ED 645 - Week 8

This week, we finalized our teaching philosophy. In theory, I thought it would be a breeze to write my philosophy. Upon writing it though, it proved to be a much more difficult task. It really is hard to form up an entire theory in two pages. There was so much I wanted to say but so little real estate to do it in. Thoughts need to be presented clearly to the reader while ensuring that everything that is important to you as a teacher is covered. I found that some important things had to be left out so I could ensure the most important points were conveyed. The one saving grace is that this document is part of an entire portfolio. This allows me to highlight other important aspects of my teaching by providing examples of my philosophy in my classroom.

ED 645 - Week 7

Finally, I experienced my first unplanned absence. Waking up sick is a horrible feeling but knowing I had to call out made things worse. I feel that it is very important to be transparent with my students as much as possible. I know that students adapt better when their schedules are uninterrupted. This is simply not the case when you get sick unexpectedly.
My students were generally behaved although several assignments were turned in with inappropriate content. Upon my return, we discussed what I had seen and discussed my expectations when I am there and when I am not. I think this actually worked out well because it afforded me the opportunity to review my classroom expectations.
This upcoming week will include my first scheduled absence. This was a little different because I was able to discuss this with my students ahead of time. We talked about what they would be doing in hopes that they will be more willing to complete the aasignments. I've also set up having my STAT teacher check in during the more difficult class that day. A familiar face will be good for my students and let them know that I made careful plans for a successful day.
With a call out, we have a stock of emergency sub plans that we created in the beginning of the school year. However, with the day next week, I am faced with creating a lesson that engages my students but is easily understandable by anyone that subs in my classroom. I am finding this more difficult, not wanting to simply leave a few reading assignments for them to complete. For my standard class, they will be completing a school mandated reading and a packet on bonding. The packet will allow them to interact directly with the curriculum. I am going to allow them to work collaboratively hoping this will be an incentive for them to complete the assignment. For my honors students, they will be working on constructing a scientific argument. I am providing them a choice on the topic, leaving three different readings to choose from. They will also be working on the bonding packet. I am hoping that with prior knowledge of my absence and more engaging assignments, my students will have a successful day without me.

ED 645 - Week 6

Formative and summative assessments are very important in the classroom. Summative assessments allow teachers to see what a student has learned over a period of time; over a unit, a semester, or a year to give a few examples. Formative assessments are equated to checkpoints and allow a teacher to see a multitude of things about a students learning. A teacher can see where a student is in the learning process and make adjustments to lessons in order to accommodate student needs.
What I like about formative assessments is their diversity. They are so diverse that students do not even realize they are being assessed. I also like that formative assessment can be student driven. I use learning logs everyday in my classroom. Students have a daily drill page that includes a drill space and a learning log space. As part of the drill, students reflect on their learning in the learning log. Time permitting, I will have students return to their learning log at the end of a lesson and reassess their understanding. This is a really important process because students are in control of their learning and can see their growth on their own terms.
Through my numerous observations, I have been commended on my ability to weave formative assessment seamlessly into my lessons. Also, that I truly understand my students needs and make quick adjustments as necessary. This has been really encouraging feedback to recieve as a first time teacher.

ED 645 - Week 5

Thanksgiving break... or the days leading up to it! I now understand the importance of break! The students were on the crazy side this week with the anticipation of a few days off. I've personally enjoyed this break, taking time to focus on family and recharge myself. It's my understanding that the kids can be a bit off as we approach Christmas and having some time to recoup will be important in the upcoming weeks.

One activity we did in classes this week was coloring the families of the periodic table. The students seemed to really enjoy coloring. What was surprising was the amount of time it took students to color their table. It's amazing to me how timing can be so different from what is originally planned in my lesson plan. I feel like I'm always getting caught up in timing, either planning too much or too little time. I still feel like my timing is a work in progress and I think it would be more beneficial for me to reflect more on this aspect of my lesson plans. I know this is something that develops through practice, I just wish it would happen sooner!

Finally, it's still strange to me to see my students outside of school. This doesn't happen often as I live in another state from my students. This weekend I spent time in Lewes with my family. We decided to go the boardwalk for an outing. While there, I ran into one of my students! I expect to run into students when I am in my school zone but 3 hours away is a little different! I'm sure this is something to get used to as well.

