Week Seventeen: Carl Sandburg

      

    At my student teaching placement I just finished my last week of teaching. It was a bittersweet feeling and I enjoyed making the plans for my teacher to finish the school year. I wrote plans so that she is able to use the lessons and units I created until it goes into finals for our students. This week was focused on finishing certain units and making sure that my students did not have any late work for me. I feel like I had one of the best experiences as a student teacher because of my cooperating teacher. Not only did she allow me to have full control of the classroom but she was still there when I needed support from her. I noticed that in the beginning, before I would carry forward with a lesson/unit, handling a behavior, or dealing with staff I would ask for her advice before I would implement it. I noticed that by the end of my experience that I would implement it myself and then ask her later on how she would handle the situation or what she would have done. It made me feel competent that I could handle myself as a professional and growing into the teacher that I am aiming to be. I was able to be a part of three IEP meeting this week. My teacher allowed me to make one of my students IEP's and then looked over it the day before the meeting. We used the program "Easy IEP," and it helped me not only to see the process but the interaction between, staff, parents and with the student. Out of the three meetings only one parent showed up, which happened to be the one that I was leading. Before the meeting I was very nervous, but once it was started I found it to go very smoothly. The other meetings had to be done over speaker phone and I was able to see the difference in communication from being face to face to over the speaker. I felt like the parents felt confused at some parts and also took ideas differently than they would in person. What I liked about these IEP meetings is that the student was in the room to be a part of the process and have their say in the matter.

 In Schmidt’s chapter 12 it enlightened me on how to be a lifelong learner. As teacher it is important for me to always be learning. This can mean from a class but also from my students. I hope one day to get my masters in Curriculum planning and reading. It is also important for me to attend professional developments through my school. During my Novice teaching, we were required to attend two professional developments. I found this very helpful and it gave me new insight on topics that I would never have thought of on my own.  

Week Sixteen

Wow, I can’t believe how far I have come already in student teaching. This week was very different from any other week so far at Carl Sandburg. I taught a full day on Monday and I was able to start a new unit on Life cycles for my science classes. My teacher brought us in fertilized eggs to take care of. I have never seen our students so excited. On Tuesday and Wednesday, the school had Plan test and the ACT testing. Since our students take the IAA, our students did not have to come to school on Wednesday. On Tuesday we met in the “Little Theater” and put on a movie for the students. While they were watching the movie, I would pull them out to test them on what they wanted to do with their futures. It was a test on what interests them. Also during this time, I was able to complete an IEP on my own, on the program Easy IEP. My teacher then looked over it and I will be presenting it on May 4^th.

On Wednesday, all the special education teachers met at Andrew high school to discuss the curriculum for the next school year. I was able to see this process for Science, between my cooperating teacher, a teacher from Stagg and the last from Andrew. This group completes the district for the special education teachers that teach a science class. They pulled up a layout and made sure that all of their objectives lined up with the state standards. I was able to be their scribe on the computer and to take part in this process.

On Thursday we took a Field Trip to the “Children’s Farm,” in Orland Park. We took this field trip to see the plant and animal life cycle in process. When we got there, we were given a hay ride and then we warmed up by the camp fire and ate s'mores. After that we were taken around the farm to look at plants in the farm’s gardens and to see the animals. The students were able to go into the barn and touch and feed a variety of animals. They were able to see chicks, ducklings and baby rabbits. It was great being in the outdoors with my students and to interact with them, other than in the classroom.

Next week is my last week of full time teaching. On Wednesday, I will be going into Elim to observe a classroom and to see if I want to take the offer of teaching there. It will only be part time but I think it will be a great step to my future as a special educator.

Week Fifteen: Carl Sandburg

I just completed my fifteenth week in my student teaching clinical. At the moment I am having the bitter-sweet feeling of almost completely my four years at Trinity Christian College. One thing that really hit me this week is that I could be teaching on my own in a matter of months. My teacher gave me many different responsibilities this week and there were some days I felt like it was too much to handle. What always calms me down is that I was put into a placement that was already half way done with its school year so certain things are out of my control and I wasn’t able to be there for the beginning of the experiences.

My teacher is allowing me to write an IEP on one of my students and to be the speaker for the meeting on May 4, 2012. I am excited my teacher trusts me with something this important and that I will be able to get more experience with not only IEP’s themselves but also the program, “Easy IEP.” One thing that I am concerned with is finding the time to complete all that needs to be done. As much as I want the experience with the IEP and that one day it will be a big part of my career, I know that when I am teaching that I will have more time just to focus on my IEP’s. At this point in my college career I am winding down to the last assignments in my classes and finding it to be a challenge in order to complete it all. I just wished I could have worked on the IEP earlier so that I could focus on rather large projects on top of my planning for student teaching. I am feeling very overwhelmed at the moment but if I can make it through these last two weeks I believe I can handle any type of work or deadline as a professional.

This week, I was able to create my own assessments for many of my classes. In my instructional science I was able to take what we learned from our textbook (on level for high school) and adapt it for my students in order for them to succeed. I also found ways in order to help my students study. Instead of just living my students a study guide for them to study off of, I created a matching worksheet with all the key terms that they are expected to know on the test. Once they completed this independently (were able to use their books or notes) I explained to them that they would be able to use it on the test. I was able to see how my students learned and how they reacted to my test. It was great creating this type of assessment because I was given direct feedback from my students as well as their grades and scores.

Also this week we were given the opportunity to go to Sandburg’s art show. This was such a great experience because three of my students had art work in the show. Carl Sandburg is a very large school so it was a very special honor for a student’s work to be chosen in the show and then sent into different shows in Illinois to be graded. It was wonderful to see my student’s art and figure out what their thought process might have been or what motivated them. I was very proud of them and took all my students to go see the show to help support their peer. I loved the fact that both general and special education were in the show together and that both are capable of creating something so beautiful.

