Evidence Based and Practical Application

I am currently finishing up my certification in applied behavior analysis at the UofM and running into a road block between research/evidence based interventions and how to apply them in the classroom. When I attempt to design behavior interventions that have "high fidelity" (i.e., strong validity and reliability in implementation through a research design) for application in the classroom, I realize that there is no way I could practically track the data or ensure 100% of the time that the intervention is being followed according to the plan; this leaves me in a kind of limbo wondering if behavior spikes are due to events that happen outside of school or low reliability in the plan.

I am sure we come across this all the time in education; we recieve an intervention/program with strong research base. But, we can't implement it completely at school as the research suggests. Is this just when we "take what we can get" out of the intervention?

Distractability

I have been sitting through many new evaluation planning meetings and feedback meetings and there seems to be a common theme that has been occurring more now than in years past. Many students are struggling with staying on task and being easily distracted. Is it due to more stimulation at home with video games, computers and TV? Whatever the reasons, it has become a much bigger problem and I am trying to figure out how to help students try to stay focused on their work. If it is not ADHD, what is causing this increased distractability and lack of focus in the classroom?

Hartman/Borgen Monthly Blog

This month we went a different route than we planned. We met and discussed communication with families and how to handle parents that require more time and attention. With normal communication we send home a bi-weekly (Hartman) or monthly (Borgen) newsletter to keep parents informed about curriculum and upcoming events in the classroom. We also update our website so parents get all the information they need. Needless to say we offer parents multiple resources to get their information. We have both found that parents use email frequently before checking the newsletter and/or website.

One problem we have been trying to figure out is how to handle parents who type literally 2 page emails. We have been given the advice to go through and highlight questions and respond only to the questions in the email. We are both big communicators and we drowning in emails from parents this year more than ever. It has gotten to the point that we don't check our emails over the weekend because of the time it takes to respond to all the requests, updates, and issues. Has anyone else had this problem this year? If so, do you have any more advice on how to deal with these issues? We understand that email is an effective way to communicate but it has been taking time away from planning and preparing well thought out lessons for our students.

Induction Meeting

It was very interesting talking about our educational philosophy this morning. I ended up being in Group 5 that focused more on the feelings of students and teaching to their individual learning styles. When I was in college and graduate school, I had to write my educational philosophy and it was similar to where I fell this morning on the chart. I think that being in special education, I am constantly aware of what learning styles my students have and how they feel towards what I am teaching and what they are learning in the classroom. A lot of what I do depends on how each student is feeling on a particular day. One of the women in my group felt that she fell in two different categories depending on what class she was teaching. I found that fascinating and reassuring that we do teach to individual classes and students and that sometimes our approach is different for each student.

MCA

We are now in the process of getting ready for statewide assessments. This year (like last year) students will be taking the MCA Math test online. A new twist this year is that students will have the opportunity to take the MCA Math test up to 3 times, but must take it a mandatory 2 times. My personal belief is that if the state is going to offer the test 3 time, then once a student meets or exceeds the standards then they should not be required to take the test another time. What are everyones thoughts on this new system? Also, this is the second year students will have taken the MCA tests online. I plan on going through several tutorials with them in the class and have them take practice tests in the computer lab. Furthermore, does anyone have any other strategies or tips I could have my students use while taking a computer based assessment? We will also have the MAP tests as well, so these strategies could be carried over to those assessments as well. What are peoples thoughts on the idea that we are asking 9, 10, 11 year old students to take 5- 7 major tests in 3 months? Does this limit our ability to teach, or teach to the test? All thoughts are welcomed.

Raising the "bar" with expectations.

I tried something new this year to see how it worked going of my new knowledge of love and logic. With love and logic you talk about what you will be doing not what you expect the student to be doing. For example, I will accept work that is completed on time. So, I thought I would incorporate this into my writer's workshop. I was a little nervous at first because I want to encourage a love for writing and inventive spelling in first grade, but I also want to be sure to have high enough expectations to ensure students are moving forward in their writing ability. So, starting third quarter I have told them "I only accept your best work. I accept writing that has capitols at the beginning, end marks at the end, spaces and words with vowels." I also told them that "I only accept work that you can read to me and I can read back." It was amazing to see how many of m y "lower" writers stepped up and really put their best work forward. Several of them showed me writing I didn't think they can do. It was a great note to self for next year to expect more out of students earlier in the year. It was so fun to see that when you raise the bar on expectations, students will go out their and reach for it. It was a great lesson for me, especially for me struggling students that when you expect more of them they begin to believe in themselves and build that confidence because you are showing them that you know they can do it. So excited to see how much more they grow as I keep raising the bar.

Student Teaching Dos-and-Don'ts

I have a student teacher starting with me tomorrow, and I'm a little nervous.  I am concerned that my schedule will be overwhelming, with all of the crazy travel, even though his college supervisor thinks it will be good for him to experience (since these are the kinds of jobs music teachers often end up in when they first start working).  I also remember LOVING my cooperating teacher when I was student teaching, and I want to make sure I offer the same valuable experience to the guy coming to work with me.

Do any of you have suggestions, either for me or for my student teacher, on how to create the best possible experience for him?  What are some of the qualities you most appreciated in your own cooperating teachers?  (Or things that drove you CRAZY about them?)  What are things you wish someone had told you when you were beginning your student teaching experience?

Reading Break Through

I have a student who has struggled with decoding words this year. I have been using the Sonday reading system to work on his phonics skills. Many times, he would be able to individually sound out words but then struggle with blending the sounds together into a word. This week, a light bulb went on and he is able to decode words with more fluency. He has a greater confidence when he is reading and is not attacking words with the hesitation that he had done before. I am so excited that he has moved past his roadblock to decoding. The issues he had with decoding impacted his ability to comprehend what he read so I am hoping that that area improves as well. This is the part of my job that I love the best - success!!!!!