Standard 9 Cultural Sensitivity Meta-reflection
Standard 9 Cultural Sensitivity: Establishes a culturally inclusive learning climate that facilitates academic engagement and success for all students.
Background
I take pride in the teacher credentialing program that I participated and graduated from, I owe so much of my teaching style and ability to it, however I know that a great deal also comes from my intuition of understanding children. Being able to graduate from the BMED program (Bilingual Multicultural Education Department) gave me a “leg up” on other future professionals in the areas of scaffolding instruction for my ELL (English Language Learners) students as well as approaching curriculum from a social justice perspective. Learning from my mentor teachers how to access materials and lessons for my diverse group of students was a powerful and positive experience. However the true learning came from being in my own classroom with my group of diverse learners and how to provide a similar learning experience.
New Learning and Application of Practice
Dr. Cornel West, a prominent and intellectual democratic stated, “A fully functional, multiracial society cannot be achieved without a sense of history and an open, honest dialogue.” Reading this quote causes one to reflect on the age old saying, “you can’t know where you’re going unless you know where you came from,” once again acknowledging the idea of knowing one’s history. Knowing one’s history understands one’s culture and ancestry, which I’ve found to be a very difficult concept for many people, young and old and of many different ethnic backgrounds, especially white Caucasians. Dr. West also defined a functional multiracial society as having open dialogue, which I fully believe to be very problematic for many; again, especially for white Caucasians and in the field of education many teachers aren’t comfortable with this idea of open dialogue. Communication is one of the most important aspects in teaching and learning, when a mix of cultures is included with that, it can then become difficult for teachers and students. Cross culture communication, authentic student engagement and classroom environment are three key components that educators can begin to develop in order to start their journey on becoming a Culturally Responsive Teacher.
During the course of my time at Seattle Pacific University, EDU 6525 was a class that I took and I will be using my Integration and Action Exercise paper to help share my knowledge of Standard 9. I indicated my background in my teacher credential program and how it emphasized Multicultural education and social justice. Being a teacher for the last seven almost eight years and reflecting on how I’ve utilized what I learned in my program; it helped me to identify my own culture and ideas about race. When reading through the stages Helm’s White Racial Identity stages Development Model I noticed how I’ve gone through each stage and have reached the stage of Immersion/Emergence. The negative feelings I felt towards my own race and for what different racial and ethnic groups went through in history and are still working through today have been acknowledged and examined. I no longer have those negative feelings about my own race and this has helped me to be more comfortable with dialogue about race and social injustices. In James A Banks’ book, Gary Howard writes a paper titled, “Whites in Multicultural Education: Rethinking Our Role”, this paper discusses how white educators face challenges in accepting the racial problems that are abundant and still dominant today. He writes that the race issue for White Americans is a question about action, that racism isn’t a Black, Indian, Asian, Hispanic or White problem. He states nicely that racism and cultural diversity is a human problem (Banks, 1996, p. 330). By understanding this ideal and accepting it, this has helped aid me in using effective cross culture communication with all my students.
Thanks to the multiple professional development opportunities as well as trainings I’ve been able to learn multiple strategies for helping students to communicate with myself as well as each other, especially during a lesson where important skills and concepts are being introduced. Such strategies as: think-pair-share, whole group choral response, total physical response, etc. have helped to ensure that students are not only listening to me but also to one another. Identifying that multiple cultures have “tendencies” in the way they communicate I’ve attempted to ensure that students voices are heard, this is especially important in the developmental stages of a primary-aged student. Knowing that students want to make comments or statements about their thinking, connections or just be heard, I’ve made multiple opportunities in the day for students to be able to do this while still being academic. A few challenges I’ve noticed about this is the issue of time management, curriculum and content as well as my own trouble with my racial “tendency”. With the amount of curriculum and content to be compressed in the short time that we have with our students many teachers do most of the talking during a school day. This limits the amount of student reflection and communication time with each other as well as the teacher. I’ve also found myself slipping into a “tendency” of wanting all students to be active listeners where their bodies and voices are quiet, when I see this happening I feel myself stop and have students share with each other or in small groups. My favorite time to utilize these strategies is during our math time when my students and I watch our video for the math lesson that day. To ensure all students are paying attention to the video and material being presented I use multiple strategies to have students share their thoughts, answers and ideas. One way to include all students is whispering the answer to a question to a neighbor, when everyone has heard a whisper I tell them to blow their answer in their hand (this also prevents students from blurting out), I repeat the question again and I tell them to let their answer go, and typically my whole group shares the correct answer. Another way to increase student communication is by having students work in partners; this is very powerful especially for students with minimal communication skills due to limited English or vocabulary. I’ve noted the success rate with a concept or skill when the bulk of discussion is student-directed as opposed to teacher-directed, doing this allows my students of multiple cultures have their needs in communication met. Another classic communication strategy is the teacher strategy of “wait time”, so often are teachers in a hurry to get through lessons that when they pose questions the first student to raise their hand gets to answer the question. However in a classroom full of diverse cultures and learners, wait time may be more necessary to fulfill the needs of students who need time to access the appropriate information. “In the area of sociolinguistics, short wait times may disadvantage students, who take longer to respond to teachers’ questions because their culture emphasizes deliberate thought. The cultural expectation here is that one can make informed and appropriate choices only when considering all possible ramifications and implications of a decision,” (Nieto, 2004, p. 152). Using some of these strategies can help students find their voice and help them learn to communicate in an environment where communication is necessary, when their communication needs are met student engagement increases.
Active and Authentic student engagement are two very important aspects when trying to create a healthy working classroom of multiple cultures. Developmentally primary-aged students want to share and have their experiences and opinions heard, however this doesn’t always apply to all children of all cultures. A culturally responsive teacher understands this and therefore creates multiple outlets for students to be actively engaged during a lesson. This requires educators to have many “tricks” up their sleeves or “tools” in their toolboxes, choosing the right ones is dependent on the individual. Authentic student engagement is when students are genuinely engaged in their learning and the teaching going on around them. One way that I try to incorporate active student engagement is through the use of white boards, students love being able to use their mini whiteboards to share their answers and be part of the lesson. Not only does it allow students the opportunity to participate, it also allows me to do a quick, informal assessment of which students understand and which do not. whiteboards lesson To even further extend the idea of whiteboards as an assessment and engagement piece, I’ve also observed my ELL students using these as a way to check their own thinking. Sometimes I’ll see them checking other students’ whiteboards as a way to assess their answer and if they have a different answer they know their thinking wasn’t correct, or if their answer is the same they feel confident in raising their whiteboard to show the teacher. In Banks’ article “Transformative Knowledge, Curriculum Reform and Action” he describes the five dimensions of multicultural education and within those five he discusses equity pedagogy. “An equity pedagogy exists when teachers modify their teaching in ways that facilitate the academic achievement of students from diverse racial, cultural, and social-class groups” (Banks, 1996, p.338). He gives an example about using cooperative groups on projects or assignments as opposed to independent to help facilitate the academic success for some cultural groups. There are expectations that students should individually acquire knowledge to help facilitate their understanding and to be able to transform that into new knowledge. Teachers assess this typically with individual tests because we want to hold students accountable for their learning. However, who’s to say that knowledge can’t be formed when working with peers and in small cooperative groups, this is an authentic environment in which some cultures best learn. A culturally responsive teacher understands this and utilizes this in multiple opportunities. Using cross culture communication, active and authentic student engagement as well as creating a safe environment allows students optimal success within a classroom.
