tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16782350569872572232023-11-15T07:43:54.209-08:00Abbey Ubinger: Teacher Identity BlogAbbey Ubingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12901334082276911609noreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678235056987257223.post-9776693669337605162014-03-23T10:39:00.000-07:002014-03-23T10:39:58.065-07:00The final days...The final days were completed in my middle school placement. I learned a lot during the past few weeks, especially with having only one full complete week of school. One thing I felt I learned, which I had discovered during my last few days, was that implementing a variety of instructional methods helped support my students in ways that benefited them academically. This week, for example, I implemented a March Madness lesson that continued fractions and began to instruct students on how to complete probability problems while recognizing patterns. I thought that the simple fact the students could relate to the basketball tournament real-life situation, they were motivated to discover the probability of their teams succeeding.<br />
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One struggle I had with some students was to discover ways to keep them motivated and engaged to learn. One student tested this struggle significantly, occasionally stating he would not continue with the work, and would make remarks that would be hurtful to others, including myself. I dealt with this in best way possible by explaining that he needed to treat others the way he would want to be treated or he would not participate in any activity that was fun (which that day was the iPad and he loved using the iPad). I felt defeated this day because I didn't feel I was making a difference to help this student overcome a barrier for learning. However, I learned through communicating with his parent that he had really learned a lot since I had been placed in the classroom, and that I really did make a difference. This truly made my day, and helped me understand my purpose of being in the classroom. Even if I feel I am not making a difference, I actually am. Supporting the students in the classroom is more than just teaching, but to motivate the students in ways that is relevant to them. Sure- homework is not what students want to do, especially if he or she feels it is above their capability. Coming from a student and a teacher perspective, I dislike giving homework as well. However, to help support the students inside and out, they must do the work to practice. I helped the students understand this as I handed their homework out each day. I also felt that sometimes in the classroom, students did not want my help (in the inclusion setting). I felt that the students wanted to ignore my presence especially when I volunteered my time. However, as I walked in the hallways, I had an older student, who exhibited this behavior in the classroom, stop me and tell me that they understood the work well now. These last few days really helped show me that the bad days are not always so bad, and that is why I'm passionate about teaching to all students. I am excited to have reached these students in one way or another, and I will miss being with these students a lot. They will always have a special place in my teaching heart- and will constantly remind me that I am making a difference no matter what.Abbey Ubingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12901334082276911609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678235056987257223.post-74902818765212090292014-03-10T08:29:00.002-07:002014-03-10T08:30:56.758-07:00Week of March 3This is my last full week of full time teaching, and of course there was a snow cancellation. I think in the two-three month span, there was only one full week of school. As a teacher, I know understand why they would only want delays instead of cancellations. However, everyone is in the same situation. During this week, I created lessons in the iPad, and conducted my fraction academic change project. For my academic change project, I had the students record their progress. The three students really liked this because they got to see their improvement and also were more motivated to learn more. Using the iPad for the eighth grader to review basics seemed to work well for him because he was beginning to understand the concept.<br />
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My fifth grade class began adding and subtracting decimals, which I co-taugth with another Intern. This went extremely well! We found an iPad app, where the students unrolled to toilet paper as fast as possible. The students then recorded their time in seconds to the hundredths place value, and added their time with a partner. We then modified it to have them subtract as well. This went so well that the students even asked to play again when we had a few extra minutes on Friday at the end of class. Finding this game, which may have seemed not educational to some, was modified and ended up being more motivating and educational than ever expected. I loved finding this game and implementing it into the lesson. I hope to find more lessons like this in the future!Abbey Ubingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12901334082276911609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678235056987257223.post-34226789523361979872014-03-10T08:18:00.001-07:002014-03-10T08:31:48.181-07:00Week of Feb. 24Once again, the weather never fails to intervene with lessons and learning. During this week, I had planned to begin the 8th grade student on algebraic expressions, and continue with simplifying fractions with the sixth grade students. The mini breaks the students keeps having is making the consistent development difficult because with a weekend break, it feels like I have to review heavily. With the long weekends and/or mini mid-week breaks, I have to work harder to review concepts learned previously. Most of the time, I don't even get to all the activities I plan. While this is frustrating, what am I going to do? Mother Nature does not seem to want to cooperate well.<br />
