Student Appreciation in the Classroom

My mentor teacher shows that he appreciates student's interests in the classroom by giving them points when they come to class prepared and are on task. He also shows that he is interested in their opinions and interests with a map that he has on his wall that shows the different colleges that students are thinking about going too and their colleges logos are also seen on their desks as well. Also, last week when I was in his class for practicum, the students were randomly picked to pick videos related to Social Studies and one of the students who was selected wanted to be a Historian so the teacher picked him first because of that interest and then randomly selected the rest through his Dojo app on his phone.

Rules in the Classroom

One rule that I like in J. Borunda's classroom is to have an organized desk and put away any distractions or mess on the student's desk so that they can fully focus on the lesson and be present in class. I can't really think of a rule right now that I dislike in my mentor's classroom. All his rules seem pretty fair.

Performance Assessments in the Classroom

Last Wednesday during practicum, I saw the 5th grade students take a math test which was to establish the Tier that they should go into. This test had students use diagrams to show fractions and to solve fractions with multiplication and using the vocab "of" for word problems.  My practicum teacher tried to show me how to grade the tests but was too complicated because some students were given partial credit for getting the correct answer but not showing their work and how they found the answer. It was interesting seeing the students take the test because a lot of the students could not answer most of the tests and left it blank. The hardest part of watching the students take this assessment was not being able to help them find the answer but only being able to read them the answer or clarify the instructions. Many of the students needed extra help but were not given it in the classroom and were not pulled out for extra time. Also, when I observed the Tier that scored 100 percent and higher on their math tests take this test , I noticed that one of the students struggled the most with this exam and had a lot of pressure on him to do well from his parents and just by being in this specific class group. It was hard to see some students want to give up and not try their best on this test because they didn't think it was worth it to try on the test even when they knew they were going to fail and didn't get most of the material. I have always struggled with testing and thought that my test scores defined who I was but they are still just a number and even if you don't do well on one test does not mean you are a failure and a lot of the students I worked with thought that and was heartbreaking to hear and see.

Accommodations for Students in the Classroom

When it comes to accommodations for specific students in the classroom, i have seen some modifications for students but it is still too early to tell. On the first day of practicum, my partner and I mostly saw math centers and led a math problem based center. When I first got to my practicum teacher's class, the teacher went over the schedule for the day and also told us about the students who needed Special Education services and accommodations. For example, while I was teaching students how to solve a math problem during a center, my teacher told me that one of the students needed a lot of repetition and help through scaffolding. So for this student i worked mainly one on one and broke down the math problem into smaller sections for the student to understand better. That was the only time that I saw a student who needed accommodations, the other students either blended in or worked more with the teacher and made it hard to tell if they needed accommodations and an IEP as well. As I continue to work in the 5th grade classroom every Wednesday then I will be able to have a grasp on the students who require an IEP and Special Education Services. I need to get to know the students better before finding out their strengths and weaknesses in the class.

Introduction

My name is Alayna Maduell. I am a Special and Elementary Major. I want to work in a Resource Room or be a Speech Pathologist. I thought that I wanted to be a Journalist for all my life because I love writing but when i got to high school and took a class called Teaching Academy I realized teaching was my passion. All my jobs throughout high school had involved teaching in some way whether it was tutoring, working aftercare at a community center, volunteering at non-profit organizations or working summer day camps. I have always loved helping people in some way and makes me feel good knowing that i can make a difference in someone's life even in a small way. I want to be a Special Education Teacher because school never came easy to me, I always needed more attention and patience when being helped in school and had to work even harder than most students. I didn't start to have great teachers until the end of high school and it made me want to be an even better teacher for students who need more help to succeed. I am excited to be working in a 5th grade classroom this semester and working with older kids and learning from them.