Unit 3: Building Community
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Unit 3: Building Community
Jordan B, Derek G, Monica G, Natashia P
BRIEFING PAPER -- THOM There are some evident problems in the classroom that involve Thom. Thom has permission to eat his healthy snacks during the class periods. However, this is not the case because Thom is bringing in candy and not bringing in healthy snacks. The reason why he brings food into the classroom is because he has eating issues in which he can only eat certain foods and sizes which requires more time. Instead, Thom gives out his candy rather than eating it for himself. The kids in the classroom pick up on this and have become distracted from classroom activities. The teacher assigns a challenge at the start of class and the students only have a limited time to complete the task with a partner. The kids become distracted with Thom’s candy and don’t end up focusing their attention to the challenge. However, as a result of Thom handing out candy, students seem to be including him in group activities. THE PROBLEM? The teacher is concerned that if Thom stops handing out candy, the social interaction between Thom and the classmates will be lost.
•
How do we develop relationships with the students?
•
How can the teacher refocus their attention on the activity?
•
How is Thom going to be included if he does not give out his candy?
•
How do we approach Thom in a positive manner and tell him how handing out his candy has become a distraction?
WHAT ARE THE OPTIONS? 1. Cut the candy off and tell Thom he can no longer bring in any food. If the candy is cut off, and Thom can no longer bring in any snacks, there are several outcomes. While some problems may be solved, other problems may be created. The issue of class distraction will be reduced, as students will not see the need to get their treats from Thom. However, the elimination of the snack will be a big change to Thom, and can affect him negatively. According to the Autism Society of Canada, many people on the Autism spectrum may be challenged with other health concerns, such as Gastro-intestinal problems, in addition to issues with eating, chewing, and swallowing (Autism Society of Canada, 2009). Individuals like Thom may also need to take a little longer eating meals, as they follow their eating patterns, and routines. (ASOC, 2009) Some individuals on the Autism Spectrum will only eat foods that are in a certain flavour category, such as salty or sweet (Wheeler, M. 2004) As all cases of Autism are different, Thom has an individualized eating plan. When his prescribed snack is removed from his schedule, some of these issues may be aggravated. While the rest of the students will not be distracted, Thom may be too focused on his unfinished lunch, and not be able to complete his challenge.
Unit 3: Building Community
Jordan B, Derek G, Monica G, Natashia P
2. We let him keep the candy and tell him that he can’t share his candy. If Thom is allowed to eat his unhealthy snacks, but not allowed to share with the rest of the class, there may be more than just health risk involved. As stated in option 1, the unhealthy snacks may aggravate any Gastro-intestinal or eating problems, but the separation from the rest of the class can hinder any inclusive learning, as it will show individual favoritism. The Autism society of Canada mentions that interactions with peers are very important for students with autism, and that there are many learning strategies that can be used to achieve this. For example, a classroom may use peer tutoring, group projects, or a buddy system to help integrate all the students together (Autism Society of Canada, 2009) If Thom is segregated because of his snacks, it may be more destructive to his learning, than allowing him to share with the class. Both ways, this option can be hard on both Thom, and the rest of the class, and there is still no motivation for them to complete their daily challenges.
3. The teacher will give out snacks once a week on Friday and we could integrate Thom into the snack treats by getting him to hand it out. The snack will only be offered every Friday if the students complete all of the challenges. The teacher will pull Thom aside and ask him to bring in healthy snacks instead of candy. If all students receive a snack on a Friday after all the challenges are completed, there would also be several outcomes. If Thom is still permitted to have his own snack every day, he would be able to keep control of his eating issues as long as it is a healthy snack. The rest of the class will not feel left out because they will get their own snack on Friday, given they finish all their daily challenges. However, this option may be hard on the other students who feel it is unfair that Thom receives a snack everyday regardless if he finishes his challenge or not. In that case, Thom may again need to deal with the social consequences.
