USING DIGITAL VISUAL ARTS TO PROMOTE EQUITY AND ENHANCE LEARNING FOR STUDENTS WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES.
Standing
Undergraduate
Type of Proposal
Poster Presentation
Challenges Theme
Open Challenge
Your Location
Belle River, Ontario
Faculty
Faculty of Education
Faculty Sponsor
None. This is listed as optional on the submission page.
Proposal
As a digital artist and teacher candidate in the Faculty of Education, I saw the need to incorporate the visual arts to assist students with learning disabilities. For many of our students who have a difficult time in committing multiplication facts to memory as well as having challenges with finding strategies for solving, conceptualizing etc. I decided to come up with discrete ways using digital art with curriculum materials to enhance their learning while preserving student dignity, as many students with exceptionalities are sensitive about being singled out as being the few that still need to use manipulatives. We solve this dilemma using digital arts by allowing students to access the manipulatives on their work pages, discretely, yet in plain sight. Made available for all students, as a digital overlay file or just simply splicing the teaching material the manual way, then copy and distribute. In addition to these overlay art pieces; I have digitally designed graphic organizers that are typically used for literacy purposes but now have been re-engineered for use in math. These graphic organizers are a way for our learners, to choose the strategy that is a best fit for them to assist understanding. By no means a total replacement of traditional plastic blocks and manipulatives, but as a meaningful accompaniment that helps to level the playing field for exceptional students, who “never want to be that special kid who needs these special tools” (Anonymous, 2019).
Special Considerations
Thank you for taking the time to review my proposal and provide assessment scoring.
Having been in classrooms all over Windsor/Essex county in a substitute early childhood educator/educational assistant/developmental support worker for the past 3 years, I had opportunity to see the diverse learning needs and the challenges associated. Being a parent of two exceptional children whose learning needs were atypical, prompted deep thought and creativity to assist their individual challenges. Deficits with working memory meant that use of concrete and multi-sensory materials would be needed for solidifying the learning. Multiplication facts were very challenging as rote memory is typically used for committing these facts. As a result, digitally designed graphic organizers for multiplication are now a personal tool that I currently use with success in both my personal tutoring as well as in the classroom as needed.
Formative assessment by observation verified the success of this digitally designed tool. Teachers use their professional judgment in finding resources that provide differentiation for the diverse learning needs of their students. Necessity often becomes the author of invention in cases where learning difficulties persist. In this instance, the digital art and design(s) provided a solution for differentiation to enhance learning, but also preserved student dignity, and created a more equitable environment for exceptional students. The final digital artifact is a unique border that can be used as overlay for worksheets and during summative assessments allows students with exceptionalities to access concrete manipulatives without being singled out. The digitally designed border art (created in various visually appealing formats) allows learning exceptional students to complete mental math and counting with ease and anonymity. These too have had the same classroom and personal tutoring use with same successful outcomes.
The efficiency piece comes into play as digital art has the benefit of longevity, ability to be reconfigured/adjusted to individual student needs, easy to incorporate with existing teacher resources, inexpensive to produce, mass distribution is a simple computer click for sharing. Now a teacher candidate in the Faculty of Education, I can take these experiences and merge with theoretical pedagogy (Piaget/ Constructivism) to create digital art designs as resources for tremendous benefits for our diverse learners.
Thank you again for your consideration. Regards, Rebekah Harrison
I welcome this opportunity to showcase my digital creations in poster format. Rebekah Harrison
USING DIGITAL VISUAL ARTS TO PROMOTE EQUITY AND ENHANCE LEARNING FOR STUDENTS WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES.
As a digital artist and teacher candidate in the Faculty of Education, I saw the need to incorporate the visual arts to assist students with learning disabilities. For many of our students who have a difficult time in committing multiplication facts to memory as well as having challenges with finding strategies for solving, conceptualizing etc. I decided to come up with discrete ways using digital art with curriculum materials to enhance their learning while preserving student dignity, as many students with exceptionalities are sensitive about being singled out as being the few that still need to use manipulatives. We solve this dilemma using digital arts by allowing students to access the manipulatives on their work pages, discretely, yet in plain sight. Made available for all students, as a digital overlay file or just simply splicing the teaching material the manual way, then copy and distribute. In addition to these overlay art pieces; I have digitally designed graphic organizers that are typically used for literacy purposes but now have been re-engineered for use in math. These graphic organizers are a way for our learners, to choose the strategy that is a best fit for them to assist understanding. By no means a total replacement of traditional plastic blocks and manipulatives, but as a meaningful accompaniment that helps to level the playing field for exceptional students, who “never want to be that special kid who needs these special tools” (Anonymous, 2019).