February 7th, 2012
This was our first meeting with Islam and I got to work with him at Sandalwood High School.
During our first lesson I gave him a pre-test on how to count change. Islam is an 11th grade student who has down syndrome and is classified as IND. He struggle with smaller concepts of mathematics.
I would have loved to have started off with real coins and change. This lesson was really short so not much I would change. I wanted to do more but the initial lesson was to just give him a pre-test. I think that I would love to have Islam work with manipulatives.
I think that this did a good job at letting me know exactly where Islam was and what he was good at and struggling with. It looks like he didn't do so well when it came to counting the fake change. He had a test paper and I thought that the picture of the coins would have been enough but they weren't. So next time I will definitely have to get Islam so manipulatives.
This relates to the class because we are always focusing on assessment of students in any rage from ESE to advanced. In the class this semester we have learned that there are many different types of students and they each learn in the different ways. I think that if we can change one student we can change the world.
I think that this relates to the class because pre and post tests are important due to their importance in assessing students . Without the help of these tools we would never know if we are being affective teachers.
February 14th, 2012
Since the first time, I was really excited to get to work with Islam. I know he will do well. I started to get him to work with the worksheet. I first got him to identify the coins that we were working with. The focus of this lesson was to get him o distinguish between the coins he was using. I think that he was actually successful with this. I know that these pictures weren't perfect representations but these weren't a problem. When I found that he knew the coins I was really impressed with the fact that he called the Half-Dollar “50 cents” This was really cool
I expected when I went in to be able to spend a while with him. I was in the 10 minutes because he already knew the coins. So one thing that I would change in the future is to have an extended lesson for if he gets through the current one quickly. I felt bad because he got through the lesson so quickly and he was excited to see me and we got through the lessons in under 10 minutes. I would love to have him work on the math after the identification process.
This relates to the class because it is well noted that not all students are visual learners and some are kinesthetic learners and they need to have hands on materials for learning. Islam needed to see these things and be able to move things around so he can understand the topic.
Sources: http://www.neglected-delinquent.org/nd/resources/spotlight/spotlight200604a.asp
February 21st, 2012
When I went into the school Islam and I went next door to begin on working with manipulatives on how to count change. I initially bought the coins that are in the toy section at Wal-Mart but Ms. Colvin told me that they weren't the best idea because when going into the real world they will not have the option of using the false coins. She also stated that when they use the coins that are different than the real ones then he will have trouble when counting actual change. I think that the next time I will being the real coins. So I tried avoiding using the coins. I originally printed out the worksheets that he would be using in black and white but he thought that the pennies and the dimes were the same as the nickels. He couldn't tell the difference. I think that he was confused because he didn't have the colors that he was used to seeing.
I would definitely change the format of the worksheets. I think that I would love to be able to make them in color. I went back and reprinted and had him write his answers again. I think that this made it easier. I would definitely have him work with the same coins that would be used in this lesson. What I had him do since he is having trouble using a calculator is to have him first count the coins. I thought that using the adding of coins together as in how many there are. I would like to have him in the future count the different types of coins. For example, have Islam count the different how many quarters there are. But first I would have to have him distinguish between the different coins first. This relates to the class because there are many different ways to learn as there are students. I think that if teachers who may or may not teach students with disabilities we need to include them more as well as have more hands on activities.
http://www.neglected-delinquent.org/nd/resources/spotlight/spotlight200604a.asp
February 22nd, 2012
Since yesterdays lesson, I thought that it would be good so see how he was at counting the coins just as they are. I came about 11:30am and Islam and I went to the library with him and he was really excited that day. I found a worksheet that I would just ask him to count them. I gave him a calculator. During this lesson I asked Islam to count the coins. I even went as far as placing the real coins on the sheet. He had trouble at first when counting the coins because he was counting the counting the same coins over and over again. He would come up with 7 coins when there were 4. What I did was have him circle or cross through them. I them had him match the types of coins. He was successful at this through come trial an error. I then had him write down his answers.
Next time I would like to have him try to add these values in on a calculator and see if he will be successful at using the calculator. With this I would first have to show him how much each coin is worth. This may or may not be successful.
I think that this was successful because he was able to count these after the modifications of using the crossing off method as well as placing the coins over the pictures of the coins. I think that this was the most helpful because as I said before that using fake coins puts the students and a disadvantage when being able to count his change in the real world.
This relates to the class because there are many different ways to learn as there are students. I think that if teachers who may or may not teach students with disabilities we need to include them more as well as have more hands on activities.