Creating a classroom environment that is multicultural goes beyond having posters of Martin Luther King Jr. or César Chavez hanging up. It’s also more than having a classroom constitution of an agreed upon set of rules for all students to follow. Creating an environment that is multicultural is having both the students and teacher acknowledge the vast cultural diversity within the classroom. “Communities are built over time, through shared experience, and by providing multiple opportunities for students to know themselves, know one another, and interact in positive and supportive ways,” (Oakes & Lipton, 2003, p. 285). It is still very important to establish rules and protocols for a working classroom, however for students to gain a sense of multiculturalism within their learning environment, there needs to be more effort and time involved. This school year I chose to take that task on at the beginning of September to start exploring culture with my group of students, I find that identifying what culture is can be difficult for most. Culture is typically confused with ethnicity and race, for someone to have a culture it means they need to be of a different race than white. Trying to break this understanding can be difficult but not unachievable. By having students start exploring the origin of their name by interviewing their parents helped to start the process of students becoming aware of their family and personal culture. It also helped to involve parents in their child’s journey of this self-awareness. Soon after students were then required to work on a culture collage that had them looking through magazines and other media formats to identify who they are currently and who they want to be in the future. This allowed students to be creative in expressing themselves and their culture while at the same time making future goals for themselves. This was shared by inviting other classrooms to do a gallery walk observing these culture collages made by my students. Another challenge about creating a multicultural classroom is the problem of student racism with one another. This is an inevitable problem that can start at a very young age and how a teacher approaches coming up with a solution will help create what Banks’ describes in the five dimensions of multicultural education as prejudice reduction. When prejudice reduction takes place, teachers are using lessons and activities to help students develop positive attitudes towards racial, ethnic and cultural groups (Banks, 1996, p. 338). A culturally responsive teacher will start and end a school year utilizing and discussing activities and lessons, unfortunately, some teachers don’t feel comfortable with approaching this subject in fear of this subject matter. When this happens teachers are actually fueling the fire of racism as opposed to extinguishing it, these teachers are still in the early stages of racial identity.
I do believe that I was born to be a teacher and understand that I have a natural way of dealing with children of all cultures, race, economic-status and ethnicity. I also understand that I have yet to employ all the dimensions that Banks describes are needed for multicultural education. I do hope to work on achieving such a status so that I can better assist my school with adopting ways to meet the needs of all students. By being an on-going advocate for Multicultural Education I can hopefully make a difference for not only my students but also my fellow professionals. So long as the U.S. remains a multiracial society then Multicultural Education will always be in high demand to achieve.
References
Banks, J.,ed (1996) Multicultural Education, Transformative Knowledge, and Action: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives. Teachers College Press.
Nieto, S. (2004) Affirming diversity: The sociopolitical context of multicultural education. Boston, MA: Pearson Education.
Lipton, M., Oakes, J. (2003). Teaching to change the world. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Companies.
Standard 8 Exceptionality Meta-reflection
Standard 8 Exceptionality: Addresses the unique learning and behavioral needs of all children, collaborating with other educators and professionals where necessary.
Background
Graduating from my teacher credentialing program in California had greatly prepared me for being ready for a classroom of exceptionally different children: children that have learning needs, language needs, behavior needs, or physically impairing needs. The BMED program (Bilingual Multicultural Education Department) made sure that I was well equipped to scaffold and provide adequate instruction for a classroom that is truly diverse. Therefore upon entering my building in the Vancouver Public Schools I was ready to welcome children and adults that would be part of my learning community. Initially I was brought on as the ELL (English Language Learner) Coordinator for my building and was in charge of planning two paraeducators, their groups of ELL students, the schedule as well as the materials. As a brand new teacher to teaching and a new state I felt a little overwhelmed. However the year taught me so much about planning for other teachers as well as supplemental materials that when I started teaching my own classroom of students I truly felt comfortable and at home.
New Learning and Application of Practice
Our school utilizes a “walk to read” literacy model where students are grouped based on the instructional reading level, therefore teachers of students who are just below grade level or far below grade level have paraeducators that assist in carrying out small group instruction. In my almost 8 years of teaching experience I’ve taught groups that are categorized as “Intensive”, car below grade level and “Strategic” just below grade level. The students in these groups are typically ELL students and students with IEPs (Individualized Education Plans). I’ve also had my Special Education teacher have two of her students join my literacy class who were in the same grade as my students as well as reading level, she felt comfortable enough with me to ask if her students could join. While planning and prepping for myself as well as two other teachers can be time consuming, it’s a better model and instructional atmosphere for the group of kids that we serve in reading. I’ve always held high regard for the lovely women that come into my classroom every day to help my students fill their holes and close the gap on their reading. I try to make time in our schedule to discuss the students they’re working with as well as the materials we are using, however it still seems like more is needed for my paraeducators.
An important topic for the field of Special Education and Education in general is Paraeducators. Paraeducators is a term that can be defined as a school employee that works under the management of teachers or other school staff and their jobs are typically to provide instruction or services to students and their families. There are many synonyms that accompany this definition: teacher aids, teacher assistants, paraprofessionals and the list goes on. These adults play vital roles in a school environment and in the education of many children. Paraeducators are becoming a big part of Inclusive classrooms and are spending more time in general education than special education. Not only is it important that teachers receive and continue on-going professional development, but it’s essential that paraeducators are supported, encouraged and are provided with the same opportunity. Equally as important is the issue of collaboration between classroom teachers and their paraeducators. Causton-Theoharis discusses the inclusive classroom and its positive effects on all students:
“One purpose of including students with disabilities in inclusive classrooms, as opposed to segregating them in special education classrooms, is to help all learn to live, work, and play together so that eventually they can successfully live, work, and be together in the community as adults,” (Causton-Theoharis, 2009, p. 37).
While the ideology behind inclusive classrooms has many pros, the most important piece is the paraeducator’s role with the students and how to conduct them so that the child will be successful in the short and long run. The article progresses to state that paraeducators should utilize a fading support system with students in an inclusive classroom; this involves easing up on the type and level of support given. “Fading support can reduce the negative impact of adult support and allow for more natural supports to occur” (Causton-Theoharis, 2009, p. 38). The goal of inclusive classrooms is to involve students with disabilities into a general education setting while still maintaining the necessary support that will meet the student’s individual needs. The importance of providing non-invasive support and slowly fading the assistance will allow the student optimal success in a supportive yet independent environment. For this to occur the communication between the paraeducator and classroom teacher is extremely imperative. The educator, special education teacher and paraeducator should sit down and discuss what this will look like and the role the paraeducator will be playing. Even more helpful than sitting down and planning out the support is professional development and training for the paraeducator. “Because paraprofessionals often do not receive training in teaching methods, they at times do the work for students instead of carefully scaffolding each step of the learning process” (Causton-Theoharis, 2009, p. 39). Another problem of paraeducators not having professional development is the strains that it can place on the teacher. “An effective aide can be an asset to the classroom and an ineffective paraprofessional can demand the teacher’s time and deter the student’s progress with academic and social goals” (Lewis & Doorlag, 2011, p. 270). There’s been some research in the effectiveness of providing professional development to paraeducators.
A journal article written by William Breton explored paraeducators and their pre-service training, supervision and on-going development within schools. He sent surveys out to over 700 paraeducators and 258 responded to the questions about their profession and job. About 50% stated that their view of their preliminary training to instruct students with disabilities was about the fair to very poor range (Breton, 2010). While many of these and all other paraeducators may hold an Associate degree or higher, their training that involves working with students didn’t prepare them for their assignment. This may mean that the special education teacher or classroom teacher may have to provide some additional training about how to work with these students, which in turn means that these teachers’ time is being taken up with what pre-service training should be doing. As a classroom teacher my time, both in and outside the classroom is very precious and I personally wouldn’t want to spend it training a teacher assistant. I don’t mind organizing and planning the lessons and activities that my paraprofessionals will be doing with my students, however I can’t afford the time and energy reviewing all materials and training them. I would rather spend my extra time collaborating and discussing student progress.
Findings of this study indicate that 39.5 % of the respondents had a direct interaction with the special education teacher on a less than weekly basis and further that 15.9% reported that they never had received consultation on the direct instruction of students from their special education teacher. This finding leads one to conclude that many Education Technicians are essentially left on their own to perform their instructional duties with students. (Breton, 2010, p. 42).
While I’ve never had a one-on-one staff assistant with any of my special education students that join my class for arts block or content area, I do have experience with paraeducators working with my small reading group students. Many of these teachers have familiarity and long history with the supplemental materials that we use because they’ve used them with other classroom teachers, however for those that are new to our building, they may not have any practice with the multiple resources we use to teach. Teachers are supplied with professional development and training with these materials and fortunately for my building our Reading Coach supplied training to our staff assistants for the new supplemental materials we received. However, that’s not always the case for other schools and districts.
For those who have experience working with paraeducators they know that these individuals do just as much as some classroom teachers. Their job may entail them to do the following duties: recess and/or cafeteria duty, teaching math, reading and/or writing, working with small groups, managing behavior, morning and afternoon patrol duties, etc. With having that many job descriptors it’s no wonder that so many request additional professional development. “64% of the paraeducators emphasized the need for continued professional development. “It would be helpful to have more opportunities to attend training, to increase my knowledge about this population and their changing needs” (Liston, Nevin & Malian, 2009, p. 42). Unfortunately budget cuts and monies necessary to pay for training and professional development withhold many from gaining the information needed to be successful with students and in the classrooms.