Schmidt Chapter Seven: Community in the Classroom

I love the idea that Schmidt relays on “Community in the Classroom.”  While reading chapter seven it explains ways to have community based learning in our classrooms. The author gives us eight ways in which community based learning has to offer our students. They are: Community-based projects put kids in the drivers seat, Community-based projects are academically and socially rigorous, Community-based learning requires different ways of knowing, Community-based learning is active, Teaching and learning are shared, Life and learning are fused, Student work has meaning in the world beyond, and Projects take on a life of their own. By having my students partake in community based learning they can take what they are learning in the classroom and infuse it into their everyday life. By having my students be part of the community it will create meaning in their learning that what they are doing is not only for the classroom but for what are outside the walls as well. This type of project also allows for students to be independent. “Our students will be co-teaching the curriculum as it evolves. With a bit of guidance, students organize themselves to work groups with a clear purpose, creating a pool of talent and drive.” (Schmidt, 142).

Being in Special Education, there are many opportunities for me to use Community-based learning. I am currently student teaching at Carl Sandburg high school in a multi-needs classroom. During my third hour I am teaching a class called “Daily Living Skills.” In this class we take the time to help our students to become citizens in the community and how we should act socially appropriate. Every Monday, the students and I decide on a recipe that we would like to make as a class. We also have a unit that we work on every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The unit we are currently working on is “How to run a household.” My students are learning how to cook, clean, handle money and to learn to live independently. Every Tuesday we create a grocery list and walk over to Jewel to pick up our supplies. Each student (with guidance if needed) will go off independently in source for their specific items. They have learned to look at the aisle signs or who to ask when they are having trouble find a certain food or supply.

Also during my sixth hour, I am teaching a vocational class. In this class we learn how to be good employees. They will do work around the classroom and school in order to work for “Sandburg dollars” that they can use to buy things from me (candy, chips, homework pass, movie day, ECT). After they finish working they then have to fill out a time sheet and have me sign it. This type of class prepares my students for when they have to hold a job outside school. Many of our students are then chosen to work through Sandburg at places around Sandburg like a bakery down the street or even at Palos Hospital. This type of learning helps my students to use what they are learning in school to their real life. Without this class many of our students would struggle in how to handle a job in the correct way.

Week Fourteen: Carl Sandburg

There are always many things that happen while student teaching. During this week, I video tapped myself teaching. There are many things I realized about my students, classroom and about my teaching by looking back at these videos. The room that I teach in is almost like the “head quarters” for the special education department. Both teachers and assistance will come in our room during the breaks and lunches.

Because of this there are so many distractions in our room that I sometimes over looked. In my first hour class there were seven aides in the back of the classroom talking and doing things on the computer. I also have trouble with one student on keeping his attention and now I can truly see why. With so much talking and movement its no wonder my students have a hard time paying attention to what I am teaching. I noticed the same thing during my third hour class. We were doing a cooking lesson and I had other aides walking through the video and doing things in the kitchen. This experience has showed me how to be flexible and how to lead my class even though there are things around me that I can’t control (It is not my place as a student teacher to change the situation of my classroom). What I learned is to more my class to a set part of the room while I am teaching or to do things that others will take notice on how the students need it quieter for them to learn. I have been teaching many things with Active Inspire that calls for the nights to be off or for students to be reading or interacting with the white board. By doing more interactive lessons, it proves to keep the learning in focus.

Week Thirteen: Carl Sandburg

There are many things that happened this week during my student teaching at Carl Sandburg High School. For the past year I have kept all my documents and lessons on my HP flash drive. On Monday, I left my flash drive in the computer and it was broken by one of my students. I lost everything I have done in my senior year including the week’s lessons, assessments, flipcharts and power points.

There were some positives from this experience. I learned how to literally think on my feet in putting together my week with my students. I am so happy that I had planned ahead to know what I expected and what I wanted to teach to my students. 

This also happened to be the week that I was being observed. Since I felt like I was constantly going, I completely forgot that she was coming in so she was able to see me off guard which ended up being a great thing. Professor Powell was able to see how I will be a teacher on a daily basis because there are going to be days where I don’t have much time to put into planning.

This week I was able to do record many videos of myself teaching. I think this is the best learning experience for me. It makes a huge difference when I watch myself to see both my positives and negatives. I noticed that in one lesson that I felt like I didn’t talk at my students level and that I had to raise or lower that in some areas. As for a positive I was happy to see how comfortable I look teaching my classes.  In Standard 10 it states that “The competent teacher is a reflective practitioner who continually evaluates how choices and actions affect students, parents, and other professionals in the learning community and actively seeks opportunities to grow professionally.” I have shown this my reflections on my lessons and how I would change or keep parts of it the same. I know that by watching the videos and even just reflecting on previous lessons that it will help me to grow professionally and be the teacher my student’s deserve.

This placement has shown me how I truly want to be a special education teacher. I have heard from other majors on how they are unsure of if this is what they can do for the rest of their life but I think I could be happy waking up everyday working with students like I have at Sandburg. I cannot wait to graduate and be a full time teacher with incredible staff, aides and students.

Week Twelve: Social Justice

“A general definition is Social justice is the view that everyone deserves equal economic, political and social rights and opportunities.” This is so important to be aware of in the classroom. Everyone deserves to be treated fairly no matter what their ability or disability might be. As a teacher I am the leader who implements who the classroom will run and the flow of things. I need to be a role model for my class and show them how to treat each other. There are going to be days that are going to be harder than others but I need to make sure that each day I come with an open mind and a clean slate for each student.