ED 645 - week 4

This week my students completed another lab. This lab involved a flame test. Students were asked to burn various metal solutions and observe the colors that were produced. Students had to adhere to strict safety practices and had to use their observation skills during this lab. I like activities like this because it stretches the students thinking and gets them multitasking without them realizing it. It is important for students to develop these skills and it's more of a success when it happens without realization.

When I chose to do this lab, I was a bit apprehensive. My students often have difficulty following directions in class. Adding open flames to that equation seems like a disaster in the making. However, I am always pleasantly surprised on lab days. My students are more aware and on point, probably because there is a perceived threat to their self. What was most surprising was that the class I anticipated performing the worst, performed the best. In fact, they were the most engaged class during the class period.

After the lab was complete, the plan was to watch three videos. These videos showed reactivity trends on the periodic table and served as an attention grabber for the new topic. With this class in particular, they watched the first two videos, actively engaged, and asked/answered various questions about the video content. At the end of one of the videos, a students saw a video on the side under suggestions. Since they were so engaged thus far, I honored his request and watched that video next. It was a bit off topic with what we were learning but it allowed me to teach other important content to them. The video showed a man making a hypothesis, test it out, prove it false, and then provide proof for why he was wrong. We were able to shift into a discussion of how science really works and that often times a beginning thought is false and through experimentation the truth can be discovered. On the way out, I told them how great they did. I am attempting to make a greater effort to recognize appropriate behaviors and not just point out the wrong ones. This can encourage students to make the better choices and also reaffirms my expectations of them.

ED 645 - Week 3

I have never been so glad to see Friday! This week has been extremely crazy and I am looking forward to a relaxing weekend to catch up on grading and decompress from the weeks events. The week began with the anticipation of the election on Tuesday, students have been chatting away about that on Monday. On Wednesday, I returned to work to students in a whirlwind of emotions. Some happy with the election results, some not so much. Although I only teach science, I felt it was important to allow students some time to discuss their points. My goal with this was to get the chatter done so that we could focus on the content and learn new things. I allowed students about ten minutes to chat about their feelings and was pleasantly surprised that they remained calm and did not attack each other. I think this was successful because the students were able to have their discussions on something that was important and relevant and then were able to come back together and focus on the content.

We began a new topic this week, electron configuration, and I was really hit with the reality that this topic is extremely difficult to understand. This is one of the times I have been blinded by my knowledge and really needed to take a step back when we discussed it in class. One activity that the other chemistry teacher provided me was really good and the kids seemed to like it and it definitely helped them understand the basic concepts. After the second class period of looking at this topic, for some of my classes, a lot of light bulbs went off and students really started to understand. My only hope is that this understanding translates into their assessments, which I have found is not always the case. A lot of times I think this is because they hear quiz/test/assessment and anxiety kicks in.

Finally, I witnessed my first fight of the year and it happened to be between two students that I teach. This has really effected me and I am completely heartbroken. I am heartbroken because these kids live this way, seeing people around them resort to physical violence as a way to settle problems. I'm also heartbroken because these kids actually resort to this behavior to solve problems. I worry about their futures and hope that they are able to mature into adults that no longer see violence as a means to an end. In the end, both students lose out and are no better off then when they started. I honestly think this was the hardest part of my week and hope that I do not have to witness this type of behavior in the future.

ED 645 - Week 2

Another new week, another observation. Sometimes I feel like I am in a fishbowl and people are just staring at me anxiously waiting for my next move. This observation was another successful observation that brought praise from my mentor teacher. She noted that my level of questioning had increased and included both level 2 and level 3 questions. She also liked that I allowed productive questions from students to lead discussion. Additionally, she noted that my level of content knowledge was apparent because I explain information beyond the PowerPoint, using the PowerPoint as a presentation method not the presentation itself.

Another success was something called gradual release. This is something that I had never heard of before but after explanation, I think it is a great method for teaching. Gradual release means that we complete examples as a group, then students work together on some examples, and finally students complete the activity independently. I really like this way of scaffolding information because not only does it model to students what to do, it also gets them working collaboratively and building skills that they need to be successful.

