My first day at my special education placement will not be until Tuesday, February 19, 2013. In preparation for this placement, on Wednesday, February 6, 2013, I went to visit the school and to meet the students. Since I did not call ahead of time, I was not aware that my assigned class was on a field trip to Rutgers. The visit to the school was not a total waste as I had an opportunity to meet the school principal Michelle Adubato.
My meeting with Michelle (all staff are referred to by their first name even the students call staff by their first name) was interesting. She and I met for what I have referred to as an impromptu interview. She asked me about my professional background, my definition of teaching, and my experience in my current placement. She even wanted to know what I new about her school (glad I had been doing some research on the school).
Our 15 minute meeting concluded with a discussion about clarity from our text The Skillful Teacher. Michelle stated that she is great fan of the book and that she often refers to the book when working with her staff. She explained that she is a very hands on principal and that she always expects excellence from her staff.
I am glad that I stopped by the school but the impromptu interview/visit did nothing to quiet my nerves or the anxiety I am feeling. I am confident that I will learn a great deal about working with such a fragile population but I have many questions.
I will be working with students who are in grades 7 and 8 but are developmentally on a pre-school/kindergarten level. I can not help but wonder what were the children like before coming to Regional Day? Did the children receive early intervention services? Did the children fall through the cracks? Is a self-contained class in a self contained school the best educational environment for this population? What will the future hold for this population? Will I be able to assist in their growth and development?
These are just a few of my questions I hope to have answered over the next five months. I am looking forward to adding additional tools to my toolbox and I am looking forward to the challenge of working with the label of PDD. A label what is in a label??????????????????????????????
Saturday, February 9, 2013
New Placement, New Learning
I was not looking forward to leaving my classroom at Ridge Street School. I developed a wonderful professional and personal relationship with my mentor, and I grew to love the students in my classroom. I believe that they know how much I care about them, and are confident that I valued each of them for who they are as individuals for the time I was with them. I wasn't sure I would be able to walk into a completely different placement in the middle of the year and feel as part of the classroom. Especially since there would also be three aides whose presence would surely alter the dynamic of my relationship with both my new mentor and students.
When I started my new placement last Monday, I did not know what to expect. Sure, I had spent time getting to know my mentor when I observed her class last year, but my purposes for being there would be very different this time around. I wouldn't just be observing and helping out, I would be taking on all the responsibilities of a teacher for the remainder of the school year. I wondered how well my sudden presence would be received.
After spending 4 days in my new placement, I have come to realize a few things. First, I will have to make some adjustments. I have to develop a different kind of relationship with my new mentor because she is a different person, and the needs of the students in her classroom are different than in my previous placement. Change is good, and I am at the point in the residency where I do not need as much support as I did 5 months ago. The timing is just right for me. I know I have a steep learning curve. There are new strategies, materials, techniques, websites and procedures I will have to learn about and use on a daily basis. Perhaps most important of all, I know I will grow to love this new group of students just like I did at my old school. Every day that I come back, I sense them opening up to me more and growing aware that I am going to be a permanent fixture in the classroom. It will take time to develop these relationships, and I just have to remind myself that everything did not fall into place instantly in my last placement.
I am excited about what the next 5 months will bring. I know I will learn a great deal and push my practice to new levels. I am also someone who will bring new ideas and ways of doing things that I have gathered during my time in the residency. I am confident that I will a well-rounded resident who is ready to become an effective teacher of record.
When I started my new placement last Monday, I did not know what to expect. Sure, I had spent time getting to know my mentor when I observed her class last year, but my purposes for being there would be very different this time around. I wouldn't just be observing and helping out, I would be taking on all the responsibilities of a teacher for the remainder of the school year. I wondered how well my sudden presence would be received.
After spending 4 days in my new placement, I have come to realize a few things. First, I will have to make some adjustments. I have to develop a different kind of relationship with my new mentor because she is a different person, and the needs of the students in her classroom are different than in my previous placement. Change is good, and I am at the point in the residency where I do not need as much support as I did 5 months ago. The timing is just right for me. I know I have a steep learning curve. There are new strategies, materials, techniques, websites and procedures I will have to learn about and use on a daily basis. Perhaps most important of all, I know I will grow to love this new group of students just like I did at my old school. Every day that I come back, I sense them opening up to me more and growing aware that I am going to be a permanent fixture in the classroom. It will take time to develop these relationships, and I just have to remind myself that everything did not fall into place instantly in my last placement.
I am excited about what the next 5 months will bring. I know I will learn a great deal and push my practice to new levels. I am also someone who will bring new ideas and ways of doing things that I have gathered during my time in the residency. I am confident that I will a well-rounded resident who is ready to become an effective teacher of record.
First week in PreK
Walking into McKinley for my new SPED placement was familiar and exciting. Ms Guzman has been wonderful at introducing me to their routines and procedures, while allowing me to explore the classroom and the students on my own as well. It is a vastly different environment from my last placement. Nieves's 3rd grade class at Abington was home to 28 students with one full time aid. My new class consists of 10 students...9 boys and 1 girl, all ranging between the ages of 3 and 5. There are 2 aids that are in the classroom full time.
