Somebody Else's Kids

Somebody Else’s Kids

In Torey Hayden’s Somebody Else’s Kids, a teacher is faced with the task of teaching four unique kids in her special education class.  Boo, is a small autistic child who only speaks when repeating others.  Lori is a seven year old girl who suffered a brain injury.  Tomaso is an angry ten year old boy who refuses to believe that his father is dead, and Claudia is a bright twelve year old who has been kicked out of Catholic school because she is pregnant.  Each student struggles with their own problems, but work together to try to overcome their challenges.  While reading the book, I began to think about what would happen if Lori was in my class and what modifications and accommodations I would make to help Lori both fit in and learn the most that she can in my classroom.

On a slightly unrelated note, you should all go and read Somebody Else’s Kids by Torey Hayden.  It’s an eye opening book that glimpses into the world of Special Education.  It’s a great book and I can’t wait to read some of her other books!

Lori Sjokheim is a seven year old girl who begins the year part time in Torey’s class, focusing on reading and writing skills.  Lori and her twin Libby were taken from their biological family due to abuse in the home.  She and her sister are placed with Mr. and Mrs. Sjokheim and lose their mother a few years later.  Because of the abuse from her early childhood, Lori suffered from a concussion and fragments of bone had created lesions in her head.  Lori is a bright young girl who is very outgoing.  If a person met her on the street, they probably would not pick up on any learning disabilities.  Lori is an extremely caring young girl, who is both inquisitive and thoughtful.  She is very self conscious about the issues that she has with reading and writing, and is rather protective over the other kids in class.  All she wants is to be in the first grade class and be normal like her sister (Hayden, 1981).

While it was never mentioned by Hayden, I would guess that the disability that Lori has is due to a traumatic brain injury.  A TBI is an injury that can result in memory loss, as well as physical and mental problems that can have a dramatic impact on the life of the person.  This injury can cause physical changes, like headaches, fatigue, and slowed reactions, as well as cognitive changes, including difficulties with thinking, remembering, concentrating, reasoning, processing, and learning new material.  Lori is frustrated by her brain injury.  Besides reading and writing, she is a “normal” girl.  Whether it’s due to boredom in class because she cannot read or an attention deficit disorder, Lori is unfocused and is rather hyperactive in the classroom.

If Lori was in my math class in high school, I imagine that she would still have hyperactive and attention deficit issues.  I think that by high school, Lori can probably read, but at a lower level, possibly at the level of a second or third grader.  This would cause issues in math.  I would guess that Lori would struggle from not being able to read the textbook, any articles, word problems, or even directions on a worksheet.

An Individual Education Plan can be introduced in the classroom for a child that has one of the following: autism, blindness, deafness, emotional disturbance, hearing impairment, intellectual disability, multiple disabilities, orthopedic impairment, other health impaired, special learning disability, speech or language impairment, traumatic brain injury, or visual impairment (Understanding Special Education, n.d.).  Because of Lori’s brain injury, it is highly likely that she would have an IEP in place by the time that she reached high school.

I would assume a class like Algebra could prove to be a difficult class for a student like Lori.  Lori struggles to remember and differentiate letters, so when letters and numbers are combined in Algebra, it might be a challenge for her. 

There are numerous basic accommodations that I would provide to Lori in my classroom.  She would have extra time to complete assignments and take tests.  I would place her towards the front of the class.  Lori would be able to take breaks and use a calculator.  She would have a mathematic formula sheet that she could use as reference.  Lori could also take the tests in a separate quiet room so that she could focus better.

I think that in a case like Lori’s, I would try to incorporate reading the directions out loud in the classroom.  Lori can understand the words said, it is reading that is the problem.  By having other students or myself read out the directions, Lori would understand the directions without having to read them herself.  Lori would be exempt from reading aloud in front of the class.  I would also make more of an effort to provide more oral instructions, instead of just written (Accommodations Guide, 2015).  I would also try to have more manipulatives in the classroom.  Manipulatives would be a good way for Lori to learn, as you don’t need to read or write to use them.

Lori would most likely be able to have an audio record or lectures so that she can play them back later.  This would help her to remember what happened in class without being forced to take notes.

Depending on the severity of Lori’s disability with reading and writing, she might have to have a scribe of some sort.  Similar to Torey Hayden appointing Tomaso as Lori’s official reader, Lori might have a paraeducator or some other aide in the class to help read to her, as well as write for her on class assignments and tests.  It might also be the case that any assessments and exams might be given orally, so that I could grade Lori’s understanding on the topic and not her ability to write.

