Assignment Complete!

Well I did it! I finally got the "all's clear" on my case report, after my 5th revision. It wasn't easy but I am glad that I got the guidance I needed from Dr.Rivera and Dr.Stoicovy in helping put together a great case report. I say great because it made my "parent" cry when I presented it to her on Monday..

I am looking foward to the "New Year" and as well as working closely with each and everyone of you next semester. Be Safe! See you in 2010!

AT THE TOP OF THE WORLD!

I am feeling like I am on top of the world. I finished my case report and submitted it after its 5th review. I finally got the approval to go ahead and make the copies for the parent presentation at the next class session. Last Monday, I presented my findings to my student's parent and I can finally breathe easy for a few weeks - before the Spring Semester and ED 644.

I feel like a big weight has been removed from my shoulders. The assessment process stressed me out because I wanted to be sure that what I was doing was right and fair. I also felt anxious in the writing of my case report but the advisor reviews and comments helped to develop my report into a valid and comprehensive report. The presentation of my findings to the parent went smoothly and it helped that I had a parent who was attentive and really interested in what my findings were and what I was going to do to help her child. So now, I am looking forward to the next phase of assessment. I am excited about taking my recommendations and working with the student to help her develop her literacy skills.

It has been a tough semester for all of us. But don't be discouraged - just keep on going because there is a light at the end of this tunnel. I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas. Take time to rest and relax during the intercession so that when we meet in class next semester we are ready to hit the ground running.

A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops. -- Henry B. Adams

This simply means that as teachers we have to be as constructive in our words and actions as possible and in every situation, no matter what or where, because we don't always know when or where someone is listening or watching what we do? It is not only in the classroom we need to watch our p's and q's.

Sorry, I was unable to make it to class yesterday, my husband and my daughter haven't been feeling to well since Saturday and I brought them both to the clinic yesterday. They both are under medication and are starting to feel like themselves again.

I have one last revision to do and I "think" my case report will be approved. My livetext is up and ready for review pending my case report, it is the only thing I need to input in my portfolio. How is everyone else doing?

It was great being classmates with all of you and you all have a wonderful support system for me this semester. I hope we can continue to work closely next semester. I hope you all have a safe and joyous holiday season.

"It is not what is poured into a student that counts but what is planted" Linda Conway

This semester, the case report is what was planted in me!

Once children learn how to learn, nothing is going to narrow their mind. The essence of teaching is to make learning contagious, to have one idea spark another." -- Marva Collins

This reminds me of what Dr. Stoicovy says about teaching a child to be a literate and fluent reader. You have to romance them into loving to read and to use the words and the pictures, your voice and your body language to make them want to get involved with the text. This is as contagious as you can get.

I have to say that this class has been the most challenging of all my graduate classes. It even beats my first technology class last fall. Assessment is not something to be taken lightly and interpreting the results and making the final diagnosis is even more serious. I will be glad when I get the final approval to post my case report to Livetext. It can only mean that I have finally, after numerous submissions for review, reached an acceptable level in my report.

Image: Rose from Istanbul, Turkey taken by FCKaible

Case Report

Well, I FINALLY completed my case report. I am thankful that Dr.Rivera was able to give us an extension to do so. As I wrote the report, I realized I was lacking information that I needed to gather from my student, so I was doing make-up assessment sessions at the same time. Well, it's over and done with, I hope as Dr.Rivera reviews it, I won't have to be making major changes.

"One never notices what has been done, one can only see what remains to be done." Marie Curie

I chose this quote because this quote truly speaks about me. I completed my report but I am now focusing on what else remains to be completed for this class and ED 638.

Posting: Diagnostic Report Experience

"A teacher who is attempting to teach without inspiring the pupil with a desire to learn is hammering on cold iron."-- Horace Mann

It is as futile to try and change the shape of cold iron as it is to teach a student who is not inspired to learn. A good teacher cares enough to inspire his/her students to learn. So if a teacher wonders why a student isn't learning, he should check to see if he/she is hammering on cold iron.

