Special Education Instruction Commentary

Transcription

1 Directions: Respond to the prompts below (no more than 8 singlespaced pages, including prompts) by typing your responses within the brackets following each prompt. Do not delete or alter the prompts; both the prompts and your responses are included in the total page count allowed. Refer to the evidence chart in the handbook to ensure that this document complies with all format specifications. Pages exceeding the maximum will not be scored. 1. Which lesson or lessons are shown in the clips? Identify the lesson(s) by lesson plan number. Describe any changes in the lesson plans for the lessons shown in the clips and the reasons for those changes. [Lesson 2 (Guided Practice) and lesson 3 (Experiment and part of Indepdent Practice) are shown in the video clips. For all four lessons in this learning segment, I planned to start with prompting and, as the lessons continue, to give minimal prompting to no prompting at all. During lesson 2, I have chosen a clip from my gudied practice. My goal was to give minimal prompting. For example, when my learner is off track or has a question, I will guide her to the right answer rather than giving it away; however, it seems my focus learner needed more help and practice with SQ3R so I prompted and gave more answers than I had planned. For example, at 2:31 my focus learner was composing her questions; however, she was only writing down random words from the text. I knew automatically that she would not find the definition to these words while reading. I first stated we re going to form questions and then gave wait-time to see if she would pick up on what she was doing, I had to inform her that she is allowed to go back and read parts of the text to form detailed questions. In order to keep her motivated I told her that what she had was a good start but we would have a hard time finding the answer to the question. I stepped in because if I had let her continue, she would have read the text but would have not been able to find any answers. Therefore, I did not use minimal prompting. During the rest of the guided practice, I asked questions to lead her to what she needed to do next, guiding her after she read/listened to each section of the text.] 2. If applicable, provide any additional information (beyond that provided in Task 1 needed to understand the learning environment or interactions seen in each clip. a. Identify the district, school, cooperating teacher, or student teaching requirements or expectations that affect your instructional delivery (e.g., prescribed reading curriculum) described in Task 1. [When I taught lesson 2 in the library, it was the day all teachers were giving their preassessments to their students. My cooperating teacher was teaching her science unit at this time; therefore, the library was the only setting available to teach my lesson one-to-one with my learner. During my first lesson this location was a great spot for my focus learner to pay attention; however, when I taught lesson 2, I found my focus learner a bit distracted due to teachers adminstering tests and, in particlular, one distracting student who ran around our table. During this time I simply told my focus learner to focus, which set her right back on track. During lesson 3, my cooperating teacher informed me that assessments were still being administered and provided me with one of the private speech rooms to deliever my instruction. Also, in the middle of lesson 3, during independent practice, while my focus learner was listening to the text, Earth s Water Cycle, using Read and Write Gold, the program mispronounced the word, fahrenheit. After that section of the text, I informed my learner of the correct pronunciation of the word and explained that, although it is spelled correctly, the program may not pick up on every single word. Read and Write Gold is reccomended to be used with my focus learner in her IEP and was a way of communiction for my learner, therefore, my cooperating teacher and I thought it would be best to use.] b. If more than one learner appears in a clip, provide information to identify the focus learner (e.g., clothing, position in setting). 1 of 7 8 pages maximum

2 [ Since all of my lessons involved one-to-one instruction, my focus learner is the student sitting next to me in both video clips.] 3. Promoting a Positive Learning Environment Refer to scenes in the video clips where you provided a positive learning environment. a. Describe how you demonstrated respect for, and rapport with all learners. [During my instructional delivery of all four lessons throughout my learning segment, I made sure that I demonstrated respect and rapport with my focus learner and all other learners who were around us, providing a postive learning environment. During lesson 2, there were other learners in the room who were taking tests. Before filiming, a teacher offered to move, as she thought her one specific student would be a distraction. I informed the teacher to stay and to continue what she was doing, that it was not a problem. Throughout this clip, I used an inside voice and conducted this lesson on the other side of the room, away from high traffic areas and away from the other students so we would not distract them, espcially while using Read and Write Gold. I displayed respect and rapport