There are some definite drawbacks to having a student like Lori in my class.  I think that one major issues that she poses is her hyperactivity, as well as her attention deficit disorder could be a major disruption to the class.  I don’t think that she would do it on purpose, but Lori gets off track so easily that it makes it easy for her to distract the class.

Another drawback is that there is a lot of time involved in the accommodations and modifications for Lori.  Lori likes spending one-on-one time with her teachers, getting to know them.  Teachers have over thirty students in each class and are overwhelmed with not having enough time for their students.  I worry that I would not have enough time to give Lori the help, support, and time that she really needs in the classroom.  At the pace that Lori works, it would be beneficial for her to get an outside tutor who can spend time with her in addition to the time she would spend with me.

Lori might have some social issues in my class, too.  Because she struggles with reading and writing, she might struggle to fit into the classroom.  Her disability might alienate her from the rest of the class, as it did when she was in first grade, in Somebody Else’s Kids.  I think it might also be difficult for her to grow up and compare herself academically with her twin sister.  I worry that this might not help her anxiety and could make her more conscious about how she performs in the class.  I do worry about her getting teased in my classroom.  It’s also a concern of mine that the class might be upset with any accommodations or modifications given to some of the students.  They might think that it is unfair that some students get more help than others.

I think that having a student like Lori in my class would be a beneficial experience for both of us.  There is so much that I can learn from a student like her.  I would be lucky to have a student as perceptive and caring as Lori.  Her personality would easily brighten up my day and I think that working with her would be a rewarding experience.

References:

Hayden, T. (1981). Somebody Else’s Kids. New York, New York: Putnam.

Accommodations Guide for Students with Brain Injury. (2015).  Retrieved from http://www.brainline.org/content/2011/10/accommodations-guide-for-students-with-brain-injury.html.

Understanding the 13 Categories of Special Education. (n.d.).  Retrieved from http://www.understandingspecialeducation.com/13-categories-of-special-education.html.

IEPs vs. 504 Plans

When I first started teaching, I had no idea what IEPs and 504s were.  I came in halfway through the school year at an independent all girls high school and while I knew that many of the girls had accommodations (mainly extended test time), I never heard the words IEP or 504 plan come out of a teacher’s mouth.  That being said, I decided (with the encouragement of an assignment from my Master’s program) to do a little research on the difference between IEPs and 504 plans.  You can see my findings in a Venn Diagram below.  Basically, an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) is meant for children that have an identified disability that impedes learning to the point that the child needs to have specialized instruction.  This plan is written up in an IEP meeting, which must include a special educator, a psychologist, a parent of the child, a general teacher of the student’s, and a representative of the school agency.  There is a list of necessary items that the plan must address.  A 504 plan is also for students with a disability.  This disability does not need to be one of the thirteen listed in IDEA, like the IEP does.  504 plans are meant for students that have a disability, but does not necessarily interfere with a student’s progress in the general curriculum.  A 504 plan does not have the rigid guidelines and restrictions that the IEP has, and has a recommendation of what should be addressed, but there are no legal requirements on what should be included in the 504 plan.

References:

Special Education Process: IEP vs. 504 Plan. (2009). Retrieved July 15, 2015 from 

http://www.davidsongifted.org/db/Articles_id_10671.aspx.

The Difference Between IEPS and 504 Plans. (2014). Retrieved July 15, 2015 from https://www.understood.org/en/school-learning/special-services/504-plan/the-difference-between-ieps-and-504-plans.

Personal Assessment Philosophy

Popham (2014) defines authentic assessment as “performance assessment in which the student’s tasks resemble real-life tasks.”  Most teachers can agree that assessments are the best way to monitor a student’s progress.  Often used in place of the phrase “performance assessment,” authentic assessments challenge the students to demonstrate their knowledge through a project or writing.  

Authentic assessment goes hand-in-hand with STEM learning.  They both strive to make real world connections to what is learned in school.  It is no secret that students perform better when they are motivated.  By relating the lesson to a real world application, students see the benefit of that topic and are motivated to learn.  The Common Core focuses on “developing the critical-thinking, problem-solving, and analytical skills students need to be successful.” (CCSS, 2015).  These problem solving and critical thinking skills can and will be developed and measured using authentic assessment.

Authentic assessment can take place in both formative and summative evaluations of learning.  When students go through an exploration in class that helps students derive the formula for acceleration from riding a skateboard, that is authentic assessment.  Another example is a classroom discussion of breaking vectors into components and what the i vector and j vector refer to when throwing a ball up in the air (vertical and horizontal components), students begin to understand the importance of that topic.

