Module 5

      The first topic that sparked my interest is the discussion about self-determination and the need for relatedness (page 435). It's very important for teachers, parents and students to all be on the same page when it comes to the students education. If the parents are teachers can effectively collaborate with one another then it will overall positively effect the students academic motivation as well as their well being. I fell as thought when we are younger students we don't want our parents to have close contact with our teachers because we're afraid we will get in trouble. Now as I'm older I see how important parent-teacher relationships are for the students sake. This is especially important when a student has a special need. At my job I've seen first hand how poor teacher-parent collaboration can negatively affect the student. If everyone is not on the same page about what is best for the student then is can cause issues. It can cause a number of issues from affecting academic progress to behavior outbursts.

     Another interesting topic was the one about making as well as completing goals (page 438-439). The books states that when we make specific, detailed, and achievable were goals we are more likely to have motivation to reach them. This gives us more motivation because we know that they are realistic goals that we can achieve. This can also be applied to the type of work that our students do. When I read this it reminded me of a student that I work with at work. He uses a token board and that token board has reinforcers that he is working for. He has 5 rules that he need to follow and when he achieves them he gets a token. These rules are moderately difficult as well as achievable. When h finally earns his reinforcer it gives him more motivation to earn tokens next time in order to get it again. 

     The last point that I am writing about is the beliefs and attributions (page447). The section mentioned pre conceived outcomes that we out on ourselves that ultimately limit us. If we go into a situation saying we're going to do poorly then we probably are because of our belief beforehand. I did this a lot in school. I told myself that I was bad at math and that I would do bad on tests before I even took them. I was putting limits on myself by saying that I was bad at math and therefore had a low self-efficacy (page 444) . This is something that we need to help out students with. If they come to school with a pre defeated attitude about school work then they are playing our their day. We need to be encouraging to our students and help them along the way with their goals they make for themselves. 

Module 4

In chapter 9 I specifically enjoyed reading about the Learning Strategies (page 321). Reading this section really opened my eyes to how important it is to teach our students how to learn. For an education class that I was previously in I read Teach Like Your Hair's On Fire by Rafe Esquif and in that book it talked about how he teaches his students in his classroom. He specifically talked about how to teach them to study and do homework. He teaches them that they need to learn how to study effectively. He wants his students to know that it will not matter how long they spent studying or reading a chapter, but how they strategized and practiced problems. In this chapter it talks about similar concepts. The chapter talks about how we need to distinguish the important information from less important information. This skill can be used for note taking as well as underlining and highlighting when reading. There have been many times where I have spent most of my time taking notes in a class and I try and write every word that my professor is saying rather than write down key ideas that are mainly important.

I also enjoyed reading about how teachers can promote creativity in the classroom. Promoting creativity is very important to help students self esteem inside and outside of the classroom. One of the tactics that the book talked about was brainstorming (page342). Brainstorming can be a good way to have students give some ideas as well as be able to collaborate with other students and come up with new ones. This made me think of being in middle school and coming up with classroom rules. At the beginning of the year the teacher would ask us to as a class come up with a set of rules that we would hold ourselves accountable for. It was good way for us to shout out our ideas or talk to other students and encourage each others ideas.

In chapter 10 I also really enjoyed the section about collaboration and cooperation (page372). Collaboration with your peers in the classroom are one of the most effective strategies that a teacher can use in the classroom. It allows people in a group to be able to share different ideas that they might have. It was eye opening to read that group work and collaboration are usually categorized as the same thing but are not. Just because you put students in a group together does not necessarily mean that they are going to collaborate. I remember being put into groups and have certain students that were not actively collaborating in the group which is frustrating. If we put students into groups to collaborate we need to make sure that we are asking the correct things from the students.

Teacher Interview

     Teacher Interview 

     I interviewed Rebecca Schwartz who is currently a Special Education teacher at Elim Christian School in Palos Heights, IL. She is now in her sixth year as a teacher at this school and attended Trinity Christian College where she received her degree in Special Education. I am a paraprofessional in her classroom and I was happy she was able to answer some of the questions that I came up with for her. 
     I first asked her about how uncooperative or cooperative parents affect students in the classroom and she touched on a number of good points. There are the parents that are highly involved and follow through things we do at school with the students. This usually helps because the student has consistency both at home and at school. There have been a number of students where we can tell when parents are not being consistent at home because it does cause behavior problems at school taking away time from their learning. 
     Another topic she mentioned was prevention such as stated in the book "prevention is the best medicine" (page 485). In our classroom we do try and prevent our student from being uncooperative from the start by using reinforcers such as discussed in chapter 7. This helps us be proactive with the student so they don't become upset or have behavior outbursts. She talks about how our last resort if the student does become aggressive would be to use safety care techniques with them if they are a danger to themselves or staff.
     Rebecca also touched on relationships with staff in her classroom. On page 487 the book talks about how we as educators should create a positive learning community for them. Wether that be building good report with staff, students, parents, and even other administrators. If all staff are on the same page I can usually illuminate problems within the classroom between students and staff.
Rebecca also talked about reinforcers that are used within the classroom with students. On page 489 The book talks about stopping problems quickly. One of the options that they give is to offer the student a choice. This is something that we do daily with our students once they have behavior outburst or even before. We present to them two choices that they have before a potential negative reinforcer is presented to them.
     When asked what kind of if I should give to a new teacher in special-education Rebecca said that patience would be a key. She also talked about how things might seem hard at first but if you just push through it'll all be worth it in the end. Working in her classroom and watching students progress so much gives you a lot of motivation to push through with them. It does get challenging but seeing how far they have come and watching them move classes and be successful is awesome.

