1. Practice II, Didactics of ELT
Prof .Estela N. Braun (2018)
STUDENT NAME: Martinez Ana Paula.
Feedback on Observation Folder. Expansion:
Many conditions can affect a student’s ability to fully participate in and benefit from
classroom activities. Some are physical in nature and immediately apparent, and some of
them are not obvious: for example, partial deafness, visual impairment, or speech-related
conditions. Other conditions are neurological in origin that are difficult to identify easily.
Moreover, all students, are special needs students: they have individual strengths and
weaknesses, and they develop and learn at different rates. However, “special needs
students” are children with conditions or disabilities that have a negative impact on their
ability to succeed in school. We are working in 1st
grade, and there is a little boy Santino
(Toretto as his partners name him) with a motor problem. He has serious difficulties to
write, or to understand certain instructions, and also, we discovered (working with Ana
Moreno) this student suffered a lot when he had to make activities where all the group had
to use a pair of scissors to complete the assigned task. In addition, a girl from 5th
grade
suffered from an illness that is called VISUAL AGNOSIA. Visual agnosia is an impairment in
recognition of visually presented objects. It is not due to a deficit in vision (acuity, visual
field, and scanning), language, memory, or intellect, but it is often due to damage to more
anterior cortex such as the posterior occipital and/or temporal lobe in the brain. The
teacher’s role is really important for these special needs students in order to give them the
best possible support without limiting the educational opportunities that the rest of the
class have. Indeed, we as teachers should contribute towards the well-being of the special
needs student by ensuring their safety, dignity, independence, access to education. This
kind of students needs to have the ssame rights, and opportunities as the rest of the group.
One important quality to mention, is the one about ACCEPTANCE. We are working with our
practicum in order to serve as models to our students. They will be looking to the teacher
all the time, and the attitude we take towards these type of students with a specif disability,
will be the key to establish a warm learning environment.
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