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On Thursday, Dr. ONeil observed me, and typically, I warn my students before hand that the person is watching me- not them. However, I was so concerned about making up the time we lost, I completely forgot to give them the heads up. I noticed half-way through the lesson that all of the students were more focused on seeing what he was doing, which obviously meant they were not listening to me. I addressed this by having the students introduce themselves, ask who he was, and to inform them he was watching me (not them). After this was addressed, the lesson moved forward. Even with missed time, I felt as if I was able to accomplish what I needed. I thought my lesson with the eighth grader went well because he then followed up with a puzzle placed around them room trying to simplify algebraic expressions. He worked hard, and it was nice to see him work and move around the room instead of the average day of taking notes at his seat. The sixth graders worked hard on simplifying fractions and creating equivalent fractions using the iPad, and other activities that seemed to go well.</div>
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I would love to incorporate more of the iPad, and I try to do so as often as I can. I hope to find more apps that would become engaging for the students. They seem so motivated to work when using the iPad. </div>
Abbey Ubingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12901334082276911609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678235056987257223.post-44334963634532394252014-02-24T13:26:00.000-08:002014-02-24T13:26:51.362-08:00Week of Feb 17This week was a crazy week. One thing that I felt went really well was my lesson on place value. I used arrow cards that really seemed to help all of the students, regardless of their instructional level, understand. I felt that because I incorporated the manipulative, the students really were able to see the real value of a digit based on their location. Instead of the 1 was in the tens value, they were able to tell me that the 1 was really 1 ten, or valued at 10. I also implemented a math puzzle with the place value concept that was on-grade level, and the students seemed to enjoy working on this as a group.<br />
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I also incorporated a strategy that I like to call the students become the teacher. I would have one student go to the board, and explain the process they used to get an answer. The 6th grade class created equivalent fractions using their interactive notebooks for this strategy. I had each student cut out puzzle pieces, and then create an equivalent fraction. Then, I had the students explain how they created the equivalent fractions. The class seemed to enjoy this because they got the chance to go to the chalkboard, and become the teacher essentially.<br />
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One thing I would like to begin to incorporate is using the iPad to enhance skills, since technology is limited in my classroom. The students see me take attendance on the iPad everyday, and I feel that they are itching to use it. They seem more motivated to learn when incorporating any technology, so I would be interested to see how this would work when using for a lesson.Abbey Ubingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12901334082276911609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678235056987257223.post-39542736760624056842014-02-16T17:30:00.001-08:002014-02-16T17:30:12.185-08:00Week...After the snow stormsThis is my first week back with no delays or cancellations (as of today, at least). I decided this week to start my lesson plans I had prepared for way back in January, since all the other work and assessments were finally caught up. The lessons for my fifth grade pull out was long division. My teacher felt that the older middle schoolers could use review for this also, therefore I taught both classes the lesson plan I had prepared. We began class with multiplication review, and discussing their time off. Then, the long division process began. I had the students create interactive notebooks, and one of the students, that is typically unengaged and trying to distract the people around him, was on-task the entire time! This same student told me after the first day how much he enjoyed working with the interactive notebook, and it was much more exciting than the average paper-pencil technique.<br />
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My mentor teacher and I decided that it would be exciting for both classes to keep adding on with the work they will begin after their long division assessment.<br />
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Update: Once again, the assessment was pushed back due to the weather. Snow, snow, go away...Abbey Ubingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12901334082276911609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678235056987257223.post-25736911745037925882014-02-11T17:40:00.001-08:002014-02-11T17:40:43.541-08:00Week Two-FiveWith a few days of teaching, most of the days were snow days. I had planned on beginning teaching my first pull out class of the day, but weather decided otherwise. These past three weeks, I have experienced stress from a two-hour delay schedule, and stress with wondering how the students will retain the information from before the basically three-week vacation. As we begin back in school, even with delays, I wonder how a teacher deals with the stress and how she fixes lesson plans to basically review information students hadn't thought about in many days. In January alone, the students were in school a total of eight days. EIGHT entire days. While weather is out of the hands of any person, I have truly experienced what it feels like to want the snow to be melted away.<br />
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The first day back with students on the last day of January was crazy, chaotic, and difficult to keep students on-task. We had long agendas and students just didn't seem in the groove of things. I hope these crazy, snow delay/cancellations begin to fade, because as a teacher, I had a hard time finding ways to encourage students to keep their mind on learning and off of what the weather would bring us that night.<br />
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Another piece of my teacher experience with special education was how to complete paperwork on time.While I was talking to my mentor teacher during these cancelations, she emphasized the importance of some paperwork that needed completed for the writing assessment with the deadline quickly approaching.<br />