I worked on my diagnosis report but it was quite challenging to interpret the assessment results, determine where the students should be at in his/her instructional program and then make recommendations for a program to teach the necessary skills that will give a struggling reading a better chance at reading success. This is a major responsibility. What if my interpretation of the results are wrong? What if they aren't reliable? What if I am so off -base? What if......? That's why I am really glad that the reports will be reviewed for advisors' comments before final presenation. I wouldn't want to mess a kid up anymore than he already is.
(Image by Faye Kaible: Somewhere in Turkey, November 09)

yet another post

Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude.

Zig Ziglar.

With the increased frustration of trying to put together this case report, I decided to get my quote from a familiar source to provide me some comfort. There is no one more familiar then good old Zig Ziglar. Reminding us that success isn't about what you were born with but rather the amount of work you put into endeavors.

I'm sure we altered the course schedule at the beginning of the semester but without any reminders of such, I was under the impression that we were meeting today to go over how we're going to put together our case report. Due to the fact that I really wasn't able to do a quality assessment (in my opinion), i'm having a hard time doing the report. every assessment given showed the student at the frustration level. the fact that i was unable to find a level he could read hindered the assessment process (in my opinion) because i wasn't able to assess comprehension.

Report Time

Using this class session to focus on drafting up our reports has provided me with the opportunity to finally get things started.  I was finally able to organize all of my documents.  The initial organization of it all was a bit chaotic but I pulled through.  I did find that a good and heavy portion of my time was spent scanning more than half of my documents.  Like Yolie, I now have to develop my case report.  

"Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement, nothing can be done without hope and confidence." -- Helen Keller

At this point of this course I do need the inspiration of "optimism" in order to achieve "target" for this semester  :) 

Case Report

Things are progressing along quite alright. I already started on my case report, using the information that I have gathered through my assessment sessions, I have to figure out how to input it into my report. I hope everyone else finds it easy for them to put all their information together into a case report.

Next class session is suppose to be an ellumminate session, lets make a plan of action!

"Don't limit yourself. Many people limit themselves to what they think they can do. You can go as far as your mind lets you. What you believe, you can achieve" Mary Kay Ash

I chose this quote for myself. I need to inspire myself to complete my case report.

At tonight's session, I had my student look at sight word cards and read from sight word books. She did well for the short session and I am eager to do more with her. I will be administering the Reading Assessment on Phonemic Awareness this week and then summarizing my sessions for my report. I have found that by putting information that I have into a draft format of the Diagnostic Report, helps me to organize my thoughts and know how I want to present the data. It also helps me to feel less harried - like I am really accomplishing something.

My quote today from Harriet Tubman: "there was one of two things I had a right to, liberty or death. If I could not have one, I would have the other...I should fight for my liberty as long as my strength lasted." After more careful thought about what she said, I am thinking that as a slave who was helping others escape slavery, she knew the price she would have to pay if she were caught. She wanted liberty - freedom for her and others which is why she took great risks and worked hard to stay free. I am also thinking that death did not have to be physical but in her spirit. Maybe for her it was a question of what is life if there is no freedom? (image by Faye: taken at UCLA Children's Hospital)

session 4

The class session was spent continuing the series of QRI assessments. The focus of last weeks session was on the narrative assessments. This week's session was dedicated to the expository assessments. Just as expected, the student scored at the frustration level. We're told to include these in the case report, however these new assessments shed no light on the reading level of the student.

Nature is understand to those who have faith (paraphrased).

Wordsworth.

There is always wisdom in everything and everything happens for a reason.

Session 4

Quote: " I dream my painting, and then I paint my dream.

I interpret this quote as, you think of whatever it is that you want to do and you set out to accomplish it.

Class was good. I was able to complete my session report #4. I prepared in advance knowing that my student might not be able to make it to class today. Sessions are getting easier and I am liking the Reading assessment that Dr. Rivera had given me. Only a couple of more sessions to go. I plan to use the holiday on Monday to work more with my student.

