Knowing How to Help a Student

During my first few lessons, I've noticed that one student does not pay attention during class. The student prefers to talk to others and not participate during activity time. Before teaching the class, I asked my coop which students, if any, have special needs and this student happen to be one of the three in this class that have an IEP.

After my lesson on monday, I asked my coop for advice on how to handle this student because the student was a bit disruptive during the lesson. My coop gave me a brief history and what is currently being done to help the student. I spoke with the special education teacher in charge of this student to get more advice. The next day, I modified my lesson and gave the student one on one time during activity time. My coop had to step in during activity time to help the other students because I was starting to connect and I did not want the student to loose interest. By the end of the week, I noticed that the attitude of the student has changed. The student participated during activity time and asked for help when needed.

Initially, I was afraid that the student might feel embarassed about getting one on one time. But ... it seemed to help a lot! I also made special effort to call upon this student to participate during the lesson and it seems to keep the student paying attention during the lesson.

Once I found what helps with this student, it made the rest of the week much better. I don't think I would change anything that happened this week. I learned so much -- it was those mistakes that made me realize how to make things better.

Great Week for Learning

The start of the week was very eventful because the school allowed students to watch the inauguration. It was great to learn that most students were very excited to witness history as it unfolds. Listening to the students share what they know about events leading to the inauguration made me reminisce my high school days and tried to remember if I was as interested in politics then as the students seem to be now. Conclusively, it has made me aware that most students make avail of the different media forms to get their information. Most get their information through the internet utilizing different sites, television, and lastly, the local newspaper. Isn't that wonderful! Our students are very aware of the technology that we will teach them. Hopefully, each of us can enhance that knowledge.

This week, I had an opportunity to spend the entire day at the elementary school. I am very lucky because the elementary school is just next door. I observed a class from each of the K-6 classes and learned so much! I even observed a remedial math and remedial reading class. I picked up so many great ideas to use in my classroom. The teachers were eager to help and did not hesitate to share their tricks and give advice.

My only regret this week was not recording my first lesson. I wanted to record my progress but there was just so many things going on this week that I neglected to set up for recording. It was obvious that I was nervous for my first lesson but as I reflected while preparing my next lesson I used tools that I learned and the advise from my coop. I felt very confident going into my second lesson and ... it turned out great! That was when I really felt the connection with the students.

Getting to Know the Students

Learning the students' name on the second day and asking them to tell me and the class one information about them (nothing embarassing of course) to help me remember them. They shared information about their after school job, sports they play, and their special talents. I found the information very helpful in connecting the name with the face. I also chaperoned the Snow Ball Dance which gave me an opportunity to observe students demeanor outside the classroom. I found the experience very helpful in learning the dynamics of the students of the school. The experience has also given me an opportunity to learn from other teachers on how they feel about their students, parents and other teachers.

As I reflect on the past week, the only thing I would probably change would be to have made several attempts to meet the principal. When I took the tour of the school, the principal was not available. As of the end of the week, I still have not met with the principal. I did have an opportunity to meet with the superintendent for the school district which was great!