Internship Update

As a final reflection for my EDLD 5352 Instructional Leadership class I am required to write a brief update on the progress of my internship with Lamar University. This class has been very beneficial in my growth as a future administrator, the tools that I was exposed to during this course will really guide me to promote more collaboration among teachers in the future. The web 2.0 tools that we researched are currently being put into use as we start a new school year. I plan on using Google Drive and Google Doc as my exclusive creation and storage tools this year. With the ability to share information with these tools allows for group think and discussion without set aside meeting times. I also plan on using the Edmodo classroom environment to deliver information and content to students and parents in a new way this year.

My current progress on my internship has not changed much since the last time I blogged. Because it is Summer I am more in the planning mode. I have had the opportunity to lead multiple staff developments for our staff on confidentiality and teacher/para relationship. This was great experience for me and has opened up the opportunity to lead a more intensive para-professional training during the next school year.

Overall, my internship is going very well. I have almost completed all of the required 150 hours needed for the program.

EDLD 5352 Instructional Leadership Video Conference

My current class in my graduate studies is EDLD 5352 Instructional Leadership. This has been a very good class to make sure we have are up to date on the current collaboration tools and web 2.0 tools. In last weeks web conference the professor clarified a lot of questions regarding our internship and collaboration document. This was very helpful for me, I was very curious about the process of submitting the collaborative documents. I feel very blessed to work with some amazing colleagues that must be great teachers. Dr. Benavides gave us some helpful feed back on ways that we can implement these collaboration tools with teachers at our campus when we are administrators. I really appreciate his feedback and because some of these tools are relatively new you can tell that he is still learning. Overall the conference was very helpful and sitting with hundreds of other learnings I though to myself, "Education has a bright future with all of these innovative teachers"

Draft Action Research Project

Action Research Report

Abstract:

To be completed when results for project are final.

Title:

Sensory Integration

Author:

Kristopher Shustella, Bullard High School

Introduction:

During my career at Bullard High School, I have worked exclusively in the Special Education department. Through my work in this department, I have noticed that students that suffer from sensory processing disorders have a hard time staying in the mainstream classroom setting due to behavior or environmental setbacks. The same is true of the students that carry an Emotional/Behavior (EBD) diagnosis. For most of these students, they are reported as behavior problems and usually sent back to the Special Education classroom. I began to notice that these behaviors seemed to look more like sensory deprivation. Sensory deprivation results when students are deprived of usual external stimuli and the opportunity for perception ("The free dictionary"). This is shown most with students that suffer from autism or other sensory processing disorders. This deprivation takes place when a student's basic sensory needs are not being met. Students then, in turn, respond is a variety of ways. Sometimes it could be a complete shut down of any interaction, or is could be a behavior outburst. Our students frequently have aversions to regular events in the day that most students would not notice. When one of these aversion responses take place, all learning stops. If response is elevated, learning stops for multiple learners. This is where Sensory Integrated Therapy(SI) comes into the picture. The goal of SI therapy is not to teach specific skills or behaviors, but to remediate deficits in neurologic processing and integration of sensory information to allow the child to interact with the environment in a more adaptive fashion (Meyers, MD, 2007). These sensory needs are different for every student. This is why establishing a sensory diet as a part of the student’s schedule is vital for success. This sensory diet will include many different approaches. Some students may need vestibular stimulation by swinging or spinning to help develop speech. Some may need time in the multi-sensory room to allow them to calm down after a difficult time on the school bus. Because students' sensory needs are so diverse, all of these plans must be individualized to address the specific impairment. This integration of sensory approaches will lead to sensory satisfied students that are ready to learn. We must have certain resources in place in order to meet these needs. There is a great need for this complete multi-sensory classroom environment.

In order to implement these effective strategies, we must first have the tools to do so. This will require some changes to the classroom. When working with a student with sensory aversions, especially those with autism, one must be very aware of the learning environment. Things like lighting and space are very crucial to these students. Some autistic students are bothered by fluorescent lights because they can see the flicker of the 60-cycle electricity. Other students need to have the learning environment moved outside because they tend to feel confined later in the day. Establishing a multi-sensory room is crucial for helping students calm down after extreme depravation episodes. All of these things are important when considering the need for this project.