The variance in student ability is astounding, with several students reading, communicating and questioning, while others are competely non verbal and have yet to be potty trained. It has become quite evident that while there is certainly time carve out for group lessons and shared learning experiences, the majority of instruction happens on a one on one level. As we all learned in our previous Pre K placements, the Creative Curriculum is designed to offer instruction through play time. During that time is when most of the teaching happens. Ms. Guzman is fabulous at circling the room and scaffolding each childs playtime experience with prompting and questioning that meets them each at their own level.
There is also a large discrepancy between the invovement levels of the students parents. Some are in the classroom regularly, and bringn classroom treats and goodies for all. Others have a hard time remembering to pick their children up, and refraining from arriving (I believe) under the influence of narcotics. What the children share is their excitement for being in the classroom. As a mom of toddlers, I can appreciate the wonder that the PreK classrooms in Newark hold for young minds. There is so much to do and for them to explore. Shelves and shelves of puzzles and blocks, pretend areas and science discoveries. There is enough in the classroom to keep them busy all day long, and yet I find that they all find comfort in one or two areas alone.
I am interested to see how the remainder of the year unfolds for me in my new placement. Several of the students have already taken a strong connection with me, and Ms. Guzman feels that I have already progressed some of their learning in the short time that I have been there. It will be an adjustment for me coming from the third grade. While chatting with Evan at Seminar, I told him that I hadnt really taught a lesson yet. He replied..."Theres always time for a read aloud!", to which I responded that I had probably done more than a dozen in the three days that I was there. This got me thinking. In addition to the read alouds, I had colored, played pretend, built with blocks, painted, sang songs, and led a dancing congo line through the classroom, all while asking questions, responding to inquiry and modeling social interaction. Now, again, as a mom, this is just a typical Saturday afternoon for me. But to a Prek aged child, this is indeed the way they acquire information. I guess I did teach a few lessons after all :-)
The variance in student ability is astounding, with several students reading, communicating and questioning, while others are competely non verbal and have yet to be potty trained. It has become quite evident that while there is certainly time carve out for group lessons and shared learning experiences, the majority of instruction happens on a one on one level. As we all learned in our previous Pre K placements, the Creative Curriculum is designed to offer instruction through play time. During that time is when most of the teaching happens. Ms. Guzman is fabulous at circling the room and scaffolding each childs playtime experience with prompting and questioning that meets them each at their own level.
There is also a large discrepancy between the invovement levels of the students parents. Some are in the classroom regularly, and bringn classroom treats and goodies for all. Others have a hard time remembering to pick their children up, and refraining from arriving (I believe) under the influence of narcotics. What the children share is their excitement for being in the classroom. As a mom of toddlers, I can appreciate the wonder that the PreK classrooms in Newark hold for young minds. There is so much to do and for them to explore. Shelves and shelves of puzzles and blocks, pretend areas and science discoveries. There is enough in the classroom to keep them busy all day long, and yet I find that they all find comfort in one or two areas alone.
I am interested to see how the remainder of the year unfolds for me in my new placement. Several of the students have already taken a strong connection with me, and Ms. Guzman feels that I have already progressed some of their learning in the short time that I have been there. It will be an adjustment for me coming from the third grade. While chatting with Evan at Seminar, I told him that I hadnt really taught a lesson yet. He replied..."Theres always time for a read aloud!", to which I responded that I had probably done more than a dozen in the three days that I was there. This got me thinking. In addition to the read alouds, I had colored, played pretend, built with blocks, painted, sang songs, and led a dancing congo line through the classroom, all while asking questions, responding to inquiry and modeling social interaction. Now, again, as a mom, this is just a typical Saturday afternoon for me. But to a Prek aged child, this is indeed the way they acquire information. I guess I did teach a few lessons after all :-)
Friday, February 8, 2013
Reflection: First Week of Sped Placement
I did not really know what to expect going into this new placement. I was extremely sad to be leaving the Abington community, my mentor and my students in a place where I felt completely comfortable and essentially being dropped into a new setting in the middle of the year. I was also pretty nervous and anxious after hearing some not so great things about the area from numerous people. Even though I had met my mentor last Thursday, I didn't exactly know how to read her which left me rather apprehensive about approaching her. When meeting her, she told me that her aides are somewhat territorial, which definitely didn't help my case of nerves.
When I walked in on Monday, I kind of just sat back and got my bearings. It was busy from the moment that the students walked into the room. Since they are in Pre-k, the first thing that they did was go to the bathroom. As a matter of fact, we spend a lot of time going to the bathroom throughout the day. We have 9 students (8 boys and 1 girl), 4 of which are nonverbal and a set of twins. There are also 3 aides in the room along with my mentor. Two are personal aides and the other is the standard classroom aide. I actually get along well with all of them, which is helpful. There are just a lot of people in one room with only 9 students which takes a lot of getting used to.
By Tuesday and Wednesday, some of the children were saying my name, laughing with me and actually acknowledging my presence which definitely eased some of my nerves and concerns about fitting into the classroom. My mentor explained to me that she had just gotten about half of the students 3 weeks ago so we're all learning together, which is very reassuring.