Sources: http://www.mathplayground.com/math_manipulatives.html
March 1st, 2012
I think that since the last lesson, that Islam was ready to start adding the coins. He needs to have a reference sheet for value of the coins (view case study portfolio). I know that I would need to be patient with him before beginning this lesson. I wanted to do this same lesson for the next three sessions. I think that this was the most complicated situation. Being that Islam is not all that proficient at using a calculator, I had to let him do his best.
I first asked him to add certain number in the calculator, which wasn't the bad for him. Then I used the decimals and he was pretty good at it. I then had to give his the card with the values on it and he did okay. It was a hit or miss thing. I had pictures on a card for him and he added them and some where a hit or miss thing. He was awesome. But he needed more practice. On this session he was great but we need more of a practice. I think we can get his score up. I will continue to let him use the manipulative he needs along with the calculator.
Next time, I think that I would like to have him work more with the adding of the coins the best way he can and see if he could figure it out. I would like to let him do it more independently than just having me guide him through it. I guess this would be true because guiding him through it would make it harder to see how he is progressing if he is listening to me the whole time.
Sources: http://www.ericdigests.org/pre-9217/math.htm
March 2nd, 2012
I'm continuing the lesson from the day before. He needs to have a reference sheet for value of the coins (view case study portfolio). I know that I would need to be patient with him before beginning this lesson. I wanted to do this same lesson for the next three sessions. I think that this was the most complicated situation. Being that Islam is not all that proficient at using a calculator, I had to let him do his best. During this lesson he had the reference sheet which was a great help at letting him see the value of the coins.
This time, as I said before I needed to let him do this by himself to see how he was going to do. I think this was best because assessing the student on his or her performance and not on hoping he understands when it is me getting him through the lesson by guided questioning. He was good at doing this. But I found that it was a hit or miss thing. I have found that when working with students with disabilities that they tend to have a hard time being consistent on a new task. Like students who are in general education courses tend to more predictable when “getting something”. It just one of those hit or miss things.
This relates to the class because there are many different ways to learn as there are students. I think that if teachers who may or may not teach students with disabilities we need to include them more as well as have more hands on activities.
Source: http://www.cited.org/index.aspx?page_id=151
March 2nd, 2012
Now this is a continuation of the same day. I know that letting him go on his own has it own positives and negative. He was getting it on his own, but there are many students with special need who need a bit more help so it would be more difficult in letting him go alone. During this lesson, I got him to work on a worksheet without my help at all. I wanted to see how he was progressing so then one day when he was on his own, he would be able to do this on his own.
This was a quick lesson. I felt anxious because I wanted to truly see how my progress as a teach was coming. But as usual it was a hit or miss thing. I felt like pulling my hair out but it was worth every minute.
Next time, I want to be able to show him by marking off the coins he adds and have him slow down. I know it is difficult for him but I know he can do it. I think that if he would slow down a bit and even compare the coins to the chart then he would be awesome.
This relates to the class because there are many different ways to learn as there are students. I think that if teachers who may or may not teach students with disabilities we need to include them more as well as have more hands on activities. We also need to be able to use more manipulatives in the class with or without students with disabilities.
April 12h,2012
(2 sessions in one day)
This one was really two wrap up lessons. Along with two worksheets, I knew that he needed more real life manipulatives. I got the cards out and the real coins so that he could hold them and possibly remember his value. I went in a little low on confidence on this one but I know he would be able to do it. He shocked me, he got 70% correct. I think that Islam can really do this. He just needs more practice than the other students. He tends to get some right and when your hopes are getting up it all comes crashing down. Welcome to teaching!! I think that there are many way to approach this.
Since this was my last lesson I think it may be more appropriate to say what I would have changed in the past. I think that I would have had more of a consistent in the lesson planning. I would have also like to incorporate more manipulatives into my lesson plans. I also would like to have more incentives for Islam so that maybe he would be more motivated. I gave him a snickers for doing such a good job and he loved it. I think that if we can work more with hand on then we could be awesome.
Source: http://www.cited.org/index.aspx?page_id=151
April 13th, 2012
This is an easy day. It is also a day of conclusion. I wanted to see how he would do in the post assessment. I was really shocked at how he did. I gave him the test and I didn't help him at all. He took it and he missed some but Islam is smart and he understood it. He got most of them right. Even if he didn't get them all right he had significant gains. Plus seeing how far he has come is the most rewarding. I think that this relates to the class because pre and post tests are important due to their importance in assessing students . Without the help of these tools we would never know if we are being affective teachers.
Source: http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/JTE/v1n2/html/jones.html
