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Special Needs - 1- Applying Strategies and Best Practices

Special Needs - 1- Applying Strategies and Best Practices

Kali has recently been diagnosed with Lupus. The last few weeks, she has an inconsistent login history for your class due to her medical challenges. Kali is also behind on assignments, and she emailed about making up the work she missed while she was absent. Her medical diagnosis and absences have been verified and her absences have been medically excused. 

One difficulty that Kali may have in an online class is time management.  Having to balance possibly more than one online class due to her medical issues as well as doctors appointments can prevent her from getting everything done that she needs to.  In addition, having multiple online classes may put her in a position to prioritize one over the other for the sake of passing to graduate.  As a consequence, some classes may fall by the wayside.   

One specific strategy to help Kali would be constant communication not only with her but also her caregivers.  I need to be informed as her teacher of the progress she is making but also need to be informed about her personal issues (to an extent) so I can be empathetic to her experience.  With the communication piece comes flexibility as a second strategy.  The point is for the student to show mastery of knowledge.  Late work is a behavioral issue, not learning issue.  Therefore we would need to workout a plan of action to make sure she can complete all of the necessary assignments to master the content that would not be as strenuously followed as applies to other students.

Joyce has accommodations for an Emotional/Behavioral Disorder. Her mother informed you that Joyce's specific diagnosis is Anxiety and Depression, and she sometimes does not respond well to correction. She plagiarized a large section of her essay for your class this week. How would you support her? How will you handle this situation?

One issue that Joyce may have as an online learner is posting etiquette with the online discussions as far as sharing too much or improperly responding to classmates.  Especially in my course (Psychology), students can overshare because they identify with the material.  Additionally she may have difficulty in accepting low grades that may be a product of needing ore direct discussion.  Once a student becomes distressed with grades, learned helplessness can occur.  

In order to help Joyce in this situation, I do think it best to have an open, verbal conversation including a caregiver.  Having a support system with ensure it is expressed in a manner that does not seem to be attacking her.  Additionally I think it necessary to highlight the positive while also delivering the negative, i.e. giving her another chance to demonstrate her knowledge and acknowledging that the incident was a growth experience. 
ost in your blog: What are two difficulties each student may be experiencing in their online class? What are two best practices or specific strategies that might be helpful. Y

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