Masters in Education produces seeds & growth: By Kevin Pielak

Goal 1   
To increase my understanding of the characteristics of students with disabilities.
If the gardener understands the different characteristics of the plants in his garden he will then be able to give the plant the proper soil, nourishment, water and sunlight so that it may thrive. The same is true for the teacher if the teacher understands the different characteristics of the students he has with special needs he will then be able to teach them so they will flourish. During my time at UBC I was able to take many courses that taught me about the different characteristics of the disabilities students have. Following are some artifacts that I produced or I produced with a group of students in some of these classes.

For my first artifact, (EPSE 512) was a poster produced with Saddiqua Bacchus showing us what the difference is between disabilities considered low incidence and high incidence.

For my
second artifact, (EPSE 317) I worked with a group of students on a PowerPoint presentation. That dealt with the characteristics of high incidence exceptionalities, such as; ADHD, anxiety depression disorders, psychotic behavior disorders, aggressive behavior and conduct disorder. This is a good slideshow that illustrates the different characteristics of these disorders.

For my
third artifact, (EPSE 317) I researched deaf culture so that I would have a better understanding of the characteristics of this disability.