5030+Data+Chart+of+Self+Learning

http://kerryandmegan.wikispaces.com/ Gathering this data at the begining of our lesson helped and our students focus on the areas which we needed to learn more about. |||| *I have created a case study about ELL learners at Alsup Elementary school. This involved gathering a variety of types of data over time. I then analyzed it with two classmates and used it to uderstand the complete experiences of the student. || My classmate, Richard, wrote me an informative response to my online module. He commented how well my sources had been arranged and how it will be useful for me to use the links which I have created in future. I will keep this in mind as I continue to learn and find sources which seem like they will be useful in the future. I will continue to upload links to these sources on my Wiki so that I may refer back to them anytime from anywhere. Richard also suggested that I make more connections to my partner schools and other area schools; especially those which are implementing the strategies successfully. I think that this is a great idea and will be more conscious of making these connections to my learning in the future. || My instructor gave me detailed feedback about my required online module, which covered the Colorado Growth Model. She let me know that my work showed that I understood the big picture involved here (that students achievements should/could be based on personal growth, rather than comparisons to state/ district benchmarks.) In this feedback she also commented on my observations of data collection and use at my partner school, and how it was useful to connect this to the topics discussed in this module. || I watched a few videos about how to 'build a personalized culture' in classrooms/ schools and took notes for future reference. Based on the feedback from my peers, I also feel that I need to be more mindful in my planning and giving instructions. When I have a very clear idea of what I'm going to say (even write it down,) I give clear instructions which produce the products I expect. When I do not take the time to do this many questions come up and the products are not how I expected. || My site professor at Alsup Elementary observed my lesson and gave me feedbackabout my lesson, particularly about my use of differentiated instruction. She commented that I used many good engagement strategies, which kept a variety of learners engaged and that it was "great instructional technique to give out different info. and then have them listen." Also, I modeled the instructions well so that all students understood what they were supposed to do (using oral and visual instructions.) For areas of growth she suggested "extension" of the students thoughts. To work on this I plan to use my questioning resource and what I have learned about using higher order questioning in this course. || *I also created a resource called //Council for Exceptional Children// which has specific information about understanding and including children with Autism in the classroom. Here the key thing which I learned is that many students with Autism (as well as other behavioral/ physical issues,) need help learning and using social interactions with their peers. When helping them do so, it is not enough to simply put them in social situations, rather they need guidance and feedback. In addition to Autism I learned a great deal about teaching gifted and talented students in the classroom. The key to teaching these types of learners (which really applies to all learners) is that they have a genuine interest in the topic, also GT students often need choices. || For our co-teaching assignment my co-teacher gave me some feedback via email. This feedback was about how we were going to teach special populations and about teaching info about special populations. It was helpful to get her perspective of how to go about this and what aspects were the most important; such as that SPED students usually need very detailed steps and instructions, while GT students prefer and work best with choice, yet they both (can) like creative assignments. || My instructor also gave me feedback about RtI and the Council for Exceptional Children, which were covered in my reduired online module. This feedback reminded me to cautious and careful when using technology as she pointed out that an entire part of my module (Council for Exceptional Children) was missing. Once I found it an saved it to where she could view it, she commented that she "love(s) that you have used your wikispace to keep notes and ideas across the topics!" Other important feedback I received in this area had to do with RtI, and that this is a very important process for special education students, in which data teams play an important role. To clarify, RtI is the process students go through before they are technically labeled "special education," yet they students are receiving a different level of progress monitoring and possible special services/ activities. || The Colorado Growth Model is a new system used by Colorado schools for "analyzing CSAP data that provides teachers, parents, and school administrators with a revealing look at student progress." It focuses on students' invividual growth, rather than comparing them with their peers or district/ state benchmarks. Rather than showing concern only for students who are 'below bench mark,' students who have made few/ no improvements over periods of time are also taken into consideration for interventions. Also, if a students remains below benchmark but shows significant (determined by those anaylzing the scores) improvements (particularly over time) the student is recognized for their abilities and interventions can be assessed as sucessful (despite the fact that the student has not 'caught-up;) this could allow staff/ teachers to make only minor adjustments to interventions in place (to perhaps speed-up) the progress, rather than view the entire intervention as ineffective. The Colorado Growth Model at Alsup Elementary shows that, overall, students are making lower growth (41%) and lower achievement (43%) in Math, higher achievement (50%) and higher growth (60%) in Reading, and average growth (50%) and lower achievement (38%) in Writing. According to the CDE website Adams 14 district ranked 25th in the state for pupil population in 2010, with a total of 7,549 student in the district. Alsup 2010 Demographics: ||  ||   || //*statistics come from://[] __**Poverty:**__ //The United States has one of the highest poverty rates of all developed countries" (Children’s Defense Fund, 2010).