March Logs

March 3, 2008

            My supervising teacher provided me with a Mississippi Statewide Assessment Accommodations Tracking Form today and explained it in detail. This form is for students with disabilities who will be participating in the state test later on in the month. This form listed over eighty accommodations for students with disabilities. Theses accommodations were to be used in each class that the student will be taking the test.

            Among these accommodations were the following: the student will be allowed to take the test in a familiar room, at the front of the room, with scheduled rest breaks, with additional time, with memory aids, over several sessions, and with the directions read to them.

This sheet was very beneficial to me because it helped me get familiar with the specific accommodations that teachers were to provide for students with disabilities while testing.

March 4, 2008

            We discussed marriages and parenting in class today. To my surprise, several of my students indicated that they would never get married. Many of them felt that too many marriages end in a divorce, which is true. Our textbook indicated that over 50% of marriages fail, resulting in a divorce. I guess these high statistics scared some of my students a little. I explained to them that if people get married for healthy reasons (based on love), instead of unhealthy reasons (getting married because of an unexpected pregnancy), then the marriage will be more likely to last. Many of the students agreed.

            Also today, I made a few parent contacts. This particular school requires that each teacher makes at least five parent contacts per week. Teachers are to also keep a Parent Contact Log, indicating the student’s name, date, parent/person contacted, and any comments. I contacted one particular parent concerning why her son was not dressing for physical education class. She was very grateful for the call and assured me that she would get him a pair of shorts so that he could participate in class. I was glad that she was so cooperative.

March 5, 2008

            Today I attended an extended school year (ESY) workshop. The first thing that I learned was facts about what extended school year. I learned that ESY is a program where all children with disabilities must be considered and that it is school during the summer months for students who need special education and related services. I also learned that ESY helps students keep or gain skills from his or her school program. I was informed that requesting a student for ESY is a decision made by the IEP committee, not one individual.

            In addition, I learned of the procedures for requesting a student for ESY. First, a Notice of Committee Meeting Form must be sent to the parent or guardian regarding ESY for their child. It must be filled out in its entirety, including a signature from the parent. Next, the teacher must fill out an ESY Determination Checklist to make a determination for ESY services. The teacher must then complete a Regression-Recoupment Tracking Form, a Determination of Critical Skills Form, and one of the following forms, based on the unique needs of the student: a Critical Point of Instruction Tracking Form #1, a Critical Point of Instruction Tracking Form #2, or an Extenuating Circumstances Tracking Form. Then, the student’s IEP needs to be completed under the section, Extended School Year Services. Based on all this information, a Referral Form for ESY and an ESY Recommendation Form should be completed.

             I learned a great deal in this professional workshop on today. I am so privileged to be able to have this kind of training and experience. Student teaching is a wonderful opportunity to receive hands-on training and experience in the classroom.

March 6, 2008

            Today I completed a Data Inquiry Sheet pertaining to the most current assessment that was administered to my students. This sheet contained the test objectives and the challenges with the data, such as any specific skills that the students seemed to be struggling with. It also included a proposed action where the teacher had to list steps that will be taken for students that fail to master the objectives and what instructional strategies that will be used to improve student performances. This sheet showed the “good news,” or what the teacher was especially proud of in teaching the unit and also the target students.

            The very last section of the sheet listed the different class periods and the percentages of students who scored 100-90%, 89-80%, 79-70%, and 69% and below. The last step in this process was to list the next steps, or what will be done between now and the next meeting for discussion of this data.

            In completing this sheet, I got practice in calculating data and finding percentages of students’ grades.

March 7, 2008

            I wasn’t feeling too well today. I couldn’t breathe which made the day extremely difficult to endure. However, I acted as an inclusion teacher today when I went into the general education classroom and assisted a student who was in exceptional education, along with those who needed the assistance. We worked on a five paragraph essay. After about twenty minutes of vigorous writing, the exceptional education student submitted her essay online and waited patiently for her results. A few moments passed and her results came up on the screen. For the first time, she had received a passing grade on her essay. She was overwhelmed with joy. I felt so proud for her, especially because I work with this student often and I know how hard she works.

            This particular student has been failing her general education English course. I attended a meeting for her and the decision was made to place her in the exceptional education English class, but still, that hasn’t been successful. Hopefully, her general education teacher will continue to provide the accommodations necessary for her to succeed while she is in her classroom.