Being in my student teaching placement, observing and doing novice teaching has really shown my how diverse my students might be in my future classroom. I need to recognize and understand my student’s backgrounds to better under my student’s as a person. In Standard two it states that the “The competent teacher understands how individuals grow, develop, and learn and provides learning opportunities that support the intellectual, social, and personal development of all students.” As their teacher I will be my student’s mentor and support system to help them to grow, develop, and to provide learning opportunities that every child can learn from.

Week Eleven: Carl Sandburg

I found this week at Carl Sandburg to be the most difficult. I have now taken over all the classes from my cooperating teacher. What was the most difficult was not the class load but my student’s behaviors. I think many of my students were showing their “other side” because of how close we were to spring break and they needed that week to defuse. On Monday, I had one of my most behaved students lose it because I started a unit on in Daily Living class on how to run a household. My student has a fear of growing older and he was outraged that he had to create a budget for how to live on your own and how to find an apartment. I lost him in the first five minutes of class. I took what I learned in Education classes that instead of feeding into the behavior, I should give him a choice in what he wants to do. I told him that he could finish the budget that we were working on, read through a “house and design magazine” or to lose his lunch and to work with me then. This way I am still having my student pick a choice that keeps them working but they have a say in the matter as well. Lucky for me he decided to do this when I was being observed so Professor Powell was not only able to see my lesson but my behavior management as well.

On Thursday I had another behavior problem during my functional science class. I have a student who will work hard until it comes to reading longer than a paragraph and he does not like to write at all. I try to call on him to read the shorter paragraphs or to keep the writing to small amounts but this day in particular was our test over our unit on Plants. He was allowed to use his study guide on both the vocabulary section as well as the multiple choice (I thought the multiple choice offered a better alternative than writing short answers). He ended up ripping up every copy I gave him and started breaking all his pencils. On top of that he was name calling and saying many things about me since I was making him take his test. I am glad that I was taught to stay cool and relaxed during this episode. I made sure to explain each of my reasons like “If you rip this paper up, I can always print you a new one,” so that he understands that by tearing it isn’t and will never get him out of doing a test. I also made a point to give him my pen since he wasn’t ready to use his pencils yet. Once he realized this wasn’t working he decided to throw his desk. At this point I realized that me talking me through the situation wasn’t making it better so I looked in my student’s folder on what was done in the past and I called one of our school cops to come and have a talk with my student. Once our officer talked to my student I was able to talk him into taking his test again. It was a long class period but I was happy to know that I stood my ground and showed that I wouldn’t waver from what I said.

I experienced the same issues with two other students on Friday. My teacher left school early and I was in charge of my class for only sixth period and then at our school assembly. I asked my aide to watch two of my students as I rounded up the rest of my class to make sure everyone was accounted for. When I came back I saw my aide in tears explaining how the students treated her and would not listen to her. My students decided they didn’t want to sit with our class (which is a rule at assemblies) and sit in the highest point in the bleacher. She was able to coax one student back down but I saw my second student at the very top. I knew that if left her alone to sit up there that I could lose my chance for her to see me as a teacher and authority figure. I went to the top and made all the students stand up until I could get my student out from the middle of the group. Once I did this she came out straight away and came to sit with our class. Since they were so disrespectful to their aide who was in charge of them we decided to give them both a write up. It was my first time dealing with this type of behavior and I was able to meet with their deans on what would be the consequences. By looking at Standard 10, it states that “the competent teacher is a reflective practitioner who continually evaluates how choices and actions affect students, parents, and other professionals in the learning community and actively seeks opportunities to grow professionally. “ This was important for me to do because I want to make sure that I handle my students in the correct way that is both respectful to them and myself. I made sure to call my teacher after school to see what steps she would have taken and then relate them to back to what I did. This helped show me how I am growing professionally and how to handle myself (or make things better) in the future when similar situations arise.

Week Ten: Carl Sandburg and First Teaching Interview

This week at Sandburg, I was really able to drive down into teaching. I was able to pick up the remaining number of the classes so that I am now their full time “teacher.” I think taking on this responsibility has really helped me to stay focused and organized. It also helps me to figure out how I will run my own class in little less than five months. Looking at Standard One in the Illinois Professional Teaching Standards it explains that “a competent teacher understands the central concepts, methods of inquiry, and structures of the disciplines and creates learning experiences that make the content meaningful to students.” I think I have done this with my lessons this week. For example, in my daily living class I started a unit on “how to run a household.” I thought it would be important for a student who is nearing the end of high school to be prepared for life once the real world comes to play. Our first section I created was on cleaning. I created a PowerPoint with six different household cleaners and what types of cleaners they would use. This is important because if they find themselves cleaning in their own house or even with their parents they need to beware that there are differences in the cleaning supplies. I used the example that we wouldn’t want to clean a mirror or computer screen with a dusting spray meant for wood. We then went over a worksheet to see if they understood the different concepts of cleaning with the supplies independently. I think this type of lesson is very meaningful for these students. Many of them are starting jobs during the second half of the day in order to obtain working skills. Some students might find that they need to clean as part of their job and it is important for them to learn how to run their own household or life with their families during and after high school.

I also learned how important it is to use any time I can use in order to use for my planning. I found that as a future teacher that there are not enough hours in one day. I learned that it is important to get to school early but not to plan the lessons for the day, but to review what I will be teaching and to make sure that all the worksheets, tests, ect is printed and set to go and that if I use technology that is it working and ready. Looking at Standard Four, I truly appreciate now how important it is to planning lessons for my students. The standards states that “The competent teacher understands instructional planning and designs instruction based upon knowledge of the discipline, students, the community, and curriculum goals.” Even though Sandburg’s special education program does not have a set curriculum, it is important that I am always finding or creating lessons that are age appropriate for my students. This can sometimes be a challenge in many ways. Even though my students might be at second grade level in my functional science class, they are still sophomores in high school and deserve to be treated as such. This can sometimes make it challenging because I want to create something that is fun and exciting for my students but is still age appropriate but still on their level. What I have learned is that if we are going through a chapter where I think the students are struggling on comprehension, I will create a “flip chart” on the promethean board and embed movies into the different parts so that my students are getting two types of visuals. I also try to find things to go along with the lesson that is tactile since many of my students learn through sensory.

