I'M DONNNNNEE

I'M DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Portfolio put together, edited, reflective essay done, contents done, ect.

DONE DONE DONE!

Last blog ever...woooooooooooooooo

more progress stuff

I worked on the final paper some more - mostly put in the sources (after friday's discussion over how to do that), did some grammar and structure stuff, reworded some sentances. It's better, but it's still not there.

Hopefully peer editing on Monday will work - I have a few questions on paragraph tenses, and whether or not its okay to switch in the particular area...i have one in past and i just can't figure out how to put it into present....

progress 2

Last night, I did some extensive editing of the final paper. I changed the order of things, added some information, took away quite a bit more. I'm excited to bring it to peer editing on Friday; in particular I'd like to work on the introduction....that's the newest, and most difficult, section i've written.

I also edited my reflective essay - I changed it to comment more on the writing process. I felt as though it was easier to present evidence of my growth of that. I'm still discussing my growth as a person, but I've added something less abstract to supplement it. I think I present a pretty strong argument.

I also went through and pulled the blogs I'd need, pulled out the sections of drafts I need, gathered the proposal, presentation review, progress report, and made a table of contents for the final portfolio.

I also actually bought the folder today....so productive!

progress

I'm worried about my final paper - I've written the methods, data, discussion, and "looking forward" sections...this totals like 12 pages right now - eek.

I'm thinking of moving things around. Right now, I've included my observation of inclusive education in my data, but i dont really discuss inclusive education until looking forward, as a possible way to bring therapuetic riding into the classroom. I'm thinking of eliminating that data section, in order to simplify things and trim this down a bit. This way, I'll anaylze both environments, and then bring in inclusive education (both pros and cons) at the end as a possibility.

I have a confrence with Dvd today to discuss my paper, I think I'll ask him then.

research

I'm in the process now of reading through my scientific journal research - i've found some really good articles. I'm organizing all of my research into a typed outline, so that hopefully when I write the paper, it will flow easily and nicely.

That being said, since I'm taking so long to get the research really put together, I'll probably bring that in tomorrow, as well as my reflective essay. I won't have the final project written yet though.

confrence reflections

I just had my confrence....just a few thoughts:

My reflective essay seems to be right on track, so I'll probably put that aside for now and begin to work on my report.

I have a pretty clear idea of what the report is now, which is nice. It's basically a regular scientific journal style research paper - introduction, methods, data, conclusions. It doesn't sound too bad.

I think I'll go through the observations and pick just a few selected moments to include in my data (probably 3, so that I can describe, and later analyze them) in detail. The moment working with the boy in the classroom on the computer may be included, or maybe his spelling exercise. Or, I'll include the work with the kindergardeners, so i can easily discuss inclusive education. As far as Avalon, those observations run together in my head a bit more, so I'll have to review them before I reach any conclusions.

We'll see.

scary chem test

I have a scary scary scary chem test Wednesday that I'm frantically studying for, so this blog will pretty much be craptastic....

Wrote a rough rough copy of my rough draft, I dont know if I'm on the right track, but we'll see.

Planning to actually fight my way through the mountain of research that I have starting Wednesday afternoon (or Thursday).

Time to go back to studying - eek i'm so screwed!

summary stuff - reflective essay

So we brainstormed for the reflective essay, and I thought I would just jot down my ideas here, so I have them written down.

I think in my reflective essay I'd like to focus on my growth as not only a writer, but as a student who will eventually enter the "real world," (whether that exists or not is a topic of debate, but I'll leave it for now). I feel like the real value of this class has not been learning to write proposals or progress reports - I can reference that online and figure it out. The real value of English 201 is learning to work without strict guidelines but rather, fuzzy instructions, learning to work under the direction of someone whose belief system is completely out of the standard, "what is learning" box. I'm a science major (as I've said probably a 100 times in this blog), and I"m used to filling in bubbles; this class has been a growing experience for me. My reflective essay will focus on that growth, beginning with my initial frustrations and confusion. Admitidly, I fought hard against "self directed" knowledge, and this is evident in blogs that I will include to provide a starting point for my portfoilio. Then, as I grudgingly gave into the idea (if only in the pursuit of a good "grade"), I really began to grow. This will be evident in the quality of my proposal versus my progress report, versus my final project (I hope). My growth as a writer is clear in these projects, my growth as a thinker is clear in the blogs. Reading through the blogs, it's clear that I grew from a childlike frustration, to a more mature (if grudging) acceptance and openness to the challenges presented in self directed learning. Blogs that demonstrate this will be included.

Blog blog blog blog blog blog blog.

I was tempted to make that my entire entry. Instead, I'll just say this: I'm having nightmares about teaching special ed, and the sooner I dont have to do research on the topic, the happier I will be. haha

time to update

Still sick... :( It's looking like either strep or mono, but we're going to give it a few more days.

Anyway, on the class/project front. I haven't done anything project wise, just trying to survive at the moment. Class - Wednesday, I can honestly say that I was very very very confused about what was happening. Friday, I expect to be just as confused since we're doing the same thing. Hopefully, it will clarify though. Hopefully, I'll be able to focus on whats happening, instead of fighting passing out. Maybe things wont be spinning this time.. :) hahaha.

Uggghhhh I caught the flu like nobody's business - so, no news, but I have no idea if I have blogs done for this week or not so whatever. I may or may not make it to class tomorrow, we'll see how I feel.

Observations...again

Avalon lessons again - just a few today.