Faye: Enjoy your trip and don't work to hard. Spend lots of money!

Alan: Let me know if you need anything, I'm there.

Dar: Hang in there, if you need my support, I am there for you.

Happy Halloween!

October 19 session

This session we did the PREL word list. He did a little better with this list then he did with the QRI list. However, he still didn't pass at a proficient level. Faye was able to secure a LAS assessment. I am not too familiar doing the assessment but I did it anyways. He scored about 50% on the vocabulary section of the test. He got one correct on the next session. I am not sure how to score but I'll figure it out. We did the narrative part of the pre-primer of the QRI. I'm understand that we need to have something to include in our report however I'm still confused as to way we have to do assessment which we know doesn't apply. The pre-primer list was scored at the frustration level. The QRI seems to be designed in such a way that if they are scored at frustration level that they don't move on to the next assessment.

Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.

Thomas Edison

Genius is all about hard work.

Literacy Assessment October 19, 2009

Tonight's session was pretty interesting with my student. She really likes listening to stories and in retelling. The Literacy Assessment for Emergent Readers and Writers is really helping me to get a better understanding of her issues with reading. I was very happy to receive the assessment tool from Dr. Rivera. Having scanned it quickly in class I already found a few assessment pieces there that might give me more information on my student. I will go over it more thoroughly tonight after this assignment. If any of you find something in the book that might be useful for me, please point me in the right direction. I will do likewise.

My quote tonight is "Success takes time." by Jason Gracia. To be truly successful, I have to take the time to work at whatever it is that I am pursuing . Take the time to do good work, take the time to do make sure that all the kinks are ironed out. Take the time to make sure that the major questions have been answered. Rushing or taking shortcuts to save time will most likely result in poor quality outcomes. (Image by Faye - Talofofo Falls, Guam)

Session 3

I wasn't able to hold an assessment session today because my student was at a doctor's appointment. I was however, able to review a diagnostic case report and get a feel of how it is written, what information is required in it and grasp the concept of how I will attempt to put mine together. I think the more information you gather the better chance you will have of having a throughly written diagnostic report. Dr. Rivera also provided another assessment manual that we could use with our students. Looking through it, I think I will be able to use it and my student will find that it may be easier to do than the other assessment strategies that I have used with him so far.

Quote: " A chattering bird builds no nest" By: African Proverb

My interpretation of the quote is that, the more you talk and less you work, in the end you will never get anything done.

Assessment Session

“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent” By: Eleanor Roosevelt.
No one can put you down without you allowing them to do so. Stand up for yourself at all times.

Assessment sessions seem to be frustrating because I am not too sure of the direction that I am supposed to be heading in. I understand that I am to assess my student with the various types of assessments that are available but what do you do when the child can’t even answer the simplest assessment out there. Help!

Image:www.google.com

1st Clinical

"Twelve Priceless Qualities of Success: 

The value of time.

The success of perseverance.

The pleasure of working.

The dignity of simplicity.

The worth of character.

The power of kindness.

The influence of example.

The obligation of duty.

The wisdom of economy.

The virtue of patience.

The improvement of talent.

The joy of originating."

 ~ Marshall Field

I sincerely feel that if only all individuals embraced these qualities, our existence, although short lived will succeed even our greatest expectations.

“Impossible is a word only to be found in the dictionary of fools.”

- Napoleon Bonaparte (Emperor of France)

I believe that the word “impossible” is just a word in the dictionary.

My quote for tonight was from President Theordore Roosevelt and he said, " Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." This about sums it up for my "concerns" with my assessment assignment. I am limited to what is available so I have to make the most of it. Of course I can add Alan's quote to mine to paddle my own canoe to get moving. Has anyone read this book - Diary of a Worm? It is a really cute book. It will make you smile. (image from google.)

