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.
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This sounds like a great experience! I'm glad you were able to help the student learn the content like everyone else and I bet the student felt good about it. It is obvious this helped them feel more confident in the class since their attitude changed and participation increased. I agree with your comment about how your mistakes help you realize how to make your lessons and interactions with the students better. I have found this to be true as well! I hope things continue to get better with this student!
ReplyDeleteDifferential learning is key to any classroom. It is great that you have the opportunity to develop this gift with students this early in your professional semester. Keep up the good work.
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