Something else that I am trying to do more regularly is to ensure that I use my objective and provide my students with an agenda. The craziness of first quarter has gone away and I am starting to feel more comfortable within my classroom to refine procedures. While I have almost always had an objective posted, often times I have forgotten to read it and connect to it. In doing this, my students seem to better understand what is expected of them and are able to connect the material to a purpose. Every class I start with reading the objectives. As we transition from one item to the next, I point out what objective was covered and what objective will be worked on next. At the end of class, time permitting, I ask the a student to read an objective and attempt to elicit response from students on how we obtained that objective. Additionally, I have been reviewing the materials/worksheets for the day and letting them know what will be collected and how it will be graded. I do this in the beginning of class and feel that this helps keep my students focused. The expectations are clear and less questions are asked over time.

One thing that I had issues with during this lesson I was observed was pacing. Something I thought would take much longer didn't and I didn't have an activity ready to go. I want to make sure my lesson plans include additional activities that eliminate issues that arise from improper time management of a lesson.

Continuing the dream

This week brought two observation post conferences. Reviews were more mixed than previous and I think this was good for me. In both observations I was rated at basic/developing. While I got a bit defensive at first, after reflection, I realized that this is a learning experience. If I am always rated high, then I am not in a true position to make myself a better teacher.
One new activity that I have added to my arsenal is an activity called whip around. It worked well with my honors classes but I was a bit apprehensive to try it out in my standard classes. However, it was an overall success in al my classes and I can see myself using this again in the future. The premise is that each student is given a post it note. They are asked to wrote down a minimum of three things and then stand up. Students take turn sharing around the room, crossing out their items when they are shared. This goes on until all items are crossed out. The activity takes about 15 minutes, depending on class size. When I used this, I connected it back to one of the posted objectives.
One of the areas of improvement was to make sure I'm using my objectives. I am trying hard to make sure we read through and explain the objectives in the beginning of the class. Then, as we transition to another activity, someone reads the next objective. At the end of the class, I have a student read an objective and make the connection to what we did in class. I actually had an objective on the board that we were unable to get too. I had students at the end of class questioning that objective, thinking that they missed something. It's nice to have the students to as back up to keep me on track and to see them taking an interest in their learning.

Teaching Reflection Week 8

On Friday, I found out that a student is returning to my school and class. He withdrew from school at the end of September and never enrolled in a new school. Now I find myself with the difficult task of integrating him into a class that is preparing for a test that he clearly will not be prepared for. Additionally, one week prior to the close of the marking period leaves limited time and ability to offer him a grade for the quarter. As a senior, and a struggling senior, I just am not sure what to do.

I spoke with my department chair regarding both his integration and grade for the first quarter. When the student withdrew, he had a B. My DC suggests that he should be given a B, but I'm struggling with giving the student a B based on two grades when there have been between ten and fifteen graded assignments. I am also struggling because we are using mastery grading system. Clearly he has not mastered the content. Since he was never enrolled in a school when he withdrew, I do not have a more current starting point grade to work with.

The next piece of my struggle deals with reintegrating him into the classroom. It is a small class but contains a group of tough students. In fact, he tended to be the one that was capable of derailing the entire class at any given moment. While I do not like seeing students not in school, it was a relief to not have to run circles around the student every class. Having him come back on a day that is review followed by a test, I am trying to plan activities for him that educate him on what he missed bit also engage him so that the remaining class members can be successful on their assessment.

One measure I have set up is a buddy room. This is a place I can send the student if he is unable to not cause a distraction. My department chair suggested that he start off his return in the back of the classroom, seated independently, and through showing positive behavior, he earns his way back to the general public. While this seems like a good plan, I do not necessarily see it working out to the classes benefit. The student generally has the attitude that he can do as he wishes regardless of consequences.

Although I think this transition will be difficult, I am optimistic that it can work out. Starting him off with my expectations and ensuring I have follow through will hopefully make the student and the class more successful in the end.

