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Mukadder Kocabiyik

Introduction to Special Education 203

Assignment #10 Field Observation

5/7/ 2020

General Classroom Accommodation and Modification Reflection

General Classroom Accommodation and Modification Reflection

Observation is the most important part of learning how to teach. Therefore classroom

observation presents an opportunity to see real-life teachers in real-life teaching situations. I

think observation is important at every stage of a teacher’s career. When I started studying at

college my major was Early’s Childhood Education. After my observation, I changed my major

to Special Education.

I started my field observation at Sister Robert Joseph Bairly Elementry School. In this

general education classroom for fourth graders, there were twenty-five students. The classroom

teacher’s name was Mrs. Cooper. There were English Language Learners (ELL) students, two

resource students, two GATE students, and several general ED students. This was genuinely a

wonderful experience and I really enjoyed my time there. I was really excited to meet students

and teachers. Visiting Clark County School District campuses was a very interesting experience

that changed my thoughts about what it is like to be a teacher. Through this experience, there

were several things that motivated me to continue to want to become a teacher.

The biggest motivation for me was when I was observing Mrs. Cooper’s class. She has

been teaching for twenty-five years and she seemed to love her job of working with Special

Education and General students. She told me she never had problems teaching Special Education

students. Sometimes she has to deal with other students who have been excluded from the

General Education classes. She mentioned “the General Education teachers often need to give

chance to students who could become a possible candidate for Special Education.By working

with other teachers or professionals in order to help those students to learn; this is a collaboration
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and documentation process. Mrs. Cooper’s point of view helps me to understand all kinds of

students that I will be dealing with when I am teaching. I think all students deserve to be

educated equally. “The purpose of providing special needs students with adaptations,

modifications, and accommodations is to give them the opportunity to access the general education

curriculum in ways that work best for their particular learning needs. As our students move through

the grades, the goal is to provide them with what they need, and nothing more. This is because,

ideally, we would like to see our students' skills improve so that they need fewer and fewer

adaptations and modifications as they get older (McGlayn)”.

Mrs. Cooper gave me an opportunity to interact with her students by walking around the

room and participating in some of the students’ paperwork. Mrs. Cooper has two Resource

students, I helped them with some paperwork. One of these students was just looking at the paper

and he did not want to do any work. His desk was messy and he couldn’t find a pencil or eraser.

I tried to help him but he would not respond. Finally his SPED teacher came and pulled him

from the class.

General Education teachers need to co-work with other teachers to get some feedback

about how they can help the Special Education students who are in their class instead of pushing

them away from their class. This can affect the student’s learning if all the general education

teachers start to send all their students to the Resource room because they feel like they cannot

deal with them anymore. These observations opened my eyes to how I was thinking about

working with Special Education students. I started to set a goal for myself about how to work

with special education students in the future. When we ate lunch together, Ms. Cooper and I

were asking about her teaching experience, she has a lot of interesting and important teaching

experiences that she shared with me.

The classroom learning environment was successful, because she makes a group of

students and each group is six-to-eight students. They use the Smartboard, and using technology

enables a more fun learning environment. She has a schedule on the board and students can see

what will happen later. She managed time efficiently. When students do their paperwork, Mrs.

Cooper plays some music to help with focus.

There was organized chaos in the classroom, too much was going on simultaneously.

“There are many different strategies and behaviors that teachers implement to help students learn

better in the classroom. These strategies are all a part of effective teaching for students with and

without disabilities. All students can benefit from instruction that includes multisensory

stimulation, individualized attention, and positive relationships ( Darrow)”.

For me, the observation was a powerful teaching resource, I learned that I have so many things to

master before I become a teacher. There are several things that can be considered as my

weaknesses which could be classroom management, conflict resolutions, and how to teach

students with special needs.

1-Video Observation: Snapshot of an Elementary Special Education Lesson

-Was the video filmed within the United States?

-The video features Denver Public School so yes it was in the U.S.

-Did this teacher use any strategies or techniques that would be more fun, more creative, or

more beneficial to students in a Reading, Writing/ Language Art/Grammar, or Math class?

- The teacher uses a different strategy for math. In these videos the teacher explains the division

problem , she gives a counter to each student and that helps students develop mathematical

concepts. The teacher put a paper up on the board and explained how to do division step by step.
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She reads and explains story problems or breaks problems into smaller steps.Also the teacher

uses the visual and kinesthetic material. She uses pictures or graphics for math.

- She gives and allows extra time on paperwork. She gives step-by-step instructions and has the

student repeat them. She provides charts of math facts or multiplication tables. She uses visual

aids or manipulatives when solving problems. She always gives students good feedback.

- The teacher appears to have classroom management, and the student looks comfortable with the

learning environment.

- She does not use any smart board, Elmo's, projectors, calculators, or etc.

-Whole group learning.After students finished their paperwork in class, the students grade the

paperwork of each other’s classmates. The students seemed to be active listeners. The teacher

asked questions, and the students answered.

Classroom Accommodation and Modification

Accommodations can help kids learn the same material as their peers. This allows them to meet

the same expectations.

A student with dyslexia, for example, might listen to an audio version of a book. But it’s still

the same book that the rest of the class is reading. Likewise, a student who has trouble focusing

might get seated next to the teacher, but still has to do all the regular class assignments. When

they get the test Mrs. Copper gives extra time for Special needs students to finish the test.

Before the test she teaches students about time management.

The classroom environment was good, the classroom very organized. Mrs. Cooper posts the

class schedule on the board everyday, and the student sits away from windows,doorways, and

radiators. The student can clear the view of the board, teacher and screen. She uses a larger print
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text book and also gives textbooks at home.She keeps extra classroom materials(pencil, paper)

on hand, and she provides additional personal space between desks. She uses both oral and

printed directions and provides visual aids. Highlight important words or phrases in a reading

assignment. She uses positive reinforcement for students' behavior and has parents sign

homework and behavior charts. She set and post class rules on the wall.
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Works Cited

McGlynn, Kaitlyn, and Janey Kelly. "Adaptations, Modifications, and Accommodations." Science

Scope, vol. 43, no. 3, 2019, pp. 36-41. ProQuest,

http://ezproxy.library.csn.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.library.csn.ed

u/docview/2298723835?accountid=2795

Darrow, Alice-Ann. "Adaptations in the Classroom: Accommodations and Modifications, Part 2."

General Music Today (Online), vol. 21, no. 3, 2008, pp. 32-34. ProQuest,

http://ezproxy.library.csn.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.library.csn.ed

u/docview/235889036?accountid=27953.

DC Prep Edgewood Elementary Campus - Ellen Shupe (Special Education/Intervention

Teacher) Funding provided by Denver Public Schools

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lHF1QNzIY8