11 Am: Jessica, an adult cp patient
I led the horse, while Don and Greg sidewalked with Jessica. Having worked with her before, I was expecting a painful lesson, full of refusals to cooperate and panic. I was pleasently surprised. Jessica completed her stretches at Don's instruction, steered and followed Don's directions, trotted, and worked on language skills a bit. I gave her a word to spell (Mountain), and she steered to each letter and stopped. At each letter, she named three words that started with that letter. I spoke with Sarah afterward, she said that it was one of her better lessons. Since Jessica is an adult, however, I couldn't really compare with her attitude in school.

12 Am: The D'mico girls (a family of kids, one normal, two with cp - one mild and one severe, and one with severe dwarfism, and a mom with a missing leg that she lost during childbirth after a coma)
the D'micos are one of the most inspirational families I've ever worked with, and I've been doing their lesson for 4 years now. Today I just wandered from girl to girl and observed. Each girl had three people working with her, mostly adults. They did their stretches (physical therapy exercises on horseback), and worked on steering. (All direction following excercises.) The girls then had an "easter egg hunt" on horseback, again, an exercise in steering. Each girl works on something different.
Hannah: is a quiet, timid girl. We work on opening her up (she's the normal child), and gaining confidence. She works on steering and general riding skills, as well as spelling and math.
Angela: is mild cp. She works entirely on riding now - she is a confident, independent rider, and has come a long way. She is strenthening her legs, and trying to avoid the stiffening that often occurs with cp. She also does spelling and math with the other girls.
Toni: severe cp. She mostly sits up on the horse and uses the movement to work her muslces.
Sally: the dwarfism client. Sally works on steering, and spelling, ect. Same as the other girl...

Just a general note - story of the family. The mother got pregnant with Toni and Angela first, but went into a coma during delivery. She lost her leg, and the girls wound up with cp. They then got pregnant again, with Sally, and then with Hannah. They are the most incredible family - always upbeat and supportive.

1 pm: Janna - an 18 year old, severe cp client
Janna is a long-time client out at Avalon. This was her first lesson back after a 3 month break, so we kept it short. We walked quite a few laps to allow her legs to loosen up. We also trotted down one side and played basketball. Janna also did steering for a few minutes. After a half an hour, she was too tired to continue, so we dismounted and fed Fritz treats.

observations day 1000000001

I'm already tired of blogging - I feel like these blogs should count for the rest of my blogs for the rest of the year. haha. Anyway... observations at Avalon today:

12 pm lesson: Alyssa, an adult stroke victim.
Sarah and I worked with Alyssa, not much to comment on here as she's an adult, and just worked on riding skills today. She had a great lesson though.

1 pm lesson: Jessica, a 21 year old cp patient
Jessica arrived late, so she only rode for about 20 minutes. With her, we worked on just loosening up her muslces, since she hadn't ridden in a while. Again, no real educational studies here - just walking laps and socializing.

2pm lesson: Elizabeth, an 8 year old cp girl
Elizabeth was a fun lesson. She is an occupational therapy patient, primarily there to strengthen her legs (she's finally just being able to walk!) Elizabeth began by doing her stretches, and working on some steering, stopping and starting. We asked her to stop at various letters and give a word that started at each letter. Elizabeth isn't learning disabled, so this was a very basic task for her, but it was more practice at direction following than anything. She did very well.

Observation park lawn day 2

I was only at Park Lawn for an hour or so today, and just did general classroom dynamics observations. In general, I noticed that kids worked in groups no larger than 3, each mediated by an authority. The authority figures used firm language, but also joked around with the kids. Joking around seemed to help gain focus for the less handicapped, but the more severely handicapped required a more authoritative attitude. Also, some kids were more affected by distractions than others. In particular, the less disabled children were more easily distracted (perhaps they're more aware of their surroundings?) The more disabled kids pretty much stuck to their task with an unbelievable amount of focus - although they didn't necessarily accomplish much of anything. Another thing I noticed was that kids were constantly coming and going. Patrick commented that the special ed classroom has very little strict structure - it's fluid, and very much confusing. No one seemed very sure at all of where everyone was supposed to be at one time, because everyone had such different schedules. At the same time though, the kids were responsible for their own schedules and figuring out where they needed to be. Also, there were still cliques within the classroom. The less disabled in general hung out with those of similar ability, whereas the most disabled were extremely isolated.

Observations Park Lawn

Detail Stuff:
*Volunteer from 9 am to 12:30 pm
*Classroom teachers: Patrick Middleton and 3 aides
*Class size: 12

Observations:
I began my day working with Nick, a severely CD kid who just came to Patrick's class. We spent a half an hour or so working on typing his name and phone number. I asked him to sound out the spelling, which took awhile. After that, he just had to recopy it over and over. We used different fonts and colors to "keep it fun." Nick seemed willing to work, and enjoyed the fonts/ect. However, he did get distracted everytime someone entered or left the room (which is quite frequent in a special ed classroom). He also got distracted anytime someone got yelled at (again, often since one of the students was having a rough day). We completed the activity (writing his name 9 times and his phone number 6 times) in about a half an hour, which wasn't too bad.

