D.

Classroom Observations and Reflection: Critically reflect on ways you are continuing to learn about teaching students with
additional needs.
I experienced a learning curve at my first placement, during my second week of teaching. I was asked the night before to plan Year
11 Art lesson the next day, due to a cancelled Year 9 Art lesson already planned due to an excursion. I thoroughly planned and
taught the lesson; I explained the task and went around to ensure everyone was on track. I came across two girls who havent
started and when I asked why they hadnt, one replied I have Autism and the other said Im partially death can you wear
this? as she handed me a device that connected to hear piece to hear me. It was at this point I learnt the importance of finding
out about the students I teach, before I teach them to ensure all are included in a positive and inclusive environment. I felt horrible
that I barely even knew what having Autism meant, which in turn motivated me to find out more about what having Autism entails.
During this first placement I was asked to plan two lunchtime Art lessons as part of the schools Arts Week. Through my time
during my placement I developed a positive rapport with a group of girls with ASD who all had an interest in the Arts. I created the
theme of my lunchtime classes to align with their interests: Cartooning and Mythical Creatures. I painting four large broads with
blackboard-paint and provided the students with coloured chalk, as I created lunchtime chalk art. During this week many
students turned up with and without ASD and the students worked together on an activity that they were passionate about. The
final artworks created were displayed around the school, as it allowed the students to feel a sense of pride and confidence in what
they have achieved. The students with ASD also gained confidence in the classroom during other Art lessons. The lunchtime art
classes proved beneficial to all students, and my placement school has made it a weekly ongoing event it was that successful.
When living with a neurological condition or with a loved one who has one (or teach in this case), it can be very easy to
focus on the challenges and limitations. But in my life, I have found that focusing on abilities, finding new ways to adapt,
have been crucial to my successes in life. Seeking those solutions can be seen as a form of creativity (Soraya, 2015). This
is a quote that resonates with me in relation to teaching for inclusion and diversity. I fostered an inclusive enviourment with
the ASD students during my first placement, and I have researched ways they can peruse this talent for life after school
which I have informed my mentor teacher of when the time comes for these students to leave school. I found a great
foundation called Arts Project Australia. Arts Project Australia is an inner city studio and gallery existing to nurture and
promote artists with an intellectual disability as they develop their art practice. Myra Hilgendorf, who founded Arts Projects
Australia in 1974, insisted the work be presented in a professional manner and that artists were accorded the same dignity
and respect as their non-disabled peers (Arts Project Australia, 2015).