Teaching Reflection Week 7

I survived my first spirit week! It seems amazing to me that my students could be crazier than normal but they managed it this week. This week brought a huge challenge of engaging my students in the content, and not have them talk solely of homecoming, and keeping them on task. In order to do this, I allowed my students some time to discuss spirit week/homecoming. I think it's important to remember that students are still kids and need to be allowed structured off task time. As an adult, teaching has been the first job I've had that I haven't spent time off task. In my other jobs, a portion of time was spent doing things at our leisure. Perhaps this is how lab work is and other jobs are different. However, I do believe that some downtime increases productivity. I try to incorporate this concept into my classroom. I do this in little chunks at a time so that I am still able to regain their attention and focus. Off task time also encourages relationship building with students. Having conversations outside the curriculum has allowed me to connect with my students on a deeper level. In fact, from talking with one of my at risk seniors, and talking to him as a person, has encouraged him to complete more tasks in the classroom. It's really encouraging to see that taking a few minutes to connect with them increases their classroom productivity.
I am currently teaching three at risk seniors. These students have struggled throughout high school and are in danger of not graduating. What I have done with these three is learn their history and I don't mean their school history. I've tried to learn their outside of school history, figure out what interests them and make a point to ask how they are doing. With one of them, a student that failed my class last year, I've reached out to his mom and have started an open dialogue with her. I let her know when her son is struggling. I also make a point to let her know when he does well. Just last week, his mom punished him and took his car away because another teacher contacted home about his poor performance. I contacted home on Friday to let her know how great he did in my class, not knowing that he was on punishment. On Monday the student came to me and thanked me for getting his car back. Instead of saying you're welcome, I told him that he earned his car back. Yes I made the call to mom but I wanted him to see that he put the effort in and did the work.
A video circulated on Facebook this week in which teachers told students that they were the reason that the teacher came to work everyday. They told their students how much the student was appreciated. Every student reacted with shock, many of them being brought to tears. The video really struck a nerve with me because students need to hear they are appreciated as well. I've decided that I want to start doing this with my students. I haven't quite decided how to handle this but one idea I have is to use post-it notes. I would write a quick positive message on the note and place it on the students belongings. This allows the act to be more private so that students don't have to save face on front of their friends. I'm excited to try this out in the near future.

Teaching Reflection - Week 6

This week I'm reflecting on assessment in my classroom. When I create lesson plans, I make sure to build in multiple ways to assess my students. These assessments help me adjust what I am teaching to ensure my students understand the curriculum. Often times, I assess my students through questioning. I ask them a question, then I ask them to explain their answer. If they are struggling, I then will reexplain the information and then ask more questions. Another method I use is whiteboards. Through the use of whiteboards, I can see which students understand and which ones don't. I continue to answer questions until all students are able to respond correctly.
Another assessment method I employ is self reflection. I ask my students every class to reflect on their learning. Not only does this help me understand where they are, it also helps my students understand where they are.

This week my students participated in a density lab. While most of my students handles the lab professionally and appropriately, I am concerned about some of my students. Additionally, I found that my students had difficulty reading and following directions. This is extremely concerning to me as a teacher because if my students are unable to follow directions, they will not be able to be safe in the lab. In every class I reviewed the directions and explained to the students what they were to do for every step. Unfortunately, there was a disconnect somewhere and I still spent a majority of time reexplaining directions. I will have to look at other ways to make sure my students understand directions and to make them more self sufficient when performing labs. It makes it difficult to assess them during a lab when a major portion of my time is spent on directions.

Teaching reflection week 5

The past two weeks have been both extremely stressful and extremely rewarding. I have had five observations over the course of ten days and I have felt like I was under a microscope. My classroom has had a revolving door and I have been the center of the performance. I know that this is common for new teachers, especially those in a graduate program, and my hope is that these visits become easier over time. So far I have had two baseline observations from my consulting teacher, one formal observation from my administration, one visit from the office of science, and one from Stevenson. On both my formal observation and the one for Stevenson, I recieved proficient ratings, with some categories falling under distinguished for Stevenson. This was super exciting because it always reaffirms that I made the right decision in switching career paths. The office of science visit went well and seemed more of a formality than anything else.

My consulting teacher, CT, has been the most stressful experience so far. Yes, all of the observations are stressful because additional planning is always necessary, but my first observation with my CT was far from successful. She observed me during one of my more difficult classes and seemed to be focused on things that seem less important to me in the grand scheme of things.  During our post observation meeting, the only success she was able to mention was that I knew my content. As one can imagine, I went into my second observation less than thrilled to be there. I was pleasantly surprised at how engaged my students were and how pleased my CT was. She remarked that my classes were like night and day. She was pleased with my rapport with students and even more pleased that within their lab groups, my students were having meaningful discussions about the content. They were challenging each other and working through the matter examples like real scientists.

