Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Scaffolding Supports

A post that Paul Bogush wrote last week continues to resonate with me. How do we reach those kids who experience school as a daily struggle, who are challenged by traditional methods of instruction that utilize a "one size fits all" approach to learning?
We spend a lot of time forcing kids to do things when they are not ready. Their first experience with a great many things is failure. I think teachers believe that it is just part of the process to fail something when you start, and slowly build up to success.
He shared how he helped his daughter learn how to ride her bike, initially holding the bike tightly then gradually reducing the amount of support he provided until support was no longer necessary. Within a short period of time, she felt completely confident and successful. I can envision her beaming with pride at her accomplishment. Paul used that experience to wonder,

Do teachers fall into two groups? One who never let go of their kids, and one that never holds on and lets them fall and expects them to get back up with out any help?

Can you imagine what it must be like to spend seven hours a day, everyday, in a place with people that label you a “D” or an “F,” a loser, a failure. Everyday entering a race and never winning, never even knowing what the race is for or which direction to run? And if you even decided one day to try your best you would still not be labeled a success?

His post emphasizes the importance of providing the right amount of scaffolded support to ensure the success of all the students in our classrooms, especially those who encounter daily struggles.
Over the weekend, I came across this video which perfectly juxtaposes with Paul's post. It is a wonderful example of what happens when we provide the tools necessary to ensure success. We may not identify the tools correctly the first time, but with our encouragement students (or baby squirrels!) may persist in spite of obstacles that seem impossible to overcome.

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Treasures of the Week


It's the weekend - time to catch up and take advantage of the opportunity to review what's in my reader. So many treasures to share with you, in no particular order!

1. Do you work with students who may benefit from speech recognition software? This topic frequently pops up in IEP team discussions about students with written expression issues. Who are the ideal candidates? What are the necessary prerequisite skills? Use the Custom Typing comprehensive online form to guide your decision about the effectiveness of speech recognition for a student. (Explore their resources under the Special Needs tab for a wealth of additional information).

2. Facilitating Online Class Discussions: the Why and the How - Many struggling students fear participating in class discussions for a variety of reasons. Will they give the "right" answer? Do they have enough time to formulate a verbal response? Will they humiliate themselves in front of their peers? (My son told me he prayed his entire sophomore year that his English teacher would never call on him. Guess what? She never did, and he lost the opportunity to contribute to class discussions for one full year. Wonder how much he actually learned that year, but that's another post). I'm resurrecting a blog post from Instructify (Teach Smarter not Harder) called How to Stimulate Class Discussion Using Discussion Forums. He describes two key advantages and the process for promoting worthwhile discussions.

Tired of blank faces when you ask the class for their thoughts on Tom Sawyer? How about when you ask if there are any questions about the long division lesson, not a single student raises a hand? You can hardly get kids to pipe down when the morning bell rings, but ask the class a direct question and the first thing you hear is an awkward pause.

In-class discussion is an art, and you’ll probably spend most of your teaching career wondering how to keep kids engaged. Fortunately, in this age of the interweb, you can take advantage of online discussion forums to get the dialogue flowing.

Read the rest of the post - it's excellent and details an alternative method to support struggling learners.
3. Searching for a comprehensive resource for Project-Based Learning (PBL)? Your search has ended - check out PBL Online.
You'll find all the resources you need to design and manage high quality projects for middle and high school students. You can learn how to Design your Project. Plan rigorous and relevant standards-focused projects that engage students in authentic learning activities, teach 21st century skills, and demand demonstration of mastery.




4. Finally, thanks to Kevin Jarrett who I continually learn from, here is another powerful, free educational resource. Gcompris offers a high quality interactive educational software suite for students who are developmental ages two to ten. There are different levels for a variety of activities including keyboard and mouse navigation (great for those new to the computer), reading practice, strategy games such as Connect 4, math activities, telling time, tangram puzzles, create animations, even chat with your friends in a safe environment. All the activities are listed here with a screen shot and description of each.
You can use it in full-screen mode with your Interactive Whiteboard or Touch Screen computer. In the free version, you have access to 46 of the 108 activities. The user interface is visually pleasing and easy to use. Surprisingly, it also includes an Administration Module which allows you to collect data on each student. (how awesome is that for when we need to compile objective data!)
This software is distributed under the GNU GPL V3 License and works with GNU/Linux, MacOSX, Windows and other Unix versions.


Graphic attribution: http://www.leehansen.com/clipart/Themes/Pirates/images/treasure-chest.gif

Friday, May 15, 2009

Asking Great Questions

Borrowing a page from David Warlick today. He was recently asked by a retired educator to identify the most controversial issues facing education today. So he asked his readers:
What do you think — in as few words as possible — are the greatest questions facing education in this digital age?
Refer to the many comments to read what's on the minds of educators.

My question to you is, what do you think are the greatest questions facing SPECIAL education in this digital age? (Do you believe it is necessary to differentiate between general education and special education or are the issues similar?)

I look forward to reading your thoughts.

Thursday, May 07, 2009

To Test or Not

A distraught mother called me the other day. She wanted to know what she should do. Her third grade son is struggling in school, inconsistent performance, doesn't always "pay attention," not enjoying school at all. She's wondering, based upon conversations with the current teacher, if her son needs testing and has ADD. The only problems they see at home are related to homework completion.

I asked her some questions - how did he do in first grade? There were some concerns but they got through it. Second grade? No problems at all.

The red flags go up. What would you say to her? I'm interested in your thoughts before I share mine.