DECIDE ON ACTIONS: As a group we choose option number 3. We chose this method because it’s less a distraction for the class and it offers a reward for encouraging students to complete there challenge. This gives an opportunity for students to be motivated to complete their tasks and look forward to an award at the end of the week. “Group rewards and individual accountability are held to be essential to the instructional effectiveness of cooperative learning methods (Slavin, R., 1983, P. 34).” When rewarding a student, the motivation and drive to learn increases as well. Providing simple items like candy would be beneficial in practical teaching methods. When working in groups, the teacher may want to go over some different teaching methodologies to include Thom in the group and give everyone an equal opportunity to be involved. “…the reward that offers the greatest potential for both classrooms and workshops is the basic human need for social validation. Everyone wants to feel they can offer something of value to others. Thus, by creating a situation where the output from group work will be scrutinized and challenged by peers from other groups, we are creating an environment that promotes both group cohesiveness and learning (Michaelsen L, 1997).” Thom can be included in both the group activities this way he is still interacted with the other classmates by being the student to hand out candy. Students will still maintain a relationship with the student if the teacher initiates Thom to hand out the candy.
Unit 3: Building Community
Jordan B, Derek G, Monica G, Natashia P
References:
Autism Society of Canada (2009). General Characteristics of Autism. Retrieved from: http://www.autismsocietycanada.ca/understanding_autism/characteristi cs_of_asc/index_e.html Manitoba Education, Citizenship and Youth (2007). Success for all learners: a handbook on differentiating instruction. Winnipeg, MB: Author. Michaelsen, Larry K. (1997) Designing effective group activities: lessons for classroom teaching and faculty development. Faculty, Instrucion and Organizational Development. Dezure, D. (Ed.). Stillwater OK: New Forums. Updike, Mary-Ann (2009). Messages of Misbehaviour [PDF Document]. Retrieved from: http://introtoinclusivespecialed.pbworks.com/f/Class %2016-150.pdf Wheeler, Marci (2004). Mealtime and children on the Autism Spectrum: beyond picky, fussy, and fads. Indiana Resource Centre for Austism. Retrieved from: http://www.iidc.indiana.edu/irca/Medical/mealtime.html Slavin, Robert E (1983). When does cooperative learning increase student achievement? Psychological Bulletin 93 (3), p. 429 – 445.
Unit 3: Building Community
Jordan B, Derek G, Monica G, Natashia P
Jordan B, Derek G, Monica G, Natashia P
BRIEFING PAPER -- THOM There are some evident problems in the classroom that involve Thom. Thom has permission to eat his healthy snacks during the class periods. However, this is not the case because Thom is bringing in candy and not bringing in healthy snacks. The reason why he brings food into the classroom is because he has eating issues in which he can only eat certain foods and sizes which requires more time. Instead, Thom gives out his candy rather than eating it for himself. The kids in the classroom pick up on this and have become distracted from classroom activities. The teacher assigns a challenge at the start of class and the students only have a limited time to complete the task with a partner. The kids become distracted with Thom’s candy and don’t end up focusing their attention to the challenge. However, as a result of Thom handing out candy, students seem to be including him in group activities. THE PROBLEM? The teacher is concerned that if Thom stops handing out candy, the social interaction between Thom and the classmates will be lost.
•
How do we develop relationships with the students?
•
How can the teacher refocus their attention on the activity?
•
How is Thom going to be included if he does not give out his candy?
•
How do we approach Thom in a positive manner and tell him how handing out his candy has become a distraction?
WHAT ARE THE OPTIONS? 1. Cut the candy off and tell Thom he can no longer bring in any food. If the candy is cut off, and Thom can no longer bring in any snacks, there are several outcomes. While some problems may be solved, other problems may be created. The issue of class distraction will be reduced, as students will not see the need to get their treats from Thom. However, the elimination of the snack will be a big change to Thom, and can affect him negatively. According to the Autism Society of Canada, many people on the Autism spectrum may be challenged with other health concerns, such as Gastro-intestinal problems, in addition to issues with eating, chewing, and swallowing (Autism Society of Canada, 2009). Individuals like Thom may also need to take a little longer eating meals, as they follow their eating patterns, and routines. (ASOC, 2009) Some individuals on the Autism Spectrum will only eat foods that are in a certain flavour category, such as salty or sweet (Wheeler, M. 2004) As all cases of Autism are different, Thom has an individualized eating plan. When his prescribed snack is removed from his schedule, some of these issues may be aggravated. While the rest of the students will not be distracted, Thom may be too focused on his unfinished lunch, and not be able to complete his challenge.