My biggest struggle right now is my one class that over half the students hold a 504 or IEP. Many of these students are able to deliver the content verbally but are unable to convey the information through means of writting. In a class of twenty plus students, I am struggling to find ways for my students to be graded on the content that goes beyond writing the information down. Some days I wish there was five of me in the room so that I could grade my students in a way that aligns with their abilities better. I am planning on working with my STAT teacher in the near future to determine acceptable resources for students to deliver their knowledge verbally. I feel like most of my students in this class will excel if they are able to verbally convey their answers instead of writing them down.

Purposeful Questioning

This week's readings were about purposeful questioning. Purposeful questioning is so important in the classroom. Not only does it extend our students thinking, it also leads to authentic learning. Engaging students deepens their understanding and helps them reach new levels of learning.

This concept of engaging in purposeful questioning got me thinking about how I teach and question my students. This week concluded my first formal observation. I was thrilled to be rated effective in all areas. What got me thinking was their feedback about how I question my students. In class, I am constantly questioning my students. When they ask me a question, I respond to them with a question. I think this is really important because it makes them think through their responses.

Another question I ask my students a lot is to explain their thought process. As a teacher, not only am I assessing their answers, I'm also assessing how they got there. Seeing how students work through problems helps me see where they take wrong turns and I can better assist them in getting the correct answer in the future. My goal is to grow my students and the best way to do this is to question them and have them develop thought processes that require critical thinking skills. Practicing these skills in a controlled environment, like a classroom, helps students become more comfortable and helps prepare them for the world outside of school.

Teaching Reflection - Week 3

This week brought on exciting and interesting challenges. On Tuesday and Wednesday, my classes performed their first lab. Going into the lab, I posed the activities as a trial run for them. The lab itself was easy and involved no potential hazards, except the use of glassware, and I told my students that I was watching them for their adherence to safety practices. I allowed students to pick their own lab groups as well. Allowing them this freedom allowed me to see a few things. First, I noticed how some students were eager to work with others while other students were more reluctant to group with peers. Also, it allowed me to see which students should work together and which students should be separated. Finally, I was able to see which students were leaders and which students needed leading. For the most part, students worked well through the activity and adhered to safe laboratory practices. A few students had to sit out unfortunately because they were unable to follow safety protocols. I explained to them individually the importance of following the rules and that if I allowed them to keep their safety at risk, that I was not doing my job properly.

Also this week, I began preparing for my observation next week. I was able to sit down with my department chair and start hashing out ideas for a good observation. We focused on the 5E model and were able to incorporate some of the E's into the lesson ideas. During my observation, I will be working a reading into my lesson. This is exciting to me because I do not think there is enough reading done in science classes and the article I found seems pretty interesting. We will be working on significant figures during that class and there is an article that discusses why there are so many ties in swimming. After students read the article, I have designed an activity where students are going to measure the room and chart their values on a graph. I'm relying that there will be some variance in the measurements achieved so that it ties into significant figures and why these are important. I also found an activity that has students working in teams to build numbers using cards that answer the rules I give them.

For this observation lesson, I started with the end in mind. I built my objective of reinforcing the importance of significant figures first and then loaded in activities that would allow my students to actively engage in their understanding. So far, my students have been significantly more engaged when they are manipulating the curriculum with their own hands, participating in activities that get their bodies moving and their brains working.

Additionally, this week I asked my STAT teacher to come in a informally observe one of my classes. This class has been difficult for me behavioral wise and I was interested in getting another set of eyes in there and someone who could offer suggestions. Based on the feedback I received, I am looking forward to my formal observation this week. My STAT teacher was pleased with the way I moved around the room, how I approached students directly to address a problem, and how I used proximity control when needed. He was impressed that I felt like this was my most difficult class and felt like if this was my biggest struggle, then I was doing pretty good. I really like having a STAT teacher because he is able to offer feedback without the pressure of evaluation. After he is done observing, we are able to chat freely about the issues.