// //Children face poverty in disproportionate numbers, and are often put in schools with the fewest resources (Books, 2004). // "Teachers need to know that most children who are in fostercare or out-of-home care have never had a childhood" (Endless Dreams, n.d.). More than 2.5 million grandparents are the householders and are responsible for their grandchildren living with them. Of these: //*statistics come from: [|www.childrensdefense.org]// ||
 * ** Learning Goals for the Course ** ||  ** Thinking Data **  ||  ** Work **   ** Samples **  ||||  ** In-the-class **   ** Benchmarks **  ||  ** Peer **   ** Feedback **  ||  ** Instructor **   ** Feedback **  ||
 * ** Gathering, Analyzing, & Using Data ** || *A graphic organizer helped me to arrange my thoughts about how data can help teachers and students when used correctly. The main ideas learned from this lesson were 1. In order for data to be used effectively a 'clear vision' must be established. Also, data should be collected and analyzed often (cycle: test, collect, interpret) and in groups (data teams.) 2. School wide plans and teams are extremely helpful, because the perspectives of other teachers and professionals will help create a fuller understanding of the student.
 * I read about creating and implementing student engaged formative assessments in the classroom. These types of assessments are important because they allow students to explore their own learning/ understanding of a topic and take action to improve/ broaden their knowledge in the topic. I have taken notes which can be referred back to when I plan an assessment strategy for my students.
 * I discussed including a formative assessment in our co-teaching lesson with my co-teaching partner, Kerry. We thought it would be a good idea for our students to take ownership of their learning and to understand exactly what the goals of our learning were. || *Preparing a viewing guide about the Colorado Growth Model helped me to get a complete understanding about this new way to interpret student achievement, which is to look at individual growth of students, rather than comparing them to their classmates and state/ district benchmarks. To ask the questions: What is? What should be? What could be?
 * Part of our co-teaching lesson plan included a pre-assessment created collaboratively with my co-teacher, Kerry. Our lesson can be viewed at:
 * ** Differentiated Instruction ** || *Creating classroom communities is key to differentiated instruction because it allows teacher to get to know their students well (therefore understand their needs and learning styles,) and also because it gives students a feeling of ownership and investment in the class (which can motivate them.)
 * Also to help me in the future when creating a formative assessment, I took notes on the Essential Elements of the Formative Assessment Process. || *I created questions about differentiated instruction. Many of these questions are about asking different levels of questions. It is important to ask higher-level questions in addition to fact-based questions and to encourage students to ask questions of their own. Doing this will stimulate a variety of learners and improve comprehension. To assure that I incorporate a variety of question types in my future lesson planning I have created a questioning resource to refer back to.
 * I gave a lesson at my partener school which I differentiated, in order to meet the needs of the many types of learners in my class.
 * I created a differentiated lesson about the habitats of crayfish. I gave it to my third grade class, who enjoyed it because it offered visuals and opportunities for them to talk about the topic. They also had reading and writing opportunities. Unfortunatly this lesson was created on Smart Notebook and can not be uploaded for viewing here. |||| *Co-Teaching assignment: One way to differentiate instruction is by co-teaching, which can be done in many ways. Kerry and I created and gave a lesson as co-teachers using a variety of these ways. In the beginning and end of our lesson we used a complementary teaching style. In the middle we used parallel and shared teaching strategies. In this assignment, not only was our method of co-teaching differentiated our lessons and materials were differentiated as well. We used large groups as well as small flexible groups. We jigsawed so that students could be instruct each other part of the time and discuss the topics in the context of their schools. Our materials were varied and our spoken lessons/ instructions were strongly supported by visuals. || My peers whom participated in our co-teaching lesson provided feedback via the TLIC assessment. I learned here that it is helpful to have a variety of resources (such as graphic organizers) and that students appreciated that we used different techniques which allowed them to learn the greatest amount of relevant information in the shortest time (to do this we used the jigsaw technique.) With that said, it was brought to my attention that I sometimes try to do too much in too little time, so I will try and be more realistic in my expectations for the amount of work I can do in the time allowed.
