Week 13 of Intern Year

The 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.

Wrong.

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.

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.

Week 12

Friday 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.

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.

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!

Intern week 11

As 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.

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.

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!

Intern week 10

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.

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.

Week nine of my intern year

I 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).

Week eight of Intern Year

After 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.

So far, my research has been exactly what I expected, and I can't wait to see where it heads in the future.

Week Seven of my Intern Year

This 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.