Observe this week how your cooperating teacher effectively (or ineffectively) teaches the students with special needs in the classroom. Reflect upon the following questions as you post your blog entry.
What modifications or adoptions are made wtihin the course content or curriculum to meet the needs of the individual learner? How does the teacher utilize large group, small group, and/or individualized instruction to meet the learning needs of students? How are student interests and student choice incorporated in to the students' learning opportunities?
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While doing my observation, there was a special learner in the class. Although he was treated as fairly socially, the curricula wasn't well worked with within the student's ability. He does well, but being that he works slower, they do have teachers that come in and work with him. I think that is great; however, I believe that it would benefit the student more so if the learning was more matched according to his learning levels.
ReplyDeleteMy teacher actually had alot of special needs kids in her class, if it was a group project she would often assign someone who had trouble with the material with someone who was good at it. As a formal special needs student myself i looked at that as a really good idea, it not only helped kids in the class but also helped the kids socialize more. If it was just a regular lesson then she would teach a normal class but if she saw that the student was having problems learnin the stuff she would find the student sometime during the day to make sure that she didnt single them out in class and invite them to come to her room after school to study more if theyd like, i really liked to see her devotion she had to her students. I know in my classroom i hope that i will have that same devotion
ReplyDeleteIn the class i am observing/working with, there is one boy in particular who is always absent and was held back in the first grade, mind you he is now in third grade. He is slower that most of his peers and a few days ago my teacher asked me to take him into the hallway and work with him om his math. My teacher is at a bind as to how to help him get back on track, that is why she asked me to work with him individually.
ReplyDeleteI am always with the class when they are doing their math, they are getting ready for the MAP TEST! She always has them go two problems when they first get there in the morning and after lunch, when i get there, they go over the two questions they did that morning. She always disusses with them how they get the answer and the different ways they can get that answer. Today the class next door came and helped her class with a math problem her class hasd been having. and inthe end it was agreat idea. It really helped them.
Ashleyhop,
ReplyDeletei agree with you i think that if teachers somehow matched ever kids learning style or problems it would benefit those people, or even everyone in the class.
Ashley,
ReplyDeleteI am so glad you brought up catering to different learning styles. Sometimes when we talk about students with special needs we just think about kids in the special ed program. But actually ALL kids have special needs. Teachers should differentiate their lessons to incorporate the many different learning styles.
Ian - thanks for sharing about your experiences. What other modifications beside being partnered with another student helped you? A good teacher figures out what specific modifications each child needs to help him/her reach his/her potential. It is not an easy task - but we should strive for it.
i have not personally gotten into the classroom yet but i still know how important it is for the teachers to deal with or incorporate certain students that are a tad bit harder to handle than the rest. one way to deal with a student who is very obnoxious or annoying is to act like he is not even there since he is probably being annoying to show off to his or her fellow classmates to start off with. if that doesnt work just have the dean or principal take care of it. but as i wait to get in the classroom i hope to see examples of this so i myself can learn how to handle the same problems when i am a teacher.
ReplyDeleteBefore my teacher moves on she asks if everyone understands. she lets them do alot of group activities too help them work with others. She asks the students for ideas and opinions also which i think is good.
ReplyDeleteIn elementary school, the kids with special needs had their own classroom. The only time they joined the other classes was during art, music, or gym class. In middle school, the special needs kids started showing up in other classes of mine like French and English, and they always had aides who sat by them. I think my district's policy was to incorporate them into regular classes based on each individuals ability and need. Also, their assignments were modified so that they felt that they could achieve and succeed in the class.
ReplyDeleteI think that the teacher (Ian is observing) had a good idea to partner the children who understand the material with the students who do not get it. Like he mentioned about socializing, partnering children together will work on developing relationships and helping children of different abilities understand and embrace each other's uniqueness and differences.
ReplyDeleteIt also fills the accelerated student's extra time with meaningful work by reinforcing the concept to help others in need. Another point is that teaching the material to another student proves the "teaching student" understands the material and gives them a unique way to study or practice.
My teacher likes to put his kids into small groups. I feel like this si good because the students learn to work together. When you start working a job you always work together with others on projects or just to get some stuff done. I also feel like working in small group is different then just sitting in a big group and taking note off a powerpoint. This keeps the students more interested.
ReplyDeleteMy host teacher usually teaches using a group discussion format. He would cover the material using a lecuture format, but would constantly ask students both questions and their opinions and would go into greater detail based on their answers. I think this is great because it involved them in the learning process a lot more than the standard format of a teacher just lecturing behind a desk.