While we have known the importance of sensory integration for some time, most schools do not immerse the students in a complete multi-sensory environment. Our goal is to fully expose these students to a broad range of approaches that meet all sensory needs. This type of sensory integration will place us on the cutting edge for educating students with sensory handicaps.

My goal in this project is meeting students' needs on a sensory level in order that student success to take place. My big dream for this research is applying this to all students, not just those with disabilities.

Literature:

Sensory Integration is a theory developed more than 20 years ago by A. Jean Ayres, an occupational therapist with advanced training in neuroscience and educational psychology (Bundy & Murray, 2002). Ayres (1972) defines sensory integration as "the neurological process that organizes sensation from one's own body and from the environment and makes it possible to use the body effectively within the environment." While we know very little about the cause of autism and other sensory processing disorders, we do know sensory depravation hinders their capacity to grow. Sensory deprivation studies (Doman, 1984) show that sudden and nearly complete deprivation of stimulation through the five senses can lead to autistic-like behaviors (withdrawal, stereotyped movements, etc.), but these problems are reversible with proper stimulation. This approach seems foreign to most educators, but it must become a part of the way that we reach these students (Kaylyn Smialek, 2013). The goal of SI therapy is not to teach specific skills or behaviors, but to remediate deficits in neurologic processing and integration of sensory information to allow the child to interact with the environment in a more adaptive fashion (Meyers, MD, 2007).

Subjects:

My target population for this study will be the students within my self-contained Special Education classroom at the high school. Although this is a very limited study in relation to the overall goal, it will grant me a framework of how to implement these solutions campus wide and eventually throughout the district.

Procedures:

My approach to sensory depravation is to set up a learning environment to meet the sensory needs of students the entire day. In order for this to be successful, I applied and received a large grant to transform my classroom into full integrated sensory environment. We changed the lighting from florescent to LED, added a multi-sensory room, and indoor and outdoor swings. We also added a vestibular spinning board and a variety of other tools to help meet students' needs. The largest approach to this research is simply the change in mindset. Sensory integration starts from the moment the student arrives at school. It may be something as simple as riding a bike for 30 minutes or walking around the campus. So, we alternate learning and sensory integration throughout the entire day. This approach is called a sensory diet. It is a part of the student's daily structure, and is no different than the core subjects that the student engages in daily.

The biggest piece to this puzzle will be in the willingness of the high school faculty. Will they join with me in testing this approach in their mainstream classrooms?

Data Collection:

My data will be collected in a variety of ways. The first will be daily assessments of how the student is responding to the stimuli and how he then transitions back into regular academia. The second will be in behavior. Are the student's depravation episodes slowing? Is the student adjusting to change? These observations will take some time to gather enough data to draw any conclusions to the approach. This data will be tracked daily, weekly, and every six weeks according to the students IEP progress report.

Findings:

My initial findings are positive. From the moment that we began this approach in the self contained classroom, we have seen clear changes in the behavior and adaptation of the students. The really amazing thing about this environmental approach has been the positive outcomes academically. We have seen large growth in students' reading, math and other functional objectives. During the 2012-2013 school year, the number of IEP goals that were met is unprecedented. But, because of the confidential nature of the findings, the details of the research cannot be shared outside of the ARD committee.

Conclusions:

This project has changed my entire approach to education. The success that we have seen firsthand because we are intentionally meeting sensory needs is amazing. My hope is that this continued research will lead to attempting these types of approaches outside of the Special Education department and that it will be implemented district wide. We are already in the process of writing the sensory diet as a part of the students' IEP and planning staff development in order to train teachers in ways to implement sensory integration. I am excited about the future of this project.

References:

The free dictionary. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.thefreedictionary.com/sensory deprivation

Meyers, MD, S. (2007). Management of children with autism spectrum disorders. American Academy of Pediatrics, Volume 120(Number 5), 1162.

