My Beliefs About STEM Education

Over the past couple decades, a huge emphasis has been put on STEM education. STEM education focuses on the technical skills needed to integrate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. STEM helps students broaden their horizons. They understand the connections between the natural world and the industrial world, as well as everything in between.

It is also important to note that STEM education highlights the real-world applications of science, technology, engineering, and math. In school, all students take math and science classes. However, it can be difficult for them to see the application of the math and science concepts they are learning. One of the most common questions students ask is "When am I ever going to use this?" When algebra concepts like factoring and completing the square are presented in the vacuum of a traditional classroom environment, students struggle to understand its importance. STEM education discourages educators from teaching in the traditional, lecture-heavy way that is so popular in classes like history and English.

STEM classrooms encourage collaboration and student-centered learning. Sometimes, students get frustrated with inquiry and problem-based learning because they feel like they are doing all the work. But that's the point! STEM classes are difficult because students need to take an active role in their learning. Students learn invaluable life skills in the STEM classroom, such as collaboration, problem-solving, and critical thinking. These skills will be crucial for students in higher education and beyond.

I believe that STEM is important in public education. The high school I will be teaching at this year has a few magnet programs, most of which are STEM-based. I am teaching computer science principles, which is a class for the computer science magnet program. Students in this program take computer science principles in their sophomore year. Between my two rosters, I have about 17 students per class (17 students x 2 classes = 34 students). There are about 500 students in the 10th grade, so about 6.8% of students at my school take these classes (34 students/500 students = 0.068 x 100 = 6.8%). That is a shockingly small amount. Not to mention that the student population in computer science classes is generally not very diverse. More male students tend to take computer science than female students. There also tends to be an overrepresentation of Asian students in computer science classes.

STEM is a growing career field. However, there is a deficit of college students majoring in STEM fields. This leads to a shortage of employees in STEM careers. I believe that we need to enhance the value of STEM in public education to prepare students for the workforce. We need to promote a growth mindset and an attitude that anyone can do STEM.
________________________________________________________

Update: After doing some research, I realized how truly homogeneous the STEM workforce is. White and Asian individuals make up the majority of the workforce at 69 percent. According to U.S. News, White and Asian individuals represent "87 percent of the engineering workforce, 84 percent of the computing workforce and 83 percent of the advanced manufacturing workforce" (Bidwell, 2015). Men also make up the majority of the STEM workforce. In 2014, women represented "24 percent of the engineering workforce... 36 percent of the computing workforce... and 18 percent of the advanced manufacturing workforce" (Bidwell, 2015). The percentage of women in STEM has continued to drop over the past several years.

According to U.S. News, "part of the problem could come to a lack of access" (Bidwell, 2015). In fact, "African-American and Latino students are much less likely to have access to Advanced Placement courses in STEM fields" (Bidwell, 2015). In my own experience, I know this to be true. Not only do minority students often lack access to AP classes, but they also seem to lack confidence. I believe that a lot of students lack confidence when it comes to taking AP classes. AP classes seem unattainable. Only "smart" students take AP classes. In the training for the AP class I am teaching this semester, we talked about how the class was built for any student to take. Since this class is designed for students in 10th grade, it is often the first AP class they take. The class is very manageable and I look forward to recruiting students to take AP computer science principles in the future.

Reference

Bidwell, A. (2015, February 24). “STEM Workforce No More Diverse Than 14 Years Ago.” U.S. News. Retrieved from https://www.usnews.com/news/stem-solutions/articles/2015/02/24/stem-workforce-no-more-diverse-than-14-years-ago

Read More

Mock IEP Meeting Reflection

This week, I thought that the video series about Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) was very informative. The first two videos were a recap of everything I’ve learned about IEPs this semester. I felt like the videos were slow, but I think that is a good thing from a parent’s perspective. The IEP process can be daunting for everyone involved, but especially the student and his or her parents.

When a student is eligible for an IEP, the first thing that needs to be established is an IEP team. The team usually consists of the student’s parents, special education teacher(s), general education teacher(s), representatives of the school system and possible transition services, and other knowledgeable individuals (Kupper & Kohanek, 2000). Sometimes, the student is also involved. Student involvement is particularly important when the student reaches high school and needs to start thinking about post-secondary transition services (Kupper & Kohanek, 2000).

I tried to watch this video series from a parent’s perspective before thinking about IEP meetings as a general education teacher. I did not realize how much planning a parent has to do for an effective IEP meeting. First and foremost, parents need to keep good records of their student’s progress. This includes report cards, letters, evaluations, and samples of their student’s work (The IEP Team Process: Chapter 4 - Getting Ready for the IEP Meeting, 2011). I am sure a lot of parents do not realize that they should be keeping every little thing related to their child’s disability and school performance. When I was growing up, my parents kept a lot of my school stuff, but not all of it. I am sure that if a situation arose where they needed every single project and assignment that I completed in school, they would be scrambling.

