SPED 320 Assignment #1 Description and Rubric



SPED 417/517 Assignment #1 Description and Rubric

I. Environmental analysis

a. Students will complete an environmental analysis of an educational setting (home, vocational, school/post-secondary, recreation/leisure, and community)

b. A written report following guidelines provided in class is required.

Rubric for Environmental Analysis

|Identification of educational setting (see categories above), name of setting and picture of multi-sensory |5 points |

|environment | |

|Detailed description of environment: | |

|What kinds of sights and sounds are present in the environment? |3 points |

|Describe the opportunities for touch, smell, or taste? |3 points |

|How “busy” is the environment (distractions, competing stimuli, excessive movement, etc.)? |3 points |

|Describe the opportunities for movement? | |

|How could this environment be used as an educational setting? |3 points |

| |3 points |

|Rationale for selecting this environment |5 points |

|Grammatical structure of writing |5 points |

|Total: |30 points |

Sample:

I. Educational setting: Vocational/community – Public landscaping nursery

II. Description of environment:

There are many sights and sounds present in this environment. First, there are many colors of plants with various textures and contrasts. Since this picture shows an outdoor setting, there is also varying colors and images from the expanse of the sky. It appears to be a sunny day, so there is extreme brightness, which provides clarity to all of the colors in the environment. It is likely that there are people who are moving about while shopping. Water from the fountain appears to be clean, so it is therefore relatively clear. If conditions are windy, there will also be moving images, including plants, water, and hair/clothes on people. There may be sound from the plants moving in the wind and from the water dripping in the fountain. Wind may also cause a background noise from distant trees. There may also be sounds and moving images from birds or small animals in the nursery area. The voices of people in the environment, as they discuss plants or ask questions, would provide a slight murmur. Cars in the parking lot or nearby roads may also add to the overall background noise.

Considering that there are many plants and flowers, and that policies at public nurseries don’t typically prohibit touching, there would be many textures, including soft, hard, rough, prickly, smooth, and possibly sticky. Water in the fountain is wet and cool. Flowers and certain plants would provide many different smells. They may be pleasant or unpleasant, depending on particular preferences. There may also be smells from outside of the nursery that are carried in the wind. Some people might be wearing cologne or perfume that is strong enough to pick up as you pass by them. There would not be any tastes experienced in the general environment. There are, however some plants or flowers which are edible, however this would not be encouraged by the nursery.

Depending on the season, there may be significant movement in this setting. Customers and employees may be walking or moving hurriedly about the nursery. While there are a lot of products available, there are maintained in an orderly fashion. Colors are generally natural and complementary. Due to the amount of activity present, there wouldn’t be many competing sounds. This would be a relaxing and calm setting.

According to this picture, there is little activity, however there is potential for movement due to the space and the organization of the environment. Walkways are wide and winding, therefore allowing change of movement and directions. Customers and employees may pick up the products, move them around for a different perspective, or interact with the water by splashing hands or throwing coins.

This setting would be appropriate for educational activities such as developing vocational skills, learning how to access the community, or participating in science-related activities. Math skills can be addressed with product sales or inventory. Reading can be addressed when identifying plants/flowers or learning about plant care.

III. Rationale

I selected this environment because of the many types of sensory experiences that are available in the outdoors. I liked that the setting was organized in a way that provided structure for learning activities. While there is a lot of space, there are parameters and interesting items that would keep students motivated and discourage wandering. This environment could also provide opportunities for learning specific academic skills or developing functional life skills. I also feel it is important to incorporate “real life” settings to supplement curriculum and to make learning interesting, fun, and meaningful.

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