Barb's Lecture

     I was incredibly moved and a little stunned by Barb's lecture. Perhaps it is because my experiences with those with "disabilities" are very limited or perhaps it is because my perception of disabilities is so different than that of Barb's, but I can say with certainty that I walked out of the lecture with a very different and new perspective of Autism.
     My personal experiences with Autism are quite limited - I have some close family friends with very mild Autism, which only limits their socialization and desire to speak in large groups of people. What Barb said about people's perceptions of those with severe Autism like herself is true - people look at her (and them) with pity, patronization, repulsion, and fear. Though I believe myself to be an accepting and open-minded individual, I can admit now that I went in to the lecture with lowered expectations for Barb. How happy I am to be proven so very wrong! Though Barb cannot speak and takes a long time to type her thoughts, she is undoubtedly brilliant. It pains me to know that she spent so much of her life guised as a poor thinker merely due to her difficulties communicating. Likewise, after hearing about her 19 years of schooling that were, as she put it, worth nothing, I felt a sense of duty to prevent my future students slipping through the cracks academically and socially. Autism is not an intellectual disability per se, and should not be treated as such. However, what I learned from her lecture that is somewhat counterintuitive from what I have learned this semester in that perceptions and expectations do not make the person, but rather confine the one who is perceiving and expecting. Even if I have students come to me labeled as "profoundly retarded" (though unlikely in my general education classroom), I must look past that label and try to connect with the student as an individual, not as his or her disability.
     Barb's open acceptance and pride of her Autism is particularly meaningful - no one should feel regret or shame for who they are. Barb is happy to be Autistic, saying "the world needs Autism". The world is made up of individuals, and to attempt to weed out the individualism would inherently destroy society. As her SS said, "cloning" eradicates what is so special about an individual and can likewise limit the greatness of society. Her flower analogy really put labeling into perspective for me - by dubbing each oddity or difference in an individual as a limitation or something to be fixed, it lowers that individuals self-esteem and desire to play their necessary role in the world.
     I hope I can apply what I learned from this experience to my teaching - by emphasizing everyone's differences and being proud of those differences, those individuals are far more likely to grow and succeed to their fullest potential. If Barb's cause had been foregone, she would not have been able to bring her strengths to light and therefore would not have been able to help those like her.
     "Autism is my prism, not my prison."

8.1 & 8.2

8.1
Define "learning strategy", "overt strategy", and "covert strategy".

8.2
Compare and contrast "learning strategy", "overt strategy", and "covert strategy", then evaluate how you will utilize these strategies in your classroom in your content area. 

7.1 & 7.2

7.1

What is the difference between "concept" and "schema"? How are the two terms related? Define and give an example of each (preferably in your content area).


7.2

Using the similarities and differences between "concept" and "schema," devise a quick lesson or activity that utilizes both terms in bettering the learning experience of your students. How do they each contribute to the learning experience? How do they further a student's ability to synthesize and evaluate information?

15.1

When discussing Ingrid's standardized achievement test scores with her grandmother, I would first explain the nature of the test to her. Because the achievement test is a norm-referenced assessment, it illustrates Ingrid's performance against the performance of her peers. It allows us to evaluate her achievement in this context and aid lesson-planning. Looking at the "National Percentile Bands," we can see where Ingrid scored within a degree of error. The x's, or "confidence intervals," show the degree of error in measuring Ingrid's score, which means we know she scored somewhere within this given interval. The" percentile" scores show the percentage of Ingrid's peers that scored less than or equal to her scores. The "stanine" score represents Ingrid's performance based on a scale with an average of five and a margin of error, or "standard deviation," of two. Based on the these three scoring data, we can estimate Ingrid's achievement in a range of content areas and work with her in areas in which she scored lower. Now that Ingrid's grandmother better understands what the test is assessing and how it is used by her instructors, I can move on to her strengths and weaknesses in particular areas.

