Journal 12-14 to 12-16

12-14
A students communication needs can be hard to handle sometimes, especially for the student. My student and I were working on using the little cue cards that we made on boardmaker. What I am doing to implement these is give her choices just to introduce the cards and what they mean. I know that now is not the best time to start, but what's the harm in introducing them? We'll try using them again every day.

12-15
The new student did well today making it easier to work in the same room with my student. That turned out well because she wasn't having anything to do with the other kids in the main classroom. We tried to get back there but it didn't work today.

12-16
Today was a good day. We started out doing the recycling and our morning routine. I would like to incorporate recycling into our daily routine since nobody else is doing it. There should be plenty for us to do. My student did great getting the bins from the classroom and doing it quietly. I am so proud of her. We managed all our work later in the day and she sat through an entire movie! So that was awesome. Hopefully we don't have to work too hard to get back into the swing of things when the break is over.

Journal 12-5 to 12-7

12-5
Today I want to talk about administration. I understand that the leaders of our schools have a great deal on their plates, and that they sometimes just don't have the time. I'm also accustomed to taking care of myself in the workplace, but sometimes, it would be nice if there was an ounce of time that the administration could spare to us IA's. If people in my school were to have problems, I imagine that I might have a hard time too finding time for them, but emails should do the trick and having meetings to fix problems should come first above working in the cafeteria for lunch.

12-6
Today my student had a full meltdown before she got on the bus. I firmly believe that it's not my job to get a student on the bus, it is the parents. But when my student threw herself on the ground, I couldn't just leave her there with her mom. So I waited patiently. We didn't get to school for at least an hour, so I guess I don't know, but if someone could answer this question, it would be great. How long is too long to wait for a student?

12-7
She got on the bus today. I feels like it has been an up and down kind of time these past few weeks. I would kill for some routine.

Journal 11-30 to 12-2

11-30
Monday and Tuesday my student didn't come to school. This was half expected though since we just got back from Thanksgiving week. When she got on the bus today, I figured that we would spend a lot of time going on walks, taking breaks, and doing a minimal amount of work. That's how today went. I have started ignoring my teacher. It probably sounds childish, but when she gives me advice about my student and presumes to tell me what to do, I never take her seriously. If she wants to decide how I work with my student, then she needs to spend more time working with her and learning about her.

12-1
Today was 100% better than yesterday. We got a ton of work done, and had plenty of time to spare. Today was a breath of fresh air and it's what I and she needed.

12-2
We started dedicating more time to our vocational skills today. Every week, she and I will be going around and taking care of the schools recycling. She is learning but by a couple of weeks from now, she'll have it down. It's really too bad that our teacher doesn't focus on that more often.

Journal 11-16 to 11-17

11-16
As before I am still working on keeping my student happy and in the classroom with the other students. We are working on staying quiet during work times and working with distractions. She is easily distracted and needs reinforcement all the time. Now I am happy that she and I have been using a token board.

11-17
We had a rough day. My student couldn't focus and spent a lot of time in the break room. There are times when she will experience a sudden and unexpected outburst. At this point I always help her situate herself and we go through the motions of taking deep breaths and setting up her mat to lay on and the weighted blanket. That thing has saved my life a ton of times. Not much work was done today. Hopefully tomorrow.

Journal 11-8 to 11-10

11-8
Alright. So the new student is in full swing, literally and figuratively. This kid is violent and loose with his language. So my student and I are spending as much time as possible away from that room. Hopefully I wont be asked to work with him and her at the same time.

11-9
To put a little crappy icing on the cake, the absent head teacher told me that I would be switching off with another one-on-one staff member with the new kid. Now I firmly believe in helping kids, I really do, but there is a limit that everyone needs to recognize and it's how far you can be stretched. When she informed me that this new partial placement was going to happen, I told her I couldn't do it. I will fight tooth and nail to keep my student away from this kid, because I can't manage the two of them at the same time while giving adequate care to my own student. Before, when I said that parents are going to be the ones who burn me out, I should have included incompetent teachers.

11-10
Today is taking a long time. I'm on lunch right now and I have been all over the place with my student. I'm also feeling emotionally exhausted. I just hate the feeling of not being supported. I hope I don't fall into the same trend as my teacher.

