Deanne Woityra's Special Education Showcase
Special education has always been an interest of mine. I believe that all students can and will learn in an environment that meets their needs. Even though I find myself in a unique teaching situation, all of the knowledge and resources I have acquired through my journey in the Master of Arts in Education (MAED) program and my special education concentration courses have helped me gain a better understanding of how to reach ALL of my students.
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Special Education Resources
My first course in the MAED program initiated my curiosity for web design. In CEP 840, I created my first googlesites website that highlighted my many achievements throughout the semester. The projects I am most proud of from this course that display my new found knowledge on special education are the following: a hearing impairment fast fact sheet (that explains what hearing impairment is, offers tips for general educators and provides additional resources), a webpage on adaptive physical education (with information on APE and the role of the APE teacher), and a webpage on inclusion in the classroom (that provides information on what inclusion is, how it looks in a classroom along with advantages/disadvantages).
Time Management for All Learners
As my final for CEP 841, I was asked to create a special topics project that focused on an area of study that met my unique classroom management needs. I chose to center my project on time management because it fit my unique teaching situation and also provided educators and people alike with useful information, tips, facts, and additional resources to help conquer classroom time management. I created my very first weebly website and my technology journey continued with a successful resource.
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Teaching Students with Mild Learning Disabilities in Mathematics
In conclusion to my special education concentration, I was able to develop many special education resources as part of the three core projects of the course. With all of the acronyms, learning disabilities, and special education resources available to administrators, educators, parents, and students, I was able to create a technology based digital archive that organized all of my resources into one central location. Also, I firmly believe that educators can and will learn from one another and collaboration is key in one’s success. For my final core project in CEP 842, I created a collaborative professional development program that focused on learning disabilities in mathematics. Since our group shared a common passion for mathematics and special education, each member of the group was able to contribute specific knowledge and personal experiences, which made for an even more valuable resource. This professional development project definitely challenged my web designing abilities.
Learning Disability Literacy Case Study
For one of my elective courses (TE 846), I completed a case study on a student who struggled with reading. This project really hit close to home because my case study student reminded me of myself when I was younger. I created and implemented two literacy lessons. The first lesson focused on choosing “Just Right Books” and the second lesson focused on reading fluency and comprehension. These lessons helped guide the student towards a new found love for literacy, which was one of my greatest rewards so far as an educator.
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