Diversity Project

Pittsburg State University
Diversity Project
Jessi Headrick
Overview of Special Education (SPED-510)
Dr. Gloria Flynn
December 1, 2016
Introduction
General School Information
I completed my Diversity Project at Girard High School, one of three schools in the
Girard Unified School District 248. Located in the rural community of Girard, Kansas, this
school district serves around 1,028 students. Of those students, approximately 321 are high
school students in grades 9-12.
My cooperating teacher for this project, Ms. Hardesty, is one of three special education
teachers at Girard High School. While visiting her classroom this semester, I worked with three
high school seniors, two males and one female, who were receiving instruction in government
from Ms. Hardesty. During this class period, Ms. Hardesty had one other student in her
classroom. In addition to the three students I worked with for the Diversity Project, a female
sophomore received assistance from Ms. Hardesty in English during this time. All four of these
students were of Caucasian ethnicity and appeared to be of low socioeconomic status.
Building Report Card
The Kansas State Board of Education website features a tool called the building report
card. These report cards contain brief summaries of performance and demographic data for each
district and school building within the state of Kansas. Rather than combining data to represent
the student population generally, the data in these report cards can be disaggregated, or divided
into smaller subcategories of students, making it incredibly valuable. By looking at data that has
been disaggregated, districts and schools may uncover discrepancies that would have been
masked by larger, aggregate data. Looking at disaggregated data can also allow the district or
school to plan appropriate programs for specific subcategories of students, to make sure its
resources are being spent on the students and areas that need it most, and to see important trends
in student performance.
When gathering data for Girard Unified School District 248 and Girard High School, the
first subcategory of students I looked at was socioeconomic status. For the district, I found that
46% of the student population is economically disadvantaged, and 54% is considered non-
economically disadvantaged. The data for the high school shows little variation: 42% of students
are economically disadvantaged, while 58% are non-economically disadvantaged. Since I plan
on becoming an English teacher, I decided to look at assessment results for English Language
Arts. In 2016, approximately 72% of economically disadvantaged students in the district have
either not performed at grade-level standards on their assessments or have not performed at the
depth or level of rigor considered to be on-track for college success. In the high school, that
statistic is slightly higher at 74%. Considering nearly half of the students in