 * ** Special Education ** || *I read a few excerpts from the book //Special Education in Contemporary Society// and took notes on how disorders can occur and what the effects can be. Most importantly from this activity I learned about how coercive cycles are created and alternatives to engaging in coercive interactions. I made connections to my partner school which will help me with ideas of how to best handle special education students in my classroom. || *I created questions based on readings about Special Education. I also wrote answers to some of these questions. Some questions are based on how litigation and legislation have developed special education. [|IDEA](Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) has changed over the years, such as brining special services to increasingly younger populations at the recognition that early intervention is key to the success of students in need of special services. Changes also address labeling students which can have a negative impact, sometimes the disability becomes all that is seen. Other questions address meeting the needs of students; that basic needs should be the focus before (along with) achievement in the classroom. To question why a child is acting out, rather than using coercive interactions (which reinforce unwanted behavior.)
 * I created a graphic organizer about Gifted and talented students. In doing so I learned many aspects about GT learners, whereas before I thought they were 'just smarter,' I now know about some defining characteristics and better teaching strategies for these students. |||| *I created a resource called //Choice Online Module: Behavior Management // Creating this resource gave me a better understanding of how to treat behavior issues in the classroom. Particularly if there is a child receiving special education or who is not but may need additional services, I learned the protocol for meeting with school specialists and parents. I also found the information about PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports.) Particularly that it is suggested that for single time occurrences the behavior should be dealt with positively and quickly (tell correct response, have student repeat, disengage quickly;) while multiple occurrences should be handled according to school policy (consistently and with a business-like attitude.)
 * **Invisibility ** || *I watched the video //Invisible Children in America// and took notes. From this activity I learned that it is important to understand the social situations of your students; because these situations can cause a great deal of preoccupation in their minds and will greatly affect their ability to learn in the classroom. Also, considerations and differentiation may need to be made for the assignments/ expectations of the student, depending on the situation (such as they are working a full-time job in addition to going to school, perhaps they can be exempt from homework, or required to do less outside of school.)
 * Notes on the video //Endless Dreams// offer suggestions for understanding and helping students living in foster families. Good communication with the family and other staff members is important so as to provide consistency for the children. || *I created questions and answers about issues of invisibility . Invisibility refers to the issues that children face which are not addressed (or adequately addressed) by the staff and teachers at school. In turn, students themselves can become invisible as they 'fall through the cracks' a result of never receiving the proper interventions. The questions I have written specifically address the issues of homelessness, poverty, and ethnicity. Most important was the answer I wrote to the question "After watching the video //Invisible Children in America,// ask a partner 'what questions does this raise for you?' and discuss what you've learned." My answer was about whether our school had a liaison for homeless children, and that students often have many things on their minds pertaining to their home situations. It is very important for the staff and teachers at a school to know what the home situation of students is so that they can understand and accommodate for it. |||| *The concept of invisibility is covered extensively in my case study as I believe that some of the participating students are invisible in their school; because they are able to function in class, their specific needs are ignored and they are unable to improve. Their inability to improve also comes from an apparent lack of support at home, for reasons unknown. || *In class we participated in an activity in which we discussed the issue of invisibility (among other issues) in the context of our course readings. We wrote on posters which were passed through the classroom and were able to add/ discuss our ideas. My classmates told stories about the situations of invisible students in their schools. Based on these conversation I learned that I (along with my classmates) had little knowledge of which of the extrenal factors discussed (homelessness, foster care, poverty,) affected which students at our partenr schools (reinforcing the idea of invisibility.) || My instructor viewed the questions which I wrote about invisibility. The only feedback I received was the comment "great" which was vague, but helped me know that I had the right idea about how to ask higher level questions. ||
