CEDO525 week 5

This week’s strategies are identifying similarities and differences, homework and practice, and generating and testing hypotheses. 

Identifying similarities and differences

When it comes to identifying similarities and differences I use this strategy a lot with my students that have special needs.  This week I used it on their spelling test.  They had 16 words and within those words were groups of words that rhymed, had similar spellings, or sound the same with different spellings.  As a way to prepare for the test we used handheld whiteboards in which they had to tell me which of their words (from memory) rhymed, etc.  I wasn’t sure how well it would work prior to doing it, but it went very well and they had fun.  Then when they took their spelling test the students were able to refer back to the previous days activity.  In social studies, I recently had them do a test comparing China to the United States using a Venn diagram.  They were given a list of the words/topics and they had to correctly place them in the correct area of the Venn diagram.  They did very well with this too, and in addition they got more out of this test then they would have from a multiple choice or fill in the blank.  

Homework and practice

When it comes to homework and practice I think there are a lot of mixed reviews on this.  Students should not be learning new concepts as homework, but they should be practicing what they learned in the classroom.  Much of the homework I assign my students is class work that was not completed during class.  Working with students with special needs we do a lot of repetition throughout our lessons.  When class work is not completed they are then expected to take it home and complete it.  I make sure that before it goes home they understand what they are to do.  At times I will make additional comments on the work itself or the students’ daily reports to parents so that if the student gets stuck with the directions parents know how to help.  The problem I see with homework is that many times I get the homework back and it’s clear the student didn’t do the homework.  I’ve had students tell me their other siblings or even parents have done the work for them. 

I teach in a very poor urban school and many of my students do not own computers, and because of this most if not all, of their homework involves paper and pencil activities.  For students that own an iPod I have written down free apps for parents to download for their child, if they can get to a computer, to help practice skills worked on, for example sight words or grammar.    

Generating and testing hypotheses

I think teaching overall is all about generating and testing hypotheses.  Anytime a lesson or activity is introduced I’ve generated hypotheses, and my hypotheses are being tested by the results of the activity or the students’ scores.  As I see results I make modifications or alter my lesson or activity.  One way this year that I have generated and tested hypotheses in my classroom was by introducing the use of iPods.  I was fortunate enough to be part of a special project using iPods, but it meant creating lessons and collecting data.  One of the ways I use iPods is by creating podcasts for when students do closure spelling stories.   By creating a podcast of the story the students could work independently, before I either read the story and everyone had to stay together or they read it to themselves.  Some of the very first feedback I received was the story went to fast in the podcast.  With every podcast I created I tweaked the graphics or the recording, and the results were what I had hoped for in the beginning.  Now the students do the podcasts most weeks very successfully.