Many researchers see the need for additional professional development for paraeducators as well as time to collaborate and meet with classroom teachers. Some have even suggested doing joint professional development for both groups. “It is important that teachers and paraeducators have planned joint training sessions that focus on the skills needed to work effectively as members of an instructional team” (Jones, Ratcliff, Sheehan & Hunt, 2011, p. 23). Described in this article are a few key components that are vital for joint training: come to an understanding that they work as partners to achieve shared goals, recognize and appreciate the strengths and characteristics that each member, develop communication skills that are essential for the sharing ideas and worries, and share expectations for team members. I believe that by having joint training paraeducators and teachers may feel more like a team rather than having a boss-employee relationship. I’ve observed some teachers treating paraprofessionals more as employees rather than co-workers and this will not foster a healthy work relationship or attitude. Paraeducators should be seen and treated as equals to teachers since they’re given so many duties and expectations. “Since teachers are the instructional leaders in the classroom, it’s imperative that they develop interpersonal skills necessary for building respectful, reciprocal relationships. The trust that develops creates the atmosphere in which good communication between teachers and paraeducators easily flows” (Jones, Ratcliff, Sheehan & Hunt, 2011, p. 23). Another approach to professional development is something known as a Learning Community. “While traditional professional development approaches to learning have focused on helping educators hone individual skills, the construct of the ‘professional learning community’ as a school-wide professional development effort involves the collective capacity of all people in the organization” (Zepeda, 2008, p. 80). The goal of a learning community is to work together and challenge the disjointed departments that typically make up a building and to work alongside one another to create a cooperative support system. This in turn will help create a solid foundation that can then support and foster student success.
The topic of paraeducators in general education classrooms is relevant to special education because the Inclusive classroom is where we’re headed. Students with disabilities will be filtered into general education classrooms and some may require a one-on-one assistant. For many teachers having more than one adult in the room will be something new and may be met with resistance. Some teachers may think that the paraeducator will “criticize” their teaching style and this attitude needs to be prevented rather than reacted to. Prevention of this occurs by having joint training or an all staff training that lays out the expectations of both the classroom teacher and the paraeducators. Renaming the staff as a learning community may assist everyone in feeling that they’re all in this soon-to-be change together.
I believe there should be further research done about paraeducators in general education and special education classrooms. There should be research about what necessary skills, training and on-going professional development should occur so that these paraeducators are fully prepared and equipped to support the students and teachers they’ll be providing service to. I also believe that there should be research about the effects that paraeducators have versus classroom teachers on the students they serve, in my observation I‘ve seen some paraprofessionals outshine and outperform some classroom teachers.
I’ve been privileged to work alongside some amazing paraeducators at my building. Many have been teaching longer than I have and could supply me with some helpful tips and tricks for working with small groups of students. I have an immense amount of respect for what they do and how they conduct themselves at work. Far too often I’ve observed students and even some teachers challenge and disrespect these dedicated employees. Paraeducators are expected and asked to perform many duties, therefore it’s very important that we as educators communicate and provide them with the necessary training and skills for them to keep doing their jobs successfully. If they do their jobs right then students’ learning and success will progress.
My artifacts for this standard are the Microsoft Publisher calendars that I put together every month so that my teachers know what their schedule is ahead of time. This serves as a communication piece for us so they know what to expect for the month based on the stories and materials the students will be using. They’ve told me before that it’s a very nice commodity that other teachers don’t do for them, while it takes time for me to plan that far in advance I feel that it helps them to know what to expect.
References
Breton, W. (2010). Special education paraprofessionals: Perceptions of preservice preparation, supervision, and ongoing developmental training. International Journal of Special Education. 25(1): 34-45
Causton-Theoharis, J. N. (2009). The golden rule of providing support in inclusive classrooms: Support others as you would wish to be supported. Teaching Exceptional Children. 42(2): 36-43
Jones, C., Ratcliff, N., Sheehan, H., Hunt, G. (2011). An analysis of teachers’ and paraeducators’ roles and responsibilities with implications for professional development. Early Childhood Education Journal. 40: 19-24
Lewis, R. B. & Doorlag, D. H. (2011). Teaching Students with Special Needs in General Education Classrooms. Upper Saddle River, NJ. Pearson.
Liston, A., Nevin, A., Malian, I. (2009). What do paraeducators in inclusive classrooms say about their work? Analysis of national survey data and follow-up. TEACHING Exceptional Children Plus.5(5): 2-17
Zepeda, S. (2008). Professional development, what works. Larchmont, NY: Eye On Education
Standard 10 Technology Meta-reflection
Standard 10 Technology: Integrates current technology into instruction and professional communication/collaboration activities where appropriate.
Background
Technology is a major part of our lives; therefore it’s no surprise that it’s becoming an integral part of classrooms. The students that are entering schools today have spent an obscene amount of time and energy exploring, playing, watching and utilizing the many digital tools that they’re surrounded by and have access to, according to Marc Prensky they’re digital natives. “Our students today are all ‘native speakers’ of the digital language of computers, video games and the Internet,” (Prensky, 2001). As a digital native myself when I first began teaching the technology resources we had were the student PCs in our classrooms, generally anywhere from 4-6, a computer lab in the media center, a teacher PC and an overhead projector. Since 2006 a lot has changed in the application of technology as well as the learning curve about how to present and utilize the many new resources available.
New Learning and Application of Practice
Two years ago my school district implemented a new math curriculum by Pearson, it’s called EnVisions. In order to align with the Common Core State Standards our district introduced this program in hopes that it would help teachers begin to transition towards the National set of standards as opposed to the Washington State standards. This program has been amazing and wonderful to use with my little digital natives. Not only are the ideas and materials interesting and fun to use, most of it is very interactive and digital. For every lesson there’s a short video that introduces and expands on the concept and vocabulary. I use my whiteboard as my “screen” so that while the video is playing the students and I can make notes and work along with the video. There’s also an introductory video for every Topic that uses real world examples to share with the students the importance of what they’re going to learn about, and if that’s not enough it also has multiple games that students can play at school or home to practice the new material. More importantly it allows the teacher to “assign” students activities, assignments and assessments that can be accessed by the students and tracked by the teacher. “Data on individual and group progress in a given classroom, school, or district is a central feature of the new NCLB Act accountability requirements,” (Doering & Veletsianos, 2009, p. 79).
As part of a requirement for my EDTC 6432 class I created a short video to help my students and their parents access their own personal EnVision website that is specific to each child in my classroom. I simply emailed every parent with the link and they were able to log in and explore with their students at home, I made this video through a free online tool called Screenr.
Cara Botz enVision math screencast
Cara Botz ASSURE Model Planning Document
Another fun device I use is Renaissance Responders which are remotes that could be used in many different ways and served as motivation tools that my kids love to use. I use them for our pop quizzes that I make through a PowerPoint presentation, students would use their individual remotes to answer multiple choice questions and as a class we could see how many students choose which answer and then I could reveal the correct answer after everyone was finished. It’s a very fun tool that my kids love using and keeps them interested. For my ELL and Special Ed students I would allow them a responsible peer partner to work alongside with them to help them participate and be involved. “Used in the context of authentic and active learning communities, technologies can scaffold learners’ explorations beyond the bounds of their current knowledge and provide multidimensional routes of investigation,” (Oakes & Lipton, 2003, p. 241). I believe it’s important to use as many tools and resources to engage my students, I want them to see and interact with all that’s available to me and them in order to support their learning.
Another way I use the responders is as digital flashcards for my kids to practice their math facts, students had individual log-in ID numbers that would allow them to keep track of what facts they’ve passed and mastered. “Research has shown that drill-and-practice software activities can allow the effective rehearsal students need to transfer newly learned information into long-term memory,” (Doering & Veletsianos, 2009, p. 80). Our school also purchased a math fluency program called Fast Math which also supports drill-and-practice, especially for second and third graders who have the fluency standard for addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. The expectation is 20-30 facts in one minute, using this program helps our students with the automaticity needed to fulfill this standard. Using these types of software and programs as opposed to the paper pencil method provides teachers and students with: immediate feedback, motivation and saving teacher time. (Veletsianos, 2009).