I was lucky enough this week to have my very first interview with a school. I was blessed to have a call back from Elim Christian Services about my application and resume. The packet that was handed out in class was such a life savor to review from. I was able to meet with two of the four principals in the school. They asked me almost all situational questions. One question that through me through a loop was them asking me how I worked with TEACHH, PECS, and a new system that is replacing a behavior management plan. The only reason I had ever heard of TEACHH was because I was in a multi-needs school during my Novice placement and I had one student whose school day was based around this system. That was the only questions I truly felt unprepared for. One question that did surprise me was that they asked if there was anything about the school that would make me not take the job.  At the end of the interview they took a few minutes to discuss with me out of the room and came out and told me that would like to see me for a second interview. I met next month with all the principals to see if I got the job. Even though I would love to teach at Elim I want to make sure that I still try other schools to make sure that Elim is what I want for my future.

Week Nine: Carl Sandburg

            This was my first full week at Carl Sandburg High School. What an experience it has been so far! I finished my observing in the beginning of this week and started taking over some of the morning classes. I will be teaching five classes in all. These classes are Science, functional science, daily living skills, vocational, and functional math. I started teaching the first period science on Tuesday.

The difference between the two science classes is the cognitive level of the students. My first period science is high functioning and is able to read and answer questions from their text book. They are able to answer the questions by the help of the notes that I write on the board. I always review the chapter ahead of time and look to see what the questions ask. I then will write the notes on the board so that students can look back in their notes or look at the key terms for the answers.

I am very excited to teach my functional science as well. I just created a power point from a packet that my teacher printed off from “Science A-Z.” I created this power point because we have a student who has a hard time concentrating on reading and can have behaviors because of it. I wanted to see if technology would help this matter at all.

I only have three students in my daily living skills class. In this class, we work on helping our students for when they are out high school and to be prepared for the daily life and its challenges. On Monday went through our recipe book and the students were able to pick what they wanted to make. On Wednesday, we took the students to the grocery store and they had to find the ingredients in the store independently. We ended up making the recipe on Friday and I enjoyed watching the students work in the kitchen. This week I will start a unit with my students. I looked through a book and found a section on “how to run a household.”

In my vocational class the students are given specific tasks to do around the high school. For example three of my students will work in the cafeteria to help the lunch ladies clean the dishes after lunch. Other students will help clean the tables or mop the floors. I have two higher level students that will work out of the Dean’s and Guidance off and will deliver messages or mail to the mail boxes or to the classrooms. They are with me for the last twenty minutes where they have to fill out their time sheet and get “Sandberg dollars” for the work they do in the school.

My last class is functional math. In this class we work through a textbook and students use math that will be used in daily life. For example they balance a checkbook, figure out an annual salary, and other areas that the student needs to know in order to succeed independently.

This week we had parent teacher conferences. The students did not have class on Thursday and Friday because of this. We had our first conference at 12pm and the last one at 7:50pm.  Since my teacher and I had a couple of hours in the afternoon she took me through the whole process she takes to write an IEP on “Easy IEP.” It was great learning about this since many schools use this program. She also taught me the process on how to change a part of the IEP which they call an “Amendments.” I have always felt insecure about handling IEP’s on my own in my own future classroom and this meeting really helped me to learn more about it and the process my teacher takes in order to accomplish this. She currently has thirteen students in her case load and is charge of writing an IEP for each of those students.

Chapter 6: Great Teacher's Know a Hemingway When They See One

Chapter six has offered me a lot to think about. I love the idea of getting the students interested to write by using codes. I feel has a if I were still a student and a teacher gave me a task like this that I would really enjoy it without realizing what my teacher was doing.

I am currently in a Special Education placement and am teaching an array of classes. I have two classes were my student are high functioning and will take notes on what I will be teaching at the board. The first is for science. Every day this are assigned a part in a chapter where they have to write the key terms and then we will read the chapter as a class. We will then go over the important parts that we learned and write that on the board for the students to copy down in their notes. After they have finished this, we read over the review questions and they use their notes and key words to answer the questions. My second class is for math where the majority of the writing is math situated. As for the rest of my classes we do not focus on writing since many of my students do not have the fine motor skills and we work more on daily living and social skills.  

Week 8: First Week At Carl Sandburg

I started my second placement at Carl Sandburg High School. I was very nervous going into this placement because of the size and how different it was going to be from pervious student teaching. At the same time I have never been more excited! I fought so hard to be at this school because this is the type of placement that I want to be doing the rest of my life. I love being in a large district and I love the type of classroom that I am in. I will be able to teach six different subjects. They are: Science, a second science at a lower level, daily living skills, vocational, and daily math.

This week was a hectic one for me. I was very ill the whole weekend and I ended up missing my first day at Sandburg. On Tuesday I pulled up into one of their many lots and walked until I found the main office. I was able to meet the principal and dean of the school and have a sit down and talk to them on why I want to be a special educator. It was so great that they took an interest in me and I felt so welcomed in their school.

I took this week to observe on how my teacher not only runs her classroom but how she handles all her staff as well. My cooperating teacher has been teaching at Sandburg for about 10 years and is involved in many things within the school. She runs two programs called Snowball and Friendship Connections. These programs are created for the general education students to make friends with students within the special education program and to help them out in their social areas. I was able to experience one meeting on Wednesday and there is so much that goes into it and I cannot give my teacher enough gratitude on what she does for her students.

