Making Modifications

Making Modifications

Vineyard Elementary

While doing my fieldwork at Vineyard Elementary, I've had several opportunities to see how teachers make modifications for exceptional students. There is an activity the students do daily, and I noticed that not everyone was doing the same assignment. I asked the teacher if there was a reason why some students were doing different worksheets and tasks than the others. Her reply suggested how some students needed a little extra help. All the students in the classroom were working on the same lesson, but some of them had the activity catered towards their personal level of learning and understanding. Another great modification that I noticed was a reward system. The teacher said this helps keep students from chattering and interrupting, along with praising them for being on task. They put their name "up" if they're on task and it gets taken "down" if the student is misbehaving or not doing what was asked of them. She said this was a great tool not only for the students with ADHD, but for the whole class.

I thought the teacher's modification for the student with ADHD related perfectly to the PowerPoint/video from this module. Her modifications really showed me that she understood what ADHD was and how she could help the student without making him/her stand out in front of the class. The teacher works very hard to make sure the student stays on tasks and keeps the other students from being distracted. There are so many great adjustments and modifications made, but the reward system really stood out to me. There are many ways teachers can make modifications and cater to each student's needs without making them stand out above the rest.

One on One

One on One

Vineyard Elementary

In Mrs. Partridge's class I've had the opportunity several times to work with students one on one. I have to admit that working with students individually is my favorite way of teaching. I've helped students read, spell, write, add, and subtract. The best experience I've had so far was helping one of the students add and subtract using base ten blocks. It was so cool to me because last semester I learned how to teach using these blocks in my math class, and I finally got to test what I had learned. I helped the student one on one with the blocks on how to add and then subtract. I thought the student was doing great! It wasn't until Mrs. Partridge had asked the student to do it without any help that I started to stress. Can he/she do it without my help? Are they going to remember to regroup from the tenths position? The student I had helped one on one did it! They were able to show Mrs. Partridge what they had learned using the blocks because of my help. It was this moment when I realized just how important it was for me to sink in everything I was learning at college because I know one day it will truly help somebody.

My experience helping students one on one makes me think of our recent module we've been working on in my Intro to Education class. We've been learning about the history of education. Helping students one on one makes me connect to the recent picture I saw and read about regarding Ruby Bridges. Throughout the history of education there have been many bumps we've overcame to get us to where we are today, and it happens that segregation is one of those bumps. Little Ruby Bridges went to school and ended up being the only one in her class for her first year because no one wanted blacks in the same school room. During this time, Ruby received one on one help from her teacher. Ruby had an immense connection to her teacher due to the one on one time they spent together. Their connection was so great that later came in contact with each other and spoke with one another all over the country. Teachers have such a remarkable influence. I love it!