As I was reading the case about Mrs. Potter's 2nd grade classroom and how there are similar students that struggle with the same issues in my classroom, even the number of students in the classroom is exactly the same. I think Mrs. Potter needs to focus more on the students strengths and special talents and see where each student succeeds and this is seen int he Marcus case article. If there is a certain way something is being taught and the child is showing improvement continue to teach things in that way. I am by no means saying disregard the students struggles but focus on where they do well in the classroom and try to apply that to where the student is struggling. One thing I think Mrs. Potter needs to do is be flexible, "Flexibility helps a lot. I know there's a lot of pressure on teachers to cover curriculum, and the easiest way to do that is to keep everybody on the same page all the time and all marching together so teachers have control," (Kostelnick, Onaga, Rhode, Whiren, 2002, pg. 72) but having everybody doing the same thing all the time does not work because everyone is different and learns in different ways.
As for what Mrs. Potter can do to help out her students is I think she needs to explore literacy centers and also learn about disorders such as ADHD. Students with autism, ADD/ADHD, developmental disabilities, and students with a learning disability can benefit from visual aids and hands-on activities and literacy centers would help improve their learning, "placing visual supports in an can have: eased transitions, feeling of empowerment by having visual choices, clearly defined expectations through the use of pictures, longer attention span, reduced anxiety, concepts become more concrete, and the ability to help express his or her thoughts,"(Breitfelder, 2008, pg. 3) and I wish a lot of my teachers knew this while I was in elementary school because I would have benefited if my teachers had this knowledge.
As for each student I think Mrs. Potter needs to examine their strengths and struggles and come up with a plan for each student. I think Mrs. Potter is underestimating Lupita skills and needs to include her more in classroom activities. I have the same issue with a Hispanic student in my classroom and he is so quiet he is often forgotten but is also really great at things like puzzles. I think including Lupita will give her confidence to be more open and ready to learn skills that help with interacting with students which would in turn help with her English. For Jonathan I think Mrs. Potter would definitely benefit from literacy centers that would aid him in reading and writing. Math may come easier to him because it is a very visual subject and often has one answer where Language Arts is very abstract. With Eddie it seems as though he has ADHD and he is VERY similar to a student in my classroom; he can never sit still and is often very distracted by other things going on around him. I think Mrs. Potter needs to find a way to help Eddie keep his attention during class periods whether its using a stress ball to keep his hands busy to being able to stand up or sit on a yoga ball but it is not necessarily his academics where he struggles just the concentration to help aid in his academics. I think Mrs. Potter should consider revising her instructional strategies to help aid these students because she never knows if it is just the instruction that is causing them to struggle academically.
Julia,
ReplyDeleteI think talking about different types of learners is very important. I believe each child should be seen for who they are and be able to get attention on their strengths AND weaknesses. I agree that Mrs. Potter showed good attention to what students could do and it was good idea to continue on that path and not change how they are learning. If students grow and blossom in their development with a certain type of teaching strategy, that strategy should continue!! I also agree with you that Flexibility is important in the classroom and Mrs. Potter should have thought about this more to have all her students benefit from her teaching patterns.
I agree that literacy centers would help Mrs. Potter out in her classroom environment.I think these centers can extend to all different types of learners (levels and disabilities). From the reading I also see these centers as a way to get children to learn from visual supports. Mrs. Potter could benefit in using visual supports more to reach a range of students. I use visual supports in my preschool placement and have truly understood their value and meaning to children. "visual supports as photographs, hand-drawn pictures, graphics, or computer-generated icons actually benefit all students especially those who have difficulty reading." (Breitfelder, 2008, pg. 2). Visuals can be added anywhere in the classroom and I can't even began to explain how I am intrigued and amazed at how visuals reach a child in every domain!
Thinking about each student I would use assessments. Assessments allows a teacher to look at each child as a independent learner. Assessments can be used for any subject, domain, social behavior, etc. I think getting to know each student would help Mrs. Potter adjust her lessons and teaching style to help each student in the classroom. Lupita is a great explain that you used because she is so quiet and needs that extra push to be more invovled in the classroom. If anything the classroom should adapt to her language and incorporate it into lessons. I think you hit it spot on with Johnathon and I would have suggested the same thing (literacy centers). I have worked with a student similar to Eddie as well. The supports you said are always very helpful for children with ADHD! Another idea is going on daily walk breaks. This is a time for the child to calm their bodies and adventure in the hall with a teacher just to give their body that time it needs to have physical movement and curiousity! I think this ties into the quote you used that I liked as well "marching together so teachers have control." (Kostelnick, Onaga, Rhode, Whiren, 2002, pg. 72). Although we have the "control" we get this control by understanding each student and thinking of the classroom as being on a huge team where we don't leave someone behind, but march through learning together.
I agree with Alyssa that the literacy centers would be extremely effective for her classroom. This way, she could easily create different levels of tasks and group for all the students learning levels. The use of centers is also a good way to exhibit inclusion of all the students, especially Lupita, into the normal classroom routines. Like Alyssa and Julia, showing flexibility in her classroom would probably be the most effective tool Mrs. Potter could use. Varying slightly from curriculum in order to advance students knowledge in certain aspects would benefit all of the students. Although, Mrs. Potter only sees the three pointed out students as having learning issues, if she uses more flexibility, she may also be helping other students more than she thinks she can.
ReplyDeleteI also believe that these centers will help with the ADHD students, as well as the assessments that Alyssa pointed out. These variety and more individualized tasks will help because those students will have tasks at or within their range of knowledge and there likelihood of getting off task will be smaller.