Assessing Student with Special Needs, tools, and technology. What stood out to me upon reading Cooper’s chapters 7 and 8 was the idea that educators must identify students with special needs, and plan their curriculum accordingly.
As opposed to the last readings, where I struggled to personally identify with the concepts presented, in both these chapters, in particular chapter 7, I found myself relating to the content presented because, I have had the opportunity to work with a student with special needs. For the purpose of this blog, we’ll call the student in question, Andy. Andy was a grade 4 student with a severe learning disability, he was also diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder, therefore, it was quite difficult for him to remain attentive for the duration of the school day. Because, as per claimed by Cooper, “these students are at risk on a “one-sized-fits-all” classroom; they will not be successful unless the teacher makes specific adjustments to the curriculum, instruction, and or assessment that have been planned for the majority of the students in class”(122). After speaking with Andy and observing him during free-play, his teacher identified that Andy had a particular passion for building things out of repurposed materials. She noticed that he would dig through the recycling bin and take empty juice boxes, and apple sauce cups to make something refined and realistic. The teacher was truly impressed with his ability to create something new out of ordinary materials, but also how passionate and proud he was of his art work. Although the teacher did try to integrate Andy into classroom activities, such as knowledge building circles, and other activities, he had a great difficulty interacting with other students are preferred to be secluded from the other children. In order to properly accommodate Andy, the teacher decided to place his desk away from the children in a more secluded area, where his creative abilities would be fostered. While this method is not appropriate for most classroom, Cooper does maintain that “it has become necessary that all teachers differentiate their classroom strategies to meet the diverse needs of their students” (126). On a different occasion, the teacher walked into the classroom, and placed a new tube of tin foil on Andy’s desk. I asked the teacher with whom I was working with why she purchased the foil for him. She told me: “because he asked for it yesterday, and I know how it feels when a teacher does not know how to deal with a student with a severe learning disability.” Furthermore, she often allowed Andy to go help the Kindergarten children during arts and crafts. This allowed Andy to feel a sense of independence, but also this made him feel like he was apart of something bigger in schools. Every time I worked with him, he always seemed quite happy and eager to start a new project. The method employed by the teacher I worked with did raised some concerns. As aforementioned, Andy would spend a vast majority of the day making art projects, therefore, I often questioned the teacher ability to properly assess and subsequently grade Andy’s work. Fortunately, Cooper provides, in chapter 7, a section titled: Grading and Reporting for Students with Special Needs. In this section, Cooper identifies three principles:
Moreover, chapter 8 provided some useful insight in regards to rubrics and grading schemes. In my experience, when a teacher or professor introduced a new assignment, the first question posed by students always seemed to be: “Is there a grading rubric attached to this assignment?” In this context, it is clear that students want to know the criteria, as well as how they will be graded. In Teaching with Rubrics, the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, author Heidi Goodrich Andrade claims, “I use rubrics before, during, and after I deliver instruction, and the benefits are numerous” (27). In my opinion, as held by Goodrich, students achieve greater success in the classroom when the teacher’s expectation are clearly communicated to the students in advance. In order words, the language used in the grading rubrics must be clear and concise, rather than vague. I would also argue that a qualitative rubrics, which refers to the quality of the phenomenon is a better way to communicate the student’s weak and strong points. Goodrich points out, “such descriptions tend to be quite informative for students, thereby helping them think, learn and produce high quality work” (27). Although informative, when using rubrics it is important to remain aware of the potential shortcomings. As explained by Goodrich, grading rubrics are “not entirely self-explanatory, and do not replace good instruction”(29). While validity, reliability, and fairness are concerns addressed by the author, as future educators, it is important to, in addition to the rubric, pay attention to our own judgement and reasoning.
1 Comment
linda radford
10/14/2015 04:39:12 am
Thanks for sharing the story of Andy. It really helps to illustrate what Cooper is speaking about in chapter 7 and I am glad that chapter 8 and the Goodrich article helped extend your thinking about rubrics! Super slide show :)
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
Archives
November 2015
Categories |