 * ** Assessment, Policies, & Current Events ** || *I learned a great deal about NCLB (No Child Left Behind) from the reading, //NCLB: Measure and punish.// Such as the principles behind the bill, the history of how it was passed, and where the provisions failed. I wrote notes to help me understand the key points of the article. A point made by the author which I found particularly interesting was that incentives and sanctions (the forces driving NCLB) are meant for businesses (focused on profit,) but are not appropriate for schools. Sanctions are ineffective and cause the privatization of schools in large numbers. I found this interesting because I believe it will also pertain to the way I manage my classroom in the future; encourage students to be involved in the class for personal gain (learning because the subject is interesting, understanding that doing well in school will improve their lives,) not out of fear of being punished or to seek an irrelevant reward. || *I created questions and answers about assessments and policies in schools. From this task I learnd a lot about the importance of self-assessment. As one question mentioned, "motivation is affected by self-monitoring." In order to help students self-monitor it is important for teachers to provide standards, thoughtful feedback, and templates for understanding the feedback. I also extended my knowledge of creating classroom communities as relationships are the key to student/ teacher success. |||| *I self-assessed my co-teaching lesson. From this I was able to reflect on how I felt about my lesson compared to my classmates. Most of our feelings were similar which reinforced my ideas about what to continue to do in the future and what to change.
 * I assessed my peers' co-teaching lessons using the TLIC rubric. Doing so made me realize good/ effective teaching techniques I could use in my future lessons, such as giving students scenarios to discuss and having them write (add-on to on a variety of posters.)
 * I wrote this data chart of self learning, which help me to re-organize some of the information so that I will be able to easily refer back to it when teaching/ lesson planning in the future. Also, it refresh my memory of all the topics we have discussed over the past six weeks and helped me get a fuller understanding of how they all fit together. || For our co-teaching assignment my co-teacher gave me some feedback via email. She liked the idea that we give our students a formative assessment before the lesson so as to set objectives for the lesson and so that students could understand what they needed/ wanted to learn before we began teaching them only what we wanted them to know. || I wrote a short summary about the currents event issues we learned about in week two of class. My instructor gave me some feedback via email. Although this feedback was vague, it let me know that I had coved the important issues and demonstrated my understanding of them. ||
 * ** School Context ** - description of your school context including Colorado Growth Model data, interview & observation data, demographic data
 * Free Lunch: || 100% ||
 * American Indian or Alaskan Native (female) || 5 ||
 * American Indian or Alaskan Native (male) || 1 ||
 * Asian (female) || 1 ||
 * Asian (male) || 1 ||
 * Black (female) || 4 ||
 * Black (male) || 9 ||
 * Hispanic (female) || 230 ||
 * Hispanic (male) || 279 ||
 * White (female) || 40 ||
 * White (male) || 62 ||
 * Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander (female) || 0 ||
 * Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander (male) || 0 ||
 * Two or more races (female) || 2 ||
 * Two or more races (male) || 6 ||
 * Total Students || 640 ||
 * ** National Level Context for Teachers in Urban Settings – ** synopsis of the current status of children and education in our nation, including support from course readings and websites
 * There are 14,595,726 children living in poverty in the USA.
 * 9.62% of children living in the USA are living in extreme poverty
 * 13% of white, non-hispanic children live in poverty (9.35% in Colorado)
 * 38.20% of back children live in poverty (39.00% in Colorado)
 * 32.35% of hispanic children live in poverty (30.79% in Colorado)
 * __ Grandparents __**
 * 51.1% of these grandparents are White not Hispanic
 * 24.2% are African American
 * 18.7% are Hispanic/Latino
 * 2.9% are Asian
 * 2% are American Indian or Alaskan Native
 * 0.3% are Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander.
 * More than one-third have no parents of the children present in the home.
 * 67% are under the age of 60.
 * <span style="font-family: arial,arial;">Almost 20% live in poverty.