I had the incredible opportunity to spend 20 hours in the K-2 learning support classroom at South Butler Primary School. I loved everything about this experience. One of my favorite parts of the school was the welcoming culture. From the first moment I walked in the doors, I felt welcomed by all of the staff. The hallways are decorated to look like a city, with the classrooms as houses. I found this very fitting, because being inside the classrooms truly felt like being welcomed into a family. This is an experience I will always treasure, and it inspired me to make sure that my future students feel as welcome in my classroom as I did in South Butler Primary School.
I learned many things in this experience, but my biggest overall takeaway relates to the quote at the top of this page. Ignacio Estrada says, "If a child can't learn the way we teach, maybe we should teach the way they learn." I have noticed that many people hold the view that if a child cannot learn in a particular way, there is something wrong with the child. Many teachers have a set way of teaching that they have found most students are successful with. When a student does not learn that way, instead of presenting the information in a different way, some teachers will just assume that the child is not capable of learning the material. This is especially true if the child has already been labeled with a special education label. This is so sad, because as I saw in this field experience, the children are often very capable. As I worked with the students in the learning support classroom, I quickly discovered how much they know. They all have many strengths. This became most apparent to me when the students practiced a play for me. I knew that the students struggled with reading, and I knew that often when they read, it is choppy and does not have much inflection. When they were acting out a play, however, the students' reading came to life! They all read with inflection, they read fluently, and they had so much fun doing it. After the play, I had to review sight words with a student, and he returned to the bored and choppy voice that his other teachers know him for. I realized in this moment the importance of teaching students in a way that works for them. This student did not have success reading typical passages, but given an opportunity to act out his reading, he soared.
One of the best ways to teach students in the way that works for them is Universal Design for Learning (UDL). At the end of this field experience, COVID-19 struck. To finish the hours that I could not complete in the classroom, I did several trainings online. One of these was an IRIS training on accommodations and modifications. I learned many things in that training, but one of the topics was UDL. UDL means that teachers provide multiple means of representation, multiple means of action/expression, and multiple means of engagement. When I taught a lesson for the students in this class, I included these ideas. For example, when the students were doing a worksheet on adjectives, my goal was for the students to be able to use adjectives to describe a noun. To practice this, I provided the opportunity to write or draw responses. Many of the students struggle to write, and since my goal was not for them to write the adjectives, I allowed them to show me what they knew through drawing. I did encourage the students to both write and draw their responses for practice writing, but I checked either writing or drawing when assessing their work. In the IRIS training, I learned about the 4 different categories of accommodations. The 4 categories are:
In addition to the IRIS training, I was able to supplement my learning in this field experience by an edWeb webinar about small group instruction. I chose this webinar because in this field experience, I worked with the students in small groups. One of my biggest takeaways from the webinar was the difference between just-in-case scaffolds and just-in-time scaffolds. Just-in-case scaffolds are given to the student before a struggle occurs to remind them of an important idea before they need to use it. Just-in-time scaffolds are scaffolds that are provided in the moment, when the student needs to know them. Just-in-time scaffolds are more authentic for students and they help them to deeply understand the material. When thinking about my experience in the learning support classroom, I can see the benefit of just-in-time scaffolds. One of the students I worked with really struggles with memorization. Therefore, if we only provide just-in-case scaffolds, we will always need to provide them because he will not remember them for long. Using just-in-time scaffolds, however, would be more effective because he would not look at them as something he needs to memorize, but as a way of working through a problem. After viewing this webinar, I am going to be much more conscious of using just-in-time scaffolds instead of just-in-case scaffolds.
During the school closure, I was able to connect with the classroom at South Butler virtually. I was able to send in videos of me reading to the students and explore their google classroom. I enjoyed reading to the students because it allowed for a virtual connection. As I thought deeper about the application of sending recorded read-alouds to students, I think it is something I want to do even when we return to face-to-face interactions. Often, the students who struggle the most with reading do not get to enjoy reading at home. They struggle to read, and their parents may not be able to read to them. It has been shown that if students have a good model for reading, it can help improve their own reading. Therefore, sending recorded readings to families can allow a love for books and reading to permeate homes that may not experience reading for fun. Google classroom has been a great form of connection during the pandemic. It allows the students to connect with teachers, connect with each other, and complete their work. Hopefully, we will not have another pandemic. However, we will have students who have to work from home for medical reasons. In those cases, google classroom could be a beneficial tool. Google classroom is easy to use and has a lot of features that allow students to feel like a part of the classroom from wherever they are, which could mean the world to a student who has to miss a lot of school.
This was a very unique field experience for me. I learned so much from the teachers and the students at South Butler Primary School. After this experience, I truly understand the importance of teaching all students in a way that works for them. We must presume competence of all students, and if students are not learning, before assuming it is a problem with the student, we should make sure that we are teaching in a way that works for the student. While I may have missed out on some hours in the classroom, I was thankfully able to supplement my learning with online resources. I am incredibly thankful for this entire field experience and how it has helped shape me as a teacher.