Another technology assignment that my EDTC 6432 class assigned was a Webquest. A Webquest is a teacher facilitated structured assignment that has students use the Internet to research questions and make discoveries. This type of assignment is utilizing the strategy of inquiry which has students using real world examples and information to pose questions and make discoveries and shape their own learning. WebQuests are composed of five elements: the Introduction, Task, Process, Evaluation and Conclusion. The Task and Process could be confused with one another, however how I see and differentiate the two is that the task introduces students to the software that they will use, and gives them the purpose for the assignment, it’s important to keep this portion short and sweet. The Process gives students links to use that has been predetermined by the teacher. There are many benefits that are associated with using WebQuests in the classroom, such as: active and authentic student engagement, allows students to practice technology skills, and learn to use the Internet as a tool for finding information, it engages teachers’ creativity to combine content area or subjects and can be used as an alternative assessment tool. This webquest was designed for my third grade students last year. It’s designed for students to learn collaboratively in groups about a particular Native American group such as the Indians of the Southwest, Plains, Eastern Woodland or Pacific North Coast while incorporating Language Arts, History, Geography, and environmental Science. This type of online assignment is designed to have third grade students work cooperatively and collaboratively on designing a PowerPoint presentation. It allows students to parallel their learning about Native Americans with research they’ve done on the Internet. While the webquest is designed by the teacher in that the websites that students use are already pre-chosen by the teacher, it does help set students up and prepare them for future reports, research projects and other activities that they will incur in school and life. “Contextualized and situated learning activities are valuable to learning. This has led to calls for authentic or real-world learning where class activities resemble activities that learners may face in their life outside of the classroom” (Veletsianos, 2011).
Conclusion
Being digitally competent and technologically savvy has helped infuse my daily instruction with materials, software and programs that will enhance my lessons and increase student engagement. However my goal isn’t just to increase student engagement by the use of technology, it’s also my goal to model safe and responsible use of online tools, search engines and programs for my students. In doing so I’m providing my students with the opportunities to use the appropriate technology tool to support and develop a specific content skill, concept or standard. When students are allotted this chance every day or every other day, then I’m helping to make them competent digital users. Or as Marc Prensky might say, competent and educated “digital natives.”
References
Doering, A., Veletsianos, G. (2009). Teaching with instructional software. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education
Lipton, M., Oakes, J. (2003). Teaching to change the world. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Companies
Prensky, M. (2010). Teaching Digital Natives: Partnering for Real Learning.Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
Veletsianos, G. (2011). Designing Opportunities for Transformation with Emerging Technologies. Educational Technology, 51(2), 41-46.
Standard 4 Pedagogy Meta-reflection
Standard 4 Pedagogy: Engages students in learning experiences that are meaningful, stimulating, and empirically proven to promote intellectual growth.
Background
When I was in the beginning years of my teaching the word pedagogy was a fancy word I heard mixed in with other popular educational words and jargon such as; rigor, differentiated instruction, explicit instruction, direct instruction, etc. Now as I gain experience and start expanding my practice I know exactly what pedagogy means and what it means to me. In an attempt to meet the requirements of a meta-reflection for the Standard of Pedagogy, I’m utilizing my ideas about Positive student behavior and how being able to nurture and implement this idea within my classroom in turn engages my students in academic tasks as well as promoting intellectual growth.
New Learning and Application of Practice
Teachers who form and preserve positive relationships with their students are helping to mold students into positive and emotionally-healthy people, while at the same time creating an environment that will cultivate student achievement. Educators that create and sustain a positive and safe learning atmosphere can foster positive student behavior along with maintaining student well-being, cultural competence among peers and academic achievement. In this paper I will be discussing models, strategies and curriculums that are evident in my own classroom and in my building that cater to positive student behavior.
At the beginning of each school year many teachers are busy preparing their classrooms and students. This involves setting behavior standards, and classroom rules and procedures, to help ensure that all students move about the classroom and building successfully. While this is an important step in preparing students for the academic year it is also important for teachers to begin making positive relationships with each of their students. When students feel they’re being validated or shown empathy by their teacher, on a daily or weekly basis, their behavior will most likely remain on an even and balanced foundation. Carl Rogers (1983), in his article, “Researching Person-Centered Issues in Education” studied the effects of positive teacher relationships with students, mainly students that were “educationally handicapped”. His statement, “in general, positive human relations are related to positive human behaviors” supports the notion that relationships can in turn affect behavior as well as achievement. Positive relationships and positive student behavior is better achieved in a safe and warm learning environment. “Students take risks and become more involved in classroom activities when they rate their learning environments as warm,” (McTigue, Washburn, & Liew, 2009, p.425). Teachers can use curriculums and programs to help set the tone for a healthy classroom. They can build a classroom environment that looks at “filling buckets” and campaigning against bullying.
Tom Rath and Donald O. Clifton, Ph. D. developed and co-authored a book that turned into a school curriculum on Bucket-filling. How Full Is Your Bucket? is a book that can be used in businesses or schools, however the authors along with Mary Reckmeyer, Ph.D. wrote a children’s version to help develop the idea of bucket-filling. Bucket-filling is a curriculum that takes teachers and students on a journey to increase positive student behavior and relationships and decreases put-downs and bullying-like incidents. “So we face a choice every moment of every day: We can fill one another’s buckets, or we can dip from them. It’s an important choice, one that profoundly influences our relationships, productivity, health and happiness” (Rath & Clifton, 2009, p.5). Lessons in the curriculum involve teaching ideas of: bucket-fillers vs. bucket-dippers, what bucket-dipping does, how to use a lid, superheroes, etc. Participating in once-weekly lessons, K- 5, students begin to have an understanding of how to develop and keep positive relationships which in turn can help maintain positive behavior. Every Friday I have our class bucket that is filled with bucket-filling slips that students earn from me as well as other teachers and I choose two slips. The child whose name is on that slip gets to “borrow” one of two of my bucketfilling bracelets for the day to be able to share and show that they are in fact bucket-fillers.
Another way to help increase and keep positive student behavior is to teach and implement rules and strategies for dealing with bullies. Bullying has become a large issue within schools, especially with the amount of digital resources that students have to utilize. Schools have taken on approaches such as School-Wide Positive Behavior Support (SWPBS) to help decrease serious or minor discipline problems.
“School-Wide Positive Behavior Support schools aim to: create a positive school climate, establish and teach behavioral expectations schoolwide, and teach mastery and encourage demonstration of behavior schools that will alter the trajectory of at-risk children toward destructive outcomes and prevent the onset of risk behavior in typically developing children.”(Sprague & Walker, 2005, p. 58).
“When schools adopt an approach such as SWPBS it is assumed that all teachers are on board and will actively teach appropriate behaviors to all students as well as acknowledge and praise positive student behavior. When SWPBS is carried out effectively and responsibly the goals of academic success and positive social growth can be achieved. Teachers should be explicitly teaching positive behavior as well as establishing clear and concise rules about bullying, which will aid in decreasing direct and indirect bullying “(Olweus, 1993). Teachers can establish and encourage rules through literature, role playing or even strategies such as Cooperative Learning to support the notion of anti-bullying.
Cooperative Learning is an instructional strategy that places students into small homogeneous or heterogeneous groups where students complete a task or assignment while working on social skills. “Cooperative learning is an approach to instruction that provides both the opportunity and organization for balanced, successful, and satisfying group learning experiences”(Dell’Olio & Donk, 2007, p. 246). Marzano, Pickering and Pollock (2001) suggest that when utilizing this strategy it’s best to use it consistently, systematically and not allow it to be overused. Cooperative learning can only be executed correctly if students are taught how to cooperatively work on a task, what it looks like to work together, listen to one another and show respect throughout. These skills should be explicitly taught and modeled by the teacher prior to use of the strategy; teachers should not assume that students know how to work in small groups, especially in the primary grades. Also, the use of this strategy should be maintained throughout the school year, to allow students the opportunity to practice and gain experience working with others.
“Students who participate in cooperative groups are likely to be more accepting of and more positive toward one another, to be more helpful and supportive of one another, and to develop fewer prejudices toward group members of other races or nationalities than do other children.” (Olweus, 1993, p. 89).
Working in small groups also takes the pressure off of having to complete a task independently, which in turn can increase positive student behavior. When students know they’ll have more people working on an assignment together, students in general are excited and happy to have more people involved. I typically utilize cooperative learning groups during math when we have a special time at the beginning of the lesson, we have a problem of the day question and many times some sort of manipulative to assist them. Generally the groups are mixed so that I have benchmark, advanced, strategic, intensive and ELL students all mixed together discussing and coming up with answers to our problem. By having students participate in these groups they are getting feedback, vocabulary as well as new strategies that may help students be able to be set up for success even before the actual lesson has started. Within the cooperative learning strategies there are multiple methods to use with groups of students, one such approach is Jigsaw.