Journal 11-2 to 11-4

11-2
Our new student came in today, and my student didn't so I was put on duty to meet the kid and his mom. The kid was all over the place, even with the mom there. She had a list of things to cover which felt like demands more than anything else. Ill tell you, it's not the students that are going to burn me out, it's the obnoxious parents.

11-3
So first day with the new student without mom and he was everything that we expected and more. Lacks empathy, social rules, etc. He sent my student off on her own tantrum because of the behavior he exhibits. Now I know that moving into the other classroom was a good idea. My student and I spent half the day in the classroom and half in the individual work room. We got along without as much overload as before but I am assuming that it will be a day to day basis.

11-4
Good day with my student despite the fact that she wouldn't get on the bus this morning. We spent more time just sitting in the other classroom which is working out because I don't expect her to get much work done but I do expect her to listen to the teacher and follow the class. We got away without many behaviors today which felt good. Good day.

Journal 10-25 to 10-27

10-25
This week so far has been hard. We just got word that we would be getting a new student in the near future, and he doesn't sound like a piece of cake. I know that no student is 100% easy but when you work in a DLC, behaviors are the last thing that we worry about. With this new student, I'm afraid with our absent teacher and the lack of support from our administration, that we will be finding ourselves having a hard time treading water.

10-26
No further news of our new student. I really hope he doesn't upset the balance that I have made with my one-on-one student. Its been hard enough making a connection with her without the stress of another students behavior on the board. She has been doing well. She got on the bus all by herself with no motivation from anyone today which is a step in the right direction. If that new student is as bad a they say he is, then she and I will be moving into the classroom with the other students. Its time to get her mixed in with everyone and made part of the classroom.

10-27
Today, my student and I will be test running a day in the classroom. Ill let you know how that goes.

Alright. So today didn't go so well. I had to keep moving her in and out of the classroom because of sensory overload. It looks as though progress will be slow, but when is it ever fast with these kids?

They say I say part 4

The point made at the beginning of chapter eleven is valid in the idea that linking your thoughts and comments to what others have said. It can give you support in your argument or help tie in your own thoughts in a contextually relevant way. Despite how helpful that can be, I think this concept can be effective and detrimental when used during different mediums. When writing an essay, report, or study, it's important to link your methods and findings to the work that others have done before you, but when considering a conversation in a classroom setting, I can see people overusing others thoughts and playing them off as their own. It's great to give credit where credit is due, but that shouldn't steer people away from saying what they think, whether they agree with others or not. The only issue I have with this idea is that there has to be a measure of your own words rather than simply rephrasing what others have said. Without an emphasis on individuals personal input, there wouldn't be any conversation. For this reason, I appreciate the first few pages of part four and it's acknowledgment of the flaws in this idea.

Another segment in the chapters that I particularly enjoyed reading was bit about picturing the author of text in a social setting, not typing the pages of a book. The author talks about how this can force people to think more deeply about how the author of any text is responding to others and their ideas. As I thought about how I could implement this idea in the classroom, I thought how we in the cohort are asked from time to time to argue or debate in small groups. This is a great way to get students involved in learning especially when it is concerning beliefs that are not their own, as people are prone to ignore ideas that they don't agree with. On a final note on this topic, I thought this was a great way to ask your students "what is motivating this writer?".

Chapter 4 questions

1.Consider for a moment curriculum design: we align unit goals to specific instruction and align this with assessment. How is the same principle applied to an action research design?

In action research, the goal or question is determined by the context. Once the goal is in place, the method is aligned with the goal.

2. How is alignment between the critical question and the action research plan creating a “strong sense of connection”?

When the critical question and the action research plan are aligned, the alignment can set a solid base for the connection to the literature, data, context, and the interpretation of the data.

Chapter 4: Process Questions

1. How will you balance the demands of learning to teach and the act of conducting research? How is teaching and research the same, different?

In all honesty, I probably wont have much time to research. Instruction and presence in the classroom is the most important job that a teacher has, and I will work by a case to case basis with each student depending on their needs. There wont be any longitudinal studies but there will be development of goals and methods for students on a daily basis. So, to rephrase my previous statement, I will be performing action research every day. Teaching and research can be the same because I will be learning about my students every day.

2. Describe your action research design in one brief concise paragraph. Now read it to someone who is not as familiar with your project. Have them summarize what they hear. What questions do they have for you? Do they understand the goals of your action research? Is there anything you need to revise based upon their comments and/or questions?

