Monthly Archives: March 2016

Implementing Inquiry Research into the Classroom:

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During my long practicum I hope that I can implement what I have learned about my inquiry question thus far. To start off, I would try and use children’s books as often as I can as a tool to help students become aware of students with special needs and also maybe learn some appropriate vocabulary. Children’s books are a great and useful strategy in creating an open conversation and giving opportunity for students to ask questions and concerns, and deeply think about the issue. Sometimes students are more alert during story time and books always have a way of engaging students and speaking about issues on their level of understanding.

Moreover, I would try and create a stronger relationship with each and every students. Although I have not been with these students from the beginning, I hope that I can still reach out to them and show them that I respect and care for them. I will try and absolute best to build a positive relationship especially with those students who are in most need of attention. Creating a positive relationship is a platform for an inclusive classroom. If students have a strong relationship with the educator, it is easier for them to get along with their peers therefore, improving the classroom community relationship.

I am still finding it difficult adapting my lessons to cater to all students learning abilities, and I hope with the help of my SA I could try and practice doing this. It is truly saddening when you are teaching the same lesson to all students but some students are just not grasping the material no matter what you do but it is not their fault. And we have to change this way of teaching for them so that they too can grow to their potential and learn. I really hope that I can somehow adapt my lessons to fit the needs of all students. During activities, I always make sure to include all students and allow them to be part of partner activities, brain breaks and hands on activities even if they are not able to fully complete it. For example, during the math lesson when the students were making cubes, all students participated and they really enjoyed it. Sometimes, unfortunately, some students are pulled out half way through the lessons and they have to leave and are not able to participate once they come back because they are completely lost and feel too frustrated to even try. It’s difficult to witness but I also know that they have to be pulled out because I do not have the full resources and knowledge to support them fully in the classroom. So for now, I will only do what I am capable of and try my best, but still be hopeful that they are learning a lot during their one-on-one time with the specialized teacher.

 

Last School Visit Before Long Practicum!

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This was the last week of school visits before my long practicum. I was feeling bittersweet about all of it. I was becoming comfortable with teaching one lesson a week but I also know that in order to enhance my teaching skills and create more opportunities for growth, I should be teaching more often and more subjects. I am nervous about teaching 100% for four weeks but I hope that I absorb as much as I can and take advantage of this opportunity because it will only be a beneficial experience for me.

I taught a math lesson during this visit and I had asked my second SA to informally observe me just to get a different perspective than my main SA. Since my second SA does not teach in the morning, I had to move my lesson to after lunch which I was quite worried about because usually the students become tired and antsy around the afternoon. However, I have to get used to teaching throughout the entire day so I just did my preparations and hoped for the best. I shortened my activities because I did not want to overwhelm the students with too many activities in one lesson. For my last activity, I wanted students to make a 3D cube from paper which involved lots of listening to instructions, cutting and gluing. I knew this task would be difficult if they were to do it on their own so I decided to do it with them. I thought about how I would be able to keep their attention long enough for us to complete this cube together step by step because once they have scissors and glue on their hands, they will be distracted. Moreover, I know some students would not have these supplies and would go around asking others and it would be chaotic and messy. Therefore, I decided to turn this activity into a game! I called it “The Silent Cube Making Game.” To my surprise the students bought it, and were so excited to play! They knew the rule of the game was to be silent while making this cube and if they needed help they could quietly raise their hands and I would come to them. This made it so much easier for me to give step by step instructions and everyone was able to listen without distractions and follow along. Because this was a hands on activity, they were very engaged and enjoyed doing it very much. Some students expressed frustration because they were falling behind but I tried my best to help them. The EA was not available during my lesson (She is part time with us and part time with another class) and my SA was not going to give a hand so I was on my own during this lesson.

Overall, I believe my lesson went fairly well and my SA had some constructive feedback with mostly positive comments. She specifically mentioned that she can see the students seeing me more of a teacher now and taking me more seriously which was refreshing to hear.

I am looking forward to the long practicum with feelings of anxiousness and hopefulness at the same time. I can’t believe we all made it this far and so close to the end. I wish all my fellow SEL cohort the best of luck 🙂

Annotated Bibliography:

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  1. Ostrosky, M. M., Mouzourou, C., Dorsey, E. A., Favazza, P. C., & Leboeuf, L. M. (2015). Pick a book, any book: Using children’s books to support positive attitudes toward peers with disabilities.Young Exceptional Children, 18(1), 30.