After working with Nick, I went with the fourth graders (Matthew and Patrick) to help in the kindgergarden class. The fourth graders from Mrs. Lippow's class go to help with the kindergarden reading and project every Monday, and the boys join them. (inclusive education?). This was particularly interesting for me. I observed story time, and noticed that immediately, Patrick and Matthew were isolated. They tried to fit in with the 4th graders, but wound up by themselves. After the story, the kindgergardeners were asked to chose a fourth grade partner - Patrick and Matthew were picked last. Patrick is only mildly disabled, and was picked before Matthew. As a result, I wound up working with Matthew, and his kindergarden friend Brandon. The project was "problems and solutions in the story," and Brandon wound up explaining and teaching Matthew how to do everything. They did complete the project, although it required quite a bit of prodding and guidance on my part. One interesting thing I did note was that the fourth graders were very friendly to Matthew. He said hi, and they responded. I wouldn't say that they treated him as one of the same, but they respected him. The only time he was treated as a regular member of the class was when he attempted to skip in line - the girls yelled at him the way they would anyone. David, on the other hand, socialized pretty well, and guided his partner nicely. Mixing the handicapped kids with the kindergardeners seemed to be an excellent learning tool for David - he could help guide someone and increase his self confidence.

We then returned from the kindergarden class, and I began an art project with Nick. We built an easter bunny box, but it was like pulling teeth. He was more distracted than he had been in the morning. Noises, other activities, the clock, the bells, everything distracted him. In addition, every direction I gave had to be repeated multiple times; even then he seemed to ignore most of them. I was thrilled when lunch and recess arrived.

Recess was interesting to observe also. The special education kids at first, didn't hang out with each other. They made an effort to hang out with their normal peers. In every single case though, their peers either ignored them or walked away. Eventually, the students wound up hanging out in small groups with each other.

General Classroom Observations
In general, each teacher or aide worked with groups from one to three students, depending on the activity or student ability. Particularly difficult and distracted students were taken to the gym to walk on a tredmill or swing on a swing for a few minutes. Everyone seemed to agree that this didn't help very much today; although Patrick said that most of the time it makes a difference.

Primarly, the activities today seemed to center around reading and spelling. Each student had a spelling activity; most were completed very successfully.

After recess, the students settled down to listen to Bridge to Tarabithia be read by Patrick. Listen is a very broad word in this case; each student was coloring and not really paying much attention. They interupted all the time to talk about other stuff, or ask extremely random questions. (ie "are we shaving today?" from a sixth grade boy who was due for his next shave).

In general though, it was a productive day.

Conversational Notes
Talking to Patrick, I noticed a few things. He commented that their biggest challenge was the fact that they are extremely understaffed. After that, he said that distractions are abundant, and they manage the best they can.

Observation day 2

Today I volunteered at Avalon again; I taught 2 lessons.

The 10 AM Lesson: Mary, a mildly downs, heavily CD girl
This lesson almost turned my whole project around. Mary was, to put it nicely, difficult. We began by asking her to do her stretches, which she refused. We stopped Renny (her horse), and told her he wouldn't walk until she stretched. It didn't work. Finally, the instructor Sarah came over and said that the only stretches Mary will do are touching Renny's ears and tail. Fine. We did the stretches, and then began the rest of her lesson - most of which was just walking. We did do a little trotting, which she did well at, but in general, it was difficult to get her to follow directions and speak. Mary's biggest challenge is "using her words." Needless to say, at the end of the lesson I was worn out and relieved to be done. I asked Sarah (the instructor) what the deal was. Sarah said that she had talked with Mary's dad who said that Mary has begun to shut down. If you push her, she pushes back harder and it's like banging your head against the wall. On the plus side though, he said that she does better here, and is more willing to participate in Avalon than she is at home or at school. The horses do seem to help a little; albeit not as much as one would like.

The 12 pm: David, a blind, severely learning disabled boy
David was a blast compared to Mary. He sat on his horse (Fritz) and smiled and giggled straight through. With David, we're primarily working on balance, so we do a lot of trotting, circles, weaving, ect. He did his stretches when asked, and responded well to directions from "the right" or "the left." We also played catch for awhile (quite a challenge when blind! haha). Educationally, David is working on learning to read braille, so we worked on that a little bit too. (The letters on the wall that we use also have braille dots). We mostly worked on spelling his name, which he did pretty well at, although doesn't seem to understand what it is he's doing. His mom also volunteered during the lesson, which David seemed to enjoy. She said that Avalon has really helped with the braille thing. Apparently in school he just sits there and lacks complete interest. Doing in on horseback in short doses seems to have made a difference for him. In general though, most of David's lesson was just working on his balance and giggling. haha

so I read over Michelle's progress report and it looked good, but I have to say....I have no understanding for what the assignment is here. Well, I understand the assignment, I just have no idea how to find logical arguments - ick. Ah well, at least I've read over the progress reports right?

Working on my progress report - it's coming along. I'm a little concerned about this new - send it out the night before - thing, since I wasn't planning on having a completed, other people can read it, copy yet...but maybe its for the best.

Its just hard with my other classes - I spend my time worrying about them, and this sort of catches up on me. Well, I'm going to stop procrastinating and get back to work.

Volunteered today - I actually just got home. I jotted down observations while I was there, but I'll put them in an organized fashion here.