Unit 3: Building Community
Jordan B, Derek G, Monica G, Natashia P
2. We let him keep the candy and tell him that he can’t share his candy. If Thom is allowed to eat his unhealthy snacks, but not allowed to share with the rest of the class, there may be more than just health risk involved. As stated in option 1, the unhealthy snacks may aggravate any Gastro-intestinal or eating problems, but the separation from the rest of the class can hinder any inclusive learning, as it will show individual favoritism. The Autism society of Canada mentions that interactions with peers are very important for students with autism, and that there are many learning strategies that can be used to achieve this. For example, a classroom may use peer tutoring, group projects, or a buddy system to help integrate all the students together (Autism Society of Canada, 2009) If Thom is segregated because of his snacks, it may be more destructive to his learning, than allowing him to share with the class. Both ways, this option can be hard on both Thom, and the rest of the class, and there is still no motivation for them to complete their daily challenges.
3. The teacher will give out snacks once a week on Friday and we could integrate Thom into the snack treats by getting him to hand it out. The snack will only be offered every Friday if the students complete all of the challenges. The teacher will pull Thom aside and ask him to bring in healthy snacks instead of candy. If all students receive a snack on a Friday after all the challenges are completed, there would also be several outcomes. If Thom is still permitted to have his own snack every day, he would be able to keep control of his eating issues as long as it is a healthy snack. The rest of the class will not feel left out because they will get their own snack on Friday, given they finish all their daily challenges. However, this option may be hard on the other students who feel it is unfair that Thom receives a snack everyday regardless if he finishes his challenge or not. In that case, Thom may again need to deal with the social consequences.
DECIDE ON ACTIONS: As a group we choose option number 3. We chose this method because it’s less a distraction for the class and it offers a reward for encouraging students to complete there challenge. This gives an opportunity for students to be motivated to complete their tasks and look forward to an award at the end of the week. “Group rewards and individual accountability are held to be essential to the instructional effectiveness of cooperative learning methods (Slavin, R., 1983, P. 34).” When rewarding a student, the motivation and drive to learn increases as well. Providing simple items like candy would be beneficial in practical teaching methods. When working in groups, the teacher may want to go over some different teaching methodologies to include Thom in the group and give everyone an equal opportunity to be involved. “…the reward that offers the greatest potential for both classrooms and workshops is the basic human need for social validation. Everyone wants to feel they can offer something of value to others. Thus, by creating a situation where the output from group work will be scrutinized and challenged by peers from other groups, we are creating an environment that promotes both group cohesiveness and learning (Michaelsen L, 1997).” Thom can be included in both the group activities this way he is still interacted with the other classmates by being the student to hand out candy. Students will still maintain a relationship with the student if the teacher initiates Thom to hand out the candy.
Unit 3: Building Community
Jordan B, Derek G, Monica G, Natashia P
References:
Autism Society of Canada (2009). General Characteristics of Autism. Retrieved from: http://www.autismsocietycanada.ca/understanding_autism/characteristi cs_of_asc/index_e.html Manitoba Education, Citizenship and Youth (2007). Success for all learners: a handbook on differentiating instruction. Winnipeg, MB: Author. Michaelsen, Larry K. (1997) Designing effective group activities: lessons for classroom teaching and faculty development. Faculty, Instrucion and Organizational Development. Dezure, D. (Ed.). Stillwater OK: New Forums. Updike, Mary-Ann (2009). Messages of Misbehaviour [PDF Document]. Retrieved from: http://introtoinclusivespecialed.pbworks.com/f/Class %2016-150.pdf Wheeler, Marci (2004). Mealtime and children on the Autism Spectrum: beyond picky, fussy, and fads. Indiana Resource Centre for Austism. Retrieved from: http://www.iidc.indiana.edu/irca/Medical/mealtime.html Slavin, Robert E (1983). When does cooperative learning increase student achievement? Psychological Bulletin 93 (3), p. 429 – 445.
Unit 3: Building Community
Jordan B, Derek G, Monica G, Natashia P
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