This article discusses the impact of reading on child development, the use of books featuring characters with special needs, children’s understandings about and interactions with peers with special needs, including books about special needs in early childhood classrooms, and using guided discussions to support young children’s positive attitudes about individuals with special needs. It concludes that the careful selection of children’s books and thoughtfully structured discussions provide a direct path for supporting acceptance of children with special needs, which is consistent with the attitude construct. At the very time when young children are forming early perceptions about peers and adults in the community, children are provided “indirect experiences” to special needs through the use of high-quality books and guided discussions, with an emphasis on similarities. It also provides a page length list of books that could be used in the classroom as a teacher resource.

  1. Yanoff, J. C., & Ebrary Academic Complete (Canada) Subscription Collection. (2006). The classroom teacher’s inclusion handbook: Practical methods for integrating students with special needs(2nd;2; ed.). Chicago: Arthur Coyle Press.

This handbook discusses fourteen types of special-needs students on meeting the needs of a diverse student population within a mainstream classroom. Ranging from students with behavior disorders, ADHD, and intellectual disabilities, to the blind, terminally ill, and gifted and talented. Each profile includes a clear definition, characteristic behaviors, and suggestions for working with that student’s specific strengths and weaknesses. A section devoted to inclusion strategies helps educators set goals for special needs students, define the roles of other students in the classroom, and work with the administration if mainstream placement is unsuccessful. This is very handy for teachers who are looking for strategies to support all types of students with special needs.

  1. Ferguson, D. L., Desjarlais, A., Meyer, G., & Education Development Center, Newton, MA. National Inst. for Urban School Improvement. (2000). Improving education: The promise of inclusive schooling.

The mission of the National Institute for Urban School Improvement is to partner with RRCS to develop powerful networks of urban LEAS and schools that embrace and implement a data-based, continuous improvement approach for inclusive practices. Embedded within this approach is a commitment to evidence-based practice in early intervention, universal design, literacy and positive behavior supports. This paper is an excellent resource for educators looking to improve and expand inclusive educational practices in their schools.  It was developed by the National Institute for Urban School Improvement and it includes examples of inclusive educational environments, assessment and observation tools, and guidelines for supporting inclusive practices.

  1. Dictionary of Disruption:A practical guide to behaviour management (2007).

This is a very useful informational text that provides suggestions on how to deal with specific behaviours that are commonly found in the classroom. It talks about physical aggression, self-esteem, group behaviour and much more, all laid out in alphabetical order. I find that this book will be very useful because I can look up almost any behavioural issue and find ways to deal with it.

  1. Cassady, M. J. (2011). Teachers’ attitudes toward the inclusion of students with Autism and Emotional Behavioral Disorder. Electronic Journal for Inclusive Education, 2(7), 1-23.

General education teachers have differing views about the inclusion of students with special needs in mainstream classrooms. However, the type and severity of the children’s disorder affect teachers’ willingness to accommodate certain students and their confidence that they will effectively manage their classroom. It has been reported that teachers have expressed concerns about having students with autism and emotional behavioral disorder in the general education setting because of the children’s lack of social skills, behavioral outbursts, modifications made to the curriculum, and lack of training and supports. Many instructors do not believe they are able to teach these populations effectively while simultaneously teaching a large group of typically developing students. Using a snowball sampling method, 25 general education teachers were surveyed regarding their willingness to include a child with autism and a student with EBD in their classroom to determine if there was a significant difference in their attitudes toward the disorder. Results suggest that the presence of typical characteristics of the two disorders influence teachers’ willingness to have the populations in their classrooms. Results also show that the participants were more accepting of having a student with autism in their general education classrooms than a student who has EBD.

  1. Idol, L. (2006). Toward inclusion of special education students in general education: A program evaluation of eight schools.Remedial and Special Education, 27(2), 77-94. doi:10.1177/07419325060270020601

The primary intent of this program evaluation was to determine the degree of inclusion of students with special needs in general education classes in four elementary and four secondary schools; the similarities and differences in how special education services were offered; and the ways in which students with special needs were supported in the least restrictive environment. Staff perceptions of special education services were examined by conducting personal interviews with a large majority of the classroom teachers, special education teachers, instructional assistants, and principals in each school. The findings include descriptions of how far along each school was with inclusion, the amount of time students spent in general education, the roles of the special education teachers, the rates of student referrals for special

Looking at the Other Perspective..

