Opening The Classroom Door

Entry 6: Making it Tangible Presenting my topic allowed me to organize my ideas in a way that was understandable to others. I was able to synthesize my research and regroup my ideas. I did so in a PowerPoint slide show, which permitted me to see my ideas in a more structured way. I presented the use of the term adults with intellectual or developmental disability (IDD), which I feel better represents the population whose needs we are addressing. https://www.access.rsb.qc.ca/en/our-programs/adults-with-special-needs/ Some of the major takeaways from my research that I attempted to communicate is that 1) the goal of educating adults with IDD is to lead them to as much independence as possible and 2) that there are shortcomings and gaps in the research concerning the education of adults with IDD. As you already know, the starting point of my research into the teaching theories and methods for adults with IDD was my concern that many of the special needs resources are not age-

Entry 5: Setting the Stage for Self-Determination Photo by  Joyce McCown  on  Unsplash #cavabienaller A continuum of motivation in SDT. I've always struggled with the dichotomy between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation; therefore I find it very interesting to look at the continuum in motivation presented by the SDT-model. The continuum goes from amotivation to autonomous motivation. The model presents four subtypes. The two subtypes for extrinsic motivation or  controlled motivation   are  external motivation  - "take action to avoid punishment, to obey an external request, or to obtain a reward" - ,  introjected motivation  - "action to manage feelings of pride and worth, and to evade shame and guilt",  identified motivation  - "actions valued by the person", and  integrated motivation  - "actions that are fully endorsed by other behaviors and values of the person" (p.34-35). The two latter types, "along with intrinsic mot

Entry 4: Finding Motivation Me 'n the baby bump catching some sun rays while working. The sun motivated me to step outside the confines of my apartment.  As I was studying the commentary on motivation in work placements in the article entitled "A Conflict of Interests: A Motivational Perspective on Special Interests and Employment Success of Adults with ASD," I came to realize that, as pedagogues and educators, we are sometimes limited in our thinking. We get so focused on one approach that seems to work best, that we can sometimes forget to consider other approaches. In my experience, matching the special interests of students with ASD with the skills developed in class has been a practice in most special needs teachers' classrooms.  Although it isn't without its faults and doesn't mean that the student will want to carry out the tasks at hand, I've seen the approach yield positive results in terms of increased participation. At times, match

Entry 3: Doing my Best Introspection: I'm NOT okay, and it's okay. (This section is unrelated to my research findings or the project. It deals with how I'm dealing with current climate(?). Feel free to skip it.) I think it's impossible to separate myself from the work right now. The topic is one that I hold near and dear, and so I would be emotionally involved anyhow. Right now, my personal situation is further influencing my work. I am two and a half weeks away from my due date. I had planned to complete this assignment before now, but I haven't even been able to complete the research to my standard.  I haven't actually turned on my computer since the last time I posted an entry. How am I supposed to shut off the nagging voice in my mind and focus on the task at hand? I have been doing yoga since Monday and going for walks. It's a nice change since I was sick last week and couldn't muster up the energy to do much. [Good news: my cold has clear

Entry 2: Refining my Ideas  Some Interesting Literature and Relevant Research My Path to Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) My professional path, from the onset of my career, has consistently led me to students with special needs. I began my career with at-risk youth in high school. These were the students who engaged in high risk activities and were frequently removed from classes. I then had the opportunity to work with gifted students in Mexico, which presented its own set of pedagogical adjustments to foster to the students' needs. Fast forward to 2017, I began to teach Adults with special needs.  My greatest fear when I learned that I would be working with this group of students: that my pedagogical methods would be poorly suited to meeting their learning needs. As any good teacher would do, I started looking for resources. What I found: Balloons, puppies and unicorns. Perhaps they three weren't in every resource together, but ultimate

Entry 1: MY Special Topic: My Stream of Consciousness Choosing a special topic is always challenging for me. This entry will be much of a stream of consciousness, which will constitute my brainstorming session.  I've known that I wanted to be a teacher since the beginning of my academic journey. Of course in kindergarten, I KNEW I'd be a kindergarten teacher (and so on and so forth every time I had a teacher I loved.) Through different experiences such as fieldwork placements in recreation, student-teaching, and so on. I decided to teach high school students. When asked by my family members, who all thought I would be an amazing elementary school teacher because of the, for lack of a better word, "maternal" qualities that I displayed asked me why, I consistently said that some of those students deserved a second chance. They deserved guidance and support, when they may be getting dismissed already. Ultimately, I focused on at-risk youth very early in my tea