Hello and welcome to my portfolio! I am excited to share my learning with you.
Module 1
February 24th, 2020
Multiple Intelligence Survey
My results show that my areas of strength are intrapersonal, verbal-linguistic, and naturalistic! I would definitely agree that these are my areas of strength.
Multiple Intelligence Survey
My results show that my areas of strength are intrapersonal, verbal-linguistic, and naturalistic! I would definitely agree that these are my areas of strength.
I wanted to learn more about Intrapersonal Intelligence - here is a video that helps explain it!
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February 24th
This is a great link that explains Assessment for, of, and as learning: http://udlresource.ca/2017/12/assessment/
I tend to struggle with remembering what examples of each types of assessment are so this is a good reminder for me:
An example of assessment for learning is formative assessment such as informal check-ins
An example of assessment of learning is summative assessment
Am example of assessment as learning is self assessment
This is a great link that explains Assessment for, of, and as learning: http://udlresource.ca/2017/12/assessment/
I tend to struggle with remembering what examples of each types of assessment are so this is a good reminder for me:
An example of assessment for learning is formative assessment such as informal check-ins
An example of assessment of learning is summative assessment
Am example of assessment as learning is self assessment
See the image below for an example of triangulated assessment:
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Image retrieved from: https://freshgrade.com/blog/what-is-triangulation-in-the-assessment-context/
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February 25th, 2020
Find an image on the Internet that reflects the difference between equality and equity. What is the difference? How would your students perceive your assessments?
I am a HUGE advocate of ensuring there is equity in my classroom instead of equality. I strongly believe that each student should get what they need in order to reach their own potential and what they need is different from student to student! I love the images below - they are commonly shared when there is a conversation regarding equity vs equality but I think they are such powerful messages and represent the differences perfectly. I don't often give summative assessments such as multiple choice tests as I do not think they are easily accessible for each student. Instead, I prefer to do project-based learning with criteria generated by both my students and myself. I feel like this sets the students up for success as they are free to express their learning and understanding to me through various methods/mediums. On the rare occasion where I give a summative assessment, I ensure I chunk the sections and do not put time restrictions on the assessments. I also encourage the students to study with one another beforehand. I think my students would perceive my assessments as fair.
Find an image on the Internet that reflects the difference between equality and equity. What is the difference? How would your students perceive your assessments?
I am a HUGE advocate of ensuring there is equity in my classroom instead of equality. I strongly believe that each student should get what they need in order to reach their own potential and what they need is different from student to student! I love the images below - they are commonly shared when there is a conversation regarding equity vs equality but I think they are such powerful messages and represent the differences perfectly. I don't often give summative assessments such as multiple choice tests as I do not think they are easily accessible for each student. Instead, I prefer to do project-based learning with criteria generated by both my students and myself. I feel like this sets the students up for success as they are free to express their learning and understanding to me through various methods/mediums. On the rare occasion where I give a summative assessment, I ensure I chunk the sections and do not put time restrictions on the assessments. I also encourage the students to study with one another beforehand. I think my students would perceive my assessments as fair.
February 25th, 2020
Research ways for teachers to prepare students for assessments:
To prepare student for assessments I would use the following strategies:
Provide study questions in advance. Give the students ample time to prepare and study for the assessment. Teach students how to complete a multiple choice test or written portion of an assessment.
Do not put restrictions on time during the assessment. Students with learning disabilities may need longer time to process questions and answer them.
Consider the forms of testing (oral, open-book, hands-on demonstration) and the style that best suits your learners.
Eliminate distractions while students are taking tests. Set clear expectations during an assessment (no talking, sit in your own seat, etc).
Allow students to answer in whichever way is best suitable such as writing themselves, using a marker, dictating answers into a recorder, using a computer or allowing a scribe. Remember that we are not assessing the students on their writing ability but on the understanding of their content on the assessment.
Prince, Audrey W. (2005). Test-Taking: Tips for Students with Learning Disabilities. Retrieved from: https://www.superduperinc.com/handouts/pdf/97_TestTakingTips.pdf
Research ways for teachers to prepare students for assessments:
To prepare student for assessments I would use the following strategies:
Provide study questions in advance. Give the students ample time to prepare and study for the assessment. Teach students how to complete a multiple choice test or written portion of an assessment.
Do not put restrictions on time during the assessment. Students with learning disabilities may need longer time to process questions and answer them.
Consider the forms of testing (oral, open-book, hands-on demonstration) and the style that best suits your learners.
Eliminate distractions while students are taking tests. Set clear expectations during an assessment (no talking, sit in your own seat, etc).
