Over the last week, I've returned to my daily workout routine of jumping on my trampoline, managed to reclaim excitement over psychology and in my creative writing, and am sleeping properly at night. Today, as I was working on my psychology research paper with intense focus and interest, I realized that I felt almost normal again.
I will never forget my grandmother and the love and joy she brought our family. She was a second mother to me as I was the little girl she never got to have. However, I have my whole life on earth ahead of me and must live it to the fullest. I'm sure that that is what she wants for me.
It is often said that individuals with autism spectrum disorders experience emotions differently, including grief. I would say that we definitely express our emotions differently. For instance, I am more likely to use words than a physical gesture to offer affection or comfort. I also sometimes need to be told what somebody is feeling in order for me to be able to emphasize with them. I won't always pick it up by "reading them." I'm getting much better at that.
I'm wondering if anyone else on the spectrum has had experience with losing a family member and how they have coped. If so, post a response to this post.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Saturday, March 14, 2009
What Should They Do?
My recent post on educators and psychology was submitted as an assignment for my History of Psychology course. My professor wrote a comment on my essay asking how professional development can make sure teachers are up to date on the latest educational research. This inspired me to write this post.
I think one of the first steps would be research information available to teachers in laymen's terms. Most teachers do not have access to academic journals or the training in statistics to interpret studies. Maybe a national education research database should be available online and all persons working in education professions should be given free access. This would be a much more comprehensive range of topics than what could be covered in issues of a print journal intended for teachers. The database would provide summaries of developments in research that pertain to education including but not limited to: classroom management, inclusive education, and teaching methods for students of all ability levels.
I also believe academics who do research in psychology (particularly educational psychology) should provide seminars to teachers that they are required to attend as part of their professional development. There teachers could have direct interaction with recent researchers in their field. We need to bring researchers to the teachers in the classrooms as well as those still attending university.
I think one of the first steps would be research information available to teachers in laymen's terms. Most teachers do not have access to academic journals or the training in statistics to interpret studies. Maybe a national education research database should be available online and all persons working in education professions should be given free access. This would be a much more comprehensive range of topics than what could be covered in issues of a print journal intended for teachers. The database would provide summaries of developments in research that pertain to education including but not limited to: classroom management, inclusive education, and teaching methods for students of all ability levels.
I also believe academics who do research in psychology (particularly educational psychology) should provide seminars to teachers that they are required to attend as part of their professional development. There teachers could have direct interaction with recent researchers in their field. We need to bring researchers to the teachers in the classrooms as well as those still attending university.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
An Incomplete Solution: Another Education Rant
In the late 1950s, psychologist R. W. Russell listed several ways in which the discipline of psychology could improve the education system. Suggestions for psychologists included playing an active role in teacher training, communicating with teachers, and making results of educational research accessible to teachers through public journals. More than half a century later, psychology has only accomplished a portion of these goals.
When education students attend university, psychology is deeply embedded into the curriculum. Students are required to take several psychology courses prior to being accepted into the education program. If a student has a special education minor, additional psychology courses such as brain and behavior or abnormal psychology are required. Once in the program, the curriculum for education students includes various classes in educational psychology and classroom management. The current problem is that connection with psychology ceases when these students graduate.
Researchers in educational psychology are constantly making new discoveries that will better improve the classroom environment for students. Despite continuing education courses, much of this information remains in glossy academic journals: inaccessible to the average classroom teacher. For instance, the J.P. Das Developmental Disabilities Centre at the University of Alberta was familiar with the technique of using photographs or 3D representations for non-verbal students with profound cognitive impairments. These students were unable to use the traditional communication devices such as the picture exchange system (PECS) due to lack of ability to interpret symbols. Unfortunately, in my experiences of volunteering and observing in various educational settings in Edmonton, I found very few educators to be familiar with these alternative methods.
