LE3 Reflection -- Kelly Stevenson
The Instructional Strategies module of this course has likely provided me with the most learning and “food for thought” in preparation for teaching the self-contained LD class in the coming year. I have seen their transition meeting notes and their IEPs already, and I know that one of my next steps (just before the school year begins and into September) is to create their student profiles and get down to planning their individual programs. I have a set of mandated assessments to complete in September, prior to writing their Term 1 IEPs, so I know where to go with their literacy and math programming.
Because everyone in my class has an IPRC identification of a learning disability and placement in a self-contained LD class with partial integration, my team will be working at providing support at Tier 3. Tier 1 and Tier 2 approaches to their learning were not successful. So as I consider UDL and DI, I will be thinking specifically about how to set up a classroom and programming that is designed for their needs.
I am excited to see the modifications that are currently being done to my classroom. There will be a huge wall-mounted workspace along one wall that will enable me to set up eight workstations for the students to work on their tech and charge their Chromebooks and CPens. I’m hoping that learning with tech will become so normalized that we don’t have to have conversations about how it makes them feel different. Because I have a tech background and a deep interest in teaching with tech, I’m hoping that our classroom becomes something of a hub for support within the school.
There is also a set of fancy furniture on order (stand-up desks, group work desks, and chairs) that we will use for flexible seating. I have a board consultant coming to help me figure out how we will design the classroom layout to best suit the children’s needs, and I am looking forward to learning from her. There is a lot of anxiety reported in the transition meeting notes (for most of the kids), so I am hoping to have a minimally designed classroom ready for the beginning of the school year so I can lead the kids in making the space our own. Hopefully this sense of ownership will help them feel comfortable in the environment we create.
A significant part of my time will be spent on explicit instruction in phonemic awareness (PA) as most of my students are not phonemically aware. I have the resources available to me and we did the training on them (Kilpatrick and Wilson) back in the Spring. The part I need to get my head around is what everyone will be doing while I am working with individuals or small groups to teach PA. I’m envisioning lots of choice boards and project-based work that can keep them busy while I work with kids at the guided table. There is lots of content available for me to work with because I have three grades (4, 5, and 6) worth of curriculum to cover. I need to dig deeper into the profiles of the children before I can figure out exactly what I will do to differentiate for their needs. Given that most of them are not reading anywhere near grade level, I’m envisioning lots of videos and group discussions and projects that require building or creating tangible products.
The good news is that the board consultant, who is considered to be the expert in our board, created a handbook that covers everything I need to know about setting up an LD classroom and starting the school year. I haven’t looked at it in too much depth as of yet because I am saving that for after the AQ. I think that with all the learning from this course and the information in the board-provided resources, not to mention the help being sent my way by the board, I’ll be well enough prepared to get started in September. It’ll be a huge learning journey for me, but I’m anxious to get the ball rolling.
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