I taught my first small group lesson on Wednesday. I worked with the verbal students on writing the letter B. They are able to identify it and tell me things that start with the letter B but have not mastered writing it yet. We used instant jello POWDER on wax paper and the students traced it over and over again using their fingers. We repeated "straight line, fat belly, another fat belly" over and over. It was very interesting to watch them use their little fingers to make the letter.
I'm looking forward to the next couple of months in this placement. I think that there is a lot that I can learn especially in the areas of differentiation and the importance of documentation. I'm also going to be working on implementing PECs into the classroom so that is something that I am definitely excited about. Coming from 3rd grade to pre-k and going from teaching fractions to the letter B will take some getting used to, but I'm ready for it.
When I walked in on Monday, I kind of just sat back and got my bearings. It was busy from the moment that the students walked into the room. Since they are in Pre-k, the first thing that they did was go to the bathroom. As a matter of fact, we spend a lot of time going to the bathroom throughout the day. We have 9 students (8 boys and 1 girl), 4 of which are nonverbal and a set of twins. There are also 3 aides in the room along with my mentor. Two are personal aides and the other is the standard classroom aide. I actually get along well with all of them, which is helpful. There are just a lot of people in one room with only 9 students which takes a lot of getting used to.
By Tuesday and Wednesday, some of the children were saying my name, laughing with me and actually acknowledging my presence which definitely eased some of my nerves and concerns about fitting into the classroom. My mentor explained to me that she had just gotten about half of the students 3 weeks ago so we're all learning together, which is very reassuring.
I taught my first small group lesson on Wednesday. I worked with the verbal students on writing the letter B. They are able to identify it and tell me things that start with the letter B but have not mastered writing it yet. We used instant jello POWDER on wax paper and the students traced it over and over again using their fingers. We repeated "straight line, fat belly, another fat belly" over and over. It was very interesting to watch them use their little fingers to make the letter.
I'm looking forward to the next couple of months in this placement. I think that there is a lot that I can learn especially in the areas of differentiation and the importance of documentation. I'm also going to be working on implementing PECs into the classroom so that is something that I am definitely excited about. Coming from 3rd grade to pre-k and going from teaching fractions to the letter B will take some getting used to, but I'm ready for it.
First Week SPED
It's difficult to put into writing my thoughts about my new placements, especially after only being there for four days. We are all in a transition period; we have said goodbye to our old placement and students and have embarked on the final placement of our 18 month journey. I'm sure everyone has had to make adjustments this week and will continue to do so throughout our SPED placements.
After hearing about my placement, I was looking forward to the next five months. I was thrilled to be working alongside a resource teacher with a wonderful reputation that pushed into two rooms. I was going to get to see two different inclusion classrooms, participate in IEP meetings for a variety of students K-5, and be part of joint-planning sessions for different grade levels. I thought my placement was a dream come true... Fast forward a few hours and my mentor quit the program and a replacement mentor was found. I'm not ashamed to say that I was extremely disappointed and broken-hearted. Even while I write this I'm am upset. In the short 44ish hours I had my initial placement, I was able to vividly envision an awesome learning environment, jam-packed with quality teaching and learning opportunities for me and my new students.
Despite my disappointment I went into my first day (Monday) with an open mind. (I guess I had to since I never got to meet my teacher before walking in that day.) The classroom consists of four students (1 girl, 3 boys), a "classroom aide," and my teacher. In the four days I have been there one day one student was absent, and another day two students were out. It is interesting to be in a classroom fro an entire day with a teacher, an aide, a resident, and two students (one of which is non-verbal). It's even more interesting when one of the students gets pulled to do Wilson...
I have concerns about my placement, but I'm trying to look on the bright side of things. I'm unsure what the rest of the semester will be like, but it will be an experience.
After hearing about my placement, I was looking forward to the next five months. I was thrilled to be working alongside a resource teacher with a wonderful reputation that pushed into two rooms. I was going to get to see two different inclusion classrooms, participate in IEP meetings for a variety of students K-5, and be part of joint-planning sessions for different grade levels. I thought my placement was a dream come true... Fast forward a few hours and my mentor quit the program and a replacement mentor was found. I'm not ashamed to say that I was extremely disappointed and broken-hearted. Even while I write this I'm am upset. In the short 44ish hours I had my initial placement, I was able to vividly envision an awesome learning environment, jam-packed with quality teaching and learning opportunities for me and my new students.
Despite my disappointment I went into my first day (Monday) with an open mind. (I guess I had to since I never got to meet my teacher before walking in that day.) The classroom consists of four students (1 girl, 3 boys), a "classroom aide," and my teacher. In the four days I have been there one day one student was absent, and another day two students were out. It is interesting to be in a classroom fro an entire day with a teacher, an aide, a resident, and two students (one of which is non-verbal). It's even more interesting when one of the students gets pulled to do Wilson...
I have concerns about my placement, but I'm trying to look on the bright side of things. I'm unsure what the rest of the semester will be like, but it will be an experience.
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