Lesson 10

This week was test week, so it was a high stress week. We did a great review in class on Monday. I was surprised by how much I had retained a remembered. The review really helped me to pinpoint my strengths and realize what I really still needed to study. That was definitely what helped me learn the most this week. I reviewed all of the class powerpoints multiple times to help review and study.
Wenesday we didn't have class so I stayed in the library for a few hours studying for the test. I also studied Tuesday and Thursday for hours at a time. Friday I took the test. I actually went in around 11:45, thinking that would be plenty of time before class, but when I came out to go to class it was 1:20. The test had a lot of reading to go with some of the questions and I think that is why it took me longer. I also kept getting certain court cases confused with other ones. I didn't do very well on the test but I also knew I had been gone from class a lot so this would probably be my worst test score.
In the reading for this week we learned how to help students be independent learners. It was a great chapter because many of the strategies they discuss are things I myself can work on and become better at. They had different strategies for problem solving skills in math, which is my worst subject. Some of the strategies actually made a lot of sense and I wrote them down for future reference.
Overall, this week was filled with studying and more studying.
One thing I want to point is how much I am able to connect what I am learning in this class to students I work with at the elementary school. A couple of students do have ADHD and quite a few of them have some kind of learning disability. I have been able to take some of the techniques and strategies from the INCLUDE model to help students get their homework done. It may not be a classroom setting, but the INCLUDE model helps me be able to stop and think what I can do to help a specific child with their learning disability. For example, one child is incredibly good at math but struggles with writing and spelling. One of his favorite things to do is build with legos. So, we started incorporating legos into his spelling homework. He builds the letters with legos and we spell out the words. Then he is able to look at the word he built and write it out. He has improved so much in just a few weeks! ]
It is so exciting to see a student progress. My future plans aren't to be a school teacher, but I can't wait to see the progress in my therapy students.