Lesson 10/11 Journal

 I enjoyed the subjects we talked about this week, and I thought it was intersesting to watch the video and see the benefits and methods to include students with disabilities with their IEPs and the meetings held in their behalf. I liked the dozens of strategies in chapter 10 to help students learn. I especially liked the ideas of self-monitoring and self-advocacy, and not just for disabled students. By giving a student the tools and knowledge to help themselves in the classroom, it helps to prepare them for life as well. I thought it was an important point to realize that when dealing with expected behavior from a student it's important that the teacher explains what she/he believes is appropriate behavior because the student may not understand what is expected.

I also liked the discussion we had in class about how to accommodate with tests and even grading. The options of changing grading criteria, or using alternatives to letter and number grades is a good way to show the student is making progress (or not) without letting them know so they don't get discouraged or overly stressed about their performance. I also think allowing disabled student tools like a rubric or alternate forms of questions can help a student understand the material better without needing to make big adjustments. Also, I liked the idea that instead of formal assessments, using a portfolio assessment can show the growth of the student throughout the year. If a student does not test well, even with accommodations provided, the parents and teacher can still see the improvement and skills that were learned throughout the year through records, interviews, work samples, and informal assessments.