Second week reflection

It is interesting to reflect on a week where only two days of instruction happened. With my school falling under the category of non-air conditioned schools in Baltimore County, I was off Thursday and Friday. While these was a much needed break in order to wrap my head around a crazy beginning to the school year, I find myself longing for a sense of normalcy. All these interruptions, although helpful from a purely planning standpoint, create a very disruptive environment that keeps both my students and myself on edge. I will be thankful when the weather cools, helping ease the limitations the heat provides and the normalcy of a routine forming.

One thing I was looking forward to this week, which is now bumped to next week, is the lab that my students will be participating in. We are currently working on the metric system and I am hopeful that the hands-on experience that the lab provides will encourage deeper and more thorough understanding of the metric system. I like this lab as a first lab because there are limited potential hazards, mostly the possibility of glassware breaking. There are no chemicals involved, just water and some food coloring, so my students will be able to practice their safety measures without the fear of a resulting injury. This lab will also provide a baseline for their ability to complete future labs. Based on their performance during this lab, and their adherence to safety procedures, I will be able to better determine the level of participation that my students will have with more difficult and hazardous labs. I think it will also be fun and more relaxed for my students so that they can focus more on the content.

After this class, I am going to try something new this year. As a way for students to take charge of their own learning, I am offering my students the opportunity to complete the metric system assessment or to complete additional metric system review. I am working on developing extension activities for those that chose the first option as the next class, students choosing to participate in additional metric system review will be taking their metric system assessment. Depending on student reception and success, I will determine if this is something I would like to continue during other points in time throughout the year. I also want to make sure the extension activity is meaningful and not just "extra work" to keep students busy. I haven't decided if this will relate to the next unit or something that will extend their thinking on the metric system. Currently, I am leaning towards extending their thinking because having them move forward will cause a rift within my classroom.

Another idea I am interesting in trying is to cover all topics, for example metric system, significant figures, and scientific notation. Then providing students with a deadline that assessments need to be completed by and having them work at their own pace. I would introduce the topics in a successive manner, probably spending two to three days on the topic, and then providing time for them to work through the topics that are most difficult for them. I might not try this with all my classes but maybe start with one or two, especially where I notice vast differences in abilities. When students are done with their assessments and unit assessment, they can move onto a project based learning opportunity. This opportunity could be far reaching and extend throughout the year, with time devoted as applicable.

In the Beginning...

With the new school year beginning this week, I have been doing a lot of reflection. It has been interesting to me the shift in dynamics that I am noticing from the end of last year and the beginning of this year. I believe I was apprehensive about the start of the year because I felt like I was fighting a losing battle with my classes last year. I should start off by saying that not only did I enter in a difficult situation, I also entered with three months left in the school year. As the fourth long term substitute, and a revolving door of daily substitutes, the students in my classroom had been left with little to no structure since October. Everyday felt like a battle against classroom management and behavior. Lots of behaviors remained "okay" while I picked and chose which fights to enter. I honestly had days when I didn't know what to expect and days where I felt like the battle wasn't worth it. But among the hard days there were always good days that reminded me why I chose to become a teacher.

With such a difficult situation, I as apprehensive about the start of the new school year. I felt like I was constantly questioning myself. What if I truly struggled with classroom management? Is this something I want to do for the rest of my life? Was it the situation or was it me? I spent a significant amount of time discussing these questions, and others, with my department chair, STAT teacher, and fellow colleagues. All the time, everyone was reassuring me that the start of a school year presented a wonderful opportunity to me. I would be able to start with a group of students, develop ground rules, although I like the word expectations better, and keep behaviors in check from day one. With this boost of confidence, I began planning and entered the my classroom feeling confident.

And you know what, my days have been successful thus far! I know that eventually I will run into a bad day but for the time being I am stocking up on the good so that I can make it through the not so good. One activity I have attempted to incorporate every class is movement. Whether it is an icebreaker or a group activity using stations, I have gotten my students out of their seats once a class. I think this has been really important to keep my classes interesting and to keep the attention of my students. I have even been told, by a student, that they enjoy my classes because they are interesting and not full of busy work. I remind myself that eventually there will be a class that will feel like busy work but I hope my students can reflect back on classes that were more energized and look at the bigger picture.

The final thing that has been amazing to me this year is the amount of previous students that have come back to visit me! This has been the greatest feeling of all. It let me know that I was able to build relationships and get through to these kids that had a rotten year in Chemistry. I was not just another face to them but I was their teacher. I am looking forward to the year ahead!

