Teachers in Action Project

Tara RhoneJuly 20, 2011

EEX 4070

Introduction to the Host Setting• Fruitland Park Elementary, Autistic Unit I was at the

school for 5 days for 5 hours each day which was a total of 25 hours

• This was an Elementary school. This particular class had a total of 5 students in it.

• This Autistic unit had 2 boys and 3 girls the 3 girls went to an inclusion classroom for part of the day.

Engagement Activities• I decided to go to Fruitland Park Elementary because I

worked at this school in the past and knew they had 2 autistic units. I wanted to engage myself in this classroom to see if it was something I wanted to pursue

• I was involved in many activities. One day we did crafts that Home Depot donated this was a couple hour project. I helped a student with counting and color sorting. I went to PE with the students. I spent a hole day doing field day with this class.

• I spent about 25 hour in this classroom helping and working with students with Autism and the teachers.

Participant Demographics• The Autistic unit consists of students from grades 1-3 • All the students were Caucasian• The participants considered persons with disabilities

according to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act because they are labeled Autistic

• Specifically how many persons with disabilities did your project involve or serve 5- 18 the one day I helped with the Home Depot project which included all the ESE classrooms

First day , my observation

Tool time

Reading Directions

Helping out

My buddy

Older Students

Two hands are better than one

Day Three

The girls

Field Day Fun

Field Day Fun Day 4

After Field Day

Color sorting and countingDay 5

Circle Time

Circle Time Cont.

Connections to Your Course• For what EEX course were you enrolled in Teachers in

Action? EEX 4070• What three course topics do you better understand now?

Collaboration between Educators and families, Adapting a lesson and adapting the learning enviornment.

• Just observing the teachers interacting with the students and asking questions of the students and teachers helped me better understand what happens in this particular classroom.

• I want to go back into an Autistic Unit to see if teaching Autistic students is for me. After these 5 days my first instinct was no but there is so much more to be learned.

Civic Engagement• One aspect of service-learning is to show the power and

importance of being civically engaged. This was a time for me to interact and help out with students I knew little about. When my service learning was over I defiantly walked away with a better outlook on student’s with disabilities.

• What purposes do you think civic engagement serves in society, for all citizens including those with disabilities? I think it makes the population better aware of the people around them and how to better serve the community

Civic Engagement Cont. •What thoughts do you have about service-learning as a method of learning? I think it is a wonderful teaching method. I wasn’t so thrilled at first but now that its done and I can look back on the experience it was worth every minute.

•Did this experience motivate you to be more engaged in the future? Yes it has motivated me to become more active in my community and students with disabilities

•Would you encourage teachers and students to embrace service-learning in the future? Why/why not? Yes I would encourage students to embrace service learning because it is a learning experience and its out of the box of regular service learning.

My reflections