with my focus learner as I gave her 100% of my attention and was an effective communicator throughout instruction. Most importantly, I understood and respected her needs by adapting the lesson to her reading level, providing waittime, and using verbal praise, especially when she asked questions. Furthermore, I had an upbeat, positive attitude and maintained eye-contact. I kept in mind, as my cooperating teacher advised me when working with emotionally disturbed girls, that when appropriate, to make a joke. If you correct them in a negative tone, or tell them they are wrong, they will automatically shut down. In lesson 2, from 0:09 0:11, my focus learner was unsure what I was giving her and said, that thing. As I pulled the paper away, smiling to correct her, I told her it was our checklist. Instead of the learner getting upset, she actually laughed and continued to say it was for SQ3R. In order to check for understanding to make sure she was comfortable to begin from 0:51 1:19, I asked her what the first thing is that she is going to do and then asked if she will read every paragraph or stop at every paragraph. In doing this, I helped start her off on the right track. Then, when I made a mistake as I was about to start Read and Write Gold for my learner to read, I acknowledged my mistake and said, Oh! Miss A is wrong, what do we do? (1:14) This is showing that it is okay to make mistakes because that is how we learn from them. My focus learner recognized and brought the book towards her to survey the text to form questions. At 1:26 I was happy to hear my focus learner ask a question as she asked what she was specifically supposed to be looking for during the survey step. I smiled when she asked the question and said, That s a good question! In a soft voice, I answered her question by using the book so she had a visual and knew where to look, as I kept in mind that she is a visual learner. While she was forming questions, to give her space, I also was writing my own notes down so she did not feel like I was watching every move she made. At this time (1:53-2:25) I started to fill out my Seeking Out & Requesting For Help Chart. At 5:50 a little boy ran around our table, and by smiling and encouraging my focus learner to keep going, I demonstrated respect for my focus learner and for other learners. Keeping in mind the advice my cooperating teacher gave me (We are lucky if these girls do their work and they re not out of the room) and that, even though my learner may not have written the best of the best questions, or after reading recited every detail, I kept her going by giving her praise, instead of stopping at one specific point to correct it. Getting my focus learner to engage in her work and by practicing the strategy, understanding the text, and knowing how SQ3R is used to help her comprehension, is great. For example, at 7:38, when I asked my focus learner to recite what she read, she explained it briefly by pulling words from the text and looking at the screen. I said, Good, did you answer any of your questions?... let s move on, instead of having her recite from pure memorization because I wanted to keep her motivated. For my focus learner, that answer was fair enough and demonstrated satisfactory comprehension. I will continue to help her improve by 2 of 7 8 pages maximum

3 encouraging her to give eye contact while explaining what she read, and trying not to look at the text. During lesson 3, just like lesson 2, as my learner gives me her time, out of repsect and professionlism, I was well-organized, had all my materials prepared, incorporated an engaging science experiment (lesson 3) to keep her motivated and used other fun interactive activites (letting her use my laptop and ipad) for each lesson.] b. Describe how you provided a positive learning environment that both supported and challenged your focus learner in relation to the primary learning target, moving the focus learner toward self-determination. [I provided a postive learning enviorment throughout my lessons that supported and challenged my focus learner in regards to her primary learning target. In lesson 2, at 1:06, I begin by asking her an open-ended question. I asked her what is she going to do after she is finished reading each paragraph. She knew the correct answer and continued to survey. Although I forgot to survey, I automatically corrected myself, and set an exmaple that it is okay to make mistakes. At 1:25 in the clip, she asked me what I should be surveying. After she asked her question, I gave her postive praise by telling her that is a good question. When my focus learner started to form her questions, as I observed, she was not putting it in complete sentences and was just writing down words from that text (that she would look for the defintion). At 3:35 in the clip, I gave her constructive comments as I supported her to fix her questions, yet, challenged her at the same time by not giving too many clues. At 7:37 in the clip, I asked my focus learner to recite what she read. After she told me what she read about fresh water, I guided her to see if what she just told me answered any of her questions. During lesson 3, at 7:37 in the clip, I asked my focus learner what she read about precipitation and she struggled to give me an answer. Instead of just giving her the answer, I encouraged her to go back and look in the text. After she looked back, she stated, snow, which was the correct answer. As I continued my questions, I asked what was the most common form of precipitation. She was unsure, and again, I encouraged her to look back into the text to challenge her. As I clicked play, and my focus learner listened to the text, she got the correct answer. By asking questions and giving praise my focus learner was supported, yet challenged, to achieve the primary learning target and gain confidence in herself so she can become self-determined in her comprehension.] 