In addition to collecting information on the student, it is also crucial to review it (The IEP Team Process: Chapter 4 - Getting Ready for the IEP Meeting, 2011). Parents need to know what the student's evaluations mean. Where is the student struggling in school? What is the student's diagnosis? What accommodations can be made to help their child in school? Parents should also be aware of their student’s academic standing. If the accommodations outlined in the student's IEP are not working, it might be time to try something else.

Most importantly, parents need to be advocates for their student. I feel like this is a given, but it is important to remind parents that they play an active role in their student's IEP. Parents should communicate with their student about how he or she feels about school. However, they need to be deliberate with the kinds of questions they ask. For example, instead of just asking "How was school today?" they should ask more specific questions like "What do you find challenging at school?" Parents also need to create a positive student profile for their child. These profiles are helpful for the IEP team members. The members of the student’s IEP team will be more willing to compromise and try to find the best possible solution if they have another perspective on the student’s learning (The IEP Team Process: Chapter 4 - Getting Ready for the IEP Meeting, 2011).

Throughout this semester, I have learned a lot about special education, especially IEPs. I thought it was helpful to watch a mock IEP meeting this week. In this situation, the special education teacher facilitated the meeting. In addition to the student's special education teacher, his general education teacher, parents, school psychologist, assistant principal, middle school representative, and a note taker are present (The IEP Team Process: Chapter 5 - The IEP Meeting, 2011). I believe that the facilitator (the special education teacher) has the most difficult role in the meeting. The facilitator needs to make sure that every member is heard and that their concerns are addressed and resolved. I also believe that special education teachers have an inherently difficult role in the IEP process. They do the most hands-on work at school to help the student meet his or her goals.

I thought that the structure of the IEP meeting was interesting. Each team member has a copy of a draft of the student's IEP. In this case, the student is present for the first few minutes of the meeting. The team members ask him questions and he shares his interests and strengths. From there, the facilitator goes through the draft, which is based on the student's current IEP and the standards he needs to meet for his upcoming transition to middle school. As each section is addressed, the IEP team members can chime in. For example, the special education teacher stated that she thought 30 minutes a day in her resource classroom would meet the student's needs. However, the student's mother insisted that he should continue to be in the resource classroom for 45 minutes a day. The special education and general education teachers were hesitant at first, but after the parents reminded the team that the student's goals were ambitious, everyone agreed to 45 minutes (The IEP Team Process: Chapter 5 - The IEP Meeting, 2011). IEP meetings seem very informal, but there is a lot of planning that goes into them. 

From a teacher’s perspective, I thought the IEP meeting was effective. As a regular educator, I am required to "determine 'appropriate positive behavioral interventions and supports... (as well as) supplementary aids and services (and) program modifications'" (National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities, 2010) for the student. I believe the regular educator in the mock IEP meeting did just that. She suggested that the student, who struggled with writing, use a combination of online and physical tools. The teacher was also willing to agree to more time with the special education teacher, even though she wanted to keep him in the regular classroom as much as possible.

I appreciate the fact that the parents did their research and were not afraid to speak up and voice their concerns. They obviously care a lot about their child’s education. As a teacher, I care about each and every one of my students and their education. However, I have over 150 students every school year. On top of lesson planning, I need to provide differentiation for students who need it. It will be a lot easier for me to differentiate my lessons if I am provided with effective, clearly written IEPs. Although I strive to build strong relationships with my students, their parents know them better than I do.

The whole IEP process is a little overwhelming. However, I am only one member of the IEP team. In practice, we will all have to work together to write the most effective IEP and give the student the best education possible. In high school, students have more than one teacher, so I will not be present at every single student's IEP meeting. However, it is important that I am "well-informed about (each student's) IEP" (National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities, 2010). This includes the student's goals, classroom and testing accommodations, and the necessary supplementary aids and services (National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities, 2010).

