Running Head: SERVICE LEARNING REFLECTION

Service Learning Reflection

Bethany Burgess
Ivy Tech Community College

Running Head: SERVICE LEARNING REFLECTION

The time I spent in my servicing learning classrooms were incredibly insightful and gave
me a lot of new knowledge on the emotional, mental and environment needs of these students. I
have spent many hours observing elementary classrooms but none of which have ever been like
this with students such as these. I had a wonderful time and the students taught me so much, they
were all extraordinary students with the kindest hearts.
I had the privilege of spending my hours at White Lick Elementary, located in the
Brownsburg School Cooperation. I spent my hours and days in a variety of classrooms and with
multiple students, it gave me an array of circumstance and learning environments.
Brownsburg School Cooperation has what they call The Bridge Program in every
elementary school. This is when they only pull students with handicaps or special needs for
specific subjects or times. They want to keep these students in their regular classes with their
regular teachers and peers as much as possible. They are trying to bridge the gap between
specials needs and the regular classroom. The Brownsburg School Cooperation only has one
school where students with severe learning disabilities attend, they simply do not have enough of
these students for every school to house a classroom for them.
I spent my days with some truly incredible children, they were all so kind, funny and
happy. Almost all of them welcomed me with open arms, I wasnt expecting that. I didnt
anticipate the students to be so inviting to a stranger disrupting their schedule and days, and there
were a few who werent, which is what I anticipate all together. I spent my time with students
who were autistic, had emotional and behavioral problem, along with a student who was hearing
impaired.

Running Head: SERVICE LEARNING REFLECTION

I would begin my day sitting in and observing a social skills class, there were five
students who would attend each morning, all of which were boys. The first week I sat in and
observed they were talking about the differences between tattling and reporting. These
students did not spend their whole day in this classroom, they were pulled from their class and
spend about forty-five minutes with Mrs. Birkla. They were students who either had behavioral
or emotional problems or were somewhere on the Autistic spectrum. The second week that I
observed this class they were learning about personal space. This was something that all the
students had minor or major issues with, whether they could control it or not. Either they had no
concept of what they were during or had no control, it was still a very interesting lesson for these
young boys. The classroom was very fun, it was super hero themed, and this was not the main
classroom for the bridge students so there werent many different accommodations.
manage ones feelings and behavior and how to get along with other people are
essential features of the curriculum for many students with emotional and behavioral disorders.
These children cannot be expected to learn such skills instruction (Hallahan, 2009)
Once their time was up the students was up they went to their classrooms, a few of my
days I followed a young boy who was hearing impaired back to his regular classroom. I spent
about twenty minutes helping him catch up on miscellaneous work, I wore a mic that was
programed with his hearing aid so that he could hear me more clearly.
After that time I would make my way to Ruth Basss classroom, she was the main special
needs teacher for the third through fifth graders, and it was her primary classroom. The
classroom was very spacious and there were a handful or desks with students names on them,
along with multiple tables and chairs. Since these students dont suffer from any physical
limitations there werent any other modifications to the classroom.

Running Head: SERVICE LEARNING REFLECTION

The students who came into Mrs. Bass class were students who were Autistic, or had
behavioral or emotional problems. A lot of the students were a few grade levels behind where
they should be when it came to reading and language arts. While I was in Mrs. Bass class the
students were given one on one time with me and could read me their favorite books. She said
she was grateful for the time I was spending in her class because a lot of these students didnt
have time for one on one to work with their reading skills.
Throughout the day if students had time in between lessons or times they were moving
from one class to the other they would take sensory breaks. They could draw, play with sand,
and other manipulatives. The classroom even had a sensory wall outside their classroom for the
students.
"The rationale is that by changing how sensations are processed by the brain, we help
children with autism make better sense of the information they receive and use it to better
participate in everyday tasks," says lead researcher Roseann Schaaf. (Sensory, n.d)
Most of the students were open to reading with me, but there was one young boy who had
no desire at all and threw a tantrum about it. He was asked to sit in a quiet corner and was given
a feeling journal. This is where the students are supposed to communicate why they reacted the
way they did on paper and explain their emotions. Mrs. Bass used a very kind but stern voicing
when communicating with all of her students, even when they werent behaving appropriately.
Without effective means of controlling disruptive behavior, its extremely unlikely that
academic and social leaning will occur (Hallahan, 2009)
She had one young boy who was brought back to her class because he wasnt listening,
participating and being disruptive in his regular classroom. Bass had to warn the young boy to

Running Head: SERVICE LEARNING REFLECTION

keep his hands to himself and not to touch her body, this is a problem with students who become
frustrated. Mrs. Bass always allows a cool down, for however long to student needed, so that
they could finally return to their classroom and continue to learn.
The discipline the students received for not listening or acting out was moving their
clips, there were three different colored ribbon, and they were green, yellow, and red. The
students all started on green and would move back and forth between the colors throughout the
day depending on their choices. Mrs. Birkla offered a sticker chart for when the students were
paying attention and working together to accomplish an assignment.
I have learned a lot from my reading about special education classrooms and the
extraordinary students who attend these classes but I learned so much more by spending time in
one and interacting with these wonderful students.

Running Head: SERVICE LEARNING REFLECTION

Bibliography
Study Finds Sensory Integration Therapy Benefits Children with Autism. (n.d.).
Retrieved November 16, 2015, from https://www.autismspeaks.org/science/science-news/studyfinds-sensory-integration-therapy-benefits-children-autism
Hallahan, D., & Kauffman, J. (2009). Exceptional learners: An introduction to special
education (11th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson/Allyn & Bacon.