I simply observed the 11 o'clock lesson:
*3 riders, 1 certified instructor, 1 un-certified instructor, and 8 volunteers
*1 mentally handicapped rider, 2 mental and physically handicapped riders
*In general, the lessons consisted mostly on riding form, however one rider (Garrett) worked on other stuff: (Garrett is severely mentally and physically handicapped, he's 14 years old but is at a beginning reading level)
-He started out with warmup stretches - hands over the head, "airplane arms," reaching forward, backward, ect (physical therapy stuff)
-Sarah (the certified instructor) and the three volunteers working with him (using the horse, Fritz) then began work on spelling exercises. He began by spelling out his name with the letters on the wall, and naming three words that started with each letter. They then played categories while walking around (to keep the movement strengthening his hips). Categories is exactly what it sounds; they did "sports" so for each letter, Garrett and the volunteers had to come up with a word. They took a break after that to play horse basketball and do some trotting, but then got right back to school work. Garrett was given a mini version of a few of the pictures on the wall, and had to find them. Once he had directed the horse to the picture, he had to stop, back up, name the animal on the photo and spell it. This all pretty much took up the whole lesson.
-I've worked with Garrett personally for a few years, (longer than the instructor even!) so it's safe to say that this lesson was incredibly productive for him. Most lessons with Garrett are a lot of giggling. Sarah, (the instructor), thought part of the reason today went so well was the change in the horse used (from Renny to Fritz), as well as having the requried 3 volunteers to help (instead of being short handed). Volunteers kept him on task.

I sidewalked and taught the 12 o'clock lesson:
*Kerry, a mildly learning disabled 10 year old girl, on Fritz with 2 experienced volunteers and myself
*The lesson consisted of:
-Initial warm up stretches (the same as those done for Garrett)
-We then worked on steering for awhile - weaving cones, turning circles, stopping, backing up. This primarily worked on her direction following skills - she was very responsive and seemed to enjoy it.
-Then we got into some spelling and english stuff. First, we worked through a set of flashcards that has a picture on the front of an object, and a word on the back. We asked Kerry to name the object on the front (horse, envelope, cup, ect). Depending on the object, we then asked follow up questions. (Name the colors of the socks, where is the animal from, what are two other words that start with that letter, ect). We did this activity for 20 minutes, and then played basketball for a bit as a break. We then spelled out her name, naming off 3 other things that start with each letter. She was required to steer to each letter as well as back up and stop at each letter (more direction following). We finished off with quite a bit of trotting, since that's what she's really been working on.
*Reflections: I asked Sarah about the lesson when it concluded. She said that Kerry is usually very easy, and responsive to instructions. She has a hard time understanding directions sometimes, so working on that was key. Spelling and language is something she needs help with, so her lessons are directed mostly at direction following and linguistic skills. Sarah said that the lesson today was very focused for her, although she seemed a little "down". (Weather related?) Overall, Sarah said that it was a good lesson (yay me! haha)

Posting a blog....let's say. No progress on the progress report as of yet - that's this weekend/next week's project more than likely.

Exams yesterday went terribly. Quiz tomorrow that I should be studying for, but I'm going to run instead - woohoo. It's beautiful out!

I have absolutely nothing to say today, this is just a horrible waste of space. So with that, everyone enjoy their day

still frantically studying

Nothing new to report - still studying for my exams and stuff. That being said, my progress report will include the following: (I'm counting this as my draft for now since this week has been Hell)

Volunteering scheduled
-Monday and Tuesday: morning hours at Park Lawn Elementary
-Wendesday/Thursday: 10 AM to 3 PM at Avalon TEC
-This Saturday the 24th: 10 AM to 2PM at Avalon TEC

Interviews scheduled
-Patrick Middleton: after class (during the morning recess)
-Sandie Petersen: phone interview to be scheduled at a later date
-Jenny Stamm: may not be possible as she is on materinity leave again

Research conducted
-previous research (as listed on a MUCH earlier blog)
-more research pending

Questions set up:
-"What is the most challenging educational aspect of this job?"
-"What makes the teaching challenging?" or "What environmental factors are most causal to your challenges?"
-"What changes, if any, would you make to improve educational successes within your environment?"
-"How do you feel about the success in Hippotherapy?"

Questions are proving challenging, since I don't want to "lead the witness," nor do I want to attack one group or another as being less successful.

It's been awhile - kind of a rotten week. Plus, blogger was down a few times this week so I couldn't even get on to blog (although honestly speaking, I wouldn't have had time to.)

Technically, I don't have time now, but I'm ordering pizza and I'm waiting for the order to go through.

Big exams this week - lots of exams that I need A's on, lots of exams on material I don't understand. Woo hoo.

As a consequence, I haven't even considered the progress report. I have made some progress though:
*Contacted and confirmed observation/volunteering with Patrick Middleton
*I have confirmed observations at OMS (whether or not I chose to do it - we'll see. Time is pretty tight)
*Confirmed observation/volunteer dates at Avalon TEC.
*Got permission from parents, authoritys to do observations. Tape recording won't be possible, but I guess that means I'll just have to journal more detailed than I otherwise would have.

My time that week is really tight - I'm training for a job during the summer. I also have a ton of doctors appointments that just had to be scheduled (but I wont go into that). It should work out though - I have 14 hours planned out between Avalon and School observations...so it should be enough.

Alright, pizza is ready. See you Monday

nothing really to report

Blogging 3 times a week if super difficult when there isn't anything to report. Well, here's what I've accomplished this week:

I contacted Patrick Middleton and set up days to observe and times. I even get to help out! I'm pretty pysched about that, cause I love the kids in his class right now....they're fun (the same ones from when I TAed a long time ago)


So that's the update...good stuff...see you all Wendesday.

presentation reflection

My presentation was yesterday.. Overall it felt like it went pretty good. My relfections:
*Probably could have spoken slower (yucky time crunch)
*I wish I had explained some of the pictures (but, again, I was worried about the time)
*I also feel like I might have been shifty

My reviews were overall, pretty positive. Mostly people told me that my graphics were very helpful (although one review said that some of them seemed pointless; that's why I wish I had explained them). Some said I seemed nervous, while others said I seemed confident and knowledgable. Most said my project seemed technical and complicated - but very well researched.
I guess all of those are fair - the way something looks will be different for everybody.