2nd assessment results: FRUSTRATION

If I were being assessed today, I would be assessed at the frustration level. Without a doubt. During the first assessment, It was determined that student was a lot lower then I had first thought. So to figure out exactly what level he was, we did some of the word lists. He ended up scoring a 60% on the pre-primer list. The QRI book discusses that one of the purposes of the word lists is to determine what set of reading material to continue with. It doesn't seem that the QRI offers any materials to use if the student doesn't score independent on at least the pre-primer list. So as a result, I have to start from scratch, hence the frustration.

I can't remember my quote but it went something like this:

If you want to go forward, you have to row your own boat

Catherine Hepburn

Your the only one who can move you forward.

1st Literacy Assessment

"A hundred years from now, it will not matter what kind of car I drove, what kind of house I lived in, how much money I had in the bank...but the world may be a better place because I made a difference in the life of a child." -- Forest Witchcraft

I always strive to touch each and every child's life in my classroom by creating a fun filled educational setting and trying to meet the needs of all the different types of learners in my classroom.

Class started out for me kind of sketchy because I wasn't to sure what route to take as I began my assessment with my student. I managed to get some things done with him and I look forward in seeing how next class session will go. See you then!

http://www.google.com/

Literacy Assessment Reflection - Oct. 5, 2009

"The most practical, beautiful, workable philosophy in the world won't work-if you won't."
-- Zig Ziglar

This simply means that whaever you think is important or critical, is only important and critical to you until you put effort into making it important and/or critical to others. Otherwise, it is merely your own belief and it goes nowhere.

Tonight's session was good practice for what's to come. I wasn't too sure what I was supposed to do but after the in class reflection, I think I have a better handle of what I need to do next. This image was taken at Umatac Bay by Faye.

QRI's: Oh me! Oh my!

The overview of our QRI’s seems a bit overwhelming for me particularly because I have not practiced using any of the assessments.  It’s my personal feeling that proctors should have some real time practice using the assessments before administering it. 

QRI’s aside, our class session was a joy as always.  Presenters did a fantastic job at covering all of the key points with such personality, our professor graciously provided us with free resources for our clinics and alas, we left each other with a handful of inspirational quotes for the evening! 

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"In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity." -- Albert Einstein

When I thought I lost myself during my most difficult moments, what I later discovered is that during those moments, I actually found myself. 

Nuggets, donuts and quotes

"Once children learn how to learn, nothing is going to narrow their mind. The essence of teaching is to make learning contagious, to have one idea spark another." -- Marva Collins

I shared earlier that, once learning sparks a child's interest the possibilities are endless. They absorb all the information that they are learning and begin to share their experiences with others and it continues and continues from one child to another.

I enjoyed our class snack session, great job to everyone with our power point chapter presentations and I am looking foward to beginning our assessments with our students.

Image: www. google.com

Cross Over the Bridge!

Ideal teachers are those who use themselves as bridges over which they invite their students to cross, then having facilitated their crossing, joyfully collapse, encouraging them to create bridges of their own." -- Nikos Kazantzakis

I would like to think that over the years that I've spent in the classroom, some of the students I've taught have created bridges of their own. I think that one of the best things that I could hear from former students is that they had fun learning in my class. I am far from an ideal teacher but every time I receive a compliment from one of my students it just makes me try harder to be one.

On tonight's class, I have to say that I like the powerpoint presentations because ti forces us to focus on the key points of the chapter. I also think that it gives me the opportunity to know someone else's perspectives based on their selected key points. Now, I am looking forward to learning more about assessments. If any of you come across really good, valid, reliable word recognition assessment tools for pre-primer and primer levels, please let me know.
( I took this picture from the Galleria degli Uffizi in Florence, Italy. It is the marketplace bridge over the Arno River)

Opportunitty in Difficulty

In the midst of difficulty lies opportunity. (Albert Einstein)