Jigsaw is a type of cooperative learning strategy that uses expert and home groups to deliver information; it helps with academic as well as social goals. (Dell’Olio & Donk, 2007). A Jigsaw lesson requires that students work cooperatively in order for the information to be acquired and learned, therefore prior to using Jigsaw teachers should be sure that students have had ample practice with cooperative learning and working in small groups. Also, teachers should be sure to take sufficient time in preparing their first Jigsaw lesson with their class in order to ensure that students will be prepared and understand the process for the next Jigsaw lesson. Jigsaw lessons support social goals by, “Early research indicated that students involved in Jigsaw classrooms did learn to value the contributions of each member of their groups regardless of race or culture” (Dell’Olio & Donk, 2007, p. 270). This helps aid and satisfies cultural competence within classrooms and schools. Jigsaw lessons also support cognitive and academic goals, “Jigsaw is used to facilitate content discovery, teachers can design tasks for expert and home groups that focus on specific critical thinking skills” (Dell’Olio & Donk, 2007, p. 270). Teachers’ main goals is for student success and achievement on particular standards and concepts, anytime a strategy or method can assist in that goal, while at the same time fostering positive student behavior and interaction, it’s worth trying. Direct instruction has been on the forefront of practical and powerful teaching strategies.
According to Dell’Olio and Donk, Direct Instruction, “has been found to be particularly effective with elementary and secondary at-risk students academically; furthermore, it promotes self-esteem and positive social skills” (Dell’Olio & Donk, 2007, p. 93). Due to the nature and design of direct instruction promotes student learning and well-being based on the elements that make up a lesson using this approach; focus activity, stating the objective, providing rational, modeling, checking for understanding, guided practice and independent practice.(Dell’Olio & Donk, 2007). I mainly use this instructional practice within my classroom during literacy and math, I may not use all elements in the exact order as described in our reading but I use many of the elements, especially in math. “Many studies found that this particular pattern of instructional practices resulted in significant student achievement in basic reading and math skills,” (Dell’Olio & Donk, 2007, p. 93).
A typical, daily math lesson for me would follow this order: I start with any necessary vocabulary by using the GLAD (Guided Language Acquisition Design) organizer Content Cognitive Dictionary (CCD) in students’ math journals, we would then add our topic lesson to our table of contents and then set up our lesson page. Our lesson page is properly labeled with the lesson number, date and page number; we then add the learning target or objective at the top. I usually start with a PBIS (Problem Based Interactive Solving) activity that may incorporate some of the new vocabulary and content, we typically do this whole group or as discussed earlier sometimes I pose a problem to them in small cooperative groups. Afterwards we watch an interactive video and do discussions during it and sometimes we take “video notes” that are added to our interactive journals. When we first started using this math curriculum I was teaching third grade and we had a textbook we used, now that I’m teaching second grade we use these math magazines so my guided and independent practice time looks a little bit different, however only the materials changed, not the instructional strategy. After the video the students and I participate in guided practice. After guided practice my students complete a “quick check” which is an assessment that is multiple choice, sometimes I’ll have them use small whiteboards to provide their answers or I will have them write it in their journals. Based on how they do I will assign them their Independent practice task, some will get a longer assignment, some will have a benchmark task and for a select few some will meet Miss Botz at the round table to do a few more extra problems. My students and I discuss the importance of Independent practice time and how it’s “ok” for some kids to need a few extra problems with the teacher, this helps foster a safe and comfortable learning environment.
Math Journal Table of contents
Math Journal Topic 14 lesson 2
Math Journal Topic 15 lesson 3
It has been my goal to explain in detail the models, strategies and curriculums that I use with in my classroom and building. These strategies and methods are available to teachers in order to foster and maintain positive student behavior. Through the use of these materials, teaching strategies and sustaining positive relationships teachers can increase positive student behavior, academic achievement, student well-being and cultural competence within their classrooms.
References
Clifton, D.O., & Rath, T. (2009). How full is your bucket?. New York, NY: Gallup Press
Dell’Olio, J. M., & Donk, T. (2007). Models of teaching. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Marzano, R. J., Pickering, D. J., & Pollock, J. E. (2001). Classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
McTigue, E.M., Washburn, E.K., & Liew, J. (2009). Academic Resilience and Reading: Building Successful Readers. The Reading Teacher, 62(5), pp. 422–432. DOI:10.1598/RT.62.5.5
Olweus, D. (1993). Bullying at school. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing
Rogers, Carl. (1983). Freedom to Learn: Researching Person-Centered Issues in Education.
Sprague, J.R. & Walker, H.M. (2005). Safe and healthy schools. New York, NW: The Guilford Press
Standard 5 Assessment Meta-reflection
Standard 5 Assessment: Assesses students’ mastery of curriculum and modifies instruction to maximize learning.
Background
I think I woke up and smelled the standards one day when we were asked by our district to use Math Guides to piece together our math curriculum for the year. Essentially we were using the WA state standards, approved core and supplemental curriculum to teach math to our students. This is when I realized that the assessments I used were directly related to what I was teaching, the standards. It was quite the revelation. This was about 5 years ago and I’ve been making adjustments to my thinking and practice ever since.
When I first took a look at the “Confidence Questionnaire” in my EDU 6613 class I was very overwhelmed by the many uses of the word “assessment” and the components that it broke it down into, such as: Why Assess, Assess What, Assess How, Communicate How and Involve Students How. Truly the only component that I was even remotely comfortable and confident in was Involve Students How. That’s because for the two years that I was responsible for building my own math curriculum I utilized self-assessments and reflection pages for every learning target that my students and I explored. I was confident that I was able to: make learning targets clear to students, my students can describe what learning targets they are to achieve, give students opportunities to self-assess, and give students opportunities to reflect on their learning progress. That’s about all I had when it came to looking at my confidence with the questionnaire. Then we adopted a new math curriculum and that portion of the questionnaire went out the window along with my confidence as I struggled to implement a brand new program.
New Learning and Application of Practice
I believe that assessments tell us which students are to “mastery” on certain standards and can even help us to find “holes” in those that aren’t to mastery quite yet. Assessments help me to reflect on my teaching with a particular subject and then assist me to make adjustments or changes to better meet the needs of my students. This thought process aligns with the component of Why Assess, after partaking in discussions and readings that support this notion I feel that I can adequately: understand the relationship between assessment and student motivation, consciously use descriptive feedback and student involvement to motivate students to want to continue learning, balance assessment for and of learning in my classroom, have a plan for integrating them over time and use classroom assessment information to guide and revise teaching.
An important idea and key to quality classroom assessment is communicating student learning and assessment of student learning. There are many participants in a child’s education and all of them should be aware how a student is performing. With that, there’s also the idea of what should be communicated, not just how to communicate. One way that was suggested through our readings was to keep track of tasks based on the learning targets rather than what type of assignment (Stiggins, 2006). This would then allow me to have accurate data of my students’ assessment for learning as well as having evidence on assessment of learning based on state standards. Robert J. Marzano, in his book The Art and Science of Teaching, incorporates the use of having students chart their progress on each learning goal. I believe that learning goal and learning target can be used interchangeably in that they both are referring to something a student will know or will be able to do. “Having each student keep track of his or hers scores on learning goals…provides them with visual views of their progress…allows for powerful discussions between teacher and student” (Marzano, 2007, p. 26). This could be a communication tool that can be used during a student-led conference or in a student portfolio. While I don’t currently use portfolios I have been utilizing journals with certain content areas that help track learning targets, success criteria and assessments. This year with my second graders I brought with me from third grade the use of math journals. In these journals the students and I track our learning for each math topic we study in our new EnVisions math program. Within each topic we have a table of contents, our math dictionary as well as our lesson pages for every lesson. On the lesson pages the students are responsible for providing a page number, the topic lesson label, the learning target, the success criteria (I call it their target hitting goal) and a place for a follow up assessment called a Quick Check. We complete this page in their journal together, read our target together, discuss any vocabulary words we don’t understand and talk about it relates to what we’ve learned so far in math. This whole process sets the purpose and tone for what I’m teaching and what they’ll be learning. Next to the success criteria the students draw a bigger target so that after they’ve completed the Independent practice and receive their score, if they “hit” the target they go back into their math journals and draw an arrow into the target to keep record of how they did on that particular learning target or standard. The following morning the students come into class and their morning seat work is to complete their Quick Check which is about 3-4 problems based on the day before lesson. This assessment as I tell the students is to make sure that they remember what they learned yesterday so that we can continue forward today.