One comment was particularly interesting:
"Consider child:teacher ratio"

Well, I definately hadnt, but I think thats a HUGE part of the difference in the environments. I'm thinking about directing my project into that direction also. We'll see.

Todays thoughts

We started presentations today - it was neat to see what other people are doing. My project seems pretty different from them at first, but I think that's what's cool about this assignment.

Anyway, update on the project. This weekend, I went home and took pictures for my presentation. It was nice to get back to Avalon, it's like a second home for me.

I really have no idea what to blog about in here. Nothing has changed for my project. I completed the presentation, and because I haven't actually started the project, I didn't make any changes from the proposal. Nothing has really developed or changed yet, since my original idea changed at the beginning of the course.

Oh well, heres to knocking one blog out for the week.

Completed my presentation today....now all that's left is detail stuff - pictures, animations?, editing....practice

Looks good though!

While doing the presentation, I thought of some details that may change with my final project. I may not be interviewing all 4 people - I might just do Patrick Middleton and Sandie Petersen. Also, I may not tape record. We'll see.

class reactions part II

So David was gone today...we still had class. Proposals are done today, but class itself wasn't as productive as it could have been. No one really knew what to discuss regarding presentations - we've all done presentations since 5th grade Science Fair, some of us have had Comm Arts classes, others had AP Speech classes. Presentations aren't new material for the most part, so it wasn't like anyone really had questions. Mostly, my group just said what our project was and what we thought we were going to include.

The only thing we wish we had a rubric - what we'll be graded on and how much. Without a rubric, it feels like grades are subjective. Ah well, I guess the other way to look at it, is since I don't know what's most important, I'll just work really hard on everything. Meh.

1518 Words!

The proposal if officially done - 1518 words! I was pysched when I saw that; it's right around the suggested amount. More importantly, I actually hauled my butt through the snow today to go to class, and it really paid off. We did more peer reviews, which presented a few issues that myself and my previous reviewer hadn't caught. Primarily, what I'm studying, my claim, was extremely unclear in the original proposal. I sat down with David afterward and sorted some of my thoughts out, as well as reordered a few of the paragraphs. I think it made a real difference. The proposal flows better, and I now explicitly state the claim that I'm studying... woo hoo! Let's hope it goes over as well as I think it should! :D

Now, onto the presentation. I'm thinking powerpoint, pictures of clients included (of course). I'll include a brief (emphasis on brief!), structured background section (because I tend to ramble on when discussing this topic...that will prove my greatest challenge), followed the the claim, followed by methods, followed by my hope for the study.

I. Intro slide
II. Background: What is hippotherapy
III. Background 2:
a. Environmental factors: school
-confined space and distractions
-peer group limitations
-language limitations as a result
-a quick mention of inclusive theory - why it doesn't necessarily help the peer group issue
b. Environmental factors: hippotherapy
-open space
-peer group opportunities
-language advancements
IV: The Claim: (explicitly stated - it's own slide)
V: How to study
-observations at both schools and Avalon with journaling and tape recording
-interviews (with who)
-supplemental research (on the claim itself as while as inclusive educational theory)
VI: Conclusion
-hopes for the study
-Any questions?
VII: Closing slide (for posting while questions are asked)
-pictures of clients and locations - COLLAGE

In response to the following comment:

Good to hear what others are doing and to switch 3rd & 1st person when you need to. However, can you reflect more on either the writing process itself or on the content of your project? I'd like to hear more in here about how your thinking develops and changes as things happen in your project since it is so interesting!

Fair enough, I realize that that is the purpose of the blog. The thing is, writing 3 times a week about the writing process? What do I write about? It's not like I edit my paper 3 times a week, or conduct new and exciting resesarch 3 times a week, or write 3 different drafts a week. I dont feel like my writing process is changing or developing. Maybe I'm failing the point of the project - but I just can't see myself developing.

Well, here goes nothing...a reflection of my writing process.

Today I edited my draft again - I changed some phrases and put in the citations where necessary. Overall, I'm very pleased with how the proposal is turning out. It feels strong and pretty clear (at least insofar as I'm clear about my intentions on this project). I think I followed the guidelines and it feels pretty successful (although I'll see when grades come out I guess).

The project itself is becoming muddled in my head. Considering it more, I feel as though authoritative language is different also, which means that I should include that in my reflections (instead of depending soley on peer interactions). In addition, all of the research I've found seems to indicate that the difference isn't attributed to language so much as environment (clinical and classroom versus riding arena). While in my head, I think I attribute the educational differences to environment more so than language, I concede that language may have a very powerful affect. Maybe the research just hasn't been conducted yet? I guess scientifically, it's not fair to make priliminary assumptions - I'll have to wait until spring break when I do my observations.

Either way, I'm out

one to go

Proposal workshop today - pretty helpful. It was more interesting to hear what the other projects were, more so than the editing....Nonetheless, I feel like I'm heading more or less in the right direction, so woo hoo!