References

Exceptional Children’s Assistance Center. (2011, October 30). The IEP Team Process: Chapter 1 – IDEA and IEPs. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=94&v=bSm3wOjkkVw

Exceptional Children’s Assistance Center. (2011, October 30). The IEP Team Process: Chapter 2 – The IEP Team. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMctXPmG7bc

Exceptional Children’s Assistance Center. (2011, October 30). The IEP Team Process: Chapter 3 – What’s Included in the IEP. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIi0xanOVcs

Exceptional Children’s Assistance Center. (2011, October 30). The IEP Team Process: Chapter 4 – Getting Ready for the IEP Meeting [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDhLjYSbwCc

Exceptional Children’s Assistance Center. (2011, October 28). The IEP Team Process: Chapter 5 – The IEP Meeting. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ok0irMNfKmY

Kupper, L. & Kohanek, J. (2000, July). “The IEP Team Members.” Reading Rockets. Retrieved from https://www.readingrockets.org/article/iep-team-members

National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities. (2010). “The IEP Team.” Reading Rockets. Retrieved from https://www.readingrockets.org/article/iep-team

Read More

Lori Sjokheim is Not Just Somebody Else's Kid

Torey Hayden describes a school year with four problem children in her book Somebody Else’s Kids. Lori Sjokheim is one of her problem children. Lori and her twin sister, Libby, are seven years old. Their biological parents were extremely abusive and both girls were adopted at five years old. Both Lori and Libby repeated kindergarten due to emotional issues. Libby benefited from the extra year, but Lori still struggled. Soon after, it was discovered that Lori has severe learning disabilities due to a traumatic brain injury and epilepsy. The brain injury and its effects are a result of the physical abuse she experienced as a young child. Unfortunately, Lori’s brain damage severely affects her ability to recognize and write symbols (Hayden, 2012).

Lori is originally one of Hayden’s resource students. She and Hayden work one-on-one to improve her reading and writing skills for a short period of time each day. However, Lori still cannot meet the literacy demands of the first-grade curriculum, and her teacher decides to place her with Hayden full-time in the afternoon (Hayden, 2012).

Lori stays in Hayden’s afternoon special education class for a while with very few problems, but by February, she still has trouble recognizing the letters in her own name. Lori’s first-grade teacher, Edna Thorsen, insists that she is just being difficult. Thorsen forces Lori to read in front of the class on a daily basis. It makes Lori so anxious that she is placed with Hayden full-time after one particularly upsetting episode. Hayden realizes that Lori is not ready to read and write, so she decides to modify her curriculum. Although she receives a lot of backlash from Lori’s first grade teacher, Hayden stays strong. Eventually, her district approves the modified curriculum (Hayden, 2012).

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I could really see Hayden’s growth from the beginning to the end of the year. At first, I found myself frustrated with her passive stance in the classroom. However, I tried to keep an open-mind when it came to her teaching methods. I do not teach special education, but I can only imagine that these students require more patience than the average student. At the beginning of the year, Hayden tends to sit back and let students have their outbursts, especially Tomaso and Boo. As the year goes on, Hayden becomes very attached to all of her students. She takes the lead in her students’ education plans, especially Lori.

Lori has a traumatic brain injury that “adversely (affects her) educational performance,” (Understanding Special Education, 2016) which means that she qualifies for an Individualized Education Program (IEP). Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), children with disabilities have the right to a free appropriate public education (FAPE) (Understanding Special Education, 2016). This law is vague and only states that the student’s education must be “appropriate” considering his or her disability, but I hope to provide disabled students with the best education I possibly can. Lori is no exception. I believe that her frustrations and “emotional outbursts” can be effectively managed if she is given an equitable education.

In order to give her an appropriate education, accommodations and/or modifications need to be made. Accommodations are “instructional or test adaptations… (that) allow the student to demonstrate what he or she knows without fundamentally changing the target skill that’s being taught in the classroom or measured in testing situations” (Crawford, 2013). On the other hand, modifications “change (the) target skill or the construct of interest… by (reducing) learning expectations or (affecting) the content in such a way that what is being taught or tested is fundamentally changed” (Crawford, 2013). In Somebody Else’s Kids, Hayden made modifications to the curriculum for Lori. However, in my classroom, I plan on only making accommodations. I believe that Lori is perfectly capable of learning the material if she is given the proper tools.

Unfortunately, Lori’s disabilities are not visible, which can make it difficult to make the proper accommodations. Lori is a talkative, extroverted student with a big heart. On the surface, she seems “normal.” However, her brain damage makes it close to impossible for her to recognize symbols. Lori cannot read or write. In the education system, we seem to think that reading and writing are the most important skills for students to learn, but Lori physically cannot. Hayden decides to make modifications to Lori’s first-grade curriculum. She pushes her principal to put Lori in second grade by comparing her to a student with a visual impairment. When her principal counters that this student is different because she can learn, Hayden states that

“Lori can learn. The truth is that we haven’t taught her. Why can’t we start taping her reading material? We could quiz her orally. Lori isn’t dumb. She simply has a disability. All the time in the world in first grade isn’t going to change that, unless her teacher moonlights as a brain surgeon” (Hayden, 2012).

