Self+Data

Self Data Chart [] //**Endless Dream**// video [] ||= I watched both of these videos and learned so much about the difficulties students homeless and foster childern endure. It is easy for teachers to be unaware of these issues and not realize why a student is performing poorly at school. As a teacher it is important to get to the source of your students' poor performances. Whether it be a learning disability or the fact that they don't have a safe place to do their homework, their are many factors that go into a student's performance. It is usually not for lack of effort, but often an outside cause that the student has no control over. Being understanding and flexible as a teacher can be the difference between a student's success and failure. ||
 * < **Learning Goal**   **for the course**  ||=  **Thinking Data**  ||= ** Learning ** ||
 * ** 1) Gathering, **  ** Analyzing, **   ** and Using Data **  ||= [|Data_Questions.JPG] ||= These are questions that I have about the use of data in the classroom. In all //question// links, I learned the importance of asking open-ended questions to my students to provoke thaught and help students come to their own conclusions in their learnging. All of these questions that I present are ones I am truly curious about, and at the same time gained practice in the different types of open-ended questions one can ask. The type of question is represented in the upper right-hand corner of the of each index card. ||
 * < ** 2) Differentiated Instruction **  ||= [|Differentiation_Questions.JPG] ||= These are questions that I have about differentiation in instruction. ||
 * < ** 3) Special Education **  ||= [|SPED_Questions.JPG] ||= These are a couple questions I have about the affects of SPED laws and certain labeling of disorders. ||
 * < ** 4) Invisibility **  ||= **//Invisible Children in America//** video
 * < ** 5) Assessment Policies and Current Events **  ||= [|NCLB_Questions.JPG] ||= These are questions I have about the results of the NCLB Act as a result of reading Diane Ravitch's chapter on NCLB from //The Death and Life of the Great American School System.// I actually own this book and would highly recommend it to anyone curious about the changes our education system has gone through and needs to go through. ||

[|Assessment_Questions_2.JPG] || These are questions that I have about the use and benefits of assessment and the different types. ||
 * **Learning Goal** || **Work Samples** || ** Learning ** ||
 * **1)** || [|Gathering_Data_Chart_worksample.JPG] || This is a graphic organizer I made that shows what I have learned about students gathering their own data, how I have seen it used in my partner school, and how I plan to use it as a teacher. I think that it is only beneficial for students to keep track of their progress and be able to see how far they have come. Having a student be able to identify what they have done well and plan their own next steps provides students with the intrinsic motivation necessary to be proficient in their learning. ||
 * **2)** || [|Lesson_Plan_with_Differentiation.JPG] || This is a lesson plan that I did at my partner school for teaching students how to do a reading response. It includes a section on differentiation which shows that I have applied what I have learned in this course about differentiation to my classroom. ||
 * **3)** || http://hedin-required-online-module.wikispaces.com/Case+Study+RTI || This is the Case Study on RTI students that I completed. It shows all of the resources that I read and viewed and learned from. I have a much clearer understanding of what RTI is and how it does or does not lead to the classification of a student as SPED. ||
 * **4)** || [|Invisibility_Questions.JPG] || These are questions I had as a result of watching the invisibility videos in the above sections. They show my concerns as a teacher for addressing the topic of invisibility. ||
 * **5)** || [|Assessment_Questions_1.JPG]


 * **Learning Goal** || **In-the-Classroom Benchmarks**  ||  **Learning**  ||
 * **1)** || http://hedin-required-online-module.wikispaces.com/Case+Study+RTI || This is a link to my Case Study on Right to Intervention 4th graders at Laredo Elementary. It shows how I have learned to gather data and analyse what I gathered to draw conclusions about specific programs and their affects on students and my teaching. ||
 * **2)** || [[file:Co-teaching Reflection.docx]]