Math Journal Topic 14 lesson 1
Math Journal Topic 15 lesson 2
Ken O’Connor who is the author of How to Grade for Learning:K-12, outlined eight different guidelines to provide some insight into the problems with grading. In the preface he states, “These are practical guidelines, not just broad general principles” (O’Connor, pg. xii).A guideline I found most intriguing was Guideline 1: Relate grading to learning goals. I found that using the standards to formulate: lessons, learning targets and assessments, it gave most all of my students the focus on what specific learning should be going on in the classroom. O’Connor states, “Teachers must understand clearly what learning results are expected and then base their assessment and grading plans on these learning goals. Students must also understand clearly what the learning goals are so that they know what is expected of them” (O’Connor, pg. 47). Recently during math, one of my students commented on how he was going to change his target hitting goal. I always set the success criteria for our math lessons for the students to be hitting at 80% or higher on all classroom assignments and assessments, it’s our building set standard. So I was surprised to hear that my student was making his target hitting goal to be 7 out of 7 instead of 6 out of 7. This student clearly knew what was expected of him in our lesson that day, our learning target told him what he was going to be responsible for learning and mastering, our target hitting goal let him know how he could prove that, however he chose to take responsibility for his learning and increased his goal.
It is very important to me that I am able to teach and reach all of my students regardless of their language level, learning styles and needs. Therefore during my math teaching time my students know the breakdown of my teaching. They know that we start with our problem of the day that is addressed on the front of our math magazine, and then we transition and watch an interactive video provided by our math curriculum that covers the learning standard. After the video we do a few guided practice problems to make sure they understand the concept, sometimes these problems are done independently then checked as a group, or students will work in pairs or in their small groups then we check the answers together. Finally it’s time for independent practice which is typically done on their own; it also is used as their success criteria or target hitting evidence. Of course I do have a few that aren’t quite ready to “fly on their own” therefore during independent practice time I have a small table that I go back to and will work on a problem or two with students who choose to work with me. Small group instruction can be very effective and efficient, “breaking a larger class into smaller groups is necessary when the class is heterogeneous in terms of skill level and when students are beginning to learn academic skills” (Archer, 2011, p. 9). It’s rare for me to call back individual students because I want it to be their choice if they want extra help, they are the only ones who know if they get it or not, I simply let them know if their understanding is correct or not based on their answers. I typically have my “usual suspects” of students who have trouble in math; however it’s always their choice.
Throughout a unit or topic I make sure to make informal assessments such as observations, anecdotal notes, student self-assessment, etc. My attempt to utilize many different assessments parallels with my attempts to use multiple strategies when instructing my students. “Constructivist teachers take note of the knowledge and skills students display when they participate in class. They observe how students interact and how they solve problems. They follow closely the nature and appropriateness of students’ reasoning as well as the correctness of their answers,” (Oakes & Lipton, pg. 247). Teachers with a Constructivist attitude about teaching and learning may give tests and assignments; however they’ll review students’ answers for holes and errors. Doing this then allows for teachers to design new strategies to fill those holes, correct those errors of understanding and push rational further.
Providing feedback to my students and parents has always been a priority to me, the way I go about doing that has been evolving since I started teaching. This year I’ve been utilizing technology with my math assessments and so far it has proven to be a great way to assess my students learning. It also provides immediate feedback to my students so they know how they did, sometimes they are “target hitters” and sometimes they were really close. When my students take their math test online they have the advantage of hearing the question being read as well as all the answer choices, so for my low readers and ELL students it’s a big help. After students have finished their test the computer shows them a table of all the problems, a little green check next to a question implies they got the answer correct, a red “x” means they missed a problem. While my students don’t understand percentages yet, they look for the percentage of problems they got right and can tell right away if they got 80% or higher, it’s immediate gratification for some and for others they know they will get a second chance. Feedback is information about what the student did, guidance is information about how the student can improve, students and parents should be aware of both from the teacher. (O’Connor 2009). After my class has finished their tests I am able to print off individual reports to send home to the parents letting them know how their student is doing in our current math topic. Students get this print off and if they scored lower than an 80% the program will tell me which lesson the student needs more practice in based on the problems missed. I highlight this information for the parents and attach re-teach pages for the parents to do at home with their students and when they return the pages the student is allowed to go back on to the computer and re-take the test. I also provide a cover sheet for the computer score sheet that has the standards that were covered on this topic and test. It’s important that I can convey to both my students and their parents about how they’re doing in between the report cards.
Conclusion
Now as I reflect on how to communicate I feel that I am confident in being able to: understand and apply principles of effective communication about student achievement, provide more descriptive feedback than evaluative feedback to students, record and combine assessment information to reflect student learning accurately, use report card grades to communicate precisely and effectively, use parent-teacher conferences to communicate correctly and efficiently. Elements in this area of teaching that I will be adding to my future goals as a professional comprise of: using other written report formats to communicate accurately and effectively, using portfolios to communicate, using student-involved conferences to communicate and improve my understanding, use, and communication of the results of standardized achievement tests.
Reflecting on the aspects of assessment and how I choose to embrace those elements has shaped the way I look at my students’ achievement and learning, while at the same time taking and using those observations to look at the effectiveness of my instruction. I will take the professional goals that I’ve outlined and weave them somehow into my practice, a little at a time.
References:
Archer, A., Hughes, C. (2011). Explicit instruction, effective and efficient teaching. New York, NY: The Guilford Press.
Lipton, M., Oakes, J. (2003). Teaching to change the world. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Companies
Marzano, R. (2007). The art and science of teaching, a comprehensive framework for effective instruction. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
O’Connor, K. (2009). How to grade for learning, k-12. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Stiggins, R., Arter, J., Chappuis, J., & Chappuis, S. (2006). Classroom assessment for student learning, doing it right–using it well. Princeton, NJ: Prentice Hall.
EDSP 6644: Artifact 2- Literature Review Assignment
Literature Review: Paraeducators in Classrooms
An important topic for the field of Special Education and Education in general is Paraeducators. Paraeducators is a term that can be defined as a school employee that works under the management of teachers or other school staff and their jobs are typically to provide instruction or services to students and their families. There are many synonyms that accompany this definition: teacher aids, teacher assistants, paraprofessionals and the list goes on. These adults play vital roles in a school environment and in the education of many children. As I stated in my Peer Review assignment Paraeducators are becoming a big part of Inclusive classrooms and are spending more time in general education than special education. Not only is it important that teachers receive and continue on-going professional development, but it’s essential that paraeducators are supported, encouraged and are provided with the same opportunity. Equally as important is the issue of collaboration between classroom teachers and their paraeducators.
Causton-Theoharis discusses the inclusive classroom and its positive effects on all students:
One purpose of including students with disabilities in inclusive classrooms, as opposed to segregating them in special education classrooms, is to help all learn to live, work, and play together so that eventually they can successfully live, work, and be together in the community as adults. (Causton-Theoharis, 2009, p. 37)
While the ideology behind inclusive classrooms has many pros, the most important piece is the paraeducator’s role with the students and how to conduct them so that the child will be successful in the short and long run. The article progresses to state that paraeducators should utilize a fading support system with students in an inclusive classroom; this involves easing up on the type and level of support given. “Fading support can reduce the negative impact of adult support and allow for more natural supports to occur” (Causton-Theoharis, 2009, p. 38). The goal of inclusive classrooms is to involve students with disabilities into a general education setting while still maintaining the necessary support that will meet the student’s individual needs. The importance of providing non-invasive support and slowly fading the assistance will allow the student optimal success in a supportive yet independent environment. For this to occur the communication between the paraeducator and classroom teacher is extremely imperative. The educator, special education teacher and paraeducator should sit down and discuss what this will look like and the role the paraeducator will be playing. Even more helpful than sitting down and planning out the support is professional development and training for the paraeducator. “Because paraprofessionals often do not receive training in teaching methods, they at times do the work for students instead of carefully scaffolding each step of the learning process” (Causton-Theoharis, 2009, p. 39). Another problem of paraeducators not having professional development is the strains that it can place on the teacher. “An effective aide can be an asset to the classroom and an ineffective paraprofessional can demand the teacher’s time and deter the student’s progress with academic and social goals” (Lewis & Doorlag, 2011, p. 270). There’s been some research in the effectiveness of providing professional development to paraeducators.
