EDUC 2130 Lesson 6

In lesson 6 we talked about things we were good at. We also talked about things that we were not so good at. I feel like this lesson really made me reflect on myself a lot. I feel like it is good to have these moments of reflection. In my research for this lesson I learned all about different types of learning disabilities.

Think of something you are good at – something which you know you do well. (This may be an academic subject, but equally could be a hobby or skill – in short, anything at all that you're good at). Describe how you became good at this.
- I am really good in math. I knew very early on that I was good at math. I can remember all the way back to elementary school I was good with numbers. It was one of those things that just came naturally. I never had to study for any math class except for calculus in high school and pre-calculus in college.

Think of something you feel positive about – something which you like about yourself. This could be anything about yourself which tends to make you proud. Discuss how you know that you can be proud of this – in other words, upon what evidence is this positive feeling based?
- The number one thing that I like about myself is that I am a Christian. Not trying to be harsh or judgmental, but I look at a lot of people that I grew up with that never became Christians and I see the mess they’re in now and it makes be proud that I made the decision to be a Christian. I know I can be proud about this because a lot of the older people in my life are always telling me that they are proud of me for the way I live. I have an uncle that every time I see him he hugs me and tells me he’s proud of me. To me that means more than any other compliment I could ever receive.

Think of something which you don't do well! This could be the result of an unsuccessful learning experience, maybe long ago or maybe recently. Discuss each of the following: what went wrong, do you think, in your learning relating to this thing you do not do well? And who, if anyone, might have been to blame for this?
- I suck at bass fishing. I never even knew there was such a thing as bass fishing until I was in middle school. I had done a lot of fishing but the only type of fishing I’d done was catfish and brim. When I got into the last part of middle school one of my friends, Matt Griffis, took me bass fishing and I sucked. I believe my Dad is to blame, he never told us about bass fishing because he said they were nasty and too bony to eat.

Think of something you can indeed do well, but that you didn't want to learn at the time you learned it. This could be something like 'driving', 'swimming',' cooking' or, equally, it could relate to a particular area of academic study – perhaps 'statistics' or 'economics' and so on. Whatever it is, you're probably pleased now that you succeeded with it – it's likely to be useful to you now. Discuss what kept you going, so that you did indeed succeed in this particular episode of learning.
- I can now play tennis very well. When I was first approached about joining the tennis team I told the coaches, “No, that’s for girls.” I later in seventh grade joined the team and I was decent as far as hitting the ball and winning games, but I had no discipline therefore I was a risk at any match. When they first began teaching me fundamentals and conditioning I wanted to quit, I hated running and all the stupid drills we were doing. As the time went by and I stuck it out I became a really outstanding tennis player. I played in numerous tournaments around the state and even played varsity in the ninth grade. When I first began my tennis journey I hated the conditioning, but my Mama and Daddy told me that they didn’t raise no quitter so I had to stay out there and that’s what made me the tennis player I am today.

Summary:

Today I’ve discussed numerous different things, some that I’m good at and others that I’m not. Through this lesson I’ve reflected back on numerous different things during my life. I also thought back to when I was a child and some of the things that I was taught and others that I wasn’t. I believe it’s important to reflect back onto things and remind yourself of where those talents came from.

Research Question: What are five common types of learning disabilities?

Reference: http://www.csd.uconn.edu/fs_learning_disabilities.html

Research Analysis:

Through reading this lesson I became very interested into to what are different types of learning disabilities. My brother suffers from a learning disability and I’ve watched him in numerous classes to struggle to figure things out and require lots of extra help. I knew a little about his disorder, which is ADD, but I was curious about different ones that people suffer from.

The article I found discussed five different forms of learning disabilities. The first disorder they discuss is Dyslexia. This disorder is also known as the reading disorder, it is when people have trouble understanding words and numbers. The second one recorded in this article is Dyscalculia. This is a math disorder. I had no idea people actually suffer from a disorder that keeps them from learning math. The third one is Dysgraphia. This is a disorder of writing. People with this disorder have great difficulty putting words together to write anything.

The fourth disorder that is recorded by this article is the Auditory and Visual Processing Disorder. This disorder makes it very difficult for students to understand spoken language. The final disorder discussed in this article is the Non-verbal Learning Disability. This disorder makes it very difficult for students to use organization and to use visual aids to help students learn.

Research Summary:

Through this lesson I became very interested into learning disabilities that different people experience. Through this article I’ve found five new disorders I never knew existed before now. I hope that when I become a teacher I am better able to spot learning disabilities and get the students the attention they need.