This quote is pretty significant in that tonight's session was difficult for me. Yet despite the challenges of the Elluminate program gliches, I did learn a little more about the benefits of using Elluminate to communicate through the internet. The chapters for today's session were tough ones for me because Assessment is not my strongest asset as a teacher. Assessment intimidates me. The weight of its importance in the identification of student strengths and weaknesses and the use of assessment results for proper instructional placement is a serious responsibility for me. However, as the quote states, there is opportunity even in difficulty because I did learn a lot from the chapters, especially in chapter 9, like what to look out for when using assessment tools and when choosing reading passages and the chapters helped me to builid upon up my exisitng vocabulary of assessment terminology. The method of study(reading and extracting key points) does not meet my learning style needs so it takes me longer to read and process the information. But having to go through this method has given me real appreciation for what my students may be experiencing because my teaching style does not match their learning style. I am grateful to have classmates like Yoli, Dar, and Alan because they are a great support system. They are totally encouraging and provide different perspectives and insights for me to learn from. (Tonight, I went home feeling like Einstein looks in this picture from google images.)

Elluminate: Take 2

“If we don’t start, it’s certain we can’t arrive.” – Zig Ziglar

 This quote has a lot of academic relevance to me during this point and time in my life.  It reminds me that I need to act on my academic studies in order to arrive at receiving my degree in Language and Literacy. 

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Our second Elluminate session today had again a few technical problems.  For starters, I could not get Dr. Rivera to hear me on my computer.  The result?  We all had to use Faye’s computer.  This was frustrating because I really felt that we should have identified the problem so that I could have conveniently Elluminated on my computer during the session and the sessions to come.  Another technical problem that remained constant during the session was the delay that Alan had mentioned in his blog entitled “Elluminate Session part deux”.  The result?  More frustration!  Finally, one of the biggest technical problems that I found most impeding was how Elluminate was least effective when more than one person attempted to speak at one time.  The result?  Pure frustration!

Well, Ellumination Session Take Two aside; I actually look forward to the ‘Take Three’ Ellumination Session because I sincerely do believe that if we never started Elluminating in the first place, then how could we possibly arrive at getter better at it!  ;)

Image:  images.google.com

Elluminate Session part deux

"If you don't start, there is no way you can succeed" (or something to that effect)

Zig Ziglar

You can't succeed or go anywhere if you don't start anything. This quote is pretty straight forward quote. We discussed it during our elluminate session as well.

Today we discussed four chapters. Chapter nine seemed to be the focus of much of our discussion. A large amount of our time was spent on how do we compensate for the shortcomings of the different assessement tools.

As mentioned before, this was our second elluminate session. I have to admit that I'm not a big fan of the this tool, yet. I'm sure its effective when the distance is great between students and instructor. The delay when someone spoke got frustrating at times. The discussion that the chapters prompted suffered from this delay. I also think that we might have covered to many things on only our second elluminate session.

Thanks again to Dar and Faye. Dar, your a great host and Faye your insights are awesome.

September 17 Quote For the Day!

"Every time you wake up and ask yourself, "What good things am I going to do today?," remember that when the sun goes down at sunset, it takes a part of your life with it." --Indian proverb

What this quote is telling me is that each day should include something productive and beneficial not just for me but for others with whom I come in contact with each day. It could simply be to lend a shoulder to someone who needs some support, it could be to share your lunch with someone, it could be to give someone a ride so they won't have to wait around; it could be to call someone and just let them know you are thinking of them. Today I made 10 alphabet books for the kids I am working with as part of my ED 645 class. It feels good to know that tonight, when the sun goes down, the part of my life it takes with it did something good.
Photo by Faye: Guam Sunset

Chapter Presentations

Tonight went very well. The text book is a typical assessment book. Its pretty wordy and makes the same point in different ways. The chapter presentations really help put the assigned readings into a more understandable way. Yollie and Faye did an excellent job in summing up the chapters key points. The exploration of the Assessment book was also done today. The assessment tools may come in handy as we go about assesses our students for this course. We also discussed the blog requirements. That was helpful. It was nice to know that other are struggling with what exactly is required for the blog.

