Eli Chase EDUC 202 Field experience Carol Billing 5/5/13

Field Experience Summary My observation was at Capital High School in Boise. Capital High School has about 1300 students, 25% of which are minorities. Last year, just under half of graduating students went on to a 4 year college and just over a quarter went to 2 year colleges. Acaemically, SAT and ACT scores are above the national and state averages. The school has one principal, two assistant principals, and 87 certified teaching staff. Overall it is a large school with a significant minority population and exceptional teachers. I observed in Candace Chases room. She is a special education teacher for students with severe to profound disabilities. I plan on becoming a special education teacher as well, so this was a great classroom to observe.

After observing, what was the one trait your teacher possessed that you think is the most valuable? Why? I think the most valuable trait I observed in my teacher was patience. Ive worked in a few schools as an aide, and one thing Ive noticed is a lack of patience. It seems like everyone is in a rush to go from one place to another, but in reality there is a lot of downtime once we got there. I have seen teachers and aides do things for a student rather than take the time to let the student do it independently. The classroom I observed was a refreshing change from that.. For instance, in the class I observed, it was a students responsibility to load and unload sodas from the fridge to a cart (they sell cookies and soda during break). A job that would take a staff 20 seconds is instead given to a student who takes closer to 5-10 minutes, sometimes more. An aide is also assigned to assist the student and help keep him on task, so allowing this student independence takes both time and staff. The teacher justifies it because it is a pre-vocational skill

Eli Chase EDUC 202 Field experience Carol Billing 5/5/13

that will be important for the student to have later on in life. It would be much easier on everyone to just have a staff member complete the task, but the teachers patience allows her to do what she thinks is best for the students, even if it isnt the easiest route.

Did you get the chance to teach a lesson in class? if so, what was it? I had the opportunity to work with students for about an hour during each visit (twice a week). On Mondays I worked with one student on vocabulary and three-word sentences from a picture. This particular student loved singing and songs, so I was encouraged to use songs to help teach. So I would show a picture and sing Action words, they tell us what we do, do, do... What is he doing? with the hope she would respond, He is ____ing. It usually wasnt very successful, and I later learned from the teacher that she thought it was an inappropriate goal for the student. Her last teacher had written it, and my teacher was obligated to work on the goal. On Thursdays I worked with a special needs student and a general education peer. I worked on vocabulary while the highschool helper would help motivate the student. The challenging part was actually working with the highschool helper. On the one hand, we want to encourage general education peers to be in the classroom, but on the other hand he was being quite bossy and being too physical. A few times I had to correct his behavior (Remember, hes a highschooler too! How would you feel if a highschooler did that to you?).I brainstormed with the teacher and made a PowerPoint presentation that she will require each highschool helper to complete next year. It was applicable to aides as well, so a new aide or substitute could quickly watch it to get an idea of what is expected in the classroom. I kept a copy of the PowerPoint for myself for when I begin teaching.

Eli Chase EDUC 202 Field experience Carol Billing 5/5/13

How did the teacher you are observing transition the kids from one subject to another? Did they use any special techniques like songs or listen and respond? Surprisingly, the students did not have much trouble with transitions. During my observations, students always seemed to look forward to the next activity and were ready and willing to go when the time came. I did notice that teachers were especially careful to give warning to students who had earned a free choice, usually in the form of, One more minute, then _(next activity)_. One student in particular would drop to the floor during some transitions, so a song was used to help get her going. Then more songs were used to keep her motivated to keep walking. On some days she would sit in a wheelchair to go to distant activities like PE, but I think that was because her leg braces had broken and new ones had not arrived yet.

In your discussions or talks with the teacher, did you learn anything about being and educator that you didn't know before? I spent about an hour each day working directly with the teacher and asking questions. I had been an aide in classrooms before, but I didnt know much about being a teacher. I learned about the areas of the job I had never experienced as an aide: parent relationships, managing aides, working with service providers, paperwork. I got to help create IEP goals and write task analyses. The task analyses were particularly eye-opening. I was asked to create a task analysis for putting on a shirt for a student that needed step by step instructions. We literally got out a shirt and thought about each action needed to put it on. We ended up with over 20 steps just for

Eli Chase EDUC 202 Field experience Carol Billing 5/5/13

putting on a shirt. I learned how important it was to actually do the task step by step to realize how complex it can be. Do you think teacher and student relationships should have a line drawn between them? And why? Of course there should be a line drawn on teacher/student relationships, the question is where to draw that line. In special education, teachers often have to take some responsibilities normally reserved for parents. For instance, some students need help in the bathroom. In general education, most teachers would never go much further than helping a student button his or her pants, but in special education the staff may need to do much more. In highschool, the girls need extra help in the bathroom. So special education teachers tend to have close relationships with students. At the same time, all teachers must remain professional. I have heard of an instance in which a teacher let an 8th grader sit on her lap. It became an issue when the student became aggressive and grabbed a handful of the teachers hair. The teacher admitted that she put herself in a poor position, which is only one of a few reasons a student shouldnt be sitting on a teachers lap. In the classroom I observed the teacher and staff were able to maintain a professional yet strong and caring relationship with the students. They did this by being caring but also strictly following rules that help teachers from crossing that line.

My experiences in the Candace Chases classroom were incredibly helpful. I learned that being a teacher is a lot different from being an aide, and I became prepared for some challenges that I didnt know existed. As an aide, I learned to deal with behavior, follow lesson plans, identify learning difficulties, and build relationships with students. As a teacher, I need to also

Eli Chase EDUC 202 Field experience Carol Billing 5/5/13

deal with parents, manage aides, create goals, create lessons, and IEPs. While my experience as an aide is a nice jumping off point, I have a lot to learn and experience before I will become the teacher I want to be.