Modules and Prompts

Modules and Prompts

2. Adding functional applications when teaching academic core content.

Whenever a teacher is teaching any core content to the learners, it is always necessary for the teacher to add functional applications that the learner can easily relate to the core content being taught and the real-life situations. Practical applications in a classroom setting are the real-life situations that the learner can associate with. An example of functional application addition in the classroom setting is when teaching mathematics. During the lesson, the teacher highlights the calculation of sales taxes of the items that are advertised on television.  While showing computation, the teacher added the functional application of mathematics in real-life situations where the students could be to relate to how sales taxes are calculated. The calculation of sales tax is not the core content in the lesson plan of the teacher, but the students could relate to it in their real-life situations.

1. Embedding academic core content when teaching functional skills.

When teaching the functional skills to learners with a disability, the teacher should embed the content with the relevant content that is most useful in their lives. In this case, the teacher can root out for content that will improve the social experience of the students through enhancing the interactions of the students with their family members and members of the society. An example of the embedded academic core content is communication skills. The communication skill is vital to the student living with a disability. When the teacher integrates the functional capabilities with the communication skills, he or she improves the chances of the learner with a disability to associate with society due to the improved communication. Such results to the overall improvement of the students both at and home and school he or she will be able to communicate his or her ideas to the relevant parties within the environment.

2. Looking at some of the Activity Matrix examples, which one do you use (or would use), and how do you use it? What benefits and challenges have you encountered (or anticipate) while using them?

From the examples of the matrix provided, I would use the Collins matrix from the video to conduct the instructional activity for the learners with disabilities. The matrix schedule has a clear demonstration of what needs to be done and should be done by who and at what time. It provides a flexible schedule for both the learners and teachers since it has relevant time outs. Another thing that makes the plan more appealing is that it is specific in nature since it has specific goals to be achieved during the instruction time. The benefit of using the activity matrix is that it helps the teacher and learner achieve the instruction’s goals collectively. The time allocated to each activity is sufficient enough to ensure that the students will be able to grasp what the teacher instructs. Another benefit of the matrix schedule is that it is not too demanding for the learners. The arrival time and departure time are well set to ensure that he learner retains the content learned in class, and they are not overworked since they are learners with disabilities. Although I consider the matrix as the best, it has one notable disadvantage. The afternoon session may be too long for the learners with a disability to concentrate for three consecutive learning sessions of an hour each.

3. What ideas have you taken from the resources, or share effective teaching-with-technology experiences and examples you have led with your learners?

In modern society, technology is one of the core elements that must be integrated with the school curriculum. It is a field that provides learners with immense career choices and makes learning as exciting as possible. When it comes to learners with a disability, the resources provided have demonstrated that education for such students is not impossible. From the resources provided, I have taken the idea that with technology, the people living with a disability can have a normal life just like other people. They can have a career and social life, just like other people within their families and society at large. Technology has powered the ability of people living with disabilities in extraordinary ways. Another idea I have picked from the resources is that technology allows the students to see beyond their imagination. Using technology to instruct students enables them to see through the virtue reality, a world that they could not see with their own eyes. The use of technology creates excitement in learners, which stimulates their need to learn more. The use of technology in the classroom makes learning an exciting activity for the learners and even the instructors making it easy to achieve the overall and specific goals of the lessons. Another idea from the resources is that the learners can be able to learn anything when they are subjected to the right quality of education. To learn anything exciting, students need to be subjected to school curriculums that incorporate modern technologies to aid their learning while in school. Such exposure to advanced technologies opens up the students to what the society expects from them in this era of technological advancement.