On Friday, my teacher allowed me to go to the Special Games with our students. It was held in Lincoln Way Center in New Lenox. This was such an amazing experience! I was able to experience my first Special Games (five districts take part in creating “games” for the students to participate in such as: 100 meter dash, 55 meter, ball throw, free throws, bowling and many more. At the end, the school with the most sprite receives the spirit stick. The students were so excited for this event and it was easy to say why. This event was created for the students to succeed and to see that they can do so many things in life and be supported and cheered for. Each student was given a mentor from “Friendship Connections” (general education student who volunteers to take their “buddy” out once a week). The student had the job of being their coach, number one fan and to help them through their events. It was such a great opportunity for me to talk to both my students and other staff at Sandburg.

I cannot wait for the experiences that I will be introduced to at Carl Sandburg. It is going to be an incredible 10 weeks!

Week Seven: Last Week At Hamlin Upper Grades

I cannot believe that I finished my student teaching at Hamlin Upper Grades. In the seven weeks that I spent there, I was able to learn more about myself in that short amount of time of my own teaching than any other time in my education career. I learned about classroom management, differentiation, IEP’s, and so much more in action over these past several weeks.

 I could not have asked for a better cooperating teacher. She was patient and let me be a big part of her classroom from the beginning. My teacher was never possessive about her class but never saw me as a way to get out of the classroom. She was my support and rock through all of this and I could not be more grateful for her. Not only did I gain valuable experience but a friend. She allowed me to teach when I was comfortable and was also there for advice when I needed it. My cooperating teacher has help me grow so much and it was great to see a teacher who truly loves what she does and sets standards that I want for myself.

This last week at Hamlin was incredible. It was my last week of full time teaching and I was glad that I saved my observations for the week before so that I could spend the last five days with my class and cooperating teacher. They had a little party for me on Thursday and I never could have thought that I would grow so attached to my class in that short amount of time. Friday was a blast for me, classes were cut short so that during 7^th period we could have a staff vs. students volleyball game. My teacher wasn’t interested so I was able to take her place. It was so freeing to have fun with all the students and spend my last day laughing with the school.

I will also look back at Hamlin and be grateful for the experiences that it has provided me. It took what I have been learning and studying at Trinity and put it all in front of me in real life terms. I was able to take what I have learned over the past four years and do the best as I could in this placement. I am proud of what I have accomplished in these short weeks and I will never forget how I started in my middle school classroom. I am so happy with my first placement and it has made me feel secure as I move on to my next placement at Carl Sandburg High School.

Schmidt Chapter Eleven-Great Teachers Speak in Tongues

Mastering Communication in the Infomration Age



         I always find the reading in Schmidt to be extremely beneficial. I was able to review on how important communication is in the classroom. This means not only between my students and I but parents, teachers and other staff members. When I am communicating with parents I should remember ten essentials of effective communication. The first on the first is being proactive. This means that I should make contact as early as possible to the parents of my students. I can do this by sending a personal note. The second step for essential communication is to be positive. I should always start all conversation written or verbal on an upbeat note. I want to make sure that I prospect for anything good and then slowly build a bridge to the rest of the message that I need to say. The third is to be frequent.  I want to make sure that I am establishing a regular schedule between my classroom and my parents. I can do this through notices, a classroom news letter, homework packets and requests. Fourth on the list is that I am always clear. This means that I want to keep my writing simple. The fifth is to also be basic. When the list tells me to be basic when communicating with parents, I have to understand that I am not able to tell a parent everything I am doing with in the classroom. Some basic information that parents should know is the schedule dates for report cards (IEP meetings), procedures for field trips, when a student is absent and many other general needs. Sixth and seventh on the list is to be attention grabbing and appealing. The eighth on the list is to be inclusive. This means that I need to step certain group rules with my parents. If I am going to allow my parent to email for everything I could get “buried” in all the emails or even miss something important. I want to make sure that I stress that phone calls should be used for emergencies or health concerns (medication) and other issues can be handled through my email. I will let them know that I will always check my email at lunch and right after school so if anything is sent after, I will not able to read it until the following morning. As a teacher it is also important that I am timely. If I want my parents involved in what their students are doing I need to make sure that I am giving them time to participate or to know what is going on inside the classroom before it happens. Being error free ends this important list of essential communication. It would be very unprofessional if I send home a news letter with grammatical or spelling errors when I am the one teaching their child. This could cause many parents to lose confidence in my skills and teaching.

Week Six

This was my last full week at my seven week placement. I can’t believe how much time has flown by. I keep thinking back when I was sitting in orientation freaking hearing that I would be teaching a full day in a classroom. Now, I couldn’t imagine just sitting in the classroom observing or only teaching ten lessons like Novice teaching.

This week was filled with many great opportunities. Since my teacher has a busy week my final week of my placement, I observed four other teachers in my school this week instead. I found this experience very rewarding. It allowed me to see other teaching styles than my cooperating teacher and my own. It also allowed me to take in ideas that I would want to use in my own classroom.

