Ability Grouping

I am frequently reassessing my students for placement into
different groups in ELA. These are groups are arranged so it is easy
to reassign the students based on student progress and topic of
lesson. At the beginning of each year I receive an Individual
Evaluation Plan (IEP) for each of my students. On these reports the
students WAIS and Stanford Binet IQ test scores are present. They
are placed in the self-contained classroom based upon these
scores. I use heterogeneous and homogeneous grouping in my
classroom based upon lesson and topic.

I have a 90-minute ELA block for my 11 self-contained special
education 7th grade students. The program we is a called Read 180
which is remedial reading and writing program which is structured
into three groups. One group uses the computer program, which
touches on different ELA skills. This program keeps track of their
progress. Also I am able to print out reports based upon different
skills, Main Idea, Inference, etc. I am able to use these reports to
group my students in the appropriate homogenous group for a
specific topic.

The second station of Read 180 is small group instruction. This is
the group that is teacher facilitated and focuses on a specific
reading or writing skill. It is very helpful to be able to work in a
small group of students that are on similiear levels. This allows me
to provide adequate direct instruction for each group.

The third group is independent reading. This is the time where the
students can pick a leveled book and enjoy reading. There are
packets and project that accompanies each book. Since the
students are group homogeneously they can work together on
these books and questions.

I incorporate a myriad of teaching techniques in my lessons. Since I
am teaching students with disabilities it is important to present the
information in a variety of ways. I feel the ELA program I have set
up in my class reaches both the Global and the Analytical learner.
This is important so all of the learning styles are met for each
student.

I agree a teacher must take many factors into consideration while
planning their day. I also believe this comes with experience and
being in tune to behavior and performance in the class. According
to LEARING STYLES – UTILIZE YOUR POTENTIAL PowerPoint, there
are perceptual, environmental, emotional, psychological,
physiolgical, sociological elements in the classroom which effect
learning.

I know I am teaching differently after lunch, than before. I try to
incorporate more reading in the morning as opposed to after lunch.
This is because the students focus more in the morning. Also there
are certain students I can not have work together after lunch,
because they dont ”play well” and they come back annoyed.
However, before lunch they work wonderfully togehter.

The learning of environment in my classroom are always
differentiated. Some students learn best walking around or
standing while reading. Other students like to be near the window.
I also have a lounging beach chair that one of my students uses to
do work. As a teacher it is important to be aware of the different
needs, ability accordingly.

Where in the World is Farryl?

Learners Differences

As a self-contained special education teacher, I often find myself frustrated. Even though my students are between a 2nd grade and 3rd grade reading level, I must teach the same 7th grade curriculum and prepare them for the 7th grade state assessments. Not only do my students have learning disabilities they are all at different academic and social/emotional levels as well. I cannot treat my students the same for these reasons. According to Gardner, “human being have a wide range of intellectual strengths and weakness, and that strength in one area does not predict strength or weakness in other areas.” This is why I really need to understand the individual student and foster a learning environment accordingly.

In the wake of No Child Left Behind there is such an emphasis on performance of standardized assessments. In some schools right before the ELA assessment they will not teach anything else and just review for the test. Practice, Practice, Practice……But is that learning? These kids are practicing how to take a test. Can these skills translate into a skill that will be beneficial for their “real” life?

I agree with Gardner’s opinion that multiple intelligences cannot be accomplished in the face of No Child Left Behind and standards based education. This law has made it difficult for the educator to provide a learning environment that prepares students with the ability and skills to become a moral and accomplished worker and a good citizen. Gardner used an analogy in an online chat with graduate students, which compared students and athletes. He explained that if he were interested in looking an athlete’s ability he would not devise a test to assess bodily-kinestic intelligence. He would want to see how well the athletic could perform at the sport, throw a ball, etc… This seems to be the problem with standardized tests; they are not necessarily measuring what students need too know and not taking into consideration the multiple intelligence of their students.

Educators have the challenge of nourishing multiple intelligence in the class when there is such pressure to cover a vast amount of material in a school year. Many teachers I know stress out when they are a little behind the schedule of what they are “suppose” to be teaching. Their mantra is “ I have to get through this chapter by the end of the week.” However, are the students learning? Is this just a class full of students getting into a verbal memory situation? Multiple Intelligence can be integrated into these classes. Students must synthesize these ideas for themselves. Educators should reflect on their teaching techniques and focus on MI in the class for the benefit of all students by offering opportunities for choices in the class.