|| The first link is my co-teaching reflection. I included this because I forgot to address the differentiated instruction that myself and my co-teacher, Kelly, used. I wanted to take this opportunity to add that I found our use of small groups and the gallery walk as an effective differentiation technique to help all types of learners in our class to bette understand the use of rubics to assess in-the-classroom benchmarks. The second link is to my Final Data Analysis for my RTI case study. There is a section in this reflection where I explain how important differentiation is for RTI (and all) students and my intentions of using it in my classroom as often as I can. ||
 * **3)** || http://hedin-required-online-module.wikispaces.com/ || This is the Required Online Module I completed at the beginning of the course. It was my first introduction to the process of classifying a student as SPED and helped my to gain a deeper understanding of the process that students and teachers must go through. ||
 * **4)** ||   ||   ||
 * **5)** || http://hedin-required-online-module.wikispaces.com/Choice+Module || This is the Non-Profit Online Module that I completed. I learned about four different non-profits that could benifit my students and their families and will be able to use these resources in the future to help those in need. ||


 * **Learning Goal** || ** Peer Feedback ** || **Learning** ||
 * **1)** || [[file:Co-Teaching Peer Feedback.docx]] || This is peer feedback that Kelly and I received on my co-teaching of in-the-classroom benchmarks. The lesson itself was on uses for and ways to assess gathering data such as benchmarks. ||
 * **2)** || [[file:Co-Teaching Peer Feedback.docx]] || There was feedback on the several ways that we allowed the students to interact and learn through our differentiation. ||
 * **3)** ||  ||   ||
 * **4)** ||  ||   ||
 * **5)** || [|Peer Review of Choice Online Module for Paula.docx] || I received feedback from Ms. Defeo on my Non-Profit Module. I was happy to hear that my module was easy to navigate and understand and provided a connection to my partner school. Lauren provided some good suggestions and it helped me to understand the benefits of peer review. ||


 * **Learning Goal** || **Instructor Feedback**  || **Learning** ||
 * **1)** || [|Co-Teaching Instructor Feedback.docx]

[|Gathering_Data_Chart_worksample.JPG] || In all categories that follow, I have received feedback from my instructor on various work samples from this course. I have learned from these what kind of expectations that my instructor has and what she values from her students. We talked a lot in this course about how important context driven and timely feedback is to our students. ||
 * **2)** || [|Instructor_feedback_differentiated_instruction.JPG] ||  ||
 * **3)** || [|Case Study Instructor Feedback.docx] ||  ||
 * **4)** ||  ||   ||
 * **5)** || [|Assessment_Questions_1.JPG] ||  ||

**__School Context__**
 * I have learned a lot about Laredo Elementary in the last 8 weeks. Below is the school's vision along with demographic information**
 * that the Principal provided. I also provided links to a letter from the Principal and a page of various resources that the Laredo website provides. Finally there is a link to the Case Study I did on 4th graders in RTI at Laredo.**
 * The Laredo Vision** **//We believe://**
 * Responsibility for high student achievement is shared by the entire Laredo community.
 * Individual learning styles and creativity of students are honored.
 * Our positive, forward focused attitude enables us to make choices that build a safe, healthy environment.
 * Enlightened leadership becomes a shared responsibility of the learning community.

[|Principal_Interview_1.JPG] [|Principal_Interview_2.JPG] Letter from Principal O'Keefe: []

Link to Various Resources that the Laredo website offers for everyone from parents to teachers and kids: []

My Case study on Laredo RTI 4th graders: http://hedin-required-online-module.wikispaces.com/Case+Study+RTI

__**National Level Context for Teachers in Urban Settings**__

This is a link to a study entitled //Preparing Teachers for Urban Schools:// []

This is a link to an article entitled //Preparing Teachers for Urban Settings:// []

This is a link to the U.S. Department of Educations source for the No Child Left Behind Act: []

This is a link to the U.S. Department of Education web page. It shows the recent flexibility to the NCLB Act that the Obama administration is offering. []

//**My Recommended Grade for this course:**// //**As a result of an enormous amount of __hard work and time__ in each area of SPED 5030 Data Decisions/ Diversity in Learning I recommend that I receive an A. There were times through out this course where I was unclear about directions and expectations, none-the-less, I always put forth my best effort to complete each assignment.**//