4. Engaging and Motivating the Focus Learner a. Explain how your strategies engaged and motivated the focus learner to develop and apply the knowledge and skills related to the primary learning target. [As I reflect, lesson 3 was the most I have seen my focus learner engaged throughout the learning segment. Starting at 0:10-4:11 in the clip, I shared with my focus learner that we are going to make rain. This was helpful to her first learning target, since we are learning about precipitation and the experiment strengthened her understanding of what she was reading. The experiment furthered her comprehension, especially because she is a visual learner. I motivated her when she asked a question by replying with another question to get her to think. For example, in 0:43 she asked, How is the plate supposed to make it rain? I replied, What is precipitation? She was unable to give me the answer so together we reviewed what happens from the beginning of the water cycle. As I explained, I asked her questions and paused when explaining so she could finish my sentence. This segment was beneficial towards her primary learning target because it helped build her comprehension of a topic and encouraged her to ask and answer questions about the content pertinent to the readings. ] 3 of 7 8 pages maximum

4 b. Describe how your instruction linked the focus learner s prior learning and personal, family, cultural, and/or community assets with new learning related to the primary learning target. [Starting at the very beginning of the clip, (0:03) in lesson 2, my focus learner automatically knew to split her page in half for the guided practice as she was about the begin the SQ3R method. The split page strategy has been taught to her during her previous lessons in her main classes that I have taught. In lesson 2, (1:21) my focus learner engages in SQ3R during guided practice that has been exposed to her in the first lesson. In lesson 2 my focus learner is given prompts throughout to help support her, however, in lesson 3, as my focus learner continues to practice SQ3R (5:03) she completes the task with minimal prompting since she is more experienced at that point in the learning segment.] c. Describe the strategies you used to move the focus learner toward independently initiating and/or maintaining active engagement in learning tasks related to the primary learning target. [Throughout my learning segment my objectives for each lesson display that, with each lesson my focus learner completes, she grows more and more independent. Each lesson is set up the same way in order to have the learning become increasingly independent in SQ3R to improve her comprehension. As lesson 2 and lesson 3 display, I first do SQ3R as a guided practice (lesson 2) and then, on her own, my focus learner will do SQ3R independently (lesson 3). In lesson 2, at 9:27, my focus learner recognized after she was done reading that she did not answer all her questions. As she looked at the text, I prompted her and helped her find where the answer was and replayed that paragraph. Then, on her own, my focus learner was able to independently find the answer and write it down. In lesson 2, at 5:00 in the clip, my learner starts her independent practice for SQ3R. Since it is lesson 3, I do not prompt unless necessary; however, I asked questions throughout to maintain her active engagement.] 5. Deepening Learning a. Explain how you elicited and responded to the focus learner s performance to promote application of learning related to the primary learning target. [During lesson 2, I reminded my focus learner to look at the checklist to make sure she completed the first two steps (4:57) and questioned what comes next to see if those questions answered any of her questions. This will help her self-reflect and guide her as to what to do next. At 8:58 in the clip, I asked the learner to summarize in her own words what she read instead of copying from the text to ensure that she comprehended what was read. Earlier in the lesson, (lesson2) I noticed that during the recitation phase, the learner was looking at the screen to see the text. I told the learner to look at me during the recitation to make sure she retained and comprehended what she read.] b. Describe opportunities provided to the focus learner with opportunities to apply feedback to improve performance related to the primary learning target. [In Lesson 2, although not pictured in the video segment, the learner was reading directly from the computer screen while summarizing the text in the recite phase. I provided her with feedback, informing her that she did a good job referring to details but that, next time, I want her to try to put the sentence in her own words. After reading the following paragraph, I reminded my focus learner to look at me and not at the text and to recite the paragraph by summarizing what she read in her own words. The learner applied my feedback and followed through, which in return improved her performance toward the primary learning target because her summary 4 of 7 8 pages maximum