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Finally, during these cold, snowy days, I worried my students were safe, warm and fed. I found myself up late at night during these days hoping they were as warm as possible.<br />
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I must say, I am done with these snow days, and I feel as if we are just in the middle of these storms.Abbey Ubingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12901334082276911609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678235056987257223.post-78264487761056312542014-01-21T12:39:00.000-08:002014-01-21T12:39:59.440-08:00Middle School Week oneDuring my first week in the middle school placement, I found this to be completely opposite of an Elementary School. First, many students are placed for inclusion now, therefore most of my hours are spent in the general education setting. Second, the special education teacher helps all students in the general setting, not just the students in her case load. Finally, I found that switching from class to class and only covering mathematics made the day go much faster, and coming into contact with more students than I came into contact with in my elementary placement. I am interested to see how working in the general education setting will work, since most teachers look to the special education teacher as a helping hand. I am wondering how I can try to push for co-teaching in a different way then one teach one assist method. I am also excited to see how the resource room is different than the elementary resource room. From what I have already observed, the older students are much more independent but still need a lot of guidance in the fundamentals of mathematics.<br />
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I am excited to learn so much this semester and look forward to beginning teaching in a more hands-on approach!Abbey Ubingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12901334082276911609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678235056987257223.post-8502697876056123562013-12-09T16:12:00.001-08:002013-12-09T16:12:21.473-08:0016th and Final week of my InternshipThe start of my final week began with a two hour delay. While growing up I always hoped for delays and cancelations, I found today to be crazy, and chaotic as a teacher. I was constantly having to redirect students, and had a difficult time accomplishing my plans. Some students did not even come for their scheduled pull out due to the change in schedule. I felt completely opposite about the delay than I would have if I were a student. I strongly disliked the change in schedule!<br />
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However, I am super excited for the upcoming week. I have been able to sit in on many IEP meetings as an active participator. I even will be given the chance to run my first meeting on Wednesday. Today, I witnessed an IEP meeting where the parent spoke up and voiced his concern for the change. The team responded well and worked together with the parent to satisfy the concerns and needs. I thought it was interesting that the parent didn't want the team to be upset, and voiced his opinion in a concerned way, instead of a stern way. The team worked together to come up with a new plan of keeping the times that were followed before, and to have an additional meeting in the spring to discuss how things are going in the regular education classroom with the students new assistive technology. I was very impressed with the overall outcome of the meeting, and was pleased that there was no hostile environment mood when a concern was voiced. I hope to conduct my meetings in a similar fashion if I ever was put in this same situation.Abbey Ubingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12901334082276911609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678235056987257223.post-37869140393616058942013-12-06T03:07:00.001-08:002013-12-06T03:07:24.079-08:00week 15 of Intern yearThis week during an IEP meeting for one of my students, the parent began explaining during the math portion of the goals how much more fluent the student had become in math fact fluency. I was very excited because I had been working on this every day to help build his understanding. I felt so excited that I was making a difference. I explained to the parent that the main thing to help build this fluency is using hands on games, such as "I have..Who has..." The student loves participating in this game and even higher leveled students enjoy the game as well because they get to work together and build teamwork. I also told the parent I feel this was occurring because the students were participating in number talks. I try to have the student build the relationships of addition and subtraction by talking about how to get to the answer in a variety of ways. I knew the student was learning this more fluently through timed addition tests, as well as the student's quote during the meeting. Someone on the team had said, "For example, what is 5 + 4," to which the student jumped up and said,<br />
9!" Everyone was tickled with how well he knew the fact, and the parent said this was a huge improvement from just the beginning of the year. It was an amazing feeling to hear that the student made a huge jump in just a small skill that will build the rest of the skills. I also feel that he has learned most effectively through authentic assessments using the Interactive Notebook. I thoroughly enjoy using this assessment in the class because the students don't view the assessment as a test! This was a very exciting meeting for me!Abbey Ubingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12901334082276911609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678235056987257223.post-66564335352723276822013-11-20T19:23:00.000-08:002013-11-20T19:23:10.462-08:00Week 14The week before Thanksgiving is quite the opposite as a teacher vs. a student. I, for once, do not enjoy this week because I am rushing to get everything done and can't just push it back to Monday. The students have also been crazy with behaviors. They are excited for a week off, and to top it all off, they know my time with them is limited. They have all of a sudden taken an interest in everything about me. I am just not being bombarded with questions from my older students, and having them attempt to distract me in every which way. As much as I want to spend that personal time with each student, it is difficult because I have helped them learn so much that I want to keep that going. I am definitely starting to become sad that if I want to see their learning, I have to visit, and not just come in for another day at school. I had one student become sad and full of tears when I said I had two weeks after break left. As much as it hurt me to see the tears, I also felt happiness for seeing that I made such an impact on the student that he was sad to see me go.<br />