The best part of my week was being able to be a part of creating the new goals and objectives for IEP’s for four students from my class. My teacher allowed me to have a say and to create the goals and objectives with her since she said I have been working so well with the students. Once we had finished writing them on a “rough draft” we went onto the computer system called “Easy IEP.” I was so excited to learn about this software because this could be a system that I could be using in my future classroom. My teacher allowed me to write in the information for the present level of performance, the goals and then the objectives. Once we had finished the information we printed out a copy and each took a turn proof reading what we had created. Once we were both happy with the IEP’s, we sent them to the office to be looked over before the actual IEP meetings that would be happening in April. We were able to complete the IEP earlier this year because our students had just completed taking the Aims Web and John Woodcock reading and math tests. This experience in the classroom made me feel more prepared as a special education teacher and I feel more confident to talk to a future employer on how I was apart of the process of writing an IEP, implementing the goals, and using the “Easy IEP” program. Writing IEP’s has always been something that I was concerned about once I had my own classroom. Even though I have done mock IEP’s and meetings in my special education classes, it never felt like I truly understood it. By being a part of this classroom and working with actual students who I am writing the IEP about, everything feels so much more natural to me. My teacher even allowed me to take an example of each IEP with me so I can use as an example (all names were whited out).

This week I also was able to be a part of an in-service for my school. On Friday we had a half day and the teachers were allowed to pick between two different classes. The first class was lesson on the interactive white board and a vocabulary lesson for middle school students. I wanted to learn as much as I could about technology in the classroom, so I ended up learning more about the interactive white board. We were shown by a certified teacher on the Promethean board, different ways of assessing our students. She handed out a “controller” to each of us that highly resembled a cell phone. The teacher could ask a question in multiple choice, short answer, or true/false. The students were able to write there answer how they do when they write a text message. What was great about the controllers is that they are numbered so that if any student would decide to be inappropriate the teacher would know because each student would be a specific number.

The best part of my week was that I was able to chaperone our Valentine’s dance. I was able to do with a fellow student teacher from Trinity and I had such a blast being with my students out of a classroom setting. I was a little worried in the beginning because I wasn’t sure how the students would behave but it ended up being a very smooth dance. There were some tears and drama but who are we kidding, I am student teaching in a middle school. The dance ended with a large amount of balloons falling from the ceiling and a graduation song for our 8^th graders. I had a great time seeing my students be themselves and free from a classroom.

Schmidt Chapter Three: Great Teachers are Ring Masters

What’s the Big Idea about Behavior?

In Schmidt chapter three it focuses on student’s behavior. I found this chapter the most interesting and helpful so far. What all new teachers and even more seasoned teachers struggle with is behavior management.  I learned from reading this chapter that all behaviors are motivated by two basic instincts. The first one being “to seek pleasure” and the second is “to avoid pain.” When reading this first page I couldn’t believe the author could some up something so large into two main categories but I see now by teaching in the classroom how very true this statement can be.

I also found the “Understanding Camouflagers” in this chapter very helpful. I had fun reading through the first few “names” like the class clown and I could reflect on my own education and who each of my classmates were and what “name” I might of fell under as a student. What was interesting was learning why we have students like the class clown. This chapter broke down these “names” and gave a reasons why a student might portray themselves this way. I remember looking back at the class clown and just seeing a student who was funny and knew how to distract the teacher so we didn’t have to do as much work. By reading this chapter I realize now that distracting the teacher wasn’t only the main concern. My class clown could have been distracting the teacher because even though he looked like he was smart and understood what was going on in class he might have had trouble comprehending what was actually going on during a lesson. He might have been afraid to look “stupid” to the class and being hurt so he acted funny instead.

In my own classroom I realize many of my students fall under the “bad boys and victims.” One of the main phrases used in my classroom is “stop looking at me (insert students name here.”) Even though I only have five students most of the day, a couple of my students have a hard time working with other students. Even though all my students have a day were I can see them as “bad boy” or “victim,” I have two students in particular who are these “names” on a daily bases. I learned that this strategy allows the student to get out of work when they feel frustrated or “daunted” at the task at hand. I learned that this is why one of my students who falls under the “victim name” will yell out “Stop looking at me!” and the student making the faces will always tell me “I’m not doing anything.” I learned to keep these students separated when I am able to and when I know a lesson will be challenging I will sometimes break the class apart and teach them in different groups so they can’t take their frustrations out on each other. This allows the student to ask questions if they are confused or frustrated instead of trying to have an out. The book advised that when this happens instead of jumping into the middle of the fight that I should take a second and figure out why my student are “hiding” behind this behavior.

Week Four

I can’t believe that I have already finished my fourth week of student teaching. This week was a very meaningful one to me. I learned that even though we might have things out of control outside school that we have to have a different persona in the classroom. I learned by talking through my rough times with my teacher that no matter how hard the day is going for you, that if you seem that you do not want to be at school that your students will be able to read that from your attitude and body language. It was a concept to learn before I started in my own classroom. I always want my students to know that I am excited to teach and to learn with them even if things can be rough out of the school walls.

This week also allowed me to attend a few meeting that were going on around the school. My first meeting was on Monday and it was with five other teachers (three general education and two special education teachers). It was a meeting called MARS and it is on a math class that the teachers are currently taking every other Saturday. During their meeting they are given a task for their students to complete. It is a math “quiz” that shows if the students are at the current level in mathematics. There is three different test for sixth grade, seventh grade, and eighth. Before this meeting my cooperating teacher and I had to hand out this quiz with helping or accommodating the quiz in many way even through we are teaching in a special education classroom. During this meeting, with the other staff we worked as a team to grade the quizzes according to specific numbers. This way the person in charge at MARS could see where the students are at in mathematics at Hamlin Upper grades. During this meeting the teachers also shared their concerns on this quiz. My teacher explained how she was frustrated on how she couldn’t prepare her students before the quiz just so they understood what they were supposed to be doing (area and perimeter). After the teacher’s next class in a week from now they will be informed on how the students did, share their concerns and be taught on how to prepare students for the next found of quizzes now that they took the pre-test. My teacher explained to me that the pre-test and quiz were not made for students who weren’t on grade level. Our class is currently at a third and fourth grade level so she wanted to talk to her teacher and explain how the quiz isn’t an appropriate level for her students and how it will help them if she could even read what the problem is asking since many are lower readers.