Chapter Presentations and much more

Class was great, glad to be let out a little earlier than usual. Listening to our chapter presentations was very informative. Everyone did a great job in presenting key points from each chapter and providing feedback to one another. Special thanks to Alan for providing the empanada. Thumbs up to Faye, for being the only one who had handouts. Sorry, that Darlene wasn't able to make it to class, I hope she feels better soon. I look forward to listening to Dar's chapter presentation.


I am glad that we were able to clarify our concerns about blogging and other pending class assignments for this class and ED 638. I look forward to ellumminating next class session, hopefully it will at Dar's place and I hope she makes dip! See you all on Thursday at the Teacher Center as we try to figure out our Class Management System for ED 638.

Image: (www.google.com)

ED 643 Power Point Presentations - 09-14-09

I learned a lot tonight! I think we all did very well in presenting the key points of our chapters, even if I did run over my time. But as I shared in class, it's hard for me to leave information out because I don't know what might be important to you. What I came away with tonight was: that children need a lot of reading and language experiences in order for them to develop their literacy skills; they have to have a supportive environment for interaction and feedback; that parents are key to their children's ability to succeed in school; that the learning process is multi-tiered and so complex and that there is a lot of room for adults to fail at recognizing what children really need and providing those appropiate supports for the children. For me, developing the literacy of students is a really big responsibility.

Hi everyone,

Nice attempt to "Elluminate"!  Really!  On another note, Faye, Yole and Alan:  I thoroughly enjoyed our intimate group discussion on chapters one through four.  

Looking forward to more initmate elluminate evenings with you all :)

Elluminate

Hey Everyone,
Class tonight was very interesting. Even though we had some glitches with the "Elluminate," it was interesting to see and hear everyone's views about the situation. Thanks to Faye, for being a good mentor and leading the group through our chapter discussions. Thanks to Dar, for being a good hostess, cook and for your contributions to the group discussions. Lastly, thanks to Alan for his contributions to the group as well. I look forward to trying to "Elluminate" again!

Elluminate Me!

Hi, Classmates!
I just want to share my thoughts on today's Elluminate session. Despite the technical difficulties of the initial set up, I am looking forward to being able to use the program to communicate with you. I think that this would be a good way to do study groups related to our assigned readings and to get your input when we are doing our assessments. Alan, I like your idea of "shared reading". It will really help to share the reading load with the rest of you.

As for the reading assignments, what stood out the most for me was Chapter 3 on the process of assessment. It makes me nervous to think what kind of impact my evaluation could have on a student. I am going to carefully go over the chapter again, to make sure that I have a better understanding of the assessment-instruction process. Chapter 2 has a lot of new vocabulary. I am going to help myself get a firmer grip on the terminology of this text by creating a personal vocabulary book of terms I am learning. I have little prior knowledge about reading and literacy because it was not the focus of my undergraduate work so a lot of the vocabulary is new to me - I have a long way to automaticity. In Chapter 1, I really focused on the perspectives on reform, reading and literacy and on the information on the section on Special Education. Chapter 4 just plains scares me. Any suggestions?

I did however, grasp that the development of reading and writing is influenced by many factors and that as a teacher, I need to be knowledgeable and cognizant of these factors and how they can affect a student's ability to learn to read and write. And as I mentioned in class tonight, attitude is a major factor that influences a student's ability to want to learn. I want to add that it doesn't only apply to the student's attitude but to the teacher's attitude, as well. I have observed many classes and I have seen many instances where the teacher's attitude was less than desirable. And yet they wonder why student's aren't interested in the assignments or in the class or why they fail. I know that none of you are this kind of teacher but let's hope that what we learn in this class will make us even better, more effective, caring and responsible teachers.
(image from Google image search)

I think that this class is going to be fun and interesting with the 3 of you. Just like ED 638, I am excited to working with you all again!

HI

We can do it!!!

Hello, Classmates of ED 638 G Fall 2009. It was good to meet all of you last night in class. I am excited about increasing my knowledge and skills in using technology as an instructional tool through this class. I learned a lot from Dr. Cyrus last Spring, but I am sure that there is still more to learn. I just hope that my "senior" brain doesn't fail me this semester. Faye