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The good news is (and they have yet to realize this) I will still be around and I will still be able to see them grow! My group of students and faculty members have become my family these past few weeks. They have been there for me through a family death, happy times, sad times, sleepy times, and many more. I never imagined my semester ending with a bond for people I grew so fond of. The students not only learned from me, but I learned from them. I learned to listen to what they have to say, even if it might be irrelevant because that may spark an idea to motivate a student to master a skill. I actually did this listening technique this week. I listened to my student week after week talk about this game, Minecraft. Well, I took this into effect this week by implementing a coloring exercise and math facts on a numbers chart. The numbers chart will eventually form into a character from the game. I also am using his passion for the game to teach him repeated addition/multiplication skills. When I said the word mine craft, I had him jump into a seat so fast, I wasn't sure how to react. It was so exciting to see that taking the time to listen ended up being successful for both of us. The student was engaged and I was teaching the student a skill that he is slowly beginning to master. It was a great week in the classroom, and I'm becoming more sad as I realize my time is slowly coming to an end with these amazing students.Abbey Ubingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12901334082276911609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678235056987257223.post-15280567871073342202013-11-17T14:26:00.002-08:002013-11-17T14:26:52.941-08:00Week 13 of Intern YearThe thirteenth week of my Internship has completed, and I have become more sad with the realization that I won't be with these students after a few more short weeks. This past week I had a few "teacher" moments. My one student became sad with tears when he was told that I was leaving soon. I wasn't sure what to do because at the time I didn't know why he was so upset. I had been able to have the student write to me on the board that he was sad that his sister was sick. I thought quick on my feet and had the student make a "get better soon" card for his sister, and I thought for sure that would do the trick.<br />
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Still more tears came as the student finished up. Confused, I began having the student open up to me which then made me realize he was sad I was leaving soon. I had to explain to him that I would be back and I am touched that he enjoyed spending as much time as he had learning how to read. I found myself giving him the opportunity to let him eat in the classroom during our lunches. He loved this opportunity, and I think I will do this again before I leave.<br />
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In addition to this touching moment, I have finished my Inquiry! I have found that the iPad engages students more than I ever expected, and even if the apps are used only for reinforcement of skills, the iPad is a way to keep the students engaged throughout a lesson at the stations. I am excited to reflect on this with my paper.Abbey Ubingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12901334082276911609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678235056987257223.post-19480608225227069532013-11-11T17:57:00.000-08:002013-11-11T17:57:28.947-08:00Week 12Friday afternoon, I had encountered students being dismissed from school, and being welcomed back into the classroom. Those two students were excited to be in the room to learn again, but also wanted to share their stories. On the spot, I thought of a brilliant idea. Writing is something the entire class needs work on, and they are constantly interrupting to tell me something about their days after school. I came up with the idea of allowing the students to write their stories to me in journals, and I would write back.<br />
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That being said, I can kill two birds with one stone by assessing their writing mechanics and making sure they are reminded how to write correct sentences. I hope to see this method through Tuesday and hope this helps increase my time of teaching. I look forward to reading and writing back to gain even more of a relationship with my students. I'm excited to see how this idea plays out.<br />
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Overall, I am sad to see my semester coming to an end. I love doing hands-on activities with my students, and seeing them learn at such great speeds. The students I met in August are taller plants that will just keep on growing!Abbey Ubingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12901334082276911609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678235056987257223.post-30523615886929371052013-11-04T02:17:00.000-08:002013-11-04T02:17:11.226-08:00Intern week 11As my inquiry comes to an end, I have found that the iPad is much more than I anticipated. Upon analyzing pieces of my data, I found that while the iPad is a great reinforcer for skills, the engagement level is high thus making the learning more effective. Students enjoy working on the iPad and if they don't receive a chance during stations, I am constantly being asked if they can go next. I feel that having a set of iPads in the school would be great, similar to the computers. Teachers can find apps that correspond to the common core (I have found many free and paid apps). My favorite and most successful app so far is called Screenchomp. I use this app in the second grade to practice spelling. The students are able to choose a color of their choice, and use their fingers to write out the words. The students seem to enjoy this the most, since typically the spelling station is rewriting their words. I noticed one day that the students would even write the word a few times after discovering their mistakes.<br />