Doman, R.J. (1984) Sensory Deprivation, NACD

Kaylyn Smialek. (2013, Marcy 27). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.childdevelopmentclub.org/index.php/blog/blog-posts/170-the-impact-of-sensory-integration-in-the-classroom

Ayres, A. J. (1972). Sensory integration and learning disorders. Los Angeles: Western Psychological Services. Ayres, A. J. ( 1989). Sensory integration and praxis tests. Los Angeles: Western Psychological Services.

Bundy, A. C., Lane, S. J., & Murray, E. A. (2002) Sensory integration: Theory and practice. Philadelphia: F. A. Davis.

Update on Action Research.....

My Action research project is going very well, it seems that I am finally gathering some footing among colleagues. During the Fall, I wrote and was awarded a grant from a local education foundation. It allowed me to further my multi-sensory sensory approach by upgrading my multi-sensory room and providing more support for vestibular stimulation. By putting picnic tables and swings outside, it will allow me to move the classroom outside on days that it is nice out. This will meet a sensory needs for my sensory processing disorder students. With the grant money, I also installed an indoor swing and had a vestibular spinning board built. This is a great addition to my occupational therapy approaches as a part of the students sensory diets. Currently, I am writing IEP's for the new school year that will have the sensory diet objectives listed. This will be the first time that these have been apart of student IEP's

My principal(site supervisor) has given me many opportunities to serve in administrative duties. It has been a great to have the opportunity serve on collaboration teams and put some of the things I am learning in motion.

Action Research Reflection

From the moment that I ordered my books for this course, I had no idea what the details of this research course would be. I was familiar with research, as a college student you have to be. But, I had no idea how important the action research is to any organization. Research is not just searching for sources to support your point. It is about looking and creating data from all different perspectives. It must first start with inquiry. Administrator inquiry refers to the process of a principal engaging in systematic, intentional study of his/her own administrative practice and taking action for change based on what he/she learns as an effect of the inquiry. (Dana, 2009)This becomes so important as a future administrator. Because the challenge for continual improvement, formal improvement processes capture the attention of many educators at all levels-public and private schools, colleges, and universities. (Harris, Edmonson & Combs, 2010) One of the main reasons that action inquiry is so effective is because it uses groups of people to reach the goal. This collaboration is present from start to finish. The strength of this team is that you can share needed experience. This also is so important in accountability. As I examined this part of action research, I realized that I do this type of thing all the time while serving on teams and committees. I have also been really impressed by my fellow classmates. They are always pushing me to produce better work. Their comments and suggestions have been crucial in developing ideas for my own action research inquiry. It is really humbling to think about the number of quality future leaders that I get to work with in this course. Their research topics have really impressed me. Some of the issues that they are addressing have really forced me to examine needs on my campus and look for ways to improve them. Some of the needs were never apparent to me until this course. The assignments of the course were also very challenging, but helped me systematically put together a plan. I always loved to hear the insights of my professors when they would talk about the assignments. The next aspect of the course that has really been good has been the push of the university to keep us abreast to the importance of technology and social media. From day one, we have always been asked to examine ways that technology can be used in the classroom. The starting of a blog was a key component of the course. It really allowed me to focus my efforts at the end of each week and summarize what I had learned. The blog really allowed me to see the importance of online communication, especially when collaboration and inquiry are concerned. The comments from classmates following my blog were crucial in revision of my inquiry. Overall, this course has taken me to another level of knowledge. I never knew anything about action research inquiry, and certainly never thought I would spearhead a project of my own. Today, because of this course, I am leading change on my campus. I can't wait to see where this knew knowledge and leadership will take me.

Dana, N. F. (2009). Leading with passion and knowledge, the principal as action researcher. Corwin Press.

Harris, S., Edmonson, S., & Combs, J. (2010). Examining what we do to improve our schools, 8 steps from analysis to action.

Revised Action Research Project

Mult-Sensory Enviroment Research