This week I also learned how to accommodate the testing for student learning the constitution. We have one seventh grader in our class and in order to go on to 8^th grade she needs to pass the constitution test. Since this student has a documented IEP she does not have to take the regular test like the other students at Hamlin. My cooperating teacher and I spent many plan periods and time after school putting together a folder on the constituting that will replace the regular test on the constitution. We found many helpful worksheets on edHelper.com. This student needs to keep all the papers, quizzes or writings in a specific folder so that the school can document that she passed the accommodated constitution test. I found it really helpful on how the school allowed my teacher and I to have freedom in choosing what would replace the basic test. This allowed us to choose readings, worksheets and quizzes that were not only interesting but also on level for our students.

This week I was also able to help my teacher create goals and benchmarks for three different upcoming IEP’s. This was such a great experience to see this in action and it was so good of my teacher to include me in this process since this is so important to know in my future. I was able to work with the program ‘Easy IEP,” on the schools network. I found it so reassuring that even my teacher after thirty years of experience in special education sometimes felt unsure while writing the student’s IEP’s. She told me how even though she will write them on her own at first, it is always helpful to collaborate with another teacher to see what they think. My cooperating teacher explained that she thought the hardest part of IEP’s was writing on how they were going to measure the goals. We took a couple of plan periods and wrote out three “rough drafts” of the student’s IEP’s. We will finish them later next week once we get the test results back from both the Lexia reading program and AIMSweb.

At this point in my student teaching I feel very comfortable in my classroom with both my cooperating teacher and my students. From this experience I know that I will not only have a mentor for several weeks but that we will stay in touch long after this. My teacher is always willing to help me or give me advice when it is needed. She has allowed me freedom in the classroom and to take over different subjects and put my own passion and teaching style in place. In my teaching style, I learned to keep it at the same level as my cooperating teacher. Instead of her being the “ruler” of the classroom, she created an environment that everyone feels equal. This type of atmosphere allows students to feel safe to share personal stories, ask questions, and not being afraid to answer something if they are unsure. When a student does over step their boundaries she is clear and strict on what the “lines” are and students and makes sure that all the students see how it is not appropriate. My favorite part is that she uses humor in the classroom. This was a breath of fresh air to me because it allowed me to be on a different level with my students and made us more comfortable with each other. I love the fact that I can joke around with my students during down times but still have that boundary of the teacher and student. My teacher was a great model of being personable in the class and students knowing that they are being cared for. When I talked to her about this she explained that she doesn’t want to be friends with her students because there needs to be a level of control in the classroom but she still wants every student to feel equal and apart of the classroom community were her students can also feel safe.

This next week is going to bring a whole new round of experiences. This is going to be my first week were I am teaching each lesson and many of them will be on my own. My teacher will be pulling out different students to complete the AIMSweb testing and since she has a student teacher I am saving the school from sending in a substitute teacher. I will be teaching independently four out of the six periods and during the other two I will still be leading the lesson. I remember during Orientation how nervous I felt to be going into a school were I would be teaching and left on my own. Now being familiar with my students, school and routine I feel confident that this week will help me grow in many different ways. One way is how I control the behavior management without my teacher’s guidance, making sure that lessons end on time before the next period starts and giving the students the help they need when I don’t have someone else there to help me when many students are asking for help.

Schmidt Chapter Four: Great Teachers are Curiosity Seekers

             This was a great chapter to read to review about culture in the classroom. I think it is important to recognize that all students have personal strengths that come directly from their families and the culture that they were raised in. It is important for me to create a classroom environment that is accepting and open to all cultures. I think it is great that God created us all different. If we were all the same life wouldn’t be as nearly as exciting and worth living. God has given us so much by creating different cultures. We want to make sure that every student’s culture is represented and that we take the time for the students themselves to tell about their culture.

                When looking at the Illinois Professional Teaching Standards they have created a standard on diversity. It says, “The competent teacher understands how students differ in their approaches to learning and creates instructional opportunities that are adapted to diverse learners.” I will accomplish this standard in my student teaching placement in multiple ways. We currently just finished our unit on Black History so that each student from this culture or a different one can understand what it took for the African American race to be where they are today and those who lost their life for this freedom. We also take a class period a couple times a month for “public speaking.” This is where a student can tell us about their family and their interests. This allows the student to share their cultures, interests and routines with the class and we can discuss how our families differ from each other but yet we are all still a community in the classroom.  

Week Three

This week was such a great experience for student teaching. I was able to pick up the rest of my teacher’s case load so I was teaching “almost” full time within the classroom. I was able to plan the lessons with my cooperating teacher and lead each lesson. Even through my teacher allowed me to lead the lessons she was still available in the room if I needed her. There were also times in one of our larger classes that she would step in and co-teach with me. We did this a lot in Literacy workshop. This class was created for students who are struggling in math. We are currently doing a workbook of story problems that relate to life outside school. The booklet is called “Math in the Mall,” and the students don’t seem to mind doing the math since they see how it can be used outside school. Each problem has multiple steps to it and can be solved in many different ways. I would walk through the problem in a way that I though students would understand and then my cooperating teacher would show the class how she would solve it. This way it allowed students to see that there are multiple ways to solving a problem and that students who struggle with math can find the easiest way to solve their math equations.

                I am currently teaching six subjects and they are social studies, math, language arts, literature, literacy workshop and science. In five of the classes I am teaching five students with learning disabilities in math and reading and because of that it carries over the other discipline as well. In literacy workshop I have a class size of about fifteen students. I found this class to be my most challenging. I have a larger class and students that are on all different levels. I also have students with some behavioral issues. For this class I am really trying to work on my classroom management and to have full control over the classroom.