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Last week, I used a comprehension app. I feel that there could be an App out in the iWorld to use for tests on weekly stories yet, but I haven't found it yet. I like this app for my inquiry because there is different levels and genres of books for a second grader. However, I sometimes feel they are more interested in tapping the answers because it is fun instead of finding the correct answer.<br />
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The only negative I have found using this technology is that the teacher must constantly be checking for dead batteries, or app updates. I also had one iPad die completely, i.e. won't even turn on, and that made my four iPads for small group decrease to three. Therefore, I have two students sharing, which is not as effective as individually having iPads. I would recommend using the iPad to any teacher, as it is easy to find an app that enhances the skills being taught, and a majority of the apps are common core aligned!Abbey Ubingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12901334082276911609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678235056987257223.post-90900669041920314372013-10-26T08:05:00.001-07:002013-10-26T08:05:25.748-07:00Intern week 10 <br />
As the weeks fly by, I have overcome many obstacles. One obstacle I have had a rough time jumping over was how to have my one student learn the information consistently, and show that he understands it. I did some research on pinterest and other resources on the internet, and found a great alternative form of assessment. I found an interactive notebook for mathematics that is common core aligned. I was hesitant at first, since I don't have much materials for the student and develop almost everything on my own. However, I decided I would give it a try. All last week, I used the portfolio as a reinforcer to the skills that were taught. Typically, in a regular setting the student could cut and paste the individual pieces to the paper on their own. Due to limitations, I did that already, but the student was able to color and show the work on his own.<br />
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The next problem we will try is moving and glueing different pieces of money down to show his understanding of coin value. This was a great form of assessment because he was able to show that he understood it and didn't get nervous about having a "test." I was so excited to have started such a successful way of assessment. My one concern is that after I finish full time teaching, the student won't continue this form of assessment and not necessarily show how well he is doing at the skills on grade-level. For now, I plan to keep this accumulating and even see if regular education teachers would want to place it in their lessons as a reinforcer. It's a fun, engaging hands-on set of activities, and if the student finishes early, they can color the whole page. Ideally, students won't just be sitting waiting on other students to finish.Abbey Ubingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12901334082276911609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678235056987257223.post-6937176375844641032013-10-22T15:10:00.002-07:002013-10-22T15:10:53.578-07:00Week nine of my intern yearI have become familiar with my relationships with the other personnel in the building. Throughout the day, I am encountered by numerous aids, and regular education teachers. I have found that it is specifically important to collaborate with all of these faculty members for a variety of reasons. I find that collaborating with aids lets the special education teacher know that they know exactly what process to use when helping enhance the learning for students, and what is to be done while in the classroom. The regular education teachers allow me to realize what is happening in the classroom, and exactly what I need to do in order to be on grade level for the students. The regular education teacher can also give me ideas on what books they could suggest, even if the regular education teacher is a different grade level. Discussing with the students' homeroom teacher is important so they know strategies that are implemented in the special education room that can be incorporated in the classroom when being included for inclusion. Collaborating with all faculty members is important for all members of the school, and I noticed when collaborating the aids, and other teachers are appreciative to know what is going on and how students are improving. Supplying teachers and aids with materials helps them stay on the same page as the students, which helps keep everything consistent for students (this is really important for my students from what I have observed).Abbey Ubingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12901334082276911609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678235056987257223.post-11340577718244957242013-10-14T16:44:00.000-07:002013-10-14T16:44:03.688-07:00Week eight of Intern YearAfter the first week of my research was conducted, I observed that the iPad in the classroom had a variety of people motivated. Many teachers confronted me to share the results with them, and the students all seemed to want to attend that station. One group was unable to attend the station, and all members of the group confronted me showing their want to learn with the iPad. After conducted interviews at the end of the week, I observed that the students really enjoyed using the iPad, and I also concluded that the iPad would help enhance the learning by teaching strategies to use while reading, and enforce the strategies using the iPad. A majority of the groups needed minimal redirecting during the stations and on-task.<br />