ReplyDeleteI also believe that Ians teacher has a great idea with pairing the kids who dont understand with the kids that do. Like i said in my last post i blieve it is needed that the students work together.
ReplyDeleteMike,
ReplyDeletePutting kids into small groups can be a good idea, but it can also lead to problems depending on how you group them.
For example, if you allow the kids to group themselves then there is the possibility that a) a group of friends would get together and goof off and b) that there will be one or two kids not accepted into groups and working by themselves.
A possible solution is one which my history professor uses. She goes through the students in my class and numbers us 1-4 or 1-5 and those who have your number are your group. It's a good idea I think because as the prof/teacher assigned you your group you're less likely to goof off and more likely to get your work done.
Ian,
ReplyDeleteI really liked your teacher's idea or pairing students who need help with students who know the material. Not only does is help special kids socialize more, it will show the regular kids that special needs kids are people too. In addition, it can/will further the helper's sense of responsibility.
My teacher doesnt have any special needs students. Im not sure why she doesnt. She might not have majored in it. But i know she would be very pacient with them, and would work with them through the problems step by step.
ReplyDeleteMy classroom I am observing has a lot of kids with learning disabilities. The teacher also did what Ians teacher did, she pairs up the children who understand the material with children who maybe are a little behind. The teacher does large and small groups because some of the kids learn better in small and some in large. For math centers the students have a choice of what activity they do, they have to pick a new one each time but I think this helps the kids learn because they are doing what they want to do.
ReplyDeleteIn the weight training class i have been observing, there is one student who has special needs. The instructor works one on one with him to make sure he participates safely and effectively. She does a great job of keeping him comfortable and motivated. The rest of the students usually pair themselves up into groups of three or four. Its a must in weight training to have partners to spot you during your lifts.
ReplyDeletei have not yet started my observation but i start tomorrow. Im really excited to see how things will go. I talked with the teacher for a few minutes on the phone and she seemed really nice. She was in the classroom and the students were eating lunch, so im guessing they eat lunch in the classroom. I overheard one of the children crying and my obcervation teacher put me on hold to handle the situation. she seemed like she has a lot of patience so I think all will go well starting tomorrow!
ReplyDeletethis week when i was observing there was a student that could not hear. the student had a person with him that typed everything that the teacher was saying and then it went directly into the students computer. the teacher had to make sure that he was staying on topic and spoke clearly so everything make sense to the student.
ReplyDeletei have also been noticing that the teachers will say something one way and if they seem to not get good feedback from the teacher they will explain it a different way. the teacher said this is important becuase they all learn a little differently
ReplyDeleteIan,
ReplyDeleteI liked how your teacher didnt single one person out, but sometimes depending on the relationship of the class with the teacher and with eachother it's not that bad . I know of a teacher who would know that a student is struggling with some of the work and would always call them up to the front of the class to work out math problems. i used to think she did it beacause she wanted to make a fool out of everyone, but in the end it kind of helped build a relationship with the students in the class because they all knew eachothers strengths and weaknesss so when they go to help eachother in groups they knew who was able to do what. The students would never pick on eachother, they would try to help one another out which made everyone comfortable in the classroom and it also took a lot of pressure off the teacher because the students started to teach and learn from eachother.
Well my teacher has a CWC class in all his hours of the day and he really does a great job of not just concentrating his students but incorporating everyone into his lessons. HE likes to use small groups which intermix kids from both classes, while both teachers go around and help keep kids on task. Alot of times, the CWC teacher will take her students to another room for tests or harder subject matter, so each student can get individualized attension in both sections because the smaller class size. He definitely takes student intrests into consideration when he asks if they would like to group work or single work and what types of projects they would like to do
ReplyDeletethats pretty cool what nicoles teacher has in her classroom, ive never seen that before with the computer, and someone typing in everything for the student. Sounds like it is really helpful for him/her
ReplyDeleteAt my high school there was also a deaf person in one of my classes, we had something similar to what Nicoles classroom had. The student had a teacher with him at all times and the teacher either signed or typed what the teacher was saying depending on what classroom they were in. Some classrooms didnt have a computer to type everything on.