Editing

I did some editing today. The first essay I wrote was completely in the 3rd person, so when I went through and edited, I switched some of it to first person. Mostly, the proposal still sounds very third person...I dunno. We'll see in class tomorrow

3 a week right? Well, this is number one

Busy weekend for this project:

*Contacted Avalon about recording sessions. Sarah (instructor) said it won't be a problem (clients sign publicity releases when they sign up for lessons). I just have to let her know when I'm coming.
*Planned classroom observations:
-Sherman Beye's 9th hour PE class (an interesting sidenote to examine the possibility that it's the physical activity that improves education)
-Middle school special ed (same as the PE class) or Mr. Middleton's elementary (k-3) Special Ed. class

*Wrote proposal draft: it's only 4 pages long (barely, at that), and I didn't have a rubric so I just kind of "winged it" (is that the right verb tense???) Proposal workshops will show something I imagine. More importantly, I think I'm going to email David and see if I can schedule another meeting to go over this (after workshop). We'll see - I'm just glad I got it out of the way before midterm craziness starts tomorrow. *whew*

Research update

I began research today between classes, and I think I got a pretty good start. I'm using this blog to organize my links and describe the general idea behind each article. Notes will be taken by hand at a later date - this is more of a reference page for myself.

Articles Regarding Education in the Classroom:

1. Education:
A) Teachers rate inclusiveness on the success of education for special Ed. and "normal" students
-Avalon and therapeutic riding define inclusiveness - handicapped students work hand in hand with "normal" volunteers?
B) Reasons given for why inclusiveness is good, as well as research as to why, in practice, students with disabilities aren't included. Article includes explanations as to why a lack of inclusiveness has a detrimental affect on education.
-Practical classroom research; why the separation of students makes learning more difficult and why the separation of students is a very real occurrence
C) Comparative study of a traditional math education approach (link unavailable) (one teacher lectures in front of a classroom) with a small peer group educational approach (teacher lectures are combined with peer interactions) in Special Education Settings
-In classrooms: will I observe a more lecture setting as compared to the peer education setting at Avalon?


2. Therapeutic Riding
A) General explanation of Hippo therapy
B) Distinction/Definition of Learning Disabilities as well as the role of horses as the "Great Equalizers" - comparison of peer interactions (where students in the classroom are ostracized and horses are non-judging peers)
C) Therapeutic Riding as an Educational Tool: research from a parent's perspective about the effectiveness and possible reasons for effectiveness of therapeutic riding
D) Study of effectiveness of hippo therapy on language when compared to traditional therapy
-Excellent article, with charts, comparing therapies

I plan to use the education articles to review how Special Education is taught both traditionally (segregated classrooms) and inclusively (an innovative new approach). The articles seem to show that inclusive education is much more effective; it encourages interactions between special education students and their "normal" peers, raising self-confidence and leading to a quicker, more thorough learning experience. Because I feel (and research shows) that hippo therapy represents the ultimate in inclusive education, these articles back up the idea that peer-peer interactions on horseback are partly responsible for the ease of education as compared on horseback to the classroom. The language used when peer-peer interactions include those of "normal" ability has a tendency to increase self confidence, thus increasing learning ability. All the articles seem to tie self confidence very tightly into learning, so I'll have to include this in my proposal and final project.

My proposal, again, (to remind myself) is that by instrumenting peer-peer interactions with normal and Special Education students, the language is such that acceptance is felt, and self confidence is increased. This, in turn, improves learning capabilities and the general attitude toward learning. My research, then, will show that therapeutic riding represents an inclusive environment where these peer-peer interactions can take place. It will also show, comparatively within the classroom, how inclusive learning matches up with traditional education. I'm hoping that this will show that the interactions in traditional education (Special ed students only interact with Special Ed. students and their teachers - a clear cut authority figure) lead to a language, that, while one of acceptance, is only acceptance within the segregated classroom. Acceptance is not felt within the overall community; this does not improve self confidence, and thus harms learning. The language of the interactions in the inclusive and traditional settings play a very concrete role in the self confidence felt by the student, and therefore, in the learning experienced by the student.

I think I need to ask Dave about that paragraph before I go ahead and tackle a proposal. This seems like a different direction, and I don't feel concrete about my ideas anymore. Ick.

being a good student...

I'm being a dutiful little student and getting my 3 blogs/week deal in...one more to go. Today's topic? Scheduling my time:

Monday Feb. 12th: confrence
Friday Feb 16th: Botany exam, begin researching
Saturday 17th-Sunday 18th: Home for Mom's birthday
Monday 19th: Stats exam
Wendesday 21st: Chem exam (EEK!!), proposal workshop II (have draft ready????? yikes)
Friday 23rd: Edit draft
Monday 26th: Proposal due

I wish we weren't required to have a draft done by next Wendesday. It's my mom's 50th this weekend, as well as midterm Hell...and I just don't know how I'm going to have time to spit out a whole draft as well as get good research done. I might just sacrifice participation points that day in the interest of camping out from Thursday the 22nd until Sunday the 25th and writing, rewriting, and editing like mad. Not the best writing process, but...since I'm taking economics....

Maximizing output is not a good idea. Maximizing output by sacrificing other classes (or, the opportunity cost of maximizing outputs...) will not help me out overall.

Yeah, I have an econ midterm too, but I dont remember when that is...that class is coming along nicely. Anyway, we'll see how this next week goes. *Fingers crossed*

Finally - a Project!