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So far, my research has been exactly what I expected, and I can't wait to see where it heads in the future.Abbey Ubingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12901334082276911609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678235056987257223.post-2030999040730658002013-10-07T03:11:00.001-07:002013-10-07T03:11:45.787-07:00Week Seven of my Intern YearThis week, I became aware of the classroom interruptions that occur frequently. Unfortunately, it is out of ones hands. In the resource room I am placed, this does affect my teaching because the students are easily distracted. In addition to people coming in and out of the room, I have to deal with the construction occurring outside of the window. I am constantly prompting the students to focus. While I can't remove the construction, I have removed a group of students to the resource room next door. When the students become off-task, I have learned to either go with what is happening, or just redirect their attention. For example, this week the construction was very hard to displace out of mind for the students. Therefore, my teacher gave me the idea to have the students observe what was occurring outside, and then reflect on it/write about it. The kids loved this activity, and were very motivated to write their best. With a little bit of help, the students were able to construct a few sentences. If the classroom becomes too much of a distraction with the constant flow of people in the room, I will remove the students to the room next door, after the other students are told what they are doing that day. This seems to be the most effective, especially because one students' behavior is so high, the student is unable to leave the room. That being said, any therapy the student receives, comes to the room and distracts the others.Abbey Ubingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12901334082276911609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678235056987257223.post-25895759590639114522013-09-30T03:13:00.000-07:002013-09-30T03:13:03.146-07:00Week Six of my Intern YearI participated in my first Eligibility meeting this past week. I was able to meet with one of my students parents' and discuss what we have been doing in the classroom. This entire meeting was exactly what I expected, and the parents seemed to be very supportive of their child, as well as what we are doing in school. I was able to tell the parents my transition plan I have begun with the student, and what I plan to implement in the upcoming weeks. I felt super excited to hear that the parents wanted any thing to be sent home to implement at home as well. I felt after the meeting that I am doing a good thing for the student, and helping the student strive for more. I also became aware that the student loves coming to school, even if misbehavior is high that day. The mother explained how he runs to the car every morning. After reflecting with my mentor teacher, I felt this was very exciting news because that is the first step in transitioning the child to the regular ed classroom. I have high hopes that this student will eventually transition to the classroom with an Aid, mainly because the parents are helping support what we implement at school in their home. The next step is writing the IEP and goals for the student. I look forward to this next step!Abbey Ubingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12901334082276911609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678235056987257223.post-81281320938104483052013-09-20T03:27:00.002-07:002013-09-20T03:27:22.665-07:00Week Five of my Intern YearThis week, I made a few discoveries towards my research. I downloaded a few apps on my iPad to use in a different class from where I plan to implement my research. I had a Kindergarten student use the iPad to work on phonics. Within two days, my one student completed the entire unit, and once reviewing the endings (i.e. "-ap," "-an," etc.), I observed that what he learned was retained. I had him review the endings by utilizing magnet letters to build the same words. Every word I instructed him to build, he did correctly and pronounced the word correctly. The app is built to build/spell words, and gives the audio pronunciation for the child to hear. This seemed to work well, and the student enjoyed working on this application. I plan to use similar, but a different application and can't wait to see how this plays out in the classroom with different ability levels.<br />
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I also made progress with the transition plan I began implementing. Halfway through the week, I decided the student was ready to take the next step. From the beginning, the student was to go to the regular education room, move his name to hot lunch, or cold lunch, say hello, and leave. The next step we took was to sit in the seat he was assigned to, and complete an activity. He did very well with this step and left with no problem at all. My mentor teacher and I were very excited! Finally, I implemented a spelling lesson plan with my second grade students to practice using a variety of letters. For example, magnet letters, wipe off boards, bean bag letters, or paper cut letters. I had one student come up to me and ask me if we were going to do that activity again, and explained it was a lot of fun. I noticed that using hands-on activities with students with disabilities is a great way to help them learn/retain the information. I plan to create more creative lessons where they individually build, and repeat the spellings for them. I also created a lesson for the same students for mathematics. Instead of eating their snack, I used their snack to practice addition and subtraction. Once the student subtracted the correct number of snacks, they were allowed to eat them. This gave the students motivation to correctly spell in order to eat the snack. I'm having so much fun making creative hands-on activities, and while I can manipulate to make the lessons better, my first try typically works.<br />
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My last thing I want to reflect on is my first differentiated station lessons in the regular education class. Each station was designed around second grade CSOs and the Johnny Appleseed Unit. My students loved the stations and I even reflected after the first day, and adjusted two stations to meet their needs. Instead of plain worksheets for those two stations (we did the first day), I took those stations and created games with foam cut outs. I also incorporated a science station and they made apple cycle trees. The stations were fun, and the behavior was okay, but could be better. I wonder if going over correct behaviors as a class would help. I know second grade is just beginning to go over these correct behaviors, so it may take a while to adjust to.Abbey Ubingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12901334082276911609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678235056987257223.post-72656420865434884652013-09-15T11:34:00.001-07:002013-09-15T11:35:04.332-07:00week fourDuring 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.<br />