I think that most teachers are too focused on summative assessment.  While summative assessment is important to gauge how well students have grasped a concept, I think that formative assessments are important to monitor that progress.  If a teacher does not catch a misconception or a student struggling until after a unit test, it can be harmful to the student’s learning.  By implementing formative assessments, teachers can have a better understanding on an individual student or a class’s progress.  Teachers can use this information to modify unit plans- add an extra review day in, spend less time on topics that students understand, offer some individual support to a struggling student.

I think that one thing that has come to my attention about assessment is the need to have a valid assessment (Frisbie, 2005).  It would not be difficult for a teacher to write an assessment that allowed everyone in his/her class to get all of the questions right.  But that doesn’t truly test the students on what they have learned.  It is not an accurate representation of their progress.  I know most teachers start off with this mindset of inspiring all of their kids and having everyone in their class pass.  But I know that realistically, this is not likely.  There will be a student or two that won’t pass, regardless of how hard the teacher tries.  With programs like No Child Left Behind, it forces teachers to lower their expectations.  With so many standardized tests, teachers end up teaching to the test, instead of teaching the content.  I remember in high school, we learned tricks for beating the SATs or how to write a DBQ (Data Based Question) that the College Board wanted for the AP US History exam, not necessarily what a good essay should be.  Now, more than ever, students are tested on multiple subjects every year.   MSAs, HSAs, PARCC, SATs, APs, the list goes on and on.  While I think it is important to test students and measure school/county/state scores against other schools/counties/states, it ends up taking away from the students.

Throughout the semester, I have gotten some experience writing various forms of assessment.  I think that writing assessments is one of the most challenging parts of teaching.  How can a teacher successfully measure the progress of her students?  Is using binary questions (true/false) enough?  Multiple response (multiple choice) are another option.  Free response/open ended questions are another choice.  Or does the teacher decide to use another form of assessment like a portfolio?  There are benefits to all of these assessments.  I believe that using a variety of these is the most beneficial to both the students and the teacher.  It is not secret that students have different learning styles.  And test anxiety is becoming more and more common.  By varying the forms of assessment, teachers can get an accurate idea of a student’s progress without subjecting them to the “torture” of taking exams.  I do feel as though exams are extremely important, but I don’t think that a grade should be based solely on exams.  I have taken college level classes in which 85% of my grade is determined by midterms and the final exam, with only a small portion of my grade influenced by homeworks, discussions, and labs.  With this model, teachers seem to be assessing a student’s ability to take tests more than they are assessing the understanding of the content.

References:

Frisbie, D.A. (2005, Fall). Presidential address: Measurement 101: Some fundamentals

Revisited. Educational Measurement Issues and Practice, 24(5), 21-28.

Holler, F. W., Gareis, C. R., Martin, J., Clouser, A., & Miller, S. (2008, September). Teacher

        made assessments: Getting them right. Principal Leadership, 9(1), 60-64.

Kingston, N., & Nash, B. (2011, Winter). Formative assessment: A meta-analysis and a

call for research, Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice, 30(4), 28-37.

Popham, W. James. (2014). Classroom assessment: what teachers need to know. Pearson

Education, Inc.

Sternberg, R. J. (2007/2008, December/January). Assessing what matters. Educational

        Leadership, 65(4), 20-26.

The History of Special Education

Current Status of Special Education and the challenges that it presents:

Special Education is a topic that all teachers will encounter in their career.  Unfortunately, I feel as though most teachers feel ill-equipped to handle whatever comes their way, including any challenges that might be presented with Special Education.  To understand a bit about the history of Special Education, I made a timeline of Special Education that dates back to the 1950s.

For an interactive version of my timeline, check out this link.
One of the main challenges that is faced with Special Education is the inequality still found in the school system.  There have been many attempts to get rid of this inequality on the government's behalf, and there have been great strides in the past 50 years, but there is still a long way to go.  It is mandatory for all students, even those with disabilities to be included in assessments and have access to the general curriculum, due to IDEA and the No Child Left Behind Act (Current Challenges, 2004).  But how can students with disabilities get the support that they need?  It's hard enough to reach a classroom full of kids if they learned the same way.  But if you add in students with ADHD, behavioral issues, learning disabilities, etc, and it is overwhelming to think of the lack of support that each student gets.  There are often assistants that are hired to assist students with IEPs and 504s.  But the funding is often not there and those assistants are overworked and have a much larger workload than they should.  There are also challenges in making sure that students have the training and ability to participate in postsecondary education and employment.  I believe that the important part of improving some of these issues is to acknowledge that there is a problem with the current system.  Once a teacher has accepted that there are issues with what is currently happening, they can remember that a teacher's main goal is to provide a quality education, regardless of any challenges they may face.

