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Fat City Workshop Insights and Reflections

This workshop video from the past showed how difficult it can be to understand the perspectives of those with learning disabilities. The director created an anxiety-inducing scenario that helped the participants quickly understand the challenges. He emphasized not treating special needs children like they are "stupid". The reflection discusses how important it is for all teachers to be prepared to support students with special needs, and lists 5 techniques from the workshop that could help, such as allowing time to process questions and distinguishing distraction from attention. The participant felt grateful for gaining insights that will help in their future education career.

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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
57 views2 pages

Fat City Workshop Insights and Reflections

This workshop video from the past showed how difficult it can be to understand the perspectives of those with learning disabilities. The director created an anxiety-inducing scenario that helped the participants quickly understand the challenges. He emphasized not treating special needs children like they are "stupid". The reflection discusses how important it is for all teachers to be prepared to support students with special needs, and lists 5 techniques from the workshop that could help, such as allowing time to process questions and distinguishing distraction from attention. The participant felt grateful for gaining insights that will help in their future education career.

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© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Fat City Workshop Reflection

“How Difficult Can It Be?”


Chance Wenck
December 16th 2021

This workshop video was very interesting to me from the start just because how older the
video and group of active members were in the study and how this information and research was
already being done back then and I believe it has led to the leaps and bounds that have been
made since that time in education development.
When the director first started with explaining what would happen and that if anyone is
uncomfortable they can be out at anytime and to not role play like special needs children because
the upcoming activity work will be difficult enough and it didn’t take long for the adults to
understand what he meant. From the beginning how he made a situation of anxiety right away
and made everyone even the watcher be able to feel it and how they became like deer in
headlights was notable and how they because special needs stupid level within the first 6
minutes. Aslo once he accepted “I Don’t Knows” the next 4 followed was neat to allowed will
then be followed in high anxiety situations. Also the “EARTH TO CAROL EARTH TO
CAROL!!!” how everyone but Carol will forget about it with in five minutes but that will stick
with her for days. I do that way to much with my own kids when they don’t listen and at home
and made me realize it’s not ok and the damage it can cause. This was all within the first section
of the activity it was so eye opening it honestly stuck with me the most and made everything else
make so much more sense just because we audience was put in such a state so quickly it made
everything else so easy to understand through the eyes of learning disabilities then and now.
When it comes to me being a teacher in the future I don’t plan on having a major part of
my career be within the special needs department but from subbing at Fairview and having the
opportunity to fill that void of a special ed teacher for almost a month it showed me that every
teacher now and the past and the future will have a student with some level of special needs in
their classroom and it is important to learn and be educated about how to include first of all and
second of all develop those students as well as keeping the rest of the class comfortable with the
room situations and be able to continue their education planned curriculum as the school year
progresses. It is a very dynamic idea that every teacher should be ready to face with a positive
foot forward mentality.
Five techniques I will try implement in my future classroom that will help with students
or needs and students in general are as follows.
1. Time to process questions
2. Distraction VS Attention
3. Words VS Meanings
4. Associative and Cognitive Tasks
5. Seeing VS Perception
I feel that every technique mentioned during the video and class examples can be helpful
in some way within a classroom or sometimes even at home if there is ever problems with
children and trying to help them progress through understanding what they are being shown or
taught. I am very thankful I watched the videos and did this project because I did learn a lot and I
will take this with me forward into my future of education.

Common questions

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Implementing the strategies discussed in the workshop can significantly enhance a teacher's career by making them more adaptable and responsive to diverse classroom needs. By fostering a more empathetic and inclusive environment, teachers can facilitate better student engagement and achievement, which might also reflect positively on their teaching evaluations and career growth .

The educator's response to a student's 'I Don't Know' answer can either mitigate or exacerbate classroom anxiety. Accepting such answers without judgment helps reduce anxiety by creating an environment where students feel safe to express uncertainty, thereby possibly encouraging further attempts without the fear of embarrassment or negative repercussions .

Future educators can derive from the workshop's emphasis on empathy, understanding, and responsive interaction that emotional intelligence is crucial for recognizing and addressing students' feelings of anxiety or insecurity. Developing these skills enables teachers to support a more emotionally safe and thus effective learning environment, which is pivotal for student success .

The phrase 'EARTH TO CAROL EARTH TO CAROL!!!' is used in the workshop to exemplify how seemingly minor incidents can have long-term emotional effects on students. While others may forget such incidents soon, the person who is the target of such mockery or overly casual remarks might remember and internalize them, affecting their self-esteem and emotional well-being for an extended period .

'Associative and Cognitive Tasks' can be applied to enhance student learning by linking new information with existing knowledge and encouraging higher-order thinking. This approach involves using tasks that require students to make connections across different concepts, which enriches understanding and retention .

The workshop suggests addressing the contrast between distraction and attention by understanding the factors that compete for students' attention. Teachers are encouraged to create focused learning environments and employ strategies that differentiate between productive attention and distracting elements, thereby helping students maintain concentration on educational tasks .

'Words VS Meanings' underscores the importance of ensuring that educators communicate not just the words but the intended meanings behind them to students. This is critical in education for preventing misunderstandings and ensuring that students grasp the true essence of lessons, supporting better learning outcomes .

The workshop's insights suggest that teaching students with special needs should involve creating a supportive, anxiety-reduced learning environment that accommodates diverse learning paces and styles. Tools like patient dialogue, strategic questioning, and empathetic engagement reduce anxiety and foster an inclusive atmosphere conducive to all students' educational growth .

The workshop 'How Difficult Can It Be?' vividly demonstrates the impact of anxiety on learning and perception by simulating high-pressure situations that participants find themselves in, akin to what students with learning disabilities experience. Participants became 'deer in headlights,' feeling overwhelmed and unable to process information, illustrating how anxiety can significantly impair cognitive functions and retention in educational settings .

The workshop recommends giving students ample time to process questions to improve understanding and response quality. This strategy is important as it alleviates the pressure often associated with quick responses, allowing students to engage with the material more deeply and thoughtfully, enhancing learning outcomes .

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