Final Thoughts

It's going to be a challenge to be an effective teacher in an inclusive classroom. However, it is an opportunity to grow and broaden my current thoughts, beliefs, and perspectives...

Differentiated Instrucation

Our world is continuously changing in regards to the norms, responsibilities, and values that individuals are expected to uphold. Our education system has had to constantly revamp instructional tactics and strategies in order to meet these essential aspects of society. Throughout history, there have been pendulum shifts between progressivism and traditionalism. Because of the different influences that globalization and technology has on society and children, knowledge is at the push of a button away from students and we are now shifting to progressivism.

To meet the needs of these neo-progressive students, teachers must modify the content, process, and product by understanding the students’ readiness, interests, and learning profiles. These elements of differentiated instruction were developed by Carol Tomlinson and this approach responds to the needs of all learners. For the 21st century learner, teachers must focus on ways to modify the curriculum, provide meaningful activities which students will find relevant, and supply opportunities to demonstrate their knowledge in their own way.Understanding the variables as to where students are coming from, there passions, and how they learn are imperative concepts when instructing today’s learners.

The diverse needs of the classroom require teachers to be aware of different strategies that are available. A teacher’s responsibility is to provide learning activities which will provide all students with the resources they need so that they become independent, accountable adults. This current shift to progressivism will demand teachers to develop and expand their instructional repertoires. All students will benefit from the differentiated instruction that teachers provide.

Thoughts on Shyness

The video "Shyness" that we watched in class the other day, introduced three students who were socially introverted. These three students were deemed by a psychiatrist to be social outsiders. This test, which was like a popularity test, asked students a number of questions. The students had to answer each question by saying which member of the class would fit the criteria. For example, children were asked who they liked to play with. After the sociometric test was administered, only three students in the class were not chosen at all. The results meant that these three children were not developing healthily.

The first child Jimmy, was emotionally unstable. He did not have any friends and was almost scared to interact with another human being. Anna was an unhappy child who was a typical shy child. At recess, it looked as though she wanted to play with the other children but she was too shy to participate. Robert was another child who no one picked in the sociometric test. He was perfectly happy being alone; the psychiatrist deemed that he was developing healthily. It was the psychiatrist and teacher's responsibility to help Jimmy and Anna become more social and interactive.

Each child, proposed by the psychiatrist, had their own environmental factors that caused them to be shy. Jimmy's mom was extremely overprotective. Therefore, when Jimmy was little, he did not have the opportunity to interact with other children during this sensitive time period. Anna's mother was very demanding which caused Anna to feel that she could never do anything right no matter how hard she tried. Even though her mother did love her, Anna did not feel loved. She then transferred these feelings of inadequacy over to other social situations. If her mother did not lover her, then how would other people love and accept her.

The teacher and psychiatrist in the film were able to help Jimmy and Anna develop social skills necessary to interact with other children and adults. They achieved this by focusing on each child's strength as opposed to dwelling on their inadequacies determined by society.

This term, I have begun to realize the importance and benefits of cooperative learning. In all of my previous courses, I have not have the chance to participate in various group projects. I feel that the experience this year has benefited me because of the diverse perspectives and ideas I have encountered. Working in these groups has provided me the opportunity to be aware of other's needs and communicate my own needs.

In class today we learned about the five components of cooperative learning. The first component we touched on was positive interdependence. This concept has been a key factor in the groups I have been working in so far; my individual success is dependent on the group's success. Positive face-to-face interactions in cooperative learning was presented to me the first day of the middle years program. The first teacher I had introduced herself to the whole class and she established a positive learning environment for the class. The third component, interpersonal and small group interactions, has been ongoing since day one. Every day we discuss with each other our personal experience and thoughts about topics in class. Individual accountability is a component that is strongly emphasized. An individual is responsible for the construction of their own learning and they can only do this by taking responsibility and accountability for their learning.

Critical reflection is the fifth component of cooperative learning. I have never known the importance that reflection has on a students learning. In many of my presentations and assignments, I must reflect on the experience and my learning. This has helped me analyze and create solutions to areas that I can improve on. It has also provided me the chance to reflect on some of my successes and thus has given me more confidence and motivation.

The positive experience that I have had so far in cooperative learning groups has given me the desire to effectively use cooperative learning groups in my future classroom.

Reflection on Maclean's Article

I read an article in Maclean's Magazine entitled "Are We Raising Our Boys to be Underachieving Men?". The article explained that the percentage of males who drop out of high school is 10.3 percent and the number of females who drop out is 6.6 percent. Reasons for the higher drop out rate was that boys get lower grades, study less, and are more likely to repeat a grade than girls. After reading the article, I wondered what sort of solutions our economy and society should implement in order to reduce the high school drop out rates of boys.

The article also mentioned that some of the jobs in North America that are expected to expand in the next few years are the jobs that woman traditional fulfill. Forty-three percent of woman and only twenty-five percent of men are likely to graduate from university. With these stats, many males with disabilities will find it even more difficult to find work or go to university. Individuals with disabilities might feel discouraged when they see these statistics.

In the next few years, it will be a challenge to reduce the high school drop out rates and increase the percentage of university graduation rates. Students with disabilities will face an even greater challenge because of the many societal and economic barriers that they already encounter every day.

The workshop that we did in class today was very useful and clarified the aspects of long term goals and objectives. Understanding the different areas of focus for SMART goals is a great starting point for developing goals. All of these types are foci are important to include in IPP's for students with disabilities.

Self-skills and creating goals that will enhance students efficacy are crucial to have. When students feel confident in their abilities, they are more likely to be successful in other areas of life. Pro-social and communication skills are also great areas to focus on when creating goals with students. It is a teacher's responsibility to express to students the importance of interacting in society in and outside the classroom. These type of goals will prepare students for social situations and encounters. The focus of academic and work habit skills are also critical to address. Setting up students for success will improve their motivation and efficacy.

In order for students to have success, teachers should ensure that their goals are clear and not vague. Students will be able to see progress when the goals and objectives are clear and specific. This will then provide more motivation for students to reach the final benchmark. When I am working on an assignment and I see progress and improvement, I am more motivated to reach the final goal. This is why it is so important to have clear goals and different areas of focus for students with disabilities.

Moments

The other day, I had the opportunity to transfer what I have been learning in class into practice. I was playing volleyball last week with a group of my friends. Halfway through the game, an individual came and wanted to play with us. As is human nature, I judged the individual to be a little bit different and that he possibly might have a learning disability. Everyone on the court had this thought and tried not to pay attention to the individual.

After a few minutes, I went over to the individual, who was now sitting on the bench with a volleyball in his hand. I asked him if he wanted to be on one of the teams and sub into the game. Right away he seemed excited about playing and joined one of the teams. The players on his team were trying to get him involved in the play; however, I could tell they were getting frustrated because his skill level was not the same as the group. He was trying his best but he was always getting into his teammates way when they were playing the ball.

Although it did take patience for the rest of us to include him, the individual was extremely happy that he was able to participate. By the end, he made the game more enjoyable for the rest of us because of his enthusiasm on the court. It is moments like these that remind us of how important inclusion is. We have to make sure we do not have the mentality that students with disabilities are in our way of success. Sometimes, we might be in their way because of our misconceptions and selfishness.