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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. </div>
Abbey Ubingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12901334082276911609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678235056987257223.post-66956783730586719242013-09-09T01:15:00.001-07:002013-11-04T02:17:44.144-08:00week 3 of my intern yearAfter reviewing my portfolio with my mentor teacher, we discussed what I felt was great aspects I included. I felt that a great strength was the variety of examples I included, and it showed the effort I put into each project. My teacher said that she loved that I could use these projects and implement them into my instruction. She also said she really enjoyed my CHPR unit because I could effectively implement this into a resource room for students that don't have those general skills. She especially liked that the worksheets for the unit plan were already included.<br />
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I think for my year five portfolio, I will use pieces of my education experience that reflect my educational philosophy, just like my fourth year portfolio. My research I plan to conduct will also be a great piece for my portfolio because I am centering it around my philosophy by implementing technology. I also plan to use videos that show my creative lessons and variety of techniques that attempt to reach all learning types. Making sure my lessons are diverse is important to me, even if that means that some lessons may fail by bringing in new ideas to the classroom.Abbey Ubingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12901334082276911609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678235056987257223.post-53138621741903439942013-09-02T11:37:00.000-07:002013-09-02T11:37:18.114-07:00Week Two of Intern YearMy second week of my internship went really well! We began pulling students out of the classroom after finalizing the schedule for special education services. During the inclusion settings, I began to get to know the students better, and adjusted to the different classroom routines. In the mornings, I am in a second grade classroom for Mathematics and Reading. I am also in a fourth grade class for Reading. In the afternoons, I am in the resource room with four students for reading. I was able to conduct a baseline test for the students site words. At the beginning of the week, one student struggled with pre-primer words, and I implemented a reward system to motivate the student. By Friday, the student missed less than five words and improved drastically. I'm so excited to work with this student this semester to help him get to grade level.<br />
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I am beginning to get ideas on what to do for my research, which will be conducted in an inclusion setting at the second grade level. I was able to go over time, the calendar, and money. I was able to connect these items to real-life and help students at different stations. Overall, I am looking forward to working with these teachers and students all semester.<br />
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I also found out this week that one of the special education teacher positions was filled, and I am excited to see/meet this teacher because she is from California. This semester has been so far so good.Abbey Ubingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12901334082276911609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678235056987257223.post-21210921225137701102013-08-25T16:19:00.003-07:002013-09-02T11:31:22.356-07:00Week One of Intern YearDuring my first week of interning at Bruceton School, I observed how teachers prepared for the school year. I had many obstacles leading up to this week, including receiving a new host mentor teacher. I adjusted well and quickly as I sat through professional developments and staff meetings. I was surprised to see how informational the meetings were, discussing all the policies and changes that would be occurring. Unfortunately, many teachers at my PDS are severely disappointed with some of the changes and I was able to see how the teachers collaborated with the principal to make best of the new school day changes. It was interesting to see ideas bounced around to find a solution that was best for the students.<br />
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One thing that I learned that will benefit me during my education career was how to create a schedule for the special education resource room. I was able to help create the schedule and found it was much more challenging than I anticipated, but eventually I accomplished the mission and figured out the schedule. During the first two days of school with students, I witnessed how the teachers went over classroom rules and routines. I thought this was a great experience so I knew how to do this when I had my own classroom. Having the students get use to the schedule and routine is definitely crucial so they know what to expect throughout the year. I loved getting to know the students during these days, especially the students in the classrooms I will be conducting inclusion in. Overall, this first week was a great experience and I'm glad I was able to see how typical preparation days were conducted with the staff, as well as setting up the classroom and routines with the students.Abbey Ubingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12901334082276911609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678235056987257223.post-51675513925618843612013-04-22T12:26:00.000-07:002013-04-22T12:26:02.206-07:00The inquiry celebration on April 19th was very informative and helpful in guiding me on what to do during my own internship. I learned a lot about the different reading techniques you could implement into the classroom also. The first thing I learned about was literacy workstations, which I