STANDARD 1

At my current school completing my part-time internship, a student in my Year 2 class has a visual-impairment that requires us to make many adjustments to accommodate for his needs. In order to seek ‘knowledge and understanding’ and maximise his learning opportunities, I sought advice from the Learning Support Officer (LSO) who has worked alongside the student for a few years. Brown and Beamish (2012) state that “the changing role and daily practice of teachers of students with visual impairments cannot be overlooked in today’s demanding educational contexts” (p. 90). To ‘meet the specific learning needs’ of this student, we made adjustments to his learning through both changes to the physical environment, such as minimising light exposure, and the way in which learning is delivered, like enlarging printed tasks (1.5.1). The inclusion of such students in the classroom is likely to “increase academic motivation and self-esteem for all learners and promote a sense of belonging for those students with learning needs” (Ajuwon, Sarraj, Griffin-Shirley, Lechtenberger & Zhou, 2015, p. 133).

 

I have ‘differentiated teaching’ by ensuring he is seated at the front of the class, using CCTV to enlarge tasks, assigning him to be the front-line leader for his classroom job and asking him to often touch the interactive board to keep him stimulated. These strategies increase his motivation and skills, and we often alternate between providing tasks with Braille and English to support his language development. The Alice Springs Declaration suggests that teachers should create learning environments where all students can overcome barriers and explore individual experiences, abilities and interests (Department of Education, 2019). I have achieved this in the classroom by allowing the student to be as self-sufficient as possible, giving constant praise, asking him to share his classwork and engaging in conversation about his interests. In the future, I will continue to seek guidance from the LSO to meet the needs of all learners in my classroom.

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