Here is what I read:

Our research will revolve around the connection between a students academic success and their social base/needs. Our main question is "does a student perform better in school when they have a friend?"

My wife just had two questions which were "what about if that student has more than one friend and how does their performance compare to their peer who only has one friend?" I would allow for more time to obtain more data in the future.  

Chapter 3 questions and they say I say 3

1. Crystalization is the idea of having multiple sides to the information and triangulation is using the relevant data from that information. The combination of the two shows exploration of varety of biases and alternative causes while Identifying the commonalities between the points of data.
2. They help set parameters for your thesis as it is what your main focus is. Focus and purpose keep your thesis and main themes in the spot light while trustworthiness supports your ideas.
3. Make sure you have permission to use relevant data, or people have the the right to know if their information is being used.
4. Methods may be appropriate for one sample but inappropriate for another. This can be avoided by specifying your samples and adjusting your methods so to fit the samples better.
5. The context could influence the research design by forcing you to gather information a certain way. Doing a study on SPED students would be very different than doing one on general education students because you could use different methods such as surveys and other self evaluation methods with different populations.
6. It means that you are an active learner as well as an educator. It shows that you want to better your methods while working and implementing them at the same time.
7. The most challenging thing about data collection will be enough time in the day. I work as a one-on-one and my student needs help all the time. Carving out time in the day will be the hardest part, but I can ask other IA's to help out when I'm not there.   

The first point that jumped out at me during my reading of they say I say part 3 was at the very beginning. The example they gave about the student who was having a hard time with writing fluently made me think about how I write and the best way I would sum up this idea is write something you would read. I don't write that well, but I do use transition statements pretty well. I also noticed later in the chapters that the text says to repeat key phrases to make an emphasis on something. I never do that just because it seems like I am sounding to monotonous. I guess if I do it the right way, I may not come across as that. Finally I just wanted to note the idea of metacommentary. Honestly, it sounds like bad journalism, guiding people how to feel. I haven't very much practice at that only because I wasn't taught to do that in my papers as a student, though it is nice to see how it helps clarify a point you're trying to communicate or a judgement you wish to avoid. This section was very helpful and I can see where I can grow as a writer. 

Journal for 10-18 to 10-20

10-18
Student and I are in full swing of our new routine. She seems to handle everything well until around thirty minutes before school gets out. At that point, she becomes over stimulated, giddy, and unable to complete work in a timely manner. It makes sense to just to call it quits for the day rather than push her too hard because I want her to like coming to school. We got a lot done today, but we have such a limited amount of time. I hope to extend her work time every day so that we could work until the very end, but for now, I am happy where we are.

10-19
I love manipulatives. I was having such a hard time today trying to teach her subtraction, but using toy bears worked wonders. I highly recommend them. Nothing really new today, but still looking to extend our work time every day. I will update later.

10-20
Today, we worked hard on social skills and interactions with others. Student and I walked around the school and tried sitting in on the whole class time which turned out to be longer than I thought before we began distracting too many people. I am tired of just going over academics and needed to mix it up. These kids need as much exposure to others as possible so that they can become more independent.

Journal for 10-10 to 10-12

10-10

Today we have started focusing more on completing IEP goals in different ways. I have started using manipulatives more often and using worksheets just a little less. I don't want to get lost in worksheets and data sheets, but the amount my teacher wants me to assess my student makes it feel like all I may ever do is enter data. At the end of the day, I felt like my student did well despite the change in lessons and routine. I hope that she shows as much flexibility during the following days.

10-11

I had a hard time with my student today. We think shes having "girl" problems and doesn't fully understand whats going on. I haven't found myself in a situation before, but I don't really know what to do or how to handle it. I can be understanding and flexible with my plan, but what do you tell someone that doesn't understand what your saying unless you use three word sentences? How do you teach this population sex education? How do you prepare them for the changes that they will go through?

10-12
My girl didn't ride the bus today, so I had time in the classroom! Woohoo! I worked on classroom management like there's no tomorrow and it felt good to stretch my legs. I had a kid go into crisis mode when he didn't want to read the book that we were reading as a group, which made me super happy to have an awesome fellow staff that helped with self regulation. I feel like a bunch of these kids should have behavior support plan or at least some goals that are related to behavior management but many of them don't.