5 reflected accurate comprehension. Further, at 7:34 in lesson 2, my focus learner began to write an answer on her checklist before reciting the paragraph. I told her, Right, that answers your question but first we recite. My focus learner looked confused so I explained to her that she should summarize the paragraph in her own words and then she applied my feedback correctly and summarized the text. At 7:44 in the clip, after my focus learner recited by summarizing what she read, I responded, Okay, good job. Looking back, I realized that this would have been a good opportunity to either use more specific feedback or to prompt her to tell me more by explaining it further. Reflecting on the four lessons as I watch the videos, helps me take what was good and what could be worked on, and correct it in future lessons, in order to support my learner and to grow as a teacher.] c. Describe how you moved the focus learner toward self-evaluation or self-correction to improve performance related to the primary learning target. [As mentioned earlier on, at 2:39 in the clip, (lesson 2) as my focus learner was composing questions, I prompted her to remember to write full questions, not just words. I encouraged her to try looking at her questions again, and then she corrected them. By doing this, I provided feedback to my learner so she could improve her performance. By forming complete questions and going back in the text she read to find answers, she will be closer to achieving the primary learning target.] 6. Supporting Teaching and Learning a. Explain how your materials, supports, and instructional strategies supported the focus learner s progress toward the lesson objectives for the primary learning target and how they reflected the learner s development, age, strengths, and needs. [The materials, supports, and instructional strategies supported the learner s progress toward her global comprehension of the text by using the reading strategy SQ3R so she can access the information in the text and by differentiating the process of learning. The process was differentiated to support the learner s progress and reflect her developmental level in reading. Since the learner is below grade level in reading, the book Earth s Water Cycle was used throughout the learning segment in replacement of the seventh grade science textbook. In addition, the learner s age was supported by teaching content that was age appropriate and using the standards aligned with the seventh grade science curriculum. The materials used throughout the lesson also supported the learner s strength because the materials were designed to be visual aids since the focus learner fits that learning style. For example, at 0:30 in the lesson 3, a model is used to simulate what precipitation is and how it occurs. This visual representation supported the learner s style of learning which in return fostered a positive learning environment and offered her an alternative way aside from reading to grasp the concept. This additional support through the hands-on activity supported her progress toward the lesson objectives for her comprehension because the visual model increased her overall understanding of the water cycle. The student s needs were also reflected in the lessons by using the text-to-speech program Read and Write Gold to accomodate her language disorder. The auditory supplement to the text supported her progress towards the goal by allowing her to read the text accurately and at substantial pace which helped her to better comprehend what was written.] b. Describe how your instructional strategies, supports, or materials facilitated the development or application of a self-directed learning strategy. 5 of 7 8 pages maximum

6 [Using the text to speech program, Read and Write Gold, allows my focus learner to have less reliance on someone reading the text to her and having her become a more independent reader. Also, having her follow along in the text will support her reading skills, as the more she reads, the more words she will recognize and understand the meaning of which therefore builds on her self-directed comprehension. A scene from lesson 3 that is not shown is before the Make it Rain experiment, when my focus learner was surveying/forming questions for an article and as she comes across new phrases she seemed confused especially as she reads and states, Thunder Snow?! At this point, I reminded my learner that this is why we form questions. As she was listening to the text being read to her, she was in the development of finding out what thunder snow is as she self-directed her comprehension and took the lead to find out. Further, in lesson 3, during my independent practice, which was not shown in my selected clip, my focus learner automatically, after answering her questions, pulled out her checklist and checked off what she completed. As she checked off each part of the SQ3R process, she was talking aloud to herself, saying, I did that. I did that... This is also a selfdirected learning strategy for her as she self-monitors her progress through the SQ3R method.] 