                Being in this placement, I have learned how to put many teaching theories into action. This week in science we are learning about the solar system. As a final project I had them create the solar system out clay. I also connect math into our lesson by students reading a large number the correct way (example: 60,439). We started the lesson by writing the order of the planets on the board. We then looked up the diameter of the planet and wrote that number next to each planet. After that I asked the students to tell me what the smallest planet is to the largest. Each student was given an amount of clay and was given a specific planet to build. They had to work as a team and make the planets proportional to each other. As a class we found that Venus and Earth are “sister” planets so the students creating these two planets had to make sure they were the same size. By creating a lesson that used prior knowledge, visual and tactile it really helped them to learn our solar system, the sizes, and the order of the planets. I was an incredible experience to see my lesson and what I learned in my education classes come to life.

In reading Schmid chapter two I learned that "Eptness is a combination of capacities and meaningful activity. It resides in potential in all students, but it's unleashed through the deliberate efforts of their teacher."
I also learned that as a teacher that I can’t always be just the teacher but I also need to be the learner. In my classroom I want my students to know that they aren’t the only ones learning in the classroom. I want to be able to grow as a learner through each period of my life. Being in a middle school classroom, I see the importance of using real world knowledge and skills in the classroom. In math, I have the students using change and dollars so that they can see that math can affect your life outside school as well.
In my reading

In my reading, I learned many things about behaviors. If I had to choose three they would be: encouragement, feedback, and never being too late. Being in a special education classroom, many of my students have grown up with people telling them that they can’t succeed. I have seen students who have struggled with being confident in the class. It shows by way they answer questions I ask. I want to make sure that I am always encouraging my students and that they know they are in a safe environment to learn and that it is never too late to try again. I want them to know that it is ok if they don’t get something on the first try, as long as they do not give up.

Week Two

 

I can't believe that I am already going on my second week at Hamlin Upper Grades in Alsip, Illinois. I found this week to more difficult than the last. This could be because I am making the move as an observer to a teacher in a matter of a week. I was given a lot more responsibility this week and I really just want to try my best in this placement.

I felt by having a shortened week that my students were more restless. I noticed that they acted out more to me and would fight more among themselves. I had to send a certain student twice to the social worker for saying harmful things about herself or others. This week proved how important it is to have a behavior management plan in order and what the routine of the room is. I am working on how to deal with students and when they misbehave. For the most part I think I have done well but I did have trouble in my larger class of fifteen students to all pay attention at once. Hopefully, I will be more prepared this week and how to keep my class in order.

 Last week I was able to pick up two subjects and to teach them independently. My teacher told me that she thinks that I am doing well and has allowed me to start teaching two new subjects this week. I am now covering social studies, math, science and language arts.

I am very grateful that my cooperating teacher trusts me to be covering these subject areas. Being in a middle school, we have seven periods during a day and during my fifth period is when I have my plan time with my cooperating teacher. Even though I am teaching four out of the seven subjects in my placement I am only doing one subject that is created 100% by me. In our plan books I created a week of what I want to do for our science lesson. We are currently learning about astrology and I moved into learning about the solar system this week. On Monday, I will have students pick a planet name from a jar and they will have to fill out a “research sheet.” The following day I want them to create some type of form of technology to share their findings to their peers. I am very excited to see how the week unfolds of my ideas being used in the classroom. I also found that creating my unit plan from Education 380 has come to use. I created it for a special education classroom at a fourth grade level. I never thought i  be placed in a middle school classroom at a 3^rd-4^th grade learning level. It's been incredible seeing my unit plan come to life in the classroom.

Week One

My name is Ashley Wierema and I am a special education major. For my first placement for student teaching I am at Hamlin Upper Grades in Alsip. I am in a sixth-seventh grade classroom for high incidence special education. Many of my students have a learning disability in certain subject areas. I will be teaching many different subjects during my student teaching. These include: Social Studies, Math, Language Arts, Literature, Literacy Workshop, and Science.

This was my first week at my student teaching placement. On my first day I was able to meet my class that I spend the first five periods with seven students and for Literacy Workshop with a class size of nineteen sixth graders. For my first day I mainly observed and was able to watch my cooperating teacher interacts with her students and to see her teaching style in an array of subjects. Throughout the week she allowed me to lead small discussions or open up her lesson plans. On Wednesday my teacher allowed me to teach the Social Studies lesson and also the Science lesson. From Wednesday on I was able to teach both subjects until the end of the week. My teacher and I decided to co-teach on Thursday during our large class for Literacy Workshop. We broke the class up into two groups and I took my group to the back of the room to teach them the area and perimeter of specific shapes. My teacher did the same in the front of the room. My cooperating teacher made sure that I was part of her planning for the coming week. We wrote notes on what I would be in charge of or what we would try co-teaching. For the next week I will be in charge of leading Social Studies but using the resources from teacher and I will be teaching Science by my own lessons and resources. I will be teaching astronomy and I am able to use the unit plan I created in Education 380 for my class. On Tuesday I will be showing an interactive website on the solar system and the students will be able to explore it on the Smart Board.  

I learned so much in such a short amount of time. I learned what expectations I should have for my students and teaching strategies that are best for students with learning disabilities. One thing that I learned is how to be a model for my students. When I ask a question to my students, I first model on how I would answer or write for the question that we are trying to solve.

I hope to learn as much as I can from this student teaching placement. I have not been able to teach in a high incidence situation and I hope to take away many different experiences from being at Hamlin Upper Grades. I want to be a teacher that can be competent in many placements in special education and where I believe that God is calling me.

It is important to incorporate all the “multiple intelligences” while teaching. I hope that I don’t only teach from one multiple intelligences but learn to figure out ways that my students learn best from. I know that I always learn the best when I have a visual but I may have a student that understands different concepts by listening even being physically active.