A journal article written by William Breton explored paraeducators and their pre-service training, supervision and on-going development within schools. He sent surveys out to over 700 paraeducators and 258 responded to the questions about their profession and job. About 50% stated that their view of their preliminary training to instruct students with disabilities was about the fair to very poor range (Breton, 2010). While many of these and all other paraeducators may hold an Associate degree or higher, their training that involves working with students didn’t prepare them for their assignment. This may mean that the special education teacher or classroom teacher may have to provide some additional training about how to work with these students, which in turn means that these teachers’ time is being taken up with what pre-service training should be doing. As a classroom teacher my time, both in and outside the classroom is very precious and I personally wouldn’t want to spend it training a teacher assistant. I don’t mind organizing and planning the lessons and activities that my paraprofessionals will be doing with my students, however I can’t afford the time and energy reviewing all materials and training them. I would rather spend my extra time collaborating and discussing student progress.
Findings of this study indicate that 39.5 % of the respondents had a direct interaction with the special education teacher on a less than weekly basis and further that 15.9% reported that they never had received consultation on the direct instruction of students from their special education teacher. This finding leads one to conclude that many Education Technicians are essentially left on their own to perform their instructional duties with students. (Breton, 2010, p. 42).
While I’ve never had a one-on-one staff assistant with any of my special education students that join my class for arts block or content area, I do have experience with paraeducators working with my small reading group students. Many of these teachers have familiarity and long history with the supplemental materials that we use because they’ve used them with other classroom teachers, however for those that are new to our building, they may not have any practice with the multiple resources we use to teach. Teachers are supplied with professional development and training with these materials and fortunately for my building our Reading Coach supplied training to our staff assistants for the new supplemental materials we received. However, that’s not always the case for other schools and districts.
For those who have experience working with paraeducators they know that these individuals do just as much as some classroom teachers. Their job may entail them to do the following duties: recess and/or cafeteria duty, teaching math, reading and/or writing, working with small groups, managing behavior, morning and afternoon patrol duties, etc. With having that many job descriptors it’s no wonder that so many request additional professional development. “64% of the paraeducators emphasized the need for continued professional development. In the words of one, ‘It would be helpful to have more opportunities to attend training to increase my knowledge about this population and their changing needs” (Liston, Nevin & Malian, 2009, p. 42). Unfortunately budget cuts and monies necessary to pay for training and professional development withhold many from gaining the information needed to be successful with students and in the classrooms.
Many researchers see the need for additional professional development for paraeducators as well as time to collaborate and meet with classroom teachers. Some have even suggested doing joint professional development for both groups. “It is important that teachers and paraeducators have planned joint training sessions that focus on the skills needed to work effectively as members of an instructional team” (Jones, Ratcliff, Sheehan & Hunt, 2011, p. 23). Described in this article are a few key components that are vital for joint training: come to an understanding that they work as partners to achieve shared goals, recognize and appreciate the strengths and characteristics that each member, develop communication skills that are essential for the sharing ideas and worries, and share expectations for team members. I believe that by having joint training paraeducators and teachers may feel more like a team rather than having a boss-employee relationship. I’ve observed some teachers treating paraprofessionals more as employees rather than co-workers and this will not foster a healthy work relationship or attitude. Paraeducators should be seen and treated as equals to teachers since they’re given so many duties and expectations. “Since teachers are the instructional leaders in the classroom, it’s imperative that they develop interpersonal skills necessary for building respectful, reciprocal relationships. The trust that develops creates the atmosphere in which good communication between teachers and paraeducators easily flows” (Jones, Ratcliff, Sheehan & Hunt, 2011, p. 23). Another approach to professional development is something known as a Learning Community. “While traditional professional development approaches to learning have focused on helping educators hone individual skills, the construct of the ‘professional learning community’ as a school-wide professional development effort involves the collective capacity of all people in the organization” (Zepeda, 2008, p. 80). The goal of a learning community is to work together and challenge the disjointed departments that typically make up a building and to work alongside one another to create a cooperative support system. This in turn will help create a solid foundation that can then support and foster student success.
The topic of paraeducators in general education classrooms is relevant to special education because the Inclusive classroom is where we’re headed. Students with disabilities will be filtered into general education classrooms and some may require a one-on-one assistant. For many teachers having more than one adult in the room will be something new and may be met with resistance. Some teachers may think that the paraeducator will “criticize” their teaching style and this attitude needs to be prevented rather than reacted to. Prevention of this occurs by having joint training or an all staff training that lays out the expectations of both the classroom teacher and the paraeducators. Renaming the staff as a learning community may assist everyone in feeling that they’re all in this soon-to-be change together.
I believe there should be further research done about paraeducators in general education and special education classrooms. There should be research about what necessary skills, training and on-going professional development should occur so that these paraeducators are fully prepared and equipped to support the students and teachers they’ll be providing service to. I also believe that there should be research about the effects that paraeducators have versus classroom teachers on the students they serve, in my observation I‘ve seen some paraprofessionals outshine and outperform some classroom teachers.
I’ve been privileged to work alongside some amazing paraeducators at my building. Many have been teaching longer than I have and could supply me with some helpful tips and tricks for working with small groups of students. I have an immense amount of respect for what they do and how they conduct themselves at work. Far too often I’ve observed students and even some teachers challenge and disrespect these dedicated employees. Paraeducators are expected and asked to perform many duties, therefore it’s very important that we as educators communicate and provide them with the necessary training and skills for them to keep doing their jobs successfully. If they do their jobs right then students’ learning and success will progress.
References
Breton, W. (2010). Special education paraprofessionals: Perceptions of preservice preparation, supervision, and ongoing developmental training. International Journal of Special Education. 25(1): 34-45
Causton-Theoharis, J. N. (2009). The golden rule of providing support in inclusive classrooms: Support others as you would wish to be supported. Teaching Exceptional Children. 42(2): 36-43
Jones, C., Ratcliff, N., Sheehan, H., Hunt, G. (2011). An analysis of teachers’ and paraeducators’ roles and responsibilities with implications for professional development. Early Childhood Education Journal. 40: 19-24
Lewis, R. B. & Doorlag, D. H. (2011). Teaching Students with Special Needs in General Education Classrooms. Upper Saddle River, NJ. Pearson.
Liston, A., Nevin, A., Malian, I. (2009). What do paraeducators in inclusive classrooms say about their work? Analysis of national survey data and follow-up. TEACHING Exceptional Children Plus.5(5): 2-17
Zepeda, S. (2008). Professional development, what works. Larchmont, NY: Eye On Education
EDSP 6644: Artifact 1- Peer Review Assignment
The Inclusive Classroom: Paraeducators in Classrooms
Inclusive classrooms are on the fore front of special education. It seems that many students with disabilities are spending more time in general education classrooms as opposed to being separated in special education classrooms. For some of these students it may be necessary or written into their individualized education program (IEP) that they have the assistance of a one-on-one paraeducator. Depending on the student, some may not need as much “one-on-one” assistance as stated in the IEP, therefore bringing another adult into a classroom where it may not be necessary. Causton-Theoharis writes an article that examines support being given in inclusive classrooms and best practices and the “golden rule” that should be followed by all adult supporters.
The Golden Rule as stated by the author is, “to support others as you would wish to be supported,” (Causton-Theoharis, 2009, p. 37). Throughout the rest of the article this golden rule is underlying in the multiple suggestions and best practices about how teachers and paraeducators should go about supporting students with disabilities within an inclusive classroom. For example, the authors list and then elaborate four steps about how to support students. These steps consist of: Plan to include, Ask and listen, Step back and Plan to fade your support. It would be surprising to some, especially paraeducators, on the last step of plan to fade your support, since it’s their job to support the student within the classroom. However, research and studies have shown how some adult support can be detrimental and unhelpful to the students receiving it especially while in an inclusive classroom. In some cases students become too reliant on adult support and can have a hard time later in life performing skills. (Causton-Theoharis, 2009). As many special education classrooms begin to change and re-format the way they deliver their services to students, I think that this article should find its way into both paraeducator and teacher training in order to create a unified understanding for inclusive classrooms.
I felt that this article is relevant to Special Education because many programs are being modified so that students with disabilities are spending more time in general education classrooms and less time being separated. By introducing students with disabilities into general education classrooms, I think this topic should be explored by schools to ensure that students with one-on-one paraeducators have their individual needs met throughout the year and process of inclusion.
