got out their spelling words and everyone read all words aloud as a class.
 * Teacher had ADD/ADHD students get out of chairs and pass out activity papers and highlighters to the class.
 * As a class they reviewed the worksheet while the teacher highlighted parts of the text.
 * Teacher pulled up the website everyone was going and demonstrated how to navigate and where to go.
 * Send everyone into adjoining computer lab.
 * SPED Teacher, assistant, me, and Allen Smith all followed into computer lab and help students complete activity.

Interview Notes 1. What interventions were used and why? The whole class is designed to be an intervention. The resource room is a place for SPED students to come and get extra help in subjects they struggle in from their regular education classes. Some specific interventions we used yesterday were taking turns reading, breaking up large words, and asking them convoluted questions. 2. What are challenges you see in this class? Dyslexia is a big problem. Students have a hard time tracking, going back and forth between their paper and the computer screen. They loose track of where they where. Also numbering the questions help them keep track as well. 3. What types of students do you typically get in the resource room? Lower IQ students as determined by their SPED qualification tests. 4. What criteria is used for identifying SPED students? Students can be referred from parents or teachers. They are tested with big books that include reading, math, and social skills. They are determined to qualify for services if they are below other students of a similar age level. They must be 14 to 17 points below average. 5. Is there anything that is being done to help students achieve? Layered curriculums are put in place in some schools. This allows all students to get a C regardless of IEP or not. To get above a C they must go above and beyond the general learning goals.

Reflection During this experience I was able to sit down with students with disabilities and help them one on one. This really helped to demystify them and help me realize that they are students just like everyone else. In class we speak of students with disabilities as a group and it is easy for me to forget that there are individual students under the umbrella with individual personalities. In addition, this experience gave me many ideas on how to help specific students. So far in class we have not talked about specific interventions that can be implemented to help SPED students while we have talked about the seriousness of not providing services. Spending time in the resource room and talking to the SPED teacher gave me several ideas on what I can do to help these students that is quick, easy, and takes little to no extra time (only a little extra planning). For example, a successful intervention strategy could be as simple as having the class highlight or underline a key step in the instructions (something I practiced yesterday in class) or having students read small amounts of text at a time to avoid them being overwhelmed.