Allow students to answer in whichever way is best suitable such as writing themselves, using a marker, dictating answers into a recorder, using a computer or allowing a scribe. Remember that we are not assessing the students on their writing ability but on the understanding of their content on the assessment.
Prince, Audrey W. (2005). Test-Taking: Tips for Students with Learning Disabilities. Retrieved from: https://www.superduperinc.com/handouts/pdf/97_TestTakingTips.pdf
February 27th, 2020
Please explore this link to see how I would adapt an assessment to make it more inclusive!
https://hallcami.weebly.com/inclusive-assessment.html
Please explore this link to see how I would adapt an assessment to make it more inclusive!
https://hallcami.weebly.com/inclusive-assessment.html
Module 2
February 29th. 2020
Describe how you make use of a TA or how you would make use of a TA.
Before I became a teacher, I was an education assistant for 6 years and I loved it. I obtained an education assistant certificate and began my career in education. I quickly learned that instead of providing one-to-one support, more often than not I was helping teachers prepare for assignments by doing a lot of photocopying. As I continued my career as an education assistant, I learned that my role was NOT to do prep for teachers and instead actually provide small group or individual intervention. I would often take students out of the classroom to provide support. As I transitioned from an EA to a teacher, I knew my role would switch and I wanted to ensure I was utilizing an EA in my classroom as best I could. I do not ask my EA to prep for me or photocopy for me, instead I provide my EA's with their own schedule of where/what I would like them to be doing throughout the day. I have open communication with my EA and she knows what I expect from her and I know what she expects from me. I think it is important for the EA to be available to support any student in my classroom if necessary so I always have a visual schedule up on my board so that the EA knows when we will be in gym, library, etc. I often have my EA work directly with a handful of students and provide interventions and academic support. If the students do not require support at a certain time then she is free to walk around the classroom and support any student who may need her support.
March 5th
Create your own student survey or interest questionnaire that provides information on students’ preferences toward instruction, motivation, strengths, gifts, and challenges.
I am inspired by the images below; I usually send out both of these surveys to students and their parents in the beginning of the year. I would combine questions from both of these as I state below. I think surveys are important to do multiple times per year as students are always changing and developing.
Describe how you make use of a TA or how you would make use of a TA.
Before I became a teacher, I was an education assistant for 6 years and I loved it. I obtained an education assistant certificate and began my career in education. I quickly learned that instead of providing one-to-one support, more often than not I was helping teachers prepare for assignments by doing a lot of photocopying. As I continued my career as an education assistant, I learned that my role was NOT to do prep for teachers and instead actually provide small group or individual intervention. I would often take students out of the classroom to provide support. As I transitioned from an EA to a teacher, I knew my role would switch and I wanted to ensure I was utilizing an EA in my classroom as best I could. I do not ask my EA to prep for me or photocopy for me, instead I provide my EA's with their own schedule of where/what I would like them to be doing throughout the day. I have open communication with my EA and she knows what I expect from her and I know what she expects from me. I think it is important for the EA to be available to support any student in my classroom if necessary so I always have a visual schedule up on my board so that the EA knows when we will be in gym, library, etc. I often have my EA work directly with a handful of students and provide interventions and academic support. If the students do not require support at a certain time then she is free to walk around the classroom and support any student who may need her support.
March 5th
Create your own student survey or interest questionnaire that provides information on students’ preferences toward instruction, motivation, strengths, gifts, and challenges.
I am inspired by the images below; I usually send out both of these surveys to students and their parents in the beginning of the year. I would combine questions from both of these as I state below. I think surveys are important to do multiple times per year as students are always changing and developing.
These images are snippets of resources I obtained from Teachers Pay Teachers.
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I love sending out student surveys at the beginning of the year - especially to parents as they know their children the best. I feel like student are very honest in these surveys. If I were to create my own I would combine these two surveys into one.
Important questions I value are: "How do you best learn?" "What are your goals academically/socially?" "How do you feel about school?" "How can your teacher support you?" "What are your interests" |
Module 3
March 9th
Recommend a book that addresses reading strategies. If possible, share the front cover of the book and provide a brief description of the book.
I recommend Reading for Information in Elementary School: Content Literacy Strategies to Build Comprehension by Nancy Frey and Douglas Fisher!
This book is geared towards grades K-5 and provides many before, during, and after reading strategies to help students build their comprehension. It is a research-based book and provides many examples of instructional strategies to support students' literacy. These strategies are geared towards informational text such as textbooks and gives examples of strategies you can use with your students to help them read for information and identify important information.
Many of my students in my class last year (grade 7) did not know how to effectively read for information so I think it is important to use the strategies outlined in this book to lay a strong foundation so that students can be active learners.