I selected this topic because the district I work for now is looking to make the Inclusive classroom change for the upcoming school year; however my building has been running its Special Education program in that design for a few years now. For many of our students with disabilities in our building, most don’t require a one-on-one paraeducator and during our Literacy block many teachers have paraeducators coming into classrooms to provide small group instruction to help support student needs. I predict some teachers at my building being a little “nervous” about having special ed. students in their classrooms for more than just fine arts block time. I also foresee our wonderful special ed. teachers sending some of their paraeducators into those teachers’ classrooms to provide aid and assistance for them initially until they’re confident. I think sharing this article will allow our whole staff to see the positivity of having students with disabilities be included in general education classrooms and the necessity of support within inclusive classrooms. In my experience at my building the paraeducators we have in both general education classrooms and special education classrooms are very professional and carry out their duties with all students’ well-being visible. Something that still needs work in our building is the teacher and paraeducator relationship and ability to communicate. “In order to ensure optimal learning for all children, it is critical that the school environment supports teachers and paraeducators in their efforts to create a collaborative team and teachers and paraeducators are provided with the skills necessary to successfully fulfill their responsibilities,” (Jones, Ratcliff, Sheehan & Hunt, 2011, p. 22). The article suggests that schools and districts need to help create an environment that supports classroom collaboration as well as professional development. Administrators should have time set aside for teachers and paraeducators to meet regularly to have collaborative discussions, as well as having trainings to support a joint classroom.
Between these two articles I’ve learned that Inclusive classrooms are in need of many things in order to be successful. An understanding that support for special ed. students should look like what you would want it to be, utilizing students’ peers, creating an effective environment using differentiated instruction for all students, working collaboratively between paraeducators and classroom teachers and using professional development to train all school staff appropriately. All of these elements can help ensure that students with disabilities, general education students, paraeducators and as well as teachers will be successful in an inclusive classroom.
References
Causton-Theoharis, J. N. (2009). The golden rule of providing support in inclusive classrooms: Support others as you would wish to be supported. Teaching Exceptional Children. 42(2): 36-43
Jones, C., Ratcliff, N., Sheehan, H., Hunt, G. (2011). An analysis of teachers’ and paraeducators’ roles and responsibilities with implications for professional development. Early Childhood Education Journal. 40: 19-24
EDSP 6644: Blog 4- O1. Offer an organized curriculum aligned to standards and outcomes.
O – Offer an organized and challenging curriculum. To demonstrate a positive impact on student learning, teacher-candidates, etc…
O1. Offer an organized curriculum aligned to standards and outcomes.
As a first year teacher there’s so much to learn and explore, then you start your second year and you learn even more! One thing that I learned into my second year is the importance of not just teaching the curriculum you’re given but to use the curriculum and materials you have to teach the standards. This became even more relevant to me my third year when our school district had teachers design their math program based on the state standards and using the plethora of resources and supplemental materials that were approved by the district. Helping my grade level team design our math units based on the standards really opened my eyes to aligning the curriculum to our standards and student outcomes.
Now that we’re moving towards the Common Core Standards instead of the state standards I plan on sticking to using the curriculums I have and the materials we’re allotted and aligning them. What’s been difficult for me is taking this idea and applying it to my literacy standards. We use Houghton Mifflin and typically I’ve just taught to the curriculum and didn’t use much else. I didn’t really look at the standards because I figured that what I’m teaching must be what my students are supposed to learn. Changing this is a goal that my staff and building is going to have for next year, which I’m very excited to be a part of and participate in.
This principle of HOPE is very important to me because it’s taken a lot of time and work for me to understand and work on. I appreciate learning new things every year and aligning our curriculum and standards together for positive student outcomes just makes sense!
EDSP 6644: Blog 3- E1. Exemplify professionally informed, growth-centered practice.
E – Exemplify service to the teaching profession. To demonstrate a positive impact on student learning, teacher-candidates, etc…
E1. Exemplify professionally informed, growth-centered practice.
As an educator I have a few personal philosophies: You’re never too old to learn, Never stop learning and Strive to learn one new thing every day. In order to support my philosophies I choose to live by them to the best of my ability and I share that with my students. I can’t provide my students with “best practices” if I’m not learning and staying up-to-date on the latest and greatest that’s available to me.
The school district that I work for provides multiple opportunities for its teachers to grow and expand their knowledge base. They provide professional development funds for principals to pay their teachers to go and be part of trainings, classes and conferences. They also provide every teacher with professional development funds that can be used to pay the employee for going to classes offered by the district, within the district. Prior to completing my ProCert and starting my Master’s program I utilized all of my professional development funds every year in order to pay myself to go to classes to learn more about ways to make my classroom an optimal environment for learning. Some of the classes involved learning more about Cooperative Learning, Interactive Journals, Six-trait Writing and Calendar Math. Going to these classes allows me to learn the essentials and then go back to my class and use the tools and strategies taught in order to help my students. Since starting my Master’s I’ve also taken pride in using the course readings, articles and discussions to help my grade level team, staff and classroom. My colleagues and peers have a wide breadth of knowledge, ideas and experiences that have helped to make my classroom and instruction grow.
This principle of HOPE is important to me because I love learning and I want my students to know that in order to do a good job I have to strive to learn new things. I want my students to observe and listen to me talk about “what Miss Botz learned in a class” and how I’m sharing it with them somehow. Part of this principle is being a good role model to my students and peers about the power of learning and career growth.
EDSP 6644: Blog 2- P4. Practice the integration of appropriate technology with instruction.
P – Practice effective teaching: Inquiry, planning, instruction, & assessment. To demonstrate a positive impact on student learning, teacher-candidates, etc…
P4. Practice the integration of appropriate technology with instruction.
Technology is a major part of our lives; therefore it’s no surprise that it’s becoming an integral part of classrooms. The students that are entering schools today have spent an obscene amount of time and energy exploring, playing, watching and utilizing the many digital tools that they’re surrounded by and have access to, according to Marc Prensky they’re digital natives. “Our students today are all ‘native speakers’ of the digital language of computers, video games and the Internet,” (Prensky, 2001). So what does that say for the teachers who are teaching them? Well hopefully they’re staying up-to-date on all the latest and greatest tools and resources that can accompany lessons and materials.
As I stated before in my first blog, my school district last year implemented a new math curriculum by Pearson, it’s called EnVision. This program has been amazing and wonderful to use with my little digital natives. Not only are the ideas and materials interesting and fun to use, most of it is very interactive and digital. For every lesson there’s a short video that introduces and expands on the concept and vocabulary. I use my whiteboard as my “screen” so that while the video is playing the students and I can make notes and work along with the video. There’s also a video for every Unit that uses real world examples to share with the students the importance of what they’re going to learn about, and if that’s not enough it also has multiple games that students can play at school or home to practice the new material. This is a short video that I created to help my students and their parents’ access their own personal EnVision website that is specific to each child in my classroom. I simply emailed every parent with the link and they were able to log in and explore with their students at home, I made this video through a free online tool called Screenr.Cara Botz enVision math screencast . These are just a few examples of how I utilize and support the use of technology in and outside the classroom. Prior to getting our new math program I used many computer applications and games to help support standards and content with my students. I would use appropriate videos from YouTube and other free online videos that may “reel in” my digital natives. Another fun device I used was Renaissance Responders which were remotes that could be used in many different ways and served as motivation tools that my kids loved to use. I used them as digital flashcards for my kids to practice their math facts, students had individual log-in ID numbers that would allow them to keep track of what facts they’ve passed and mastered. Another way I used them was for our pop quizzes that I made through a PowerPoint presentation, students would use their individual remotes to answer multiple choice questions and as a class we could see how many students choose which answer and then I could reveal the correct answer after everyone was finished. It was a very fun tool that my kids loved using and kept them interested. For my ELL and Special Ed students I would allow them a responsible peer partner to work alongside with them to help them participate and be involved. I believe it’s important to use as many tools and resources to engage my students, I want them to see and interact with all that’s available to me and them in order to support their learning.
This principle of HOPE is important to me because I feel that my students, who are a generation of technology will appreciate and learn more in a classroom that supports and utilizes technological resources. When students observe me experimenting and learning about new devices or tools, that will hopefully fuel their desire to stay connected and continue learning.
References
Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants. On the Horizon. 9(5): 1-6
