week four

During week five of my internship, I overcame many obstacles. I have learned this week to always believe in the students and to push them to their greatest capability. For example, my one student is at a higher level than the other two at his grade level. However, he is still not on grade level. The more I push him, the more confidence he has. Sometimes, sitting with him and giving a pep talk works really well to keep him motivated. I discovered on Friday that he passed his general education reading test by only missing one point. I was so excited and felt very accomplished. Another example this week was finding a transition plan for my one student with Autism. Once I figured out that counting to ten in beats worked, transitions became a little more easy. I also spent a large amount of time working with him on sounds for the alphabet. The next day, he surprised me greatly by reading and sounding out words with a first grade level book. I decided to try a few apps on my iPad with him since it appeared he enjoyed working with technology. These lessons worked so well and he was able to practice reading and making words accurately with the -an ending. Another surprise I came across was he correctly completed math problems at the second grade level on the iPad app, Math Splash. Finally, the last surprise I had was during a melt down he had while trying to transition. He was laying on the floor and saw sign language for the alphabet. He then began teaching himself, and I jumped in and helped him. He remembered most of the letters the next day. Pushing this student to transition back into the general education setting has been a challenge but is a great experience, and seems to be working.

Overall, this week showed me believing in your students, and finding creative ways to practice content has been very successful. I've been able to connect with my students better, and gives me more ideas every day for my action research. I am excited to see how my research goes utilizing the iPad in the classroom. The students seem to love when I bring the technology out and they become engaged almost immediately.