Recommend a book that addresses reading strategies. If possible, share the front cover of the book and provide a brief description of the book.
I recommend Reading for Information in Elementary School: Content Literacy Strategies to Build Comprehension by Nancy Frey and Douglas Fisher!
This book is geared towards grades K-5 and provides many before, during, and after reading strategies to help students build their comprehension. It is a research-based book and provides many examples of instructional strategies to support students' literacy. These strategies are geared towards informational text such as textbooks and gives examples of strategies you can use with your students to help them read for information and identify important information.
Many of my students in my class last year (grade 7) did not know how to effectively read for information so I think it is important to use the strategies outlined in this book to lay a strong foundation so that students can be active learners.
March 9th
Find a video or website from which you learned something new about reading comprehension or fluency strategies. Provide a summary of the resource and a link.
I really love the Reading Rockets website - I was introduced to this website in a Literacy course I look while doing my B.Ed. It is filled with an abundance of reading comprehension and fluency strategies. It provides multiple articles of various strategies to use before, during, and after literacy lessons or reading.
https://www.readingrockets.org/
Find a video or website from which you learned something new about reading comprehension or fluency strategies. Provide a summary of the resource and a link.
I really love the Reading Rockets website - I was introduced to this website in a Literacy course I look while doing my B.Ed. It is filled with an abundance of reading comprehension and fluency strategies. It provides multiple articles of various strategies to use before, during, and after literacy lessons or reading.
https://www.readingrockets.org/
Module 4
March 18th
Complete a web search to find resources to support the use of RTI to help students in math.
These web resources and videos provide great explanations of RTI in mathematics:
"Ensuring the development of mathematics competence during the primary grades is essential to later learning success." (RTI Network)
http://www.rtinetwork.org/learn/what/rtiandmath
https://www.dreambox.com/blog/rti-for-math-what-works
Complete a web search to find resources to support the use of RTI to help students in math.
These web resources and videos provide great explanations of RTI in mathematics:
"Ensuring the development of mathematics competence during the primary grades is essential to later learning success." (RTI Network)
http://www.rtinetwork.org/learn/what/rtiandmath
https://www.dreambox.com/blog/rti-for-math-what-works
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Module 5
March 21st
Select one of the following:
I chose to explore an article on the Study Skills website called "The Keys To Remembering What You Read" by Ann Dolin. Some strategies in the article that would be effective for students to retain information are selective highlighting and good note taking. These are skills that are important for students to know how to do and I believe they should be explicitly taught to students. Good note taking skills enhance learning by reinforcing the material the students have just learned. When students take notes, they are able to focus on the material and put the information into their own words by summarizing what they have just read. Another strategy in the article is selective highlighting, another important strategy that needs to be taught to students. Without instruction, students may highlight everything instead of only the important details or terms. It is important to teach students to go back and reread the pages and ONLY highlight what they deem important. The article mentions colour-coded material is easier for students to retain which is good to know! Learning and retaining information can be challenging for many students, especially if they do not find the material interesting. Students need to be focused and engaged in their learning in order to retain it and using these two study strategies will help them be able to do so!
Dolin, Ann (2010). The Keys to Remembering What You Read. Retrived from: LD Online http://www.ldonline.org/article/The_Keys_to_Remembering_What_You_Read
Select one of the following:
- Find information on the web on how to improve study skills.
- Choose an article that is of interest to you on the website Study Skills (LD Online, 2018).
I chose to explore an article on the Study Skills website called "The Keys To Remembering What You Read" by Ann Dolin. Some strategies in the article that would be effective for students to retain information are selective highlighting and good note taking. These are skills that are important for students to know how to do and I believe they should be explicitly taught to students. Good note taking skills enhance learning by reinforcing the material the students have just learned. When students take notes, they are able to focus on the material and put the information into their own words by summarizing what they have just read. Another strategy in the article is selective highlighting, another important strategy that needs to be taught to students. Without instruction, students may highlight everything instead of only the important details or terms. It is important to teach students to go back and reread the pages and ONLY highlight what they deem important. The article mentions colour-coded material is easier for students to retain which is good to know! Learning and retaining information can be challenging for many students, especially if they do not find the material interesting. Students need to be focused and engaged in their learning in order to retain it and using these two study strategies will help them be able to do so!
Dolin, Ann (2010). The Keys to Remembering What You Read. Retrived from: LD Online http://www.ldonline.org/article/The_Keys_to_Remembering_What_You_Read
Module 6
April 3rd
Locate a growth mindset chart from a colleague, your own collection, or from the Internet—one that you would find helpful in a classroom. Feel free to select a specific subject or behaviour for any grade level that involves a growth mindset stance. Be sure to reference your resource if applicable. Explain why you chose the chart.
