Saturday, February 5, 2011

Evaluating Game Plan Progress

As of right now, I have been very successful with the actions that I chose in order to meet my goals. I am fortunate to work with wonderful teachers and administration that are willing to lend a helping hand to assist our students. They know a wealth of information, and many have been teaching a lot longer than myself. This is beneficial, because they have the experience, and also the resources. Collaborating with them has been extemely helpful in the sense that if they did not have an answer or resource for me, they told me who has.

I know my students really well, and my first step was to really target what it is that they need in order to be successful. So far, I have learned some strategies to help those students struggling in math. They are experiencing extreme difficulties with using strategies to both add and subtract, even though they already learned both the counting up and counting down strategies. Of of the self contained teacher's in my school has Touch Math, and I feel that this has assisted my struggling students. I also have students that experience difficulties with reading. They are now using websites where they click on the word, and you can hear it. This is helping those students with key sight word recognition. I am still researching assistive technology that the district itself has to offer. I e-mailed the supervisor of technology for the district, and I am waiting to hear back from her.

I am also continiuing my own reseach online. I would like to find ways that students who need enrichment can use technology. I am researching various interactive websites for students to use during center time. Those that need enrichment will have the opportunity to work during center time, and those that need reinforcement of skills as well.

3 comments:

  1. Hello Carol~
    I'm glad you've had great success gaining new knowledge and advice from your colleagues. Math is also a subject I continue to be concerned with in my classroom. I have worked in this area trying new strategies which some work and some don't. I have not used the Touch Math but have heard of it at my school. I am currently trying to work in exploring new sites such as IXL math. I would like to find a connection between home and school for students to practice in both places. Luck with your researching!

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  2. Carol,

    There are a lot of free websites online that can help with specific reading and math strategies. There are even some great games that students can play. I have heard of Touch Math but I am not completely familiar with it. I explored the website earlier and it looks beneficial. Is it something you need to register for (is there a fee?)? My school using compass learning odyssey. Of course there is a fee for the school to use the server but the math lessons on there are great. Maybe as part of your research, you can find some sources to present to your computer liaison and administration.

    Matt

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  3. Hi Carol,
    You are definitely heading the right direction of utilizing the assistive technology available at your district. For your concern about bridging the weaker students and also enrich the strong students, technology is the key for you there. If I were to suggest anything to you, I'll suggest you pairing up a weaker student with a stronger student like a study buddy. That way the stronger one can help the weaker one by researching more information online and the weaker student will also get the help they need. This way it shall free you more time to guide and do your own research. I believe it'll also increase the confidence of the stronger students too. What do you think?
    Sarah

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