Dustin Wensel (2006)
Adaptive Planning: It Is Really Important
Sometimes life provides experiences that are unexpected. If one is lucky, these experiences prove to be very helpful in the future. As a Kinesiology (Physical Education) major, Dustin Wensel completed part of his student teaching assignment at Lincoln Intermediate in Monmouth, Illinois, with Bob Reedy as his mentor teacher. Lincoln Intermediate has 358 students in grades 4, 5, and 6. It is a part of the Monmouth-Roseville School District.
Dustin worked with Mr. Reedy to teach a variety of units to the multiple grade-level classes at Lincoln. In his content coursework at WIU, Dustin had training in working with students who have special needs. He was prepared to use this knowledge during student teaching. The unexpected experience Dustin had was the type of program that Mr. Reedy had already established to meet the needs of some of his students with special needs. For example, Dustin discovered that adapting many of the games and activities to someone in a wheelchair was a challenge and required much planning. Dustin described the experience at Lincoln as “great” but the extra bonus was the additional experience in adaptive planning to better meet the needs of all the students in the class. This experience was “really important ”.
Dustin is a graduate of Bolingbrook High School and a December 2006 graduate of Western. He is currently teaching at Warsaw School District.