ReplyDeleteI think that it is very important for teachers to incorporate different learning strategies because each child is different when absorbing information that is being taught. For example I struggle in my classes when the teacher doesn't assign any hands on work so that I can use concepts to figure out problems in the homework or use the same concepts to create a project. I don't like when all I have to remember about a certain subject is words on a powerpoint. I like to be able to hold onto the information that I have learned. So I feel that teachers should switch things up when teaching information,for every type of learner whether they are visual, kinesthetic, or an auditory learner.
ReplyDeleteian,
ReplyDeleteI also agree with using the strategy of pairing a child who is understanding the concept you are teaching with a student that doesn't know because teaching what you know is a form of studying. So even if the child already knows what you are teaching it is a form of reviewing so they can understand the concept being taught further. Also I feel that for the children that don't understand they might feel more comfortable learning through a peer or even just watching a more experienced child do a problem or something because then they can see the step by step process of figuring the concept out.
The teacher that I am observing now doesnt have a student with special needs but I have had teachers in the past that have. The modifications that they made within the classroom were taking some time to explain, to that specific student, more in depth. What this teacher did to utilize large groups and small groups was giving them a chance to participate with the other students. If the student couldnt interact with the other students in the right manner than the teacher would make the adjustments and fix it. I believe that these are all great strategies on how to handle this situation. And I believe that I can take some of this and use it when I become a teacher.
ReplyDeleteAshley,
ReplyDeleteI think that would be a great experience to see how a teacher would handle a situation like that. I wish that the teacher I observed had a student like that so I could begin to understand how to approach it.
My host teacher has a few students that are very high strong and disruptive in the classroom. She deals with that by a specific seating chart to keep these students separated from each other and surrounding her desk for a closer watch. I think that was really smart of her.
ReplyDeleteKayla,
ReplyDeleteI think its unfair that the student miss class and get held back for it. They cannot help their disorder or problem. They should have help so that they arent held back.
The teacher I am observing has a student with anger problems. She has taught him that when he gets angry at a fellow student, he needs to go to the carpet in the back of the classroom and calm down. Then later he goes and apologizes to the student that he yelled at (he can't interrupt the teacher's lesson though). This works very well for him, and he has improved drastically. I think not sending him out into the hall, but to another part of the classroom, insures that he does not miss the lessons.
ReplyDeleteLoren,
ReplyDeleteWhile I think that pairing the kids with learning disabilities with the kids that have a firm grasp on the subject is helpful for the kids with disabilities, I wonder if it is helpful for the kids they are paired with? Is that holding them back? I think it is. If these kids are to be paired with each other, I think it should not be an all-the-time thing. Sometimes it is really important to pair kids with other kids in their same skill level.
I have just begun my practicum but I have noticed that my teacher has one little boy in particular that she focuses on. As soon as instruction is given, she goes right to the little boy and re=-states the directions in a different way. Also the child's desk is situated at a close range to the teacher so she can easily offer him help. The child is dyslexic.
ReplyDeleteya i like the idea of having a teacher with a deaf/or blind person in the classroom. I had a kid who was blind in my class last year and he had a walking dog and a personal helper beside him in the classroom and it really paid great dividends to the students' overall learning experience
ReplyDeletei have not yet gotten into the classroom yet. in high school there were several cases in which some students did not grasp the materials as well as others. it was important to make sure those students stayed on task. a lot of them sat closer to the teacher in case they had any questions. one teacher also had them sitting by other students who excelled in the subject area. i always enjoyed that (as i was one of the students who understood the material) i felt as though i could help someone else by being able to explain it in different ways than the teacher, just to get another point of view out there so hopefully the students would have it easier to learn.
ReplyDeletebailey,
ReplyDeletei agree that teachers should incorporate different learning strategies. once they get a feel for the class after the first couple of weeks they should be able to figure out what needs to be done to help certain kids. it also makes things interesting by not just sticking to one way of teaching so the kids dont get bored with it.
when i was observing there was a little girl who just couldnt concentrate in groups. Every time the teacher would give the little girl a change to sit by her friends she would disturb them and she could not focus. The teacher taped a square to the ground and put her desk in it. To keep the little girl from causing trouble the teacher made her write in a journal everyday to her mom telling her all about it. The little girl then saw it as a privelage to talk to other kids so she would start doing good but most of the time it ended bad. She really isnt a problem student, she just cant concentrate.
ReplyDeleteashley, I also agree that integrating students into the classroom with special needs opens up the ideas of different teaching/learning strategies. It would also show the other students the difficulties that others have when learning.
ReplyDelete