Somebody Else's Kids Assignment

Somebody Else's Kids by Torey Hayden (1981) is a fictional book that depicts a teacher’s experience educating four students with vastly different educational needs within one classroom. One student, Boo, is autistic and has difficulty connecting on a basic level with the world around him (Hayden, 1981). Claudia, is an extremely bright twelve-year-old that suffers from depression and finds herself pregnant (Hayden, 1981). Lori is a student that has the ability to learn and comprehend information but is unable to read or write well because she suffered a traumatic brain injury when she was a young child (Hayden, 1981). The last student is Tomaso, a boy that witnessed his father’s murder, has been juggled through foster homes, and who has severe anger issues (Hayden, 1981). Tomaso is not meeting his educational goals and levels for his age because of bouncing from foster home to foster home (Hayden, 1981).

At any point in time, we as educators could easily encounter students within our classroom setting that would require modifications and accommodations in order to successfully complete their assignments. All students, even those with disabilities, are to be educated in the least restrictive environment and this falls under FAPE (Wright, P. W., & Wright, P. D., 2011). The Individuals with Disabilities Act of 2004 (IDEA) amended the Education of All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 and shifted the focus to the individual needs of the student and offered protections to the student and their families (Wright, P.W., & Wright, P.D., 2011). IDEA 2004 helps students become better prepared for life outside of the education system (Wright, P. W., & Wright, P. D., 2011).

Claudia provides an interesting situation that I could very well encounter in my classroom. Although she is younger than the children I teach, teen pregnancy is something very real in our world. Depression is also something I have experienced within my classroom. Claudia is a very withdrawn student and has difficulty reaching out and connecting with others, especially in her new environment of a special education classroom (Hayden, 1981). In fact, based on her educational abilities, she is improperly placed in a special education classroom and should be placed in a mainstream classroom. However, she needs supports in place that can support her mental well-being. She was placed in the special education classroom to “hide” her from society since teen pregnancy was not commonly accepted during the time the book was written.

Having Claudia in a special education classroom could possibly pose a negative effect on her classwork. Independent work, while is important, is not preparing Claudia for the real world and she is not developing 21^st century skills that she needs to be successful. Claudia spends most of her instructional time working independently, only interacting with the class she is in as a mentor or motherly figure (Hayden, 1981). She is much older than other students, middle school versus elementary school so she is learning very different curriculum. Since the teacher has students that require more individualized attention, I would request for Claudia to be removed from the special education classroom and placed in a mainstream classroom. Once there, I do not believe that Claudia would need to have accommodations made for her learning outcomes. However, as a chemistry teacher, Claudia would anticipate laboratory experiences. While most laboratory encounters in the classroom pose no immediate health risk, as a pregnant mother, additional care would need to go into planning labs. If the chemicals being used posed a threat to pregnant women, then Claudia would need to have an alternate activity. While this activity would likely be less hands on, the learning outcomes would be the same as the other students. This is an example of an accommodation for Claudia because the way the material is presented or learned is different but the expectations of learning remain the same (The Understood Team, 2014).

Another problem to be addressed for Claudia is her battle with depression. What appears to be tricky, is that her parents are unable to see the signs and are somewhat unwilling to admit that not all is good with Claudia (Hayden, 1981). In Claudia’s situation, I would recommend a conference with the school counselor, psychologist (if applicable), principal, teachers and parents in order to devise a plan to help Claudia receive the help that she needs. Unfortunately, sometimes help does not come until a traumatic event takes place, which happens with Claudia. While the parents are asked to look into routes to help Claudia, Claudia eventually attempts suicide unsuccessfully (Hayden, 1981.) This is when it is finally agreed that Claudia needs additional support and she begins to see a therapist.

As Claudia’s teacher, I would recommend her to be evaluated for either an IEP or 504. I believe that she would more readily qualify for a 504 because although she has a disability in depression, her learning progress is not effected (Bennett & Frank, 2009). Having a 504, accommodations could be made that help support her depression. For example, she might be able to receive in school therapy or could have a pass that would allow her to speak with a counselor at any time she felt necessary. It is important for the school, therapist, and family to work together to make sure that Claudia is supported in all areas of her life. A potential issue for Claudia is that she would need to be closely monitored and most if not all of her teachers would know about her depression. Another issue is bullying that she might encounter, whether over her depression or the fact that she is a teenage mother-to-be. Bullying could lead to isolation and increasing the affects her depression has on her.