Module 3

     Out of all the chapters that I have read so far, this one was my favorite and the one I found most interesting so far. It caught my attention because where I work we are constantly using reinforcers with our students. In our classroom we use positive reinforcement (page 251) more than negative reinforcement. We use positive reinforcement with our students to praise good behavior that the students are showing. For example if one of our students is able to safely transition from one place to another, she is able to pick something from her choice board that she wants to play with for a certain amount of time. This is able to increase the safe transitions that she is having because she will learn that if she can safely transition she will be able to pick a toy of her choice. We do also use negative reinforcements in our classroom. Negative reinforcements are not necessarily bad, for example a little boy in our classroom tends to script a line from Peppa pig and he says "my tummy hurts". He says this in order to try and get sent home so he doesn't have to be at school. Another example that I see at work is with a little boy that is in our class. Every time we head back to class he turns around and says he wants water because he wants to escape going back to class.
      Another part of the chapter that I found interesting was the discussion about classical conditioning (page 248). It is very interesting how many of us have experienced classical conditioning in our own life. In my own experience every time I talk about sour candy or food my mouth waters. In this case it would be an unconditioned response because it is something that naturally happens to me, it wasn't something that was taught to me. Im sure Im not the only one who's mouth salivates when they talk or think about something delicious. When talking about classical conditioning I think about training animals. I have a dog and I taught him that whenever he gets his treats or Scooby snacks as he knows them, he will sit up on his bottom and wait for his treat. In this case his reaction would be a conditioned stimulus.
    The last thing I found interesting was the discussion about prompting (page 255). There are many times that students may need prompting in the classrooms to do work. As a paraprofessional there are different prompts that I use throughout the day. I can use verbal prompts such as telling them " stop and walk with teachers", or I can physically prompt them by pointing to a task they are working on. There are some students who are lower functioning in our classroom and if we are doing work with them and have them doing tasks we stand behind them that way if they need help with the task we can point, or move their elbow in a certain direction to help them.
    These are all very important and I am able to see how we use them on a day to day basis at work. The students that I work with feed off of positive reinforcers in order to help keep them motivated throughout he day.

Module 2

    The first thing that caught my eye when reading was the different learning styles (page 128). Specifically the learning preferences for different people. Reading this section made me think about the different learning preferences that we all have as students. We may need music to do work, or some of us need complete silence. I found this part very interesting as far as adjusting to each students different learning styles. What really was eye opening for me was the research that was done on college level student about their learning styles. It turned our that students tend to pick the learning style that they most like versus the learning style that helps them the most. This is something to take into consideration when teaching our students. They might all like visual learning but lets face it, they still have to be able to adapt to other learning styles that might not be preferred to them. I think its very important for students to practice their learning preferences at home when they may be studying for a test or maybe writing a paper to see what works best for them, but that may be a different story in the classroom. We cannot always trust the judgment of our students on what type of teaching style we should use in the classroom. Using a new teaching style with our students will help them to be able to develop other learning techniques that they can use for their own benefit.
     When reading chapter five the part the caught my eye was the discussion about different dialects in the classroom. For a long time I had always contemplated what I would do if I had a student who had a different dialect in my classroom. Would I correct him/her or would I just accept what they were saying. Reading this section really helped my realize what I would have to do for my students. To get a little insight I talked to my mom who came to the United States when she was 5 and did not know any English. She was in a classroom and she worked closely with teachers who would help her and she also has teachers who were mean to her about how she pronounced words. Its important for us as teachers to not accept what the student is saying in their own dialect. We also want to be careful not to make them feel embarrassed or point them out about what they are saying. This is why Heritage English and Formal English is a good way to help the students become fluent in both the dialect they may use and the Formal English. This way your are accepting what the student is saying but also teaching them Formal English at the same time.
     When I was reading chapter six the topic Prejudging is what popped out to me. This is a topic that can be very touchy but something we need to be aware of as teachers. I read in the book that Asians usually do better academically which is why they are called the model minority. As a teacher if you come into the classroom with prejudgement based off of information that doesn't matter such as their name or their race it can be a set back. This doesn't just have to be based solely on race or ethnicity it can also include gender or intellectual ability. I have seen so many teachers separate their "smart students" and their "slower learners" in separate groups. If we go into our classrooms and have this prejudgement about students and how they are going to be then it is something we will become accustomed to for the future. This is a difficult process because children and adults are bombarded with prejudice actions or stereotypes all around them. From tv shows to comments people around them make it is hard for them to block this out of their mind especially if it is encouraged or tolerated at home.