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As important as it is to try and be inclusive towards all students especially those with special needs, sometimes its crucial to take a step back and look into the perspective of teachers who may find it difficult to accomplish this for legitimate reasons. For example, there are many students with special needs who may be physically aggressive towards other students threatening their safety, who may completely lack social skills, who may have severe intellectual disabilities and be fully aware of their differences. These are some of the important questions teachers may have or may worry about when discussing inclusion. I think having a positive attitude towards inclusion is essential for all educators and schools, but also being consciously aware of the obstacles and difficulties that can arise with this attitude. Although its ideal to have all students fully included in the classroom regardless of needs, it is very realistic or doable. This is where the use of resource rooms comes into the conversation. Are they aimed for the child’s best interest? Are they beneficial in helping students succeed or feel accomplished? Are they meeting children’s social and emotional needs? In my perspective, resource rooms are a great add on to students who require more assistance outside of the classroom. Therefore, students should be encouraged to stay in the classrooms and have resource rooms for extra support. According to Lorna Idol (2006) in her study  looking at schools that implemented inclusion, is it possible for a school to fully implement an inclusion environment without any pull-out programs or resource rooms. However, its also important to take into consideration the type of special needs that are dealt with because some are more severe and require more assistance than others (Idol, 2006). Most teachers and Principals have positive attitudes towards inclusion but also have many concerns and questions (Idol, 2006; Jennifer M. Cassady, 2011). Teachers are concerned with students with severe needs and not having enough training to handle tough situations with those students (Cassady, 2011). Consequently, they are more positive towards inclusion of some cases of special needs over others. For example, teachers in a study stated that they are more favourable of including students with autism in the classroom than with EBD (Emotional and Behavioural Disorder) (Cassady, 2011). This is perhaps because of the aggressive behaviours of EBD students. Moreover, teachers are also more comfortable with the idea of inclusion if they have classroom support for those students with extra needs and together they can meet the students need in the classroom (Cassady, 2011).  I hope this helps in understanding why we have resource rooms and why pull out programs exist in the first place. Ideally we hope to move towards a more inclusive community where there is the least amount of pull out programs, but realistically 100% inclusion may not be the most suitable for all students with special needs.

Weekly School Visit..

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This week, I was formally observed by my SA while teaching a Math lesson. The lesson started off okay and it was going well until I had the students engage in a partner game. Before beginning this game, I had a discussion with the students about working in partners and what that should look like. They were all very aware of what partner work should look like and its advantages as well. During the game, most students were enjoying it while others (even after having a conversation about being good partners) were starting to become upset at their partners. One student began crying because she wasn’t feeling well and she was upset that I didn’t understand her question. I asked her to take a minute to breathe and calm down and then I would come talk to her again. Before I got a chance to talk to her, the Education Assistant spotted her and took her out to speak to her. Unfortunately, she was feeling sick and she went to lay down at the office. Before then, I thought maybe my instructions weren’t very clear to her and it had caused frustration and therefore evoking tears. There was another student who was getting upset with his partner and using foul language so I asked him to take a seat at the corner to calm down and that he could come back when he is ready to be respectful.

I find it difficult to get students attention once they are fully engaged in an activity and are enjoying it and talking and laughing out loud. Although my signal is loud enough to be heard, students are reluctant to stop what they are doing and therefore after three signals and some waiting time, I had to pause before moving on to the next activity to speak about getting their attention. I briefly explained to them what the use of the tambourine is for and that I am finding it difficult to get their attention. We practiced it a couple of times and I attempted to explain to them what needs to be done once they are responding to my signal. Thankfully this discussion helped for most of the lesson.  I had a brain break which the students really enjoyed. However, after the brain break, students were becoming antsy and perhaps it was my fault for extending the lesson. I should have stopped ten minutes before recess to give them time for snacks but I had continued up until recess time even though I could see that they were becoming a little careless. Overall my SA said I did all the right things but I just have a difficult group of kids. I really hope she is right because sometimes I am very hard on myself and feel as though I am not doing good enough. I will continue teaching math until this unit is complete and next week I will be informally observed by my other SA to get a different perspective. I hope it goes well.