They say I Say 1 and 2

The main points that I took away from the reading of section 1 and 2 of They Say I Say were many. I am still learning a great deal about writing in general and appreciate the things that this book is showing me. I have learned that its important to create a context for your argument, or to communicate the big picture and how your argument plays a part. It's also important to know how the context responds to your argument. Creating an order or process to your arguments and the points you're trying to make can help. I may have pointed this out before, but I love how the text gives tons of examples of what you can insert into your text to communicate your argument in a more effective manner. Always make sure that you compare your ideas with others. To do this, you can create a dialogue. By creating this dialogue, you can use a little time to summarize others ideas so that they can fit your agenda and can be used to support your claim. By using others thoughts, you can be led to quote a great deal, which can benefit or be detrimental to your idea. Too much quoting can lead to less of your own work, which can seem like you don't see much merit in your own thoughts but too little can show little support for your ideas. When you do use quotes, make sure that they are framed in the text properly and not merely tossed in to fill space. Make sure the quotes you use are relevant to the sections they fall into. In chapter four, I love how simplification is important when you respond to someones ideas. Either saying “I agree because. . .” or “I disagree because. . .” is enough. 

Journal for 10-4 through 10-6

10-4
My student and I are in full swing. Shes still coming everyday and we have finally been going to PE with the rest of the class and actually staying at lunch. Now, I need to focus on keeping her "in the zone" and focused without frustrating her or getting her escalated. Once I can get her focused for longer than five to ten minutes, I can start getting base line data on her IEP goals. This is hard enough with one student. I hope I can handle a class load.

10-5
My student didn't come today because she was sick, but this gave me plenty of time to prepare my materials I need for probing and assessing. I also had a good amount of time in the classroom today which put my mind at ease, getting more practice. It's easy once you have been up there for at least one subject. That got me thinking about how I can be an effective teacher and still find the time to do all the case managing.

10-6
Today we started going through the process of getting data so that I could create a basal for my student. She started getting stressed out every time we would work for more than ten minutes. This meant that we could only get so much work done, and she got frustrated when she didn't know an answer to a question. I will have to find a way to make it more interesting and help her regulate herself so as to get more time and have less frustration.

Journal for 9-26 to 9-29

9-26
As the routine with my student becomes more fluid and frequent, I have had to come up with ways to keep her focused on different lessons and activities. I will probably base my research around this, but she has a hard time with transitions, being around large groups, and loud noises. I am trying to use a reward system based off of a token board that provides frequent breaks. I hope it goes well.

9-27
So it seems that she needs to work for somewhere between five and seven minutes until she loses interest. Today, I made sure to keep working on things just to keep her busy and to see how long she would repeat the work then break process. She made it for about half the day and then had a hard time with self-regulation. She just got to excited. I still didn't have any luck getting her out of the classroom and down to PE today but will try again tomorrow.

9-28
Today I was able to keep her working for about an hour longer than yesterday. I don't know if it was a fluke but she responded well to the process. I suppose my question of the day would be "How much does daily routine add to her stress and performance in our lessons?" I plan to keep trying to motivate her to leave the classroom for parts of the day, either during walks or going to outside classes.

9-29
Finally got her out of the classroom! Went for a walk in the building. it was very exciting! She had good day working. Still hoping to extend our daily work time, which was pretty short today. Maybe if I get her on a walk in the middle of the day, it will help.

chapter 2 and they say I say

Andrew Hatzenbihler

10-5-16

1. We choose to focus on issues that are meaningful to our current context, whether that be in our classroom, home, or social life. The questions we ask are ones that are relevant to our work and the community that surrounds that work. We do these things because they can help us become better educators who have the ability to adapt to most any situation in the classroom.
2. Problematize means to create a question that has been crafted finely enough from our thoughts and ideas so that it can be investigated. Action research depends on this because we need to have the adaptability of our contexts and the ability to focus that context and our ideas into an “equation”.
3. Context matters to action research because our questions we ask depend on the current context, which determines what we are thinking, which then helps us “problematize” our ideas and thoughts.
4. Characteristics of Workable critical question include that it is important to you, contains a good idea, focused, supports mission, informs your work, and is authentic among other qualities. Critical questions change with the action research because the action research can change with the context.