References:

The Right to Education | Disability Justice. (2015). Retrieved July 8, 2015, from    

http://disabilityjustice.org/right-to-education/

Pittman, A. (2012). The History of Special Education. Retrieved July 8, 2015.

The History of Special Education in the United States. (2009). Retrieved July 8, 2015, from

http://www.specialednews.com/the-history-of-special-education-in-the-united-states.htm

Current Challenges Facing the Future of Secondary Education and Transition Services for Youth

with Disabilities in the United States. (2004). Retrieved July 8, 2015, from

http://www.ncset.org/publications/discussionpaper/ 

Literacy Web Tool Modeling

I started experimenting with a website called mindmup.com which allows you to easily make mind maps.  What I like about mind maps is the fact that it organizes all your thoughts and allows you to be as simple or complex as you would like.  You can have a simple looking web, with only a few topics on it, or get as detailed as possible with tons of information.  Using this website, I made a quick mind map of the different math topics that can be used as references for math teachers and students.  I think that I would encourage students to make this mind map in their trig class so that they can see all the math that they have accomplished in the past few years as a student.  I would also consider using this for an individual class (i.e. Geometry or Algebra) as a way to get students thinking about reviewing topics.  Remembering the topics they covered is the first step to get them to actually review those topics :)

I think that this online tool is extremely convenient and easy for students (and teachers) to use.  It is quite intuitive, and you can save it onto the mindmup website or as a google doc.  It is easy to change the colors of the boxes and add new boxes, as well as arrange them as you'd like.  There is also an option to insert pictures straight into the mind map, although I did not experiment with that feature.  You can also collapse a node if you want to temporarily hide a section (for example, the subnodes of Trig if the students haven't learned it yet).  One concern with this tool is how cluttered the map looks if there is too much information.  I would encourage the students not to write paragraphs for each node.  There is also a limit to the movement of each node.  You are unable to make a new section vertical, so the child node has to be on the outer (left or right) side.  I am unsure as to whether the curved lines connecting the nodes are a pro or a con.  I think that straight lines can look kind of harsh, but these lines seem a little juvenile to me.

Maryland Teacher Technology Standards

The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) has released a list of seven standards and outcomes for the Maryland Teacher Technology Standards.  Below, I have listed ways of how I plan to address these standards in my classroom.

I.                    Information Access, Evaluation, Processing and Application: Access, evaluate, process and apply information efficiently and effectively.

Organization, categorization, and storing information can be difficult in a classroom.  I think that I would have multiple ways to store all my information, data, and work for the class.  I would have a hard copy of the paperwork, an electronic copy stored on my computer and a flashdrive/external hard drive, and an online version, like a dropbox.  Each class would have a separate section, and that would have different folders for each unit.  There would also be a separate section for resources used for GT students, ELL students, etc.

II.                  Communication:

a.       Use technology effectively and appropriately to interact electronically.

To collaborate with peers, parents, administrators, and experts, I would use multiple forms of communication.  I would have a blog to share information with colleagues, as well as use sites such as twitter and pinterest to share articles, posts, etc.  I would have a class website to share information about the class with my students and parents.  There are also programs that are created to “text” parents and students information and homework assignments without sharing the teacher’s phone number.  I would also use Google Docs and surveymonkey to collaborate and share information, have sign ups for field trips, etc.

b.      Use technology to communicate information in a variety of formats.

I would use sites like YouTube to share videos for a flipped classroom approach.  I also would use sites such as Blackboard or Moodle, if they were supported by my school.

III.                Legal, Social, and Ethical Issues: Demonstrate an understanding of the legal, social, and ethical issues related to technology use.

It is important that with the use of technology in the classroom, students understand the legal and ethical issues.  Before introducing technology in my classroom, we would have a lesson on the negative outcomes of using technology, as well as discussing the importance of citing all work.  There would also be a section of this in syllabus, talking about the class rules of using the Internet (don’t share personal information, don’t post anything that is inappropriate, etc.).  It is also important to have consequences for the students if they break this rule, as well as to enforce these consequences.

IV.                Assessment for Administration and Instruction: Use technology to analyze problems and develop data-driven solutions for instructional and school improvement.

