Educational Laws / Rubrics

 Educational Laws

     In education 350, we are beginning our unit on the laws governing us as teachers. Specifically today, we talked about laws governing how children with disabilities are to be treated and the accommodations that have to be made for these students. One of the major things we talked about, is how the Extraordinary children teacher will collaborate with you in order to provide the needs that are required for a particular student. Specifically, how the EC teacher will work with you, as a teacher, to create the least restrictive environment for these students. There are four categories that students in the EC program typically fall under regarding least restrictive environments. The first category is inclusion. This means that the child will be included in a traditional classroom, and will have the same schedule as other students, they will just simply have accommodations. These students have a disability that does not generally disrupt the classroom or their learning, but they need the help of a one on one, a piece of technology, etc. The second category is resource. This means that a student is included in the traditional day for the most part. These students are pulled out of class by the EC teacher for one on one instruction. This may be during a certain subject that their disability is linked to. The third category is self-contained. These students are placed in a classroom that is separate from everyone else. They are still in regular school, and may join other students for parts of the day, but they spend most of the day separated. This may be a category that students with disabilities that exhibit behavior issues most likely fall under. This category also encompasses students who cannot handle the same level of teaching as most students, and need a altered or slower paced curriculum. The fourth category that students in EC may fall under is separate setting. These are students who cannot function in a normal school, and must have a non-traditional school experience to learn best. These students have a curriculum that is altered drastically from the traditional curriculum, and they provide much more assistance than regular schools. 

     This relates directly to the North Carolina Teacher Candidate Standards, standard 1d, which states that "teachers advocate for schools and students." It is extremely important that we recognize the needs of our students in the classroom. We, as educators, recognize when students need accommodations, and when students may need to be placed in the EC program. In my future classroom, I plan to make sure I am an advocate for students getting the accommodations they need by recognizing when a student is in need.

Rubrics

     In education 410, we discussed the use of rubrics. I think rubrics can be great tools to use in a classroom, and that they have many benefits. Rubrics help the teacher in many ways, such as making sure grading is the same across the board. It is difficult to grade students on a project or large assignment fairly without the aid of a rubric. An educator can try his or her best to grade the same across the board, but without a reference this is nearly impossible. Rubrics can also help teachers to justify a student's grade when it is in question. In reference to the students, rubrics can also be beneficial. If students have a rubric to look at, they will know exactly what they are expected to do, and can easily justify their grade. This helps promote self-assessment while working on a project. On the other hand, while rubrics are great tools for teachers and students to use, I do not believe you should pick any one type of teaching tool to rely on for everything. This relates directly to the NCTCS, specifically standard 4c, "teachers use a variety of instructional methods." I think if an educator decides that rubrics are the only tool they will use for projects or large assignments, they may miss out on other great instructional tools. We also have to remember that not every student learns the same way. Some students may not adapt to the style of a rubric as well as another tool. Alfie Kohn says "The fatal flaw in [the logic of rubrics] is revealed by a line of research in educational psychology showing that students whose attention is relentlessly focused on how well they're doing often become less engaged with what they're doing. There's a big difference between thinking about the content of a story you're reading (for example, trying to puzzle out why a character made a certain decision), and thinking about your own proficiency at reading."(Link at bottom). In my future classroom, I hope to use a variety of methods in order to find what works best for my students. I think rubrics are extremely useful, but I am not ready to commit to the fact that they are the best and only educators should evaluate students for large assignments and projects. I hope, with more research, to find other ways to assess students along side rubrics in order to help provide a variety of methods for my students in the future. 

http://www.alfiekohn.org/article/trouble-rubrics/?print=pdf