also learned in education 461. I found this presentation very useful because I was able to see the different techniques used in the workstations and how it kept the students engaged. I think that I would use this during my internship year because it gives the teacher a chance to individualize instruction, while giving students the responsibility of finishing the work given for that day. I also found that the inquiry taught me about literature circles, which seemed to be effective in understanding text. I am not sure I would use this in my internship year, but seemed like a good idea to implement if I could get a better understanding of how this worked. Each presentation I saw was helpful in seeing what the interns did during their action research and how they gathered data on a set amount of students and their learning. The presentations also helped guide my thinking for my action research to gain a general sense in how to map out my research to gather the appropriate data, thus creating a visualization of a timeline.<br />
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During my second session, I learned all about positive discipline that is implemented at East Park Elementary. I found it very useful hearing about how to discipline a student positively and that it shows effective results in the number of referrals students receive. Being a special education specialization, I have to understand that discipline is going to be a major part of my classroom, and implementing discipline in a positive way will help keep the students in the classroom and engaged. I find it hard sometimes to keep my tone in a positive voice when students misbehave, and seeing the different strategies that are used was helpful. For example, the wheel of choice seemed like a great technique to implement into the classroom because it gives the student a choice on how to react to a situation or how to behave appropriately. I also learned that using simple things such as keeping down time to a minimum and keeping a consistent routine helps minimize misbehavior. As we have learned this in multiple classes, the presentation showed me and enhanced what I was learning that these simple elements are crucial pieces and helps the overall classroom environment.<br />
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Overall, I felt that the Inquiry celebration was very useful and I learned a lot about different techniques to use in the classroom to keep the student engagement high. I felt that the celebration also helped me better understand what I will be doing next year as an intern, and gave me a general idea on what I may want to do within my classroom. I enjoyed the presentations, and while the PDS presentation on positive discipline was helpful, I wish I had signed up and participated in other intern presentations to see what type of research they conducted and other techniques I could use next year.Abbey Ubingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12901334082276911609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678235056987257223.post-85094202793239784732013-03-08T07:06:00.002-08:002013-03-08T07:06:48.854-08:00Characteristics of a Novice Teacher #1 and #2The first characteristic of being a novice teacher I chose was characteristic number one, which states a novice teacher should have a commitment to and skills for life long learning. I believe this characteristic means that a teacher should always be willing to grow and learn throughout their career, and to never stop at a dead end. Teachers should never look at a lesson and think that the lesson was fine and can not be improved. That being said, an artifact that could be closely connected to this characteristic would be the website Pinterest. The education category on Pinterest displays unlimited resources that could be used in the classroom to enhance the learning for a student in fun, unique ways that teachers have already previously tried. If a lesson hadn't worked in the past, or the students seemed disinterested, a teacher can turn to this page and see what other ideas teachers across the nation, or world used. This helps a teacher grow because even if they only use an idea from the website, the teacher is still learning and growing to become a better teacher for the students, as well as the teacher themselves. Pinterest also connects to this characteristic by giving and receiving ideas for lessons that may have not be thought of before, but was successful in the classroom.<div>
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The second characteristic of being a novice teacher I chose was characteristic number two, which states that a novice teacher should be an effective communicator. The main idea of this characteristic is that the teacher should be communicating with all people involved in the education world, whether it be the other teachers of a team, the administration, the students, the parents, or even the community. Without effective communication, there could be a misunderstanding, which could effect the students at one point in their life. The artifact I chose for this characteristic that connects well is parent/teacher newsletters. I have seen this used in classrooms at my PDS semester after semester, and it's a great way to let the parents know what is going on for that week. For example, when I began in my class this semester, my students were allowed to eat a snack and a few students brought in peanut butter the first day I was there. Being that I'm severely allergic, I informed my teacher and she sent the memo in the following newsletter to not send peanuts/tree nuts on the days I was there. Had the effective communication not been there through the newsletter, I could have been placed in a situation that would have been unavoidable and dangerous. The newsletters also help effectively communicate to parents what lessons are going to be learned, and if it's a complex concept, the teacher could include how to complete the concept (especially in Math) in the correct way to help the students at home. Being an effective communicator to everyone involved in the educational system is important for many reasons, and without the communication, those people involved would never know what was happening in the students' life. </div>
Abbey Ubingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12901334082276911609noreply@blogger.com2