Response to discussion 6

Carolyn

Part A.  The main misconception that I have had about dyslexia is that the students cannot learn because they don’t try.  “Dyslexia is the result of neurological difference beyond the control of the student.  Motivation is not usually the primary problem for the student with dyslexia but may become a secondary problem because of continued lack of success in academic endeavors” (Burnham, 2010).  What I have learned is that there are several things that educators need to know to help students with dyslexia. The components of dyslexia-specific instruction include instruction for the deficits and challenges in phonemic awareness, systematic phonics, language structure, and linguistics.  Also, decoding, encoding, word identification, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension procedures or methods for abilities that kids need to become independent readers should be taught openly and directly.

Part B.  Outcomes for Intellectually Gifted Education Programs 2017 identifies the main objectives focus on thinking skills, creativity, information literacy, communication skills, affective skills, and success skills.  The key features of the Mississippi College and Career Ready Standards include reading, writing, speaking and listening, and language.  “The overreaching competency for intellectually gifted programs is metacognition, a process skill requiring mastery and use of many other process skills” (MS Department of Education, 2017).  While learning, students should be conscious of the mental processes they employ. They should also learn to self-regulate and supervise their own learning so that they may adjust as needed. In directing metacognitive activities and gifted training, this cognitive objective should be the major focus.  The main difference seems to be the skills that will be used for teaching and mastering the objectives. For the gifted students, the skills are creative-based, and the college and career standards are reading, and comprehension based

Sarah

Part A: Discuss the misconceptions you had about dyslexia before looking at the Mississippi Best Practices Dyslexia Handbook. Then discuss what you learned from the handbook that will inform your future instructional decisions for students with reading difficulties.

        In the lecture, Dr. Simmons defined Dyslexia as a learning disability that is of neurological origin. In other words, students have difficulty with print such as sight words, fluent reading, spelling(decoding), and leading to comprehension problems (Mariella, Simmons, 2022). Before looking at the Mississippi Best Practices Dyslexia Handbook, one of my misconceptions about Dyslexia was students will outgrow Dyslexia. I did not realize Dyslexia is a lifetime disability. I thought at some point in life, dyslexia would end with help. However, the Mississippi Best Practices Dyslexia Handbook, stated, “Students with dyslexia can overcome some of their academic difficulties with early identification and intervention but they will always have dyslexia”(Mississippi Best Practices Dyslexia Handbook).

        In the handbook, I read multiple helpful ways to assist students who are diagnosed with Dyslexia to meet their potential. I would attend workshops that are offered through the school to advance my knowledge of Dyslexia. I would modify my lesson plans to meet the student’s need to learn the same material as the other students. I would use the step-by-step reading strategies, small group, dependent buddy, hand on hand materials such as audiotape, and student’s checklist to check off what they have completed and highlight important words. As a teacher, I would strive to teach any student with a disability or no disability to meet the school curriculum requirements.     

Part B: Compare/contrast the outcomes included in the Outcomes for Intellectually Gifted Education Programs 2017 to your general knowledge about the Mississippi College and Career Ready Standards. Share a strategy you will use in the future (or have used) to differentiate instruction so that gifted students are challenged appropriately in your classroom.

         I understand that gifted students need to be challenged to reach their potential. The Federal definition states, “Students, children or youth who give evidence of high achievement capability in areas such as intellectual, creative, artistic, or leadership capacity, or in specific academic fields, and who need services and activities not ordinarily provided by the school in order to fully develop those capabilities” (Outcomes for Intellectually).

         To help “gifted students” to meet their potential, I would differentiate the lesson plan to challenge their thinking skills. I would create assignments that associate with problem-based learning. I would group gifted students together to challenge each other. I would implement literature circles and in-depth projects that require the application of content to everyday life. I believe that giving “gifted students” challenging tasks allows them to pursue higher development of connecting with real-life situations.

Gabriel

I found several useful pieces of information relating to dyslexia in the Mississippi Best Practices Dyslexia Handbook.  I was unaware that this learning disability was lifelong, however it was stated that those who suffer can improve and for the most part overcome the difficulties that this disability can bring to those who have it.  I also thought that it was interesting that teachers can see signs and diagnose possible candidates whom may suffer from dyslexia at ages as early as kindergarten.  It was noted that the sooner they are diagnosed the higher the probability of success that they have in overcoming the potential barriers this disability can cause students to face.  It is also very important that we are effectively engaged and educating our students and on the lookout for students who may be showing signs of having dyslexia.  It was stated that those whom have this learning disability can see the negative effects and setbacks increase with ineffective teaching thus making it more difficult to recover lost ground as a result of this.

As for students who are classified as gifted within the classroom, I look forward to challenging and helping these students achieve their full potential inside the classroom while preparing them to succeed in their future academic trials as well.  There are several similarities to the standards for both gifted students as well as those who are not labeled as gifted.  All of the skills that gifted students are to be guided on and expected to apply are also skills that we try to encourage amongst all of our students.  Those "gifted" students are simply more advanced and reached a level in which this type of thinking is accelerated and expected thus further emphasized amongst this group of students.  I myself was once involved in a program such as this.  Myself and several other "gifted" peers would take time out of the day and spend about an hour with each other working on subjects more focused around creating and in-depth analysis type thinking like that in architecture, computer design, and engineering.  I thoroughly enjoyed this time each day and looked forward to the interaction with my peers as well as coming together to solve the challenges our educators would challenge us with each day.