Locate a growth mindset chart from a colleague, your own collection, or from the Internet—one that you would find helpful in a classroom. Feel free to select a specific subject or behaviour for any grade level that involves a growth mindset stance. Be sure to reference your resource if applicable. Explain why you chose the chart.
I found this resource on Teachers Pay Teachers and I absolutely love it (Not only because it goes with my watercolour theme haha). There are multiple posters within this resource that have growth mindset quotes on them which would be great daily reminders for students to see. I would put this chart up in my class but I do think it would be more effective if I created a growth mindset chart with my students. I think it would be effective to put up statements that I would like the students to change to be more suitable for a growth mindset. For example. I would put "It's good enough" on the board and have the students come up with suggestions on how to change the wording. I'm sure they would come up with statements such as "I won't stop until I am proud" or "Did I give this my best effort?" Once the class has come up with all of the suggestions, I would create a chart similar to the one above (middle image).
I also have an excellent growth mindset handout that I like to give to parents as it is important to encourage parents to use this language at home as well!
I also have an excellent growth mindset handout that I like to give to parents as it is important to encourage parents to use this language at home as well!
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April 4th
Access Provide Multiple Means of Engagement. Select one of the checkpoints in Sustaining Effort and Persistence that interests you (CAST, 2018).
I chose to look at checkpoint 9.1 Promote expectations and beliefs that optimize motivation. This short statement provided some excellent strategies to support support students in staying motivated. One of the key points is goal setting and I agree that goal setting is so important and a great tool for students to use throughout their learning journeys. I think it is important to teach students how to set realistic and achievable goals so that they can feel successful and motivated. Some strategies presented in the checkpoint include:
- providing students with prompts, reminders, rubrics, and checklists
- model appropriate goal setting
- support activities that promote self-reflection and goal setting
CAST (2018). Universal Design for Learning Guidelines version 2.2. Retrieved from http://udlguidelines.cast.org
Access Provide Multiple Means of Engagement. Select one of the checkpoints in Sustaining Effort and Persistence that interests you (CAST, 2018).
I chose to look at checkpoint 9.1 Promote expectations and beliefs that optimize motivation. This short statement provided some excellent strategies to support support students in staying motivated. One of the key points is goal setting and I agree that goal setting is so important and a great tool for students to use throughout their learning journeys. I think it is important to teach students how to set realistic and achievable goals so that they can feel successful and motivated. Some strategies presented in the checkpoint include:
- providing students with prompts, reminders, rubrics, and checklists
- model appropriate goal setting
- support activities that promote self-reflection and goal setting
CAST (2018). Universal Design for Learning Guidelines version 2.2. Retrieved from http://udlguidelines.cast.org
Module 7
What have I learned?
This course was filled with an abundance of useful resources! I learned so much throughout this course. Here are my takeaways:
I learned many strategies for making my classroom more accessible for all students. I learned strategies to adapt my assessments, lessons, and materials to be more accessible to not only students with special needs but to all of my students regardless of their academic ability. I was able to look at previous lessons I had taught and try to see how I would adapt them to include differentiated instruction and be more accessible. It is always helpful to learn more about UDL and effective UDL practices - I loved the UDL guidelines chart and will continue to refer back to that chart. I thought it was valuable learning about the IEP process and the stakeholders' roles in the process. It takes a village and it is important to know what each person's role is in this important process. I do still believe that students should have more of a role in their IEP process. I thought the modules covering RTI and DI in each subject such as math, science, and social studies were very helpful! Literacy is an area that I wanted to learn more about RTI and DI and I was able to do so in this course. I learned so much from my peers throughout this course and I appreciated the collaborative efforts in each module. I look forward to the next course!
This course was filled with an abundance of useful resources! I learned so much throughout this course. Here are my takeaways:
I learned many strategies for making my classroom more accessible for all students. I learned strategies to adapt my assessments, lessons, and materials to be more accessible to not only students with special needs but to all of my students regardless of their academic ability. I was able to look at previous lessons I had taught and try to see how I would adapt them to include differentiated instruction and be more accessible. It is always helpful to learn more about UDL and effective UDL practices - I loved the UDL guidelines chart and will continue to refer back to that chart. I thought it was valuable learning about the IEP process and the stakeholders' roles in the process. It takes a village and it is important to know what each person's role is in this important process. I do still believe that students should have more of a role in their IEP process. I thought the modules covering RTI and DI in each subject such as math, science, and social studies were very helpful! Literacy is an area that I wanted to learn more about RTI and DI and I was able to do so in this course. I learned so much from my peers throughout this course and I appreciated the collaborative efforts in each module. I look forward to the next course!