Today was my confrence, and I feel 1000 times better about this whole thing. I came into my confrence with the same idea I had for the peer review, but no idea how to relate it to language, or place, or really any concrete plans whatsover. But, while talking about the project, David asked some really good questions and all of a sudden, lightbulb!, project... So, here goes:

Place: Avalon Therapuetic Equestrian Center and Special Education Classrooms
Project: I plan to compare the language used with Special Ed. kids in both settings. While I feel like the authority figures use approximately the same language in both settings, the peer language is different. I plan to study the language aspect of both settings to help discover why hippotherapy is so helpful.

-Having worked in both Special Ed. classrooms and instructed lessons at Avalon (sometimes with the same kids!), I've seen a pattern established. Kids in the classroom have to be poked and prodded into recieting the alphabet, for example. Kids on horseback at Avalon will recite the alphabet, as well as name 3 words starting with a letter, giggling and smiling the whole time. The attitude toward learning on horseback is substancially improved. What causes this difference?

-I believe the difference is a result of several factors:
*Empowerment - kids who were formally in wheelchairs, or were coddled by authority figures as a result of their disablility, on horseback are in charge. They control where they go (steering), and are required to do things for themselves.

*Height - as simple as this is, kids who are used to looking up at the world from their chairs are now looking down at the people helping them.

*Peer/Authority Associations - In the classroom, special education students are kept separated from those deemed "normal" by society. They spend all day in a room with kids of varying ability, and often those who are mildly disabled are caught up in the pace of a classroom too slow for them. While they learn what they need to learn, their peers aren't at their level, and the language used to communicate is often far more elementary than necessary. At a hippotherapy session, each client is surrounded by 2 to 3 volunteers, and an instructor. Their "peer group" here are all "normal" young adults, who communicate with the client as though they were in fact normal. Volunteers work consistantly with the same clients and form bonds; they discuss everyday things like boyfriends, parent troubles, and school. This can make all the difference in forming an attitude ready to learn. In addition, when this attitude is formed, the authority figure (at Avalon, the instructor), can instruct without fighting with the student, becoming frustrated or offering ultimatums, (as is often seen in the classroom.) In this way, even the authority figure uses a different language. Of course, this language change on the authority's behalf is a direct result of an attitude change in the clients.

For my project, I plan to analyze this third aspect in particular. I plan to sit in on both Special Education classrooms and volunteer and journal my observations. If possible, I also would like to possibly record a session or two at Avalon and a session or two in the classroom for comparison. In addition, I plan to conduct interviews with:
-A Special Education instructor, particularly one who has had students who've done hippotherapy (Mr. Middleton)
-Jenny Stamm, Sandie Petersen, or Sarah (both instructors at Avalon. I'd prefer to interview Sandie Petersen, former instructor currently opening her own facility in North Carolina)
-A client or two. Specifically, I'd like to interview high school senior Anna Z, and 6th grader Diane E. (Names changed to protect privacy)

Research done in the library will include:
-Educational theroy (focus on Special Ed perhaps?)
-Hippotherapy (defining, describing, theories on why it works)

Structurally, my paper will begin with a general discussion of what therapy is. I'll then move into define hippotherapy, and what makes it different. I'll discuss the benefits and theory behind it. During this discussion, it should become implicitly clear that we do need more knowledge regarding the differences between education in the classroom and education on horseback. This is the area that I plan to discover.

There are obviously a lot of holes in this, particularly in how I'll put my proposal together. I just dont understand that, but I'm sure I'll figure it out.
*Karen*

Getting my 3 a week in. Today I missed English because I feel awful - no good. I think David said we were going to talk about the peer review on Wednesday, in which case hopefully I'll be able to just read blogs to get a good idea about class and such. We'll see.

In other news, I'm hoping, if I feel well enough this weekend, to get to a library and get some preliminary research about animal therapy for confrences on Monday. Keep your fingers crossed I suppose...

And otherwise, this the NARHA (North American Riding for the Handicapped Association) website. Avalon is NARHA certified. I also feel that NARHA will be a great place for me to start research - an organization that is pro-animal therapy is bound to have some information, or cited sources somwhere to back up their purpose. I hope so anyway.

Proposal Workshop

The workshop today was pretty helpful. I got some good tips - my group seemed on board with my ideas, so I think I'm going to continue to pursue the vein I'm in. I dont think I'm going to pick a particular "place" yet, but leave it generalized until confrences on Monday. I didn't get all that much time for workshop, but what I got was constructive. I recieved some good notes to put down:
-combine research and personal stories/interviews?
-places: Avalon TEC, animals as rehibilitators (going TO the animal)

Anyway, productive day. Plus, I'm going home this weekend to volunteer, so all in all pretty exciting!

class reactions

Class today - and it was cold... We talked about a lot of stuff that "Everything" talked about, but we also discussed what exactly this project is about. I feel the tinest bit better, but I really do need a model before I'm going to understand this. I guess I'm withholding full-fledged panic until Workshop on Wednesday. Hopefully that'll help.

Getting in my 3 posts/week - pictures this time!

Put some pictures up of clients today - just a few from the selection. Avalon serves 70+ riders for each 8 week session. You can click on the photos to see them full-sized.

