Finding Teaching Resources
Go to the website iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu. Hover over “Resources”; then click IRIS Resource Locator. Under “topic,” click Disability. You will see several choices – modules, activities, information briefs, interviews, video vignettes. Explore those for a few minutes to see what is available.
Then pick a topic of your choice under the “information briefs” category.
Select the topic based on a problem you are needing to address in the classroom or that is just an area of interest to you (Examples: Autism, ADHD, Learning Disability, Traumatic Brain Injury, etc.).
After reviewing the information brief, look for activities, modules, interviews and/or video vignettes that would be useful in helping you teach a student with that disability. Spend 45 minutes to an hour investigating the materials available on that topic.
Write a paper that contains the following components:
A summary of information about the disability you chose that would be useful for a teacher to know. Point out specific characteristics of that particular disabled population and discuss how knowing this information can inform a regular classroom teacher on the proper instructional approaches to try.
A description of an activity you found that might be useful to try in your classroom.
Include detail about the strategy, what kind of student it would benefit, and your plan for integrating use of that activity or strategy into your instructional process and/or lesson plans.
A summary of a module OR interview OR video vignettes that you watched (in part or whole). Include implications for your teaching when you encounter a student with that particular disability or needs.
A paragraph related to the implications for modifying your instruction based on what you have learned about students with learning differences that are severe enough to be formally labeled as a disability.
