My favorite reading for this week was the Mohr article. As a future special education teacher, it is easy to get carried away with focusing in on children with learning disabilities. In many of the courses I have taken, I have learned several ways to improve the learning environments and experiences for these students. In addition, we have been taught how to raise the bar with general education students, and that they also have difficulties in learning and understanding various concepts. However, this is the first time that I have REALLY focused my attention on ELL students. I have done several readings, and had many discussions, about English-language learners and how we need to make sure that we are providing them with an equal opportunity to learn in the classroom. However, this was the first time that I have ever read that classroom teachers do not put forth the effort to work with these students because they begin to rely on the ESL teachers to accomplish that task. I think it really hit home, because it is so true. Not only that, but I have been in classrooms and worked with teachers who have this same thought process. What I think is amazing is that, after reading this, I thought about all of the teachers that share this belief when it comes to ANY student that is taken outside of the classroom for additional resources. For example, I had a placement at an elementary school in Holt, and I worked in the resource room for the school. There was a student who had been diagnosed with ADHD a month before I came in, and his teacher used the resource room like a "time-out spot". He was only scheduled to come in from 10:15am until 11:30am everyday, but when I came in at 9:00am every morning he was already there. Not only was he missing out on learning with the rest of the class, but the teacher was missing out on very valuable experience.
I thought the "Digital Denizens" article was funny, but scary. I thought it was hilarious because of the terminology used to describe the technology user categories. After thoughtfully reviewing the categories, I "diagnosed" myself as being a Digital Native. According to the article, I am concerned with finding ways to incorporate technology in everyday tasks, and I am readily able to adapt to technological modifications. What I find scary is that, even though I grew up with technology, there are tons of people, students, and children that have and will grow up with an even more complex and advanced version of technology than I did. It is something that I know and hear about, but it is so overwhelming of a thought that I find myself trying to ignore it. With this in mind, I think it is better to acknowledge it, and find ways to use technology for the advancement of my classroom. Just because I am going to be a special education teacher, does not mean I have to limit myself to helping these students. The Mohr article talked about the student Dora, and how she was constantly left out of her "learning environment". Even her ESL teacher was unable to use an effective approach to work with her. This goes to show that it takes EVERYONE to teach these students, not just one "miracle teacher". Chapter two in the Gibbons text talks about the importance of using classroom talk, and incorporating group work and discussions in the classroom when there are ELL students present. I think that if Dora's classroom teacher utilized one of these strategies, instead of the IRF (Initiation, Response, Feedback) approach, then Dora would have benefited more from the lessons.
Overall, I learned a lot from this week's readings. Even though I am not quite ready to go out and teach on my own, I feel a lot better knowing that I will have this knowledge to bring to the table once it is my time to teach. If I continue to consider ALL of my students and their various learning styles, I think I will be a better educator, which is my ultimate goal. I can't be perfect, but I WILL do the best that I can!
Valand I really really enjoyed reading your blog post. What I really enjoyed was that your a special education major and even though you've learned so much, you were so intrigued by this. I am not a special education major but recently I have been very interested in learning more about special education, especially how to develop new diverse learning environments. I, too, have been eager to learn how we can create a school environment where all students, special education, ELL, gifted students, etc. feel welcome and are well provided for. It is so sad to hear that the student in your classroom is sent to "time-out spot" which is the resource room. Several of the students in my placement now leave the classroom at random times in the day to work with the reading teacher. To me this is very constructive to have the struggling students get more help on their reading skills, however, they are taken out of learning time in the classroom. I have been in my placement every week and every time I'm there at least 4 students are taken out to practice reading. As Valand said, that student is losing that time to learn and I, too, have seen this evident in my classroom which worries me for those students learning time.
ReplyDeleteI truly started laughing when Valand said what type of technology user she was. Because for me...I am the complete opposite. I have a hard time understanding the constant use of technology in the classroom, like blogs, websites, etc. However, I highly agree with the use of smart boards and internet as a form of resource. There are certain aspects of technology and the internet that i agree with like what i listed above and the use of ipods and computers for reading or math practice but I feel teachers may abuse these tools. What I want to make sure I do is too utilize technology as an aid, not as a teaching tool. I don't want my students to start learning from a computer but rather have that computer be a source of help or [practice after a school lesson.