I learned many things in this experience, but my biggest overall takeaway relates to the quote at the top of this page. Ignacio Estrada says, "If a child can't learn the way we teach, maybe we should teach the way they learn." I have noticed that many people hold the view that if a child cannot learn in a particular way, there is something wrong with the child. Many teachers have a set way of teaching that they have found most students are successful with. When a student does not learn that way, instead of presenting the information in a different way, some teachers will just assume that the child is not capable of learning the material. This is especially true if the child has already been labeled with a special education label. This is so sad, because as I saw in this field experience, the children are often very capable. As I worked with the students in the learning support classroom, I quickly discovered how much they know. They all have many strengths. This became most apparent to me when the students practiced a play for me. I knew that the students struggled with reading, and I knew that often when they read, it is choppy and does not have much inflection. When they were acting out a play, however, the students' reading came to life! They all read with inflection, they read fluently, and they had so much fun doing it. After the play, I had to review sight words with a student, and he returned to the bored and choppy voice that his other teachers know him for. I realized in this moment the importance of teaching students in a way that works for them. This student did not have success reading typical passages, but given an opportunity to act out his reading, he soared.
One of the best ways to teach students in the way that works for them is Universal Design for Learning (UDL). At the end of this field experience, COVID-19 struck. To finish the hours that I could not complete in the classroom, I did several trainings online. One of these was an IRIS training on accommodations and modifications. I learned many things in that training, but one of the topics was UDL. UDL means that teachers provide multiple means of representation, multiple means of action/expression, and multiple means of engagement. When I taught a lesson for the students in this class, I included these ideas. For example, when the students were doing a worksheet on adjectives, my goal was for the students to be able to use adjectives to describe a noun. To practice this, I provided the opportunity to write or draw responses. Many of the students struggle to write, and since my goal was not for them to write the adjectives, I allowed them to show me what they knew through drawing. I did encourage the students to both write and draw their responses for practice writing, but I checked either writing or drawing when assessing their work. In the IRIS training, I learned about the 4 different categories of accommodations. The 4 categories are:
- Presentation accommodations
- Examples: pre-highlighted notes, enlarged text, graphic organizers, etc.
- Response accommodations
- Examples: speech-to-text, responding via pictures, responding orally, etc.
- Scheduling/timing accommodations
- Examples: extended time, allowing tests to be taken when the student is most productive, etc.
- Setting accommodations
- Examples: preferential seating, alternative testing location, etc.
In addition to the IRIS training, I was able to supplement my learning in this field experience by an edWeb webinar about small group instruction. I chose this webinar because in this field experience, I worked with the students in small groups. One of my biggest takeaways from the webinar was the difference between just-in-case scaffolds and just-in-time scaffolds. Just-in-case scaffolds are given to the student before a struggle occurs to remind them of an important idea before they need to use it. Just-in-time scaffolds are scaffolds that are provided in the moment, when the student needs to know them. Just-in-time scaffolds are more authentic for students and they help them to deeply understand the material. When thinking about my experience in the learning support classroom, I can see the benefit of just-in-time scaffolds. One of the students I worked with really struggles with memorization. Therefore, if we only provide just-in-case scaffolds, we will always need to provide them because he will not remember them for long. Using just-in-time scaffolds, however, would be more effective because he would not look at them as something he needs to memorize, but as a way of working through a problem. After viewing this webinar, I am going to be much more conscious of using just-in-time scaffolds instead of just-in-case scaffolds.
During the school closure, I was able to connect with the classroom at South Butler virtually. I was able to send in videos of me reading to the students and explore their google classroom. I enjoyed reading to the students because it allowed for a virtual connection. As I thought deeper about the application of sending recorded read-alouds to students, I think it is something I want to do even when we return to face-to-face interactions. Often, the students who struggle the most with reading do not get to enjoy reading at home. They struggle to read, and their parents may not be able to read to them. It has been shown that if students have a good model for reading, it can help improve their own reading. Therefore, sending recorded readings to families can allow a love for books and reading to permeate homes that may not experience reading for fun. Google classroom has been a great form of connection during the pandemic. It allows the students to connect with teachers, connect with each other, and complete their work. Hopefully, we will not have another pandemic. However, we will have students who have to work from home for medical reasons. In those cases, google classroom could be a beneficial tool. Google classroom is easy to use and has a lot of features that allow students to feel like a part of the classroom from wherever they are, which could mean the world to a student who has to miss a lot of school.
This was a very unique field experience for me. I learned so much from the teachers and the students at South Butler Primary School. After this experience, I truly understand the importance of teaching all students in a way that works for them. We must presume competence of all students, and if students are not learning, before assuming it is a problem with the student, we should make sure that we are teaching in a way that works for the student. While I may have missed out on some hours in the classroom, I was thankfully able to supplement my learning with online resources. I am incredibly thankful for this entire field experience and how it has helped shape me as a teacher.
Here are links to view my read-aloud videos!
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1z8mhtgR5DRo9Tc9YuIbLVtXo7VjQTSA3
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1mIu22-zVzlBjGlKw393ZpRVpPf5GZxkA
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1z8mhtgR5DRo9Tc9YuIbLVtXo7VjQTSA3
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1mIu22-zVzlBjGlKw393ZpRVpPf5GZxkA