Module 1

After doing the reading in the book I was able to learn about how to use strategies in the classroom with students such as how to pick on students to answer questions most effectively as well as what it means to be an expert teacher. The first chapter gave me a basic overview of what role educational psychology playing in the classroom as well as in a student-teacher relationship. I was also able to learn about the NCLB act of 2002. One thing that I enjoyed reading about was the different studies that can be performed. I found this beneficial because it showed how you can use different studies for specific needs to benefit your students. Especially working with students with disabilities this will be very beneficial in the classrooms as far as learning more about the students.

In the school that I work with, the staff works closely with the behavioral therapist in collecting data. i feel as though this would be a connection with the different studies because each student has different needs and not every study can work the same with each student. I specifically found the research by Sandra Graham (p.13) on how teachers should help lower-achieving students work. Graham stated that support was one of the main factors in helping the students achieve. In the classroom that I work in if you do not show the student your full support then you will see how it will affect their learning in the long run. We need to be positive for our student and show them as much support as possible in order for them to believe in themselves and be able to succeed.  

Context for Learning Description of School and Students

Trinity Christian College Field Experience Form

Context for Learning

Description of School and Students

About the School Where You Are Observing or doing Field Experience

School Name and City: Elim Christian School

Type of School: Elementary school, Middle School, High School, or Other: School and adult services  

Setting: Urban, Suburban, or Rural: Suburban

Write your responses to the three questions below in paragraph form.

                        In this classroom there is a teacher an assistant teacher and 5 paraprofessionals. Each student has their own desk where they go and do work as well as work on goals the teachers has created for them. Students get pulled out of the classroom on Wednesdays and Thursdays for Speech, OT, and PT. The classroom has 6 desks, a smart board and a sensory room for the students.

 Standardized tests are required by the state of Illinois to be given in the schools based on their grade level according to their age. Even if the student is not academically ready to take the test the teacher is still require to give it to the students.

In the school there are a number of different educators with specialized expertise such as Speech Therapists, Occupational Therapists, Physical Therapists and Behavioral Therapists.     

About the Students in this Class [Give a brief or one word response]

1.    Estimated percentage of students eligible for free/reduced lunch: 33%

2.    Grade level(s): k-2nd

3.    Number of

a.    students in the class: 7

b.    males: 6

females: 1

c.     English language learners: None in this class

d.    students identified as gifted and talented: None in the class

e.    students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) or 504 plans: All 7 students have IEPs  

4.    Complete the chart below to summarize required accommodations or modifications for students receiving special education services and/or students who are gifted and talented as they will affect instruction. As needed, consult with your cooperating teacher to complete the chart. The first row has been completed in italics as an example. Use as many rows as you need.

Special Education Category	Number of Students	Accommodations, Modifications, and/or Pertinent IEP Goals
Example: Learning Disability	Example: 4	Example: Close monitoring, follow up, and Resource Room
Autism	7	Close monitoring, sensory area, icon schedules, sign language
Cerebral Palsy	1	Close monitoring when going on a walk with other students

About the Class You Observed

1.    How much time is devoted each day to instruction in the classroom? Describe the class periods (if applicable)? Choose a content area of your specialty or major. How much time is devoted to teaching that subject?

About 50% of the day is used for instruction. In the morning the students work on circle time books where they learn their months, days of the week, feelings, letters and a small prayer. Various times throughout the day students have work on their schedule where they work one on one with a staff to work on tasks to meet their goals that are in their IEPs.  

2.    Is there any ability grouping or tracking? If so, please describe how it affects your class.

Students work as one big groups during their circle time and when they work on their tasks such as cutting paper, gluing, touch math, writing their name and sensory such as play dough. Our students do not usually interact with each other but when they are at the table we encourage the students to work on their social skills.  

3.    Identify any textbook or instructional program you primarily use for instruction. If a textbook, please provide the title, publisher, and date of publication.

There are not textbooks used with the students. Each students learns through their goals that are worked on at their individual work areas.

4.    List other resources (e.g., SMARTBoard, manipulatives, online resources) used for instruction in this class.

        Smart board, Projector, kindle, and Ipad.

5. What do you know about what your students know, what can they do, and what are they learning to do? What do you know about your students’ everyday experiences, cultural backgrounds and practices, and interests?

        Working with my students everyday has given me insight to what they are capable of doing. Six of the students that I have are Caucasian and one is Caucasian and African American. They all come from various backgrounds many have parents that are separated. They also all have different interests that they are very particular about.

6. Describe one teaching event. What best practices in teaching were used?

One specific example that I can think of is teacher a specific student how to math objects to pictures. He becomes easily distracted and for a long time it was difficult for him to be able to focus on his tasks. As of recently we have taught him how to look and what he is doing and in turn it has helped him become successful in mastering his task. Patience was the ultimate key to teaching this to the student. We had to make sure that we were not rushing to hand over hand his matching because then he would rely on us to do all the work. He is highly motivated by bubbles and when holding the bubble wand in one hand while prompting him by pointing with the other, we found it to be highly effective.