As far as the Gibson chapter, I was really touched by this. What made me connect to this chapter was how teachers don't seem to understand that collaborating as a group is the most beneficial strategy for the student and the teacher. If the teachers can coordinate a strategy that best works for the student, then the student will improve in their classroom and have more success int hat environment which can benefit the student, teacher(s), as well as other students. It's sad to see kids go under the radar and given no help or assistance. This one ELL student in my teachers class is having a hard time catching up since he just moved to the school over winter break. My teacher speaks spanish and knows the kid speaks spanish so she tries to use spanish if he is having trouble but it doesn't seem to help. Whats sad is that this kid also has signs of ADHD and she has informed his parents who have decided not to do anything about it, meaning my teacher can ask for a limited amount of help since the parents won't sign off on any special education papers. It makes me so sad to see situations like this where parents refuse to help their children and those parents seem to be a road block for teachers to intervene and collaborate ideas for how to help the student. As a future teacher I hope that nothing will stop me from doing what I learned at State to reinforce what I have learned in these readings.
Both of your posts were insightful and I found myself nodding to myself throughout both. Valand, I too have no issue focusing on special education students in the classroom but I realized I have never really had to deal with ELL students. In the 5th grade classroom I'm currently in, there are students who speak more than one language but every student's primary language is English. So far in all of my placements I have not had a student in the classroom who is an ELL but I do remember students from my classroom when I was in elementary school who were pulled out regularly for ESL. There was complete disconnect between our main teacher and the ESL teacher, making it difficult for the students who went to ESL to feel up to speed as the rest of the students. This goes back to what I feel was a main concept throughout both of your blog posts, communication. In any work setting it is imperative that everyone communicates with one another to express needs, wants, plans, etc. If teachers do not have positive communication with one another, it becomes impossible to ensure that students get the most they can out of their education. Without teachers collaborating and communicating openly first, it's difficult to incorporate parents into a beneficial "communication circle."
ReplyDeleteI feel like I'm in between the two of you in terms of my technology ability. I like to try and keep up to date with new technology and I feel like it's important as future teachers but I don't feel like I'm up to par compared to others. Technology intrigues me but for the most part I feel like I'm just really intimidated and without guidance with certain tools, I'm hesitant to try them on my own.
Kate, I completely agree with you in how frustrating it can be that some parents are not willing to do whatever they can to help their child succeed in school. In one of my CEP classes last year, I had an instructor that did Teach for America and was placed in Philadelphia. She said the first thing she did to get in contact with the parents was make a positive phone call to every child's parents. She knew that by doing this, the only time the parents would hear from her would not just be because their children were in trouble. She also made it a point to make home visits and even had dinner with multiple families to ensure the connection and communication stayed consistent throughout the year. I honestly feel like forming this type of relationship with families is extraordinarily beneficial in helping students succeed. Although it may seem intrusive, I think this reading validates how crucial it is for teachers to do whatever they can to keep all communication channels open.
I agree with you Kate, i am not a special education major, however i have been very interested in learning how i can develop a learning environment that suits the needs of all students. It was helpful learning about all the different learning disabilities that i was ignorant to before the Mohr reading. in a lot of classrooms i feel as though the ELL students are treated as if they have a LD, however teachers just don't put forth the effort to help these students succeed, instead they rely on the ELL teachers to do what they should be doing anyway. In the classroom i am currently in there are no ELL students. last semester when i was in a fifth grade class there were five ELL students who sat in the back and basically taught themselves. this not only hinders them from learning but it makes them feel very isolated in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteThe digital native and digital addict categories suit me the best.At an early level of my educational process I was introduced to computers and technology, it was necessary and beneficial for future achievement in integrating technology with education. In Jr. High typing skills, Microsoft word and other computer programs were required to move to the next grade level. The task were not easy but were helpful later on in high school and college as the digital divide era took place. The new software applications on Smartphone’s and the increase demand of computer use forced me to adapt and become accustomed to the digital world.
Emergent digital literacy is interactive where games and simulations can help children engage more in literacy but it has some weak points. Early adolescents need the foundational structure of reading and writing. It is essential for the further learning development. Tompkins talks about emergent literacy for children in a manner of simplicity.
The word emergent to me means the most effective strategy to help a child by creating adaption’s and modifications to help the overall development of each their needs. In the aspect of my own digital learning needs I need directions to be explicit, as I would assume Ell’s would need too? Repetition and scaffolding are areas where I need help, I do not need someone to do the work for me but build off of my background knowledge to bring me to understanding. Different forms of media and real world phenomena not only introduce new forms of technologies to students but also are also more convenient for the instructor to facilitate instruction and also more convenient to understand the world around them digitally.