Context: 

I created this Culture Report on students who are visually impaired with Kristie Arrowood and Angela Morgan, in Dr. Nancy Mamlin's Learner Diversity class.  This project was designed to learn more about individuals who are visually impaired and to assist those who need to refer to this information when working with students.

Impact:

I will be able to use this culture report to help find useful information about different cultural groups and useful classroom practices to use with these students.  I will also be able to use this culture report in my own classroom if I have a student who is visually impaired.  The culture report includes useful information I can use in my classroom such as, classroom practices, children's literature that relates to the visually impaired, stereotypes for these individuals, famous people who have a visual impairment, and current research on student's with a visual impairment.  This is beneficial to help teach these diverse learners in an inclusive classroom setting. 

Alignment:

Standard 4:  Elementary teachers have a broad knowledge and understanding of the major concepts in social studies.

Indicator 4:  Teachers have knowledge of and appreciation for multicultural children's literature.  Teachers select appropriate literature that is free from racist and sexist bias. 

I met this indicator by considering literature that would be appropriate to those student's with a visual impairment.  I included in my Culture Report a list of books with summaries and classroom activities that inlcuded information and stories about individuals with visual impairments.  These books would help other students learn about individuals with visual impairments. 

Standard 14:  Elementary teachers develop strategies to address topics that are controversial to diverse groups.

Indicator 1:  Teachers understand and respect that families and communities may have diverse attitudes about the educational process.

I met this indicator by providing in my culture report current statistics on student's with visual impairments.  I also included stereotypes which I disproved through research which would help others learn and respect those individual's with visual impairments.  The classroom practices help give suggestions about how to set up and modify a classroom if there is a student who has a visual impairment.

Indicator 4:  Teachers explore multiple viewpoints and respect values consistent with a democratic community by recognizing and valuing the family roles in educating children of diversity.

I met this indicator by researching and including different statistics about individuals with visual impairments, and also including a list of children's literature that deals with individuals that have a visual impairment.  There are also appropriate classroom practices that recognize and value educating students with a visual impairment.

Indicator 5:  Teachers discourage prejudice, derogatory comments and stereotypical perspectives by modeling and selecting bias free instructional materials.

I met this indicator by including a document in the culture report about common stereotypes, and with those stereotypes, included information that disproved these stereotypes.  The children's literature included also included books that discouraged prejudice and derogatory comments about individual's with visual impairment.

Indicator 6:  Teachers search for more effective means of edcucating all students in creating effective instructional goals, methods, materials, and skills that match the diversity of students.

I met this indicator by including the document of classroom practices that match to benfit student's in the classroom with a visual impairment.