Well the test this week was interesting. Honestly, I struggle to get class readings done (partially because I feel the need to read through them like a novel, which they aren't) for most of my classes so it's sometimes nice to have tests that.
(1) Get me to read the text and....
(2) Get me to read the text in an interesting and critical thinking way, since I am actually looking for answers.
         I'm hoping to read next weeks text the same way I read the text for the test. I liked that our test was essay question format and I could discuss what I knew instead of trying to see if I remembered some erroneous detail from the text in order to choose between two multiple choice answers that both look correct if viewed in different lights. I liked talking with my group before the test because I found that teaching others was the best way for me to learn the material (and also I was just happy that they were learning it). The group test was nice because we definitely all had different things to emphasize on our concept maps. One group member is taking the law class, and so laws and their implications were more on her mind than mine.
         It's interesting how high profile statutory laws seem to be built on the foundation of simple (and sometimes regional) case laws and how those statutory laws greatly structure schools. One failed IEP in some obscure town could cause a lawsuit that could create a huge Act or policy that could change the nation, and the ideology of the people (since laws DO effect public opinion, despite what some may say). This can be good and bad. Perhaps if we weren't always suing everyone the law wouldn't have to spell things out for us so explicitly that we are unable to let our conscience govern some issues and those in special needs programs wouldn't feel completely controlled by policies and get burnt out so quickly. It seems implied that IEP's are mainly for ensuring that children get all of the benefits and eligible resources. I wish the parents weren't just satisfied with resources and would come throughout the year to meet with the teachers about the child's learning that was decided on in the IEP. But then again, I wish that parents were more involved in their children's learning in general.
         I liked doing the case study this week where we got with our groups to decide how to modify our curriculum for a student with a possible disorder. I was in the music group and I was surprised with how much we could modify our curriculum in order to better meet the needs of the student. Sometimes, teaching methods can seem so rigid and habitual until you talk with other people and get their input. When we came together into different groups it was interesting to learn how other classmates modified their material to meet the needs of the student because they used different methods that I wouldn't have thought of that seemed based on their Elementary Education background. Someone took notes on one of my ideas. It is interesting how we all try to meet the same needs of a child in different ways. Parents do the same thing with their children.
I didn't do anything with my HWD project this week, which is really uncool but I'm determined to give extra effort to it in the coming weeks. I have done some experimenting with CBT practices and now I want to do some more research and reading based learning.