7. Analyzing Teaching a. What would you change about the teaching seen in the clips to better support or extend the focus learner s performance and/or move the focus learner toward maintained, generalized, or self-directed use of knowledge and/or skills related to the primary learning target? [As I analyze and reflect on my video, I recognize that I responded to my learner more than I had planned, and I guided her by asking leading questions, such as Okay, so what s next? I feel this was natural for me since it was in a one-on-one setting, however, to better support her, I should next time not say anything unless it is necessary. At 7:35 in the clip during lesson 3, I asked my focus learner what precipitation was after she read because she forgot to recite. As I guided her to re-read she said, no because she couldn t find the answer to my question (What is the most common form of precipitation?). I then used scaffolding in the situation as I played the text over again. As she listened to the text being read again, she found the answer to her question. That was necessary to step into the independent practice. However, towards the end of the clip in lesson 3, after I asked a question, she would briefly answer and then I would continue giving her the answer, in hopes of her better understanding. In order to better extend her learning and skills related to the primary learning target, I could have had her recite by writing down, or perhaps even typing up what she read in order to let her write all her thoughts down before I continued to talk. Also, I noticed in her SQ3R written piece, her questions lack compete thoughts and contained spelling errors. Using a Word Processor is a tool I would definitely try using in the future to better support her performance.] b. Why do you think these changes would improve the learning of the focus learner in relation to the primary learning target? Support your explanation with evidence of the focus learner s performance related to the primary learning target, as seen in the clips and principles from theory and/or research. [By allowing more wait time in-between responses, I can have more accurate evidence of the learner s understanding. For example, during lesson 2, at 3:24, I used wait time in order to give my focus learner the opportunity to process what I told her. Then I had her figure out how to go about fixing her questions during the guided practice. By giving this wait time, she successfully fixed her questions by using an answer she asked for from earlier on (What to specifically 6 of 7 8 pages maximum

7 survey 1:25) as she sought for help and asked a question. This end result led her to successfully find the answer in the text. Therefore wait-time, just like in that instance, should have been used more often throughout the learning segment. For example, at 7:30 in lesson 2, my focus leaner found an answer to a question and immediately wrote it down after reading, before reciting aloud what was read. As she was finishing up writing, I asked her about the text she read. I should have given her wait-time at that moment to give her the opportunity to think about the whole paragraph as she read, even to give her a chance to look back, because her train of thought was focused on that one specific answer. Rowe (1972), the composer of waittime, stresses that it is essential that all students have an appropriate amount of time given after a question is asked in order for all students to process the information. Rowe expressed that slowing down may be a way of speeding up; in other words, because wait-time is given (slowing down the pace of question) the student s comprehension will speed up because they have time to process and think about what was being asked. Research has shown that when given wait-time, students are less likely to say I don t know, the student s confidence increases, and nurtures new thoughts and ideas. These three aspects I believe would be highly beneficial for my focus learner. Throughout my reading comprehension learning segment, I picture my lessons in accordance with Rowe s theory, A Game Model in the Classroom: Structuring, Soliciting, Responding, and Reacting. With wait-time provided, there is a strong interaction between the student and teacher. In addition to wait-time, Microsoft Document is a tool used to help students with disabilities meet and to reach their fullest potential. In the article, How do special education students benefit from technology, Zorigian and Job express that when technology is incorporated into lessons, it not only engages and motivates the students to learn (My focus learner needs high motivation), but it customizes each student s needs and there needs can be met. On the Apple site, under the caption, Bring every lesson into focus, there is an advertisement that encourages the use of technology and word documents for students with cognitive and learning disabilities. This site displays how students can use the tool Microsoft Word for text to speech, a dictionary, and word completion. In my learning segment, the tool, Microsoft Word was used for the text to speech program, Read and Write Gold. If I were to extend my learning segment, I would continue to teach my focus learner specific tools such as using the dictionary, word completion, etc.] 7 of 7 8 pages maximum