This section really stuck with me because I want to give Lori similar accommodations in my lesson plans. I believe that once Lori gets to secondary school, it will be much easier to make accommodations for her. By the time she gets to my class (algebra 2), her progress will be monitored by her ability to understand and apply the material, not her ability to read and write.

In my lesson plans, I try to include assistive technology whenever I can. For example, if we are using a site like Desmos that does not have a built-in text-to-speech feature, I would encourage Lori to use an app like Windows Narrator. I believe that Windows Narrator is a great tool to make computers more accessible for students with learning disabilities. Any time Lori hovers over words or passages with her mouse, Windows Narrator will read them aloud to her. The only stipulation I have is that I would require her to wear headphones while using Windows Narrator.

This year, I will encourage my students to constantly reflect on their learning. Originally, I wanted to use an online journal like Penzu, but that would require Lori to use a separate voice recorder or video editing program to do her reflections. Instead, I want to streamline the process and use Microsoft OneNote. I used OneNote in some of my college classes to take notes, but I know it has a lot of other capabilities, such as scanning in worksheets, drawing diagrams, and recording audio. I plan on using OneNote to check in with my students. I am going to grade their notes and reflections very informally, so they can use whatever medium they want. For Lori, she can easily record her notes and send me a link to her OneNote notebook so I can check her progress.

Although there are several accommodations that can be made for Lori, there are some drawbacks to her individualized plan. Since she cannot read or write, all of her assignments must be given verbally. Her tests and quizzes need to be proctored in a separate room. It will take extra time to coordinate with her IEP team.

For Lori, there might be potential issues with assignments that cannot easily be read to her. If she does not have an aide, there will not be a person designated to reading and writing her assignments. If I change seats often enough, I can have the students around her help with reading and writing (Powell & Kusuma-Powell, 2011). My biggest worry is with any sort of literacy activity. I want to periodically present my students with texts to encourage them to make connections between mathematics and the real-world. However, I have to be mindful of Lori’s disabilities by choosing texts that are accessible online with text-to-speech options.

I also need to keep in mind that Lori needs to verbally record her responses instead of writing them down. I want to give Lori a space to do her work. Unfortunately, this year I am in between two classrooms and do not have a lot of control over the space, but I would try to sit her in a corner of the room so that she can complete her assignments with few disruptions..

I think one of the most important things I can do is to make sure that I do not treat Lori any differently than my other students (Center for Teaching). Although Lori needs extra accommodations, that does not give me the right to treat her any differently than the rest of my students. In Somebody Else's Kids, Lori really wants to be included in normal first-grade activities. She wants to go to class parties and participate in the talent show (Hayden, 2012). I might feel protective of Lori due to her learning disabilities, but that does not mean that she cannot participate in fun activities. For example, even though she cannot read, there are plenty of things she can do in the talent show, like sing and dance.

However, I want to make a distinction between equality and equity. It is so important for educators to make the proper accommodations for students who need it. If a student is struggling with a certain topic more than the rest of the class, the class should be able to work independently to master the topic while the struggling student gets extra help. This is known as equity. Every student is capable of learning, even if some need more help than others. I want to promote an equitable classroom. Some students might need extra help, but that does not make them any different.

In conclusion, I do not see Lori as "somebody else's kid." When she is in my classroom, she is my student, and I am responsible for providing her with the best education I possibly can. The obligation to give disabled students the proper accommodations and modifications they need should not be pushed onto somebody else. I cannot just give up when the going gets tough and place Lori in a class that is not appropriate for her. I know that it can be difficult to deal with disabled students, especially when their disabilities are not obvious, but they deserve the same opportunities as every other student.

References

Center for Teaching. “Student Incivility.” Retrieved from https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/59/Student-Incivility-Best-Practices.pdf

Crawford, L. (2013). “Accommodations vs. Modifications: What’s the Difference?” National Center for Learning Disabilities. Retrieved from https://www.perkinselearning.org/sites/elearning.perkinsdev1.org/files/Accommodations%20vs.%20Modifications.pdf

Hayden, T. (2012). Somebody Else’s Kids: They were problem children no one wanted... until one teacher took them to her heart. New York, NY: Avon HarperCollins.

Powell, W. & Kusuma-Powell, O. (2011). “Knowing Our Students as Learners.” How to Teach Now. Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/111011/chapters/Knowing-Our-Students-as-Learners.aspx

Understanding Special Education. (2016). “A Parent Guide to Special Education, the IEP Process and School Success.” Retrieved from https://www.understandingspecialeducation.com/

Read More