Standard+4

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The teacher understands and uses a variety of instructional strategies, including the use of technology, to encourage children's development of critical thinking, problem solving, and performance skills.
 * __Standard 4__: Teachers know how to teach. **

 __** Rationale 4 **__** : ** This movie is intended to be used with dual media students, that is, students that still have vision and read print, but are learning Braille due to a possible future need for it. In Braille, every character is made up of a combination of six dots that comprise what is called a Braille “cell.” Each dot is identified by a number, dot 1, dot 2, etc. Although each unique dot configuration stands for a different Braille character, most are mirror images of one another, very much like the print letters “b” and “d.” Therefore, reversals are very common errors among Braille readers. Creating mnemonic devices or even stories, like this movie, seems to help students remember the specific dot configurations associated with Braille characters they have difficulty reading and writing. Depending on when the student begins learning Braille, this lesson would be most appropriate to use with students anywhere from Grade 2 through Grade 5. I have not yet had the opportunity to use it with any of my students.
 * __Evidence 4 __: Multimedia Windows Movie Maker Project – “Part-Word Contractions: "ar" The Pirate Contraction” **

It can be difficult for students who still have vision to be motivated to learn Braille. The students tend to want to use their vision to read the Braille, instead of learning to read it tactually. Learning to create a movie with Windows Movie Maker was a helpful experience for me because it allowed me to use this as an opportunity to engage my dual media students and have a little more fun with the content. If the student is able to view and recall the story from the movie, he/she is more likely to be able to identify that specific Braille contraction when it appears in future readings. My dual media students need to learn to read Braille tactually, but rather than discourage their use of vision, this movie-making project has allowed me to redirect their visual attention in a positive, constructive manner.

There is a lot of memorization involved in learning to read Braille – memorization of the structure of a Braille cell, the different dot configurations that make up Braille letters and/or contractions (short-form character(s) that stand for multiple letters or whole words), and rules specific to each different set of contractions. In addition to tactile memory recall, this Movie Maker story will provide a visual and cognitive element to the memorization of such information. To further the connection between the hard-copy Braille and the story, as the student views/reads the Movie Maker presentation, he/she can also be tactually feeling the Braille contraction at the same time. Adding a creative visual element to the Braille instruction of a dual media student will allow the student to develop a stronger understanding of and connection with the material being presented. It can be especially difficult if the student may need Braille in the future due to a declining visual condition, but is not primarily a tactile learner. In this case, I need to use such methods as this Movie Maker presentation to encourage the student and teach to his/her strengths as a means of supporting the tactile instruction.
 * __Knowledge__: **
 * 4.K.1 The teacher understands the cognitive processes associated with various kinds of learning (e.g. critical and creative thinking, problem structuring, invention, memorization and recall) and how these processes can be stimulated. **
 * __ Skills or Performance __**** : **
 * 4.S.5 The teacher develops a variety of clear, accurate presentations and representations of concepts, using alternative explanations to assist students and presenting diverse perspectives to encourage critical thinking. **

I have had students make up their own mnemonic devices to learn Braille, as well. Now that I have acquired the skill of making multimedia presentations, the students could see their own ideas come to life and further reinforce their learning. When most people think of Braille, they think of someone who cannot see and must read tactually, and although the instructional outcome must be to read Braille tactually, teachers need to be flexible enough to incorporate visual elements such as this Movie Maker story into the instruction as well because not all students are able to fully comprehend the information if it is only being taught through one learning modality.
 * __Dispositions__: **
 * 4.D.2 The teacher values flexibility and reciprocity in the teaching process as necessary for adapting instruction to student responses, ideas, and needs. **