Finally, Claudia would need supports in place to help her with her pregnancy. A 504 could also support this by providing Claudia with accommodations for food throughout the day as needed. It would also be important to provide Claudia with access to a support group that includes students in similar situations, either during pregnancy or after pregnancy (Hayden, 1981). Another potential issue, or drawback, would be the amount of time Claudia would need to be away from school if her baby is born during the school year. This could significantly impact her learning. In order to keep her on track, I would provide her parents with materials for her to complete at home in order to stay up on her school work.

I believe that Claudia would pose many personal challenges for me. First, I would need to make sure that I treated her no different than the other students. I think it is natural to want to accommodate someone who is pregnant but I would need to be cautious because other students might see this as favoritism. Another challenge might be my inability to connect to Claudia. Not that I feel like I could not connect with her but that she might not let me connect to her. I think it is important to build meaningful and real relationships with our students, relationships that allow students to build trust and feel comfortable within my classroom. This might be difficult with Claudia since she is withdrawn and does not seem to want to connect with others. However, this is something that would need to be worked at with her and something that might take a significant amount of time to accomplish. Finally, I would probably become very vested in her personally because of her pregnancy situation. While I do not immediately think that this is inappropriate, I would need to be careful that this does not creep into the way I instruct her in my classroom. It would also be important to make sure I am clear on my school districts policy in the event that Claudia would reveal something to me, specifically about suicide.

Somebody Else’s Kids was a really interesting read to me, a book that I found difficult to put down. It offered an interesting perspective on working with students with differing needs. Although the book is fictional, many of the strategies the author discusses are rooted in fact. Having the student attached to the various strategies allowed me to see a perspective that I would not have unless I encountered a similar student in my classroom. 

References:

Bennett, A., & Frank, L. (2009, January/February). Special education process: IEP vs.504 plan. 2e: Twice-Exceptional Newsletter. Retrieved August 10, 2016, from http://www.davidsongifted.org/Search-Database/entry/A10671

Hayden, T. (1981). Somebody else’s kids. New York, NY: Avon Books.

The Understood Team. (2014). Accommodations: What they are and how they work. Retrieved August 10, 2016, from https://www.understood.org/en/learning-attention-issues/treatments-approaches/educational-strategies/accommodations-what-they-are-and-how-they-work

Wright, P. W., & Wright, P. D. (2011, November 29). The History of Special Education Law - Wrightslaw. Retrieved August 10, 2016, from http://www.wrightslaw.com/law/art/history.spec.ed.law.htm

IEP vs 504

IEP's and 504's are somewhat tricky to understand but it is extremely important for teachers to understand these documents. Through understanding, teachers will be able to provide a quality learning environment for all students in their classrooms. In my time as a long term substitute last year, I personally worked with a number of students that had either an IEP or a 504, mainly students with 504's. It is important to understand these documents because accommodations will need to be made in order for students to learn appropriately. In my experience, accommodations generally included preferential seating, extended time for assessments, and distraction limitations. In addition to understanding the documents themselves, it is important as a teacher to understand your role in the development of the documents. Personally, I have been involved from a parental standpoint for the IEP for my son. However, I found the process difficult to understand and felt that I had little say in the process. Through my course readings, I have learned that as a parent, I do have significant influence on my child's IEP process. As an educator, I will strive to make sure parents understand that they can impact their students learning through the IEP process. I think it is important for the parents to know they have an opinion and that their opinion is an important step of the process.

Included is a venn diagram showing the differences and similarities of IEP's and 504's.




References:

1. Bennett, A., & Frank, L. (2009, January/February). Special education process: IEP vs.504 plan. 2e: Twice-Exceptional Newsletter. Retrieved July 20, 2016, from http://www.davidsongifted.org/Search-Database/entry/A10671 

 

2. The Understood Team. (2014). The difference between IEPs and 504 plans. Retrieved July 20, 2016, from https://www.understood.org/en/school-learning/special-services/504-plan/the-difference-between-ieps-and-504-plans