Lack of access to new research is not the only way in which psychology connections are severed once classroom teachers leave university. The problem also exists of there being no backup if a teacher faces a situation that falls outside of the training they received in their classes. For instance, some teachers completed their education degrees prior to courses on exceptional students being required as part of the curriculum. If one of those teachers ends up having several students with IEPs in their class, they are required to adapt to this situation almost independently. This lack of follow-up support may cause some older teachers to handle problems in ways that would have been acceptable when they first started teaching, but are inappropriate in the current education system. For instance, a teacher may believe that publically announcing the test score of a low-achieving student may motivate him to do better.
There is also increasing concern about people with no experience in education being in charge of educational programs. For instance, the minister of education in Nova Scotia tried to take on the ideal of equal education for all: almost all students doing the same material. Unfortunately, it resulted in a program that was too difficult for low-achieving students, and did not prepare high-achieving students for university. When I transferred to Alberta, I had to repeat most of my grade eleven courses because they did not meet the requirements for entrance to university in Alberta. The state of Georgia took this idea even further. One special education teacher blogger wrote of students functioning on the level of one-year-olds being given official grade twelve diplomas by completing modified tasks that were supposed to indicate they were at "grade level."
Psychology is an integrate part of today's education student curriculum. However, once educators leave school and venture into the classroom, psychology does not follow them. Even worse is the fact that some individuals placed in high positions of power in the education system have never taken an educational psychology course. In order for psychology to contribute more to the education system, psychologists and researchers must remain in contact with educators, not just for their time in university, but throughout their entire teaching career.
When education students attend university, psychology is deeply embedded into the curriculum. Students are required to take several psychology courses prior to being accepted into the education program. If a student has a special education minor, additional psychology courses such as brain and behavior or abnormal psychology are required. Once in the program, the curriculum for education students includes various classes in educational psychology and classroom management. The current problem is that connection with psychology ceases when these students graduate.
Researchers in educational psychology are constantly making new discoveries that will better improve the classroom environment for students. Despite continuing education courses, much of this information remains in glossy academic journals: inaccessible to the average classroom teacher. For instance, the J.P. Das Developmental Disabilities Centre at the University of Alberta was familiar with the technique of using photographs or 3D representations for non-verbal students with profound cognitive impairments. These students were unable to use the traditional communication devices such as the picture exchange system (PECS) due to lack of ability to interpret symbols. Unfortunately, in my experiences of volunteering and observing in various educational settings in Edmonton, I found very few educators to be familiar with these alternative methods.
Lack of access to new research is not the only way in which psychology connections are severed once classroom teachers leave university. The problem also exists of there being no backup if a teacher faces a situation that falls outside of the training they received in their classes. For instance, some teachers completed their education degrees prior to courses on exceptional students being required as part of the curriculum. If one of those teachers ends up having several students with IEPs in their class, they are required to adapt to this situation almost independently. This lack of follow-up support may cause some older teachers to handle problems in ways that would have been acceptable when they first started teaching, but are inappropriate in the current education system. For instance, a teacher may believe that publically announcing the test score of a low-achieving student may motivate him to do better.
There is also increasing concern about people with no experience in education being in charge of educational programs. For instance, the minister of education in Nova Scotia tried to take on the ideal of equal education for all: almost all students doing the same material. Unfortunately, it resulted in a program that was too difficult for low-achieving students, and did not prepare high-achieving students for university. When I transferred to Alberta, I had to repeat most of my grade eleven courses because they did not meet the requirements for entrance to university in Alberta. The state of Georgia took this idea even further. One special education teacher blogger wrote of students functioning on the level of one-year-olds being given official grade twelve diplomas by completing modified tasks that were supposed to indicate they were at "grade level."
Psychology is an integrate part of today's education student curriculum. However, once educators leave school and venture into the classroom, psychology does not follow them. Even worse is the fact that some individuals placed in high positions of power in the education system have never taken an educational psychology course. In order for psychology to contribute more to the education system, psychologists and researchers must remain in contact with educators, not just for their time in university, but throughout their entire teaching career.
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