Context for Learning Assignment

I am teaching at a middle school. I have been in a 6th grade class the last quarter, and will be splitting my time this quarter in the same class and a 7th grade classroom. I am so excited to finally be in a classroom and have the opportunity to interact and teach the kiddos! It has seemed like quite a bit of time this past three years, but being in the classroom and teaching lessons really makes it all worth it. Not to mention that time has just been flying by now ever since I started at the school.

This school offers a program similar to AVID they call it GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs). It is a federally funded grant program that like AVID, gets younger kids on the right track to prepare for a career after high school, heading into college. There are 189 students in 8th grade currently enrolled in the program and will be monitored through 2017. I haven’t yet had the time to sit in on any meetings, but have every intention of doing so this quarter.

Like all Washington state schools the school has to adhere to the standardized testing. For the past couple of months now, students have been having scheduled times to go to the computer lab to take MAPS tests and have been having a lot of content specific lectures that are targeted specifically at teaching the students to the test. I like that I live in a state that has some of the highest education standards in the nation, but wish there could be another way to demonstrate mastery, than a standardized test. There is also a Teachers aid in my classroom that has seven students that are all on individual IEP’s and have their own specific curriculum that the aid is in charge of. Their homework assignments are often smaller than the rest of the class and she is there during homework time to help with reading or explaining any questions that any of the students may have.

I am in a sixth grade Social Studies classroom that is teaching the book World History Ancient Civilizations. The class is on semester basis and each class is a 50 minute block. Last quarter I observed two days a week in the afternoons, and this quarter I will be observing in the morning on Wednesdays and all day on Fridays. I will be splitting the day on Friday in my normal class and with a seventh grade classroom that I have only observed once so far, so am not quite sure of their protocols yet. In the sixth grade class there are eight students with IEP’s and they have a teachers aid assigned to help them during class time. The aid sits with them to ensure their accuracy on note taking and comprehension. I have also been taking a couple of students at a time, during class work time, out into the hall to give them additional tutoring. The fact that there is so many students with IEP’s doesn’t really slow the class down at all, the teacher goes through his lesson at his normal pace and leaves it to his aid to ensure that those students are keeping up with his pace. There is a smart board in the classroom that is the teacher’s primary instructional instrument during reading and note taking.

In my sixth grade class there are 25 student total, thirteen males and twelve females. Sixteen of the total is on free or reduced lunch. The class consists of two English language learners and eight students that are on IEP’s, most of which are for reading/comprehension, which is why they sometimes need to be read the questions during a test or homework assignment. The class also has two students that require Section 504 accommodations. There are no students that are “gifted” as far as state standards are concerned that require any support or special challenges. As I mentioned earlier the students that have the IEP work with a teacher’s aid during class time. The aid is responsible for ensuring that the students are reading along and understanding the material that is being read or discussed. The aid also assists the student with their note taking and at times I will take a few outside into the hall myself if they are falling behind the lesson. This is per the teachers request so that he can move on with the lesson and the IEP students are given plenty of time to understand the material that is being taught or tested.