March 10, 2008

            Today was the first day of testing for the students. Most of the students were focused and took the test very seriously. In fact, one student raced through her test so quickly that I had to advise her to check over her work and go back over the test at a slower pace. As I glanced at her work, I was delighted to see most of her answers answered correctly. That always puts a smile on a teacher, or pre-service teacher’s face.

After my first couple of classes, I was excused to attend an interview with NCATE. In the interview, my colleagues and I were asked a number of questions. The interviewer asked us why we wanted to be educators and even how we incorporated technology into our lesson plans. They also asked what the requirements were prior to student teaching.

March 11, 2008

            Surprisingly, I encountered a problem with one of my better behaved students today. I simply told her to turn around in her seat the proper way and she became extremely angry. Because I knew that she was usually a well behaved student, I didn’t get too upset. I just calmly told her to turn around again and continued my lesson. Eventually, she turned around. Later, I spoke with her and she told me that she was just having a bad day and she apologized. I accepted her apology because everyone has bad days.

During my planning period, I was informed of the new process for IEP reevaluations. The first step is to obtain permission from the parents by sending a Parent Permission for Reevaluation Form. Next, the teacher would have to contact the school’s psychometrist and schedule the reevaluation meeting. After that, a Written Prior Notice has to be completed. Lastly, the teacher will need a copy of the student’s current IEP.

I am learning so very much about not only teaching, but about the several forms and documents that has to be completed by the exceptional education teachers.

March 12, 2008

            Today the majority of the students understood the lesson. However, a couple of students were having difficulties. I soon realized that their difficulties were a result of their behavior. They constantly played and talked, which caused them to miss the directions that were given, along with an explanation of the assignment. So I gave them a warning. Then, I moved their seats. I placed one on the left side of the classroom and the other on the right side of the classroom. Soon, the classroom was quiet and every student was on-task. I thought to myself, “Mission accomplished!”

            In addition, I became familiar with an Interim Evaluation Form. This form included the parent/guardian’s name and the student’s personal information. It also included a list of areas where the student could be commended, and a list of areas where the student needed improvement. At the bottom was a section where the teacher could make comments and remarks about the student.

March 13, 2008

            Today, one student who was diagnosed as edgicable mentally retarded (EMR) had a difficult time. He became intimidated and frustrated by the lesson, which led to tears running down his check. So I took him outside of the classroom for a moment to speak with him concerning the issue. I explained the directions to him and even tied the lesson in to something he enjoyed and was familiar with-computers. By then, he felt much more confident in his ability to perform the given task.

            Later, I learned how to make a schedule change for one of my students. The process was quite simple. All I had to do was list the student’s current period, class, teacher and room number on a Schedule Change Request Form. Then, I wrote the class that was going to be changed and the reason of the change. Then, I typed it all in on the computer and sent the results to the counselor. Lastly, I printed out the schedule and made a copy for the student.

March 14, 2008

            Today, I studied a form entitled, Intervention Strategies for Failures. This form was designed specifically for those students who were failing. It included the teacher’s name, the date, the student’s name, the subject, the learning problem, an intervention strategy, and comments.

            There were several intervention strategies located on the bottom of the form. They included the following: discuss the problem with the student, clarify the rules, change the student’s seating, use peer tutoring, adapt assignments, use a student contract, assign detention, telephone a guardian, provide a daily or weekly progress report, refer student to principal, re-teach the student, and tutor the student.

March 17-21, 2008

(No School due to Spring Break)

March 24, 2008

(No School due to the Easter Holiday)

March 25, 2008

I attended a meeting this morning. In the morning, I participated in training for the upcoming English II Writing Assessment. I learned that two individuals (an administrator and a proctor) must be in the room at all times during testing. I also learned that before the test, the test administrator should study the Test Administrator Manual, ensure that the testing room has an adequate supply of #2 pencils, and ensure that students have scratch paper.

During the test, the test administrator should monitor the test sessions, distribute all materials to students, and follow district plans for managing students who finish the test early. After the test, the test administrator should collect the materials, collect the scratch paper, and ensure that answer documents have been gridded correctly.

After the meeting, I discussed renting apartments and mortgaging homes with my students. Many of them seemed interested in having their own apartments. They paid close attention to the lesson and asked several questions.