I'd like to illustrate just a few of them.
*Hannah, Sally and Angela are all part of a family. There are 4 girls (3/4 of which are severly disabled, Hannah is the only one who isn't.) Sally was born with her disablity, and Angela and Toni were twins who suffered from complications from the pregnancy. The mother lost her leg and went into a coma during the birth. They are by far the most inspiring family I've ever met though: always positive, upbeat and trying. We actually built them a house this summer, complete with beds for everyone and handicap ramp access.
*Ken has been riding forever - and rides with no assistance. (Volunteers are around pretty much just to keep him company.) Angela is the same way - she actually canters on her own now.
*CJ has made great progress in her riding, as has Brandon.


kare15 (Hannah helping put away tack)


kare15 (Angela riding Renny)


kare15 (CJ on Fritz at Christmas)


kare15 (Ken on Renny with his volunteers)


kare15 (Sally giving Sassy her treat after lessons)


kare15 (Brandon getting a lesson from his instructor)


Otherwise, go to this link to see pictures of some of the horses.

Volunteer Fair/Refined Project Idea

Today was the Volunteer/Career fair. I saw some interesting booths, mostly volunteering I'd be more interested in during the summer. Much of the volunteering was after-school tutoring programs (during which I have class). As far as programs I would consider, the Women's Center sounded promising as well as the Black Hawk Girl Scout Camp during the summer (although that's a paid position.) I got the impression that most of the booth volunteers were pretty wiped out from the Fair and were less-than-eager to talk. My other classmates seemed to get the same impression and we had to pry pretty hard to get an actual conversation out of any of the volunteers. Even then, I only had one both really describe the place. Most described how to get more information. Even so, my general observations were:

School Tutoring programs: pictures showed children smiling, laughing and having fun (I dont remember ever having fun while struggling in school?), volunteers also looked thrilled to be there
Girl Scout camp: volunteers described the specific location as being near Wausau and described the payment plan for counslers. No matter what I asked, the conversation was pretty much left at that.
WI Public Radio: volunteers described the various duties volunteers are responsible for (attending booths, pledge drives, etc)

More than likely, I'll contine volunteering at Avalon when I can (should be really easy to get 10-15 hours in...I'll get 40+ over spring break alone!) and the Zoo whenever there are programs. I work as an education volunteer at the zoo, so I'm only needed when school programs come in for presentations. (That's my job)

This, of course, brings me back to this portfolio project. I have no idea what I'm going to talk about, where I'm going to talk about. My best idea as of now is:

*Examing the mental and physical benefits of therapuetic animals possibly including:
-Therapuetic Riding (horses)
-Animal visits to hospitals, hospices, cancer wards
-Seeing eye/Hearing dogs

Mostly I'm planning on focusing on therapuetic riding (that's how Avalon fits in - I can experience it hands-on as well as through research) and animal visits to hospitals, ect. Those two interest me the most.
Questions to consider:
-What are the physical benefits?
-Mental health?
-Mental health affecting physical improvements?

Everybody hears stories about how therapuetic riding has improved lives (hell, I've seen that!), and how animal visits have helped mentally depressed cancer patients to cheer up and fight off the disease. How valid are those claims? Are they common or one in a million? Is there any scientific research behind it?

I know I believe mental health is very intimately attached to physical health (health is 90% mental) and that improving mental health will almost inevitably lead to improving physical health. And, being an animal lover, I also firmly believe that animals, with their ability for unconditional love and acceptance, can offer comfort and company in a way humans can't. This can improve mental health.

Anyway, that's where my project stands as of now. I could be completely and totally off base...but at least it's an idea.

Confusion Part II

So we had class again today and spent the day discussing the proposals, the portfolios, the assignment in general. I can't say I'm any less foggy than I was before class. I just don't understand what "place" means, what we're supposed to write about, what our topic should aim toward. I'm a science major and although in high school I was identified as being talented in "language arts," my heart and mind has always been scientific. My point? I'm used to rubrics. Do this, this, this, and this, to get an A. I need a rubric; I need a definite description of what we're doing, what we're to accomplish. Ah, frustration. For a three credit class with no exams, I can confidently say I'm more frustrated here than I am in second semester ochem, or econ, or any of my other 14 credits. We'll see; I'm sure eventually I'll figure it out. Until then...when I'm frustrated....

My Humps
This is Just Kind of Cool
and...
Kiss a Llama and on the Llama

And I'm out.

Confusion/Project Ideas

I'm very confused about the portfolio project - the requirements, the expectations, the topic. Maybe confused isn't the right word - overwhelmed may be closer to the truth. How will this be graded? What is expected? Are we to analyze a place emotionally, analytically? I think I have my place picked out - that is, unless I've completely misunderstood the assignment. That's entirely possible. Anyway, my ideas as they stand right now are:

The place: Avalon TEC (Ixonia, WI)*
Why: I've volunteered there for a few years and worked there for a year. I currently volunteer and I think there are a few directions I could take.
Possible Portfolio Plans:
-Examining Avalon through time (startup 9 years ago and how it's grown and changed through to the present)
-Examining what Avalon means to different groups (the community, the management, the instructors, the riders, the volunteers)
-Analyzing Avalon as a medical facility (studying the medical benefits of riding through Avalon and other certified centers)
-The process of creating a fund raising event (my own project for this summer - I'd like to set up a pseudo horse show for our riders to perform in)
- My own thoughts/feelings about Avalon

*Website is out of date. Avalon currently has 18 horses. Snow, Nick, Paseo, Lonnie, Casper, Cody are gone (either back to their owners or deceased) . Current pictures will be posted the next time I head home. Betty, Laurie, and Ryan no longer work there. Like I said, everything will be updated later.

Other links in the future:
*Animal Planet - videos of "Animal Miracles" - therapeutic riding?
*Research links - therapeutic riding
*News stories - therapeutic riding
*Videos - Avalon lessons
*Photos - Avalon lessons