1. The classroom I will be conducting my action research in is a Developmental Learning Center that revolves around low cognitive and high behavior students. Social behavior is a priority in the classroom and our schedule and curriculum greatly depend on it. My context affects my action research because I would like to base it around the connection between social connections and a students academic success.
2. After speaking with my colleagues, I learned that many of the students feed off each other. They rely on the social and communal connections with their peers so as to be motivated in the classroom. I still need to find out the specific connections and to what degree each individual student is reliant on them. I will gather this through observations.
3. My choice in this subject reflects my own beliefs of community and how important a community is. A kid needs connections much like adults do when applying for jobs, but kids need them to survive education. They need friends as much as mentors. Sometimes, those people are one and the same.
   
   

They Say I Say intro

It seems that, as a whole, the author of They say I say puts an emphasis on focusing first on what others say in regards to a point you are trying to make or an argument that your are trying to support. I shows that you have regard for others thoughts and it creates a context for your audience. While reading this chapter, I couldn't help but think about a friend of mine that likes to insert himself into a conversation by stating something that steers the conversation in a different way. It feels awkward. I know that sometimes people don't understand social cues, but it is important to recognize others thoughts before asserting your own. I thought about this as a teaching tool as well and it makes so much sense to present to students this way. I like how this book seems to be laying out simple and easy-to-use techniques. It's kind of like going back to 7^th and 8^th grade where we learned how to incorporate devices like these but didn't see the relevance. I can finally appreciate that.  

Journal from 9-19 to 9-21

9-19
My student has a new bus starting today. She will now be riding later in the day so as to have a shortened school day, which is great for the both of us I think. I begin to run out of things to do, so to make school more enjoyable, the day is riddled with breaks after doing a little work. She is getting more work done than I think she has ever done and I get less of a headache. I'm starting to form a basal for assessments and the like. It's harder than it seems since she can only sit still for about five to ten minutes. Lets look to extending that time.

9-20
Had an even easier time getting on the bus. It looks as though she just needed a little more time in the morning. We had a hard time during the fire drill today. No one mentioned that she collapses when the fire alarm goes off. So if there is a fire, looks like we'll be carrying her out. I got a little time in front of the class today which was a nice break. I would like to get more time as I mentioned before, but that doesn't look to be the case any time soon. I'm learning from the other IA's and they have been tons of help as far as occupying my student. I have a bunch of ideas to lay the ground work for some real classwork and am looking forward to tomorrow.

9-21
Got on the bus easily today. Alright!! It's nice cause I get mornings apparently in front of the class before I go and pick her up, forcing me to be creative with how I teach the days of the week, go over the calendar, and the weather. I might try making some kind of costumes of the sun, clouds, or what have you. The students might think its funny, but I'll ask them questions about what I am, when I am around, what the weather needs to be like to see me, and all that good stuff. It's going to be awesome!

Journal from 9-12 to 9-15

Journal from 9-12 to 9-15

9-12
I have had a number of challenges today. First my one on one student did not come to school today again, and refuses to ride the bus. I don't know if it is the other students on the bus, the noise, or the time of day, but I hope that we can have more luck tomorrow. I am also struggling with a teacher who doesn't seem to want to teach. She mostly sits at her desk and delegates jobs to people. It's a little frustrating. If she is busy with paperwork, then she needs to try and balance her jobs as a teacher. I guess I will have plenty of time to practice teaching a class.

9-13
Still no one-on-one student. Her mother tried getting her on the bus today. That didn't work. I need to find out what makes her tick. Had more practice today as an instructor. I may try leading more and more in the classroom so to be more experienced in different subjects. Here's to that. I am also working on setting up the classroom experience for my student when she finally arrives. Here's to hoping as well.

9-14
Got her on the bus today! We focused on making my student feel welcome to the classroom. She is sensitive to loud noises and other such stimulus. I will probably end up working in a separate learning environment with her when she is here. We didn't get much work done, but the little work she did earned her some time for breaks and playdo! So, she likes that. Ill be setting up testing soon if she continues to come to school. I hope I can get that done soon. It's nice having such experienced staff that can help with my student. I haven't nearly the amount of knowledge they do.

9-15
Wouldn't get on the bus today. It looks as though they will be getting her her own bus a little later in the morning starting Monday. I think that a later start may be good for her and me, just so she can have time to get her bearings before the day truly starts. So, I will see her then. I had plenty of time in front on the class today. It's nice to get support from the other staff since they know that I need the practice for next year.