Summer Learning Place 2018 Recap

 

Last week I finished teaching my special education class to teachers getting their Master’s Degree in Special Education. I run a monthlong program called Summer Learning Place where the teachers teach students with learning and behavior difficulties.

This was a fabulous class and I’m so glad that I got to work with this group of teachers.

They all were early every day, so attendance and punctuality were never a problem.

The group as a whole had great personalities and seemed to mesh together really well.

They were quick to give each other support and offer help without being asked.

They turned in their paperwork early so getting reports checked and approved was an easy process.

Paperwork was turned in with very minor errors.

Some of them even went above and beyond what I asked them in order to make this a great experience for the children.

All of the parents gave positive feedback.

I was very proud of this group of teachers!

I learned a lot of new things from my teachers and hopefully they learned from me. Also, I feel like I was able to give some good advice and suggestions that might help them in their classrooms.

Practicum – EdEx 962/963

Today is the first day of my practicum class. I have 5 students who are the teachers of our summer program. The program is called Summer Learning Place. I have accepted 25 children, aged 6-14, with learning difficulties into the program and my teachers will be teaching them. Each teacher will have a caseload of 5 children where they will be responsible for all the paperwork for their group. In the classroom, they will be teaching reading, math, writing, and social skills. The program is Monday through Thursday from 8:30 to 11:30.  

Each teacher has to set up a blog to document their reflections during this course.

For their first reflection,  I have asked each teacher to write 3 goals for this class as well as their feelings about the course, the children, and their expectations.  This is a good way for me to understand my students better. It also helps them see growth in themselves by the end of the course.

I hope that I can give them valuable advice to help them in their future teaching. I have also been happy that former students use me as a resource during the school year. Some of them want to bounce ideas off of me or sometimes ask for suggestions on dealing with a particular student. Some have even asked me to come observe them and give them suggestions for classroom management.

This course is a small taste of experience teaching in a special education classroom. Yet, I always see tremendous growth in the children and the teachers during this short time.

I’m really looking forward to this time with my students and the children!