Kathy,
I've had one experience with a pretty severe case and it had a happy ending. He was an average student but, was out of touch enough that other faculty dreaded having him in class and his behavior had resulted in more than one student getting him served with a restraining order. I didn't find out about the problem until the afternoon before the first RAT which was to scheduled for 9:00 AM. I had hoped to call him aside and encourage him to share his problem and ask his team for help. Unfortunately, he was late and I had no opportunity to talk to him. Although I have no idea about how the team dealt with the challenge but they DID. He ended up with somewhat lower peer evaluation scores but, the team did fairly well and I didn't have to intervene in the team in any way. The only evidence I saw was that, a couple of times during class discussions, he asked a confrontational question that seemed out of place. When that happened, the young lady sitting next to him put her hand on his arm and said, "Not now Kevin" and, with that, he politely withdrew his question.
Larry
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Larry K. Michaelsen
Professor of Management
University of Central Missouri
Dockery 400G
Warrensburg, MO 64093
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660/429-9873 voice <---NEW ATT cell phone
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>>> Kathryn McKnight <[log in to unmask]> 09/14/10 10:00 PM >>>
Has anyone had successful experiences with an Aspergers student in a TBL setting? I currently have an advanced UG in my class who has Aspergers, and it appears to me that it is difficult for him to participate in group communication. He is a bright student with a B+ average, but avoids eye contact unless directly spoken to, and has not said a word in class that I'm aware of, except when I have directly spoken to him. The campus disabilities resource center is working with me, and I am going to find out whether the student is willing to share the information with team-mates, which I think would be extremely helpful. I have the information that in other classes he has thrived with instructors using a Socratic method (I'm guessing that means direct and open-ended questions to him). But, if anyone has experience, I would welcome suggestions.
Thanks,
Kathy
Kathryn J. McKnight
Associate Professor of Spanish
Associate Director for Academic Programs
Latin American & Iberian Institute
MSC 02 1690
801 Yale Blvd NE
1 University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001
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