I would use online programs, as well as programs like Excel to track student’s progress throughout the year.  I think that it is important to have an understanding of both an individual’s progress, as well as the progress of the class as a whole.  I would look at the averages for assessments and break down the scores by question.  There are online tools such as Socrative.com that allow teachers to create a quiz.  They can watch in real time as students take the quiz, as well as the percentage of questions that the student got right, and the percentage of the class that got each individual question right.  This information can be applied to the modification of the lesson plans, both for that year and in the future.

V.                  Integrating Technology into the Curriculum and Instruction: Design, implement, and assess learning experiences that incorporate use of technology in a curriculum-related instructional activity to support understanding, inquiry, problem solving, communication, and/or collaboration.

Using technology such as Chromebooks, iPads, etc. students will be able to take a variety of assessments to allow teachers to understand the progress of students.  It is important for teachers to try out this technology before introducing students to it.  There’s nothing worse than having students go to a website to complete an assignment, only to find out that the website is no longer there or has been modified drastically.  Using WebQuests, students will be able to work with each other and be in charge of their own learning.  An interest survey could be given at the beginning of the year to obtain information on the preferred methods of media and technology for the class.

VI.                Assistive Technology: Understand human equity and developmental issues surrounding the use of assistive technology to enhance student learning performance and apply that understanding to practice.

Work with professionals in the school to determine resources for students that need assistance.  Allow students that need it to use online resources that help them with their individual learning needs.  Find out the most efficient resources, as well as monitor the students and their progress- help out as needed.

VII.              Professional Growth: Develop professional practices that support continual learning and professional growth in technology.

Explore professional organizations such as the International Society of Technology in Education (ISTE), research any new technology that seems relevant to the class.  Attend conferences and training opportunities in the summer, collaborate with teachers in my own department, as well as other STEM departments.

I believe that classrooms should have technology integrated into the lesson, but not solely use technology.  I think that there is a balance between using no technology and using too much technology and as STEM teachers, we have to find that balance.  Technology can be used a tool to promote literacy.  Through the use of WebQuests, online articles, and online books, students can work on their literacy together in a positive setting.  However, if the students are not technologically literate, it can be difficult to successfully complete these tasks.  Instructions are a huge part of literacy and it can be difficult to write a set of directions if students are not literate in technology terms.  

Webquest

https://sites.google.com/site/821orderofoperationswebquest/introduction

I found this webquest online and would use it in an Algebra class.  I have tutored a lot of students in Algebra and one of the hardest things that they learn is Order of Operations.  It can be difficult to grasp, and although we use the phrase “Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally” to help them with the order, it is still a difficult concept for them.  It takes a lot of practice before any student can truly master the art of Order of Operations.

I was a little apprehensive trying this webquest out.  I have found that most webquests in the past are trying too hard to be fun and while their content is aimed for a higher level audience (i.e. high school), they make the target audience seem as though they are in elementary school.  This webquest was no exception.  The author added a bunch of clip art pictures and cartoons.  While they brightened up the website, I felt as though the target audience was for a fifth grader.

On the top left side of the website, there are sections for the introduction, tasks, process, evaluation, conclusion, etc.  While clicking on tasks, the author is quick to introduce PEMDAS.  One of my biggest disappointments with teaching it using the Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally phrase is that it doesn’t show that the multiplication and division operations (as well as addition and subtraction) are done at the same time, in order from left to right.  The author actually presented this information well, and showed that you do multiplication and division together, as well as addition and subtraction.

A concern that I did have was that at the bottom of the tasks page, there was a link straight to the game.  I started playing the game for awhile before I even realized what the assignment was supposed to be.  To fix this, I would probably create my own directions.  The evaluation section was also empty.  Once you get into the “game” you are given 10 questions.  You must click on the correct operation to perform.  Once you click on the correct operation, they rewrite the equation with the completed operation.  For example, with a simple expression like 4+2x3, the first operation would be 2x3.  Once clicked on, a green checkmark would appear next to the 4+2x3 expression and underneath, the expression 4+6 would appear.  Once 4+6 was clicked on, the answer 10 would appear and the user could start the next question.

I do like that the student does not actually have to perform the operation, but simply identify which operation must be completed.  When learning a new skill, it can be distracting to have to do something else.  If you had a problem like 453⁴x398+2, it can be very time consuming to take 453 to the fourth power and then multiply it by 398.  By the time you’re done with that, you will probably forget to add the 2.  By simply clicking on the correct operation, the student can understand the skill without getting flustered by doing the arithmetic.