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Self Determination

Sean Laughlin

University of Kansas

SPED 898

Dr. Brasseur-Hock

June 22, 2020

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Self Determination

Lesson Plan Video: https://youtu.be/jVtNukuPphc

Introduction

The self-determination assignment throughout SPED 875 Practicum was a

fascinating assignment because we got to choose a student that we work with and help

them throughout the semester, focusing on a particular area of their learning; either

academically or behaviorally. Well, one thing led to another and by the end of the

semester I ended up working with three different students who had three different areas

being focused on. Throughout the semester, we were asked to create a process fit for that

student’s individual needs to help improve their habits. The final assignment is a video of

myself explaining each step of the self-determination process as well as what the final

results were.

Purpose

Working with special education students daily means understanding that each

individual student has different areas to improve in. This assignment really allowed me to

understand and think about creating the best environment for each student to meet his or

her needs. Adapting to meet their needs is a huge part of working with these students. In

the end, understanding each student and finding a way to make each student have success

is the ultimate goal.

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Revisions

This assignment was directly impacted by COVID-19, which is the reason I had

to get to a third student to complete the assignment. Weekly Zoom meetings were the

reason that this assignment even got finished now instead of in the fall so I put a lot of

time into it. Due to the commitment by myself and my student, Dr. Elford graded the

video 60/60 with only positive feedback how awesome it was that I could finish it last

semester so there are no revisions to be made.

What was learned

The self-determination assignment really allowed me to focus on each students’

needs and what needs to be accomplished to create a positive and effective learning

environment. My first student who I began to work with needed help staying focused in

class when the other students around him were off task. The second student I worked

with needed help in simply being motivated each day. He would often show up to school

with zero intentions to do any work and when he had that mentality, there was no work to

get done. Then the last student I worked with needed help finishing classes while being

quarantined. He needed to learn better reading strategies to finish those classes and

graduate.

This assignment was exciting for me because the students improved in an area

and I also improved in teaching by learning adaptability skills working from student to

student. When I was working with the student who is in the video, we had to meet

multiple times a week on Zoom so I could finish this assignment and so he could

graduate high school, which was really neat.