Ingrid's lowest scores are in spelling and math computation, with a stanine of four and four, a percentile of thirty-nine and thirty-seven, and with a confidence interval of thirty to fifty and thirty to forty-eight. Based on the confidence intervals, we know that she scored somewhere within these intervals. Ingrid can dedicate more time to these subjects, both in her knowledge and practice of the content, as well as her test-taking skills in these areas. Because we aren't comparing these scores to previous scores, it would be helpful to maintain a portfolio of her work to better assess where she is struggling. Also, many students suffer from test anxiety. If Ingrid found the testing of these subjects to be especially difficult, she may just require practice in completing timed practice exams in both spelling and math computation. A portfolio of her work and extra practice in test-taking are likely to increase her scores next time around.

Ingrid performed moderately in math concepts and extremely well in reading comprehension, science, and social studies. In the math concepts area, we may consider working with Ingrid in a similar fashion as in math computation and spelling. She may benefit from portfolio work or test practice, as well as extra time outside of class. Based on her well above average scores in reading comprehension, science, and social studies, we can gauge that Ingrid has a high ability in synthesizing and evaluating information, as well likely having high skill in critical thought in these content areas. These scores also show that Ingrid may utilize contextual evidence and comprehension skills when evaluating written work or scientific data. I would recommend that Ingrid find more challenging work in these areas, perhaps through taking more advanced courses or participating in academically-oriented extracurriculars.

Though these test scores do not specify particular content knowledge, they do give us a general idea or where she needs extra help and where she excels.

Chelsea Carter 14.2

     As with most teaching and assessment strategies, there are pros and cons for both norm-referenced assessment and criterion-referenced assessment. In criterion-referenced assessment, the teacher has the freedom to choose the specific standard to address and how they want to assess their students’ mastery of the subject matter. It also allows for fast results and enables the teacher to address the needs of individual students. However, criterion-referenced testing is only reliable if the test is valid in assessing the criteria. Likewise, it does not always gauge overall comprehension of the subject matter because it is specific-oriented. Norm-referenced assessment is capable of providing data nationwide and allows administrators to evaluate the overall comprehension of their students in specific subjects. It allows the school to evaluate their successes and failures in a national arena. However, the return rate of such assessments are slow and do not always allow for teachers to address individual needs after-the-fact. Instead, students move on to the next grade level without working on specific areas. They are also unable to gauge an individual’s progress because they are referenced to such a large data group. 

Chelsea Carter 14.1

For this scenario, I will teach my 10th grade English class about literary devices in poetry and how their use is critical to creating an auditory experience. We will cover a variety of poems from poets like Shakspeare, Eliot, Frost, and Poe. It will take several lessons to cover four forms of informal and formal assessment in the classroom, so the assessments will occur over the entire span of the unit. The unit will begin with an informal assessment to gauge what the students already understand about literary devices – what they are, how they are used, and their impact on the spoken word. Beginning the lesson, I will ask who recognizes a list of terms on the board, including “alliteration”, “meter”, and “metaphor”. Based on what is discussed in class and my input, the class and I will define those terms and write them on the board. From this inital informal assessment, I can gauge their level of familiarty with literary devices. My students will then participate in an individual assignment, finding examples of the devices in a variety of texts. By engaging them one-on-one during their individual in-class work, I can better gauge their previous involvement with identifying literary devices. The students will then compare their work in small groups, once again allowing informal assessment by evaluating the types of questions they have and their overall comprehension of the subject matter. At the end of class, I will send them home with a worksheet, and inform them of a quiz they will take the following class. More formal assessments come into play later in the unit, beginning with the quiz. Because they are informed of the quiz prior to taking it, my students will have a chance to review the material discussed in class. I will assign a poetry writing assignment that encourages creativity whilst providing me with yet another formal assessment of their knowledge on the subject. At the end of the unit, my students will take a test that provides them with new poems that contain devices they should be able to identify after a week’s work on the topic.

In utilizing group and individual work alongside traditional testing and homework assignments, I am using both informal and formal assessment to better gauge the mastery and comprehension of my students on literary devices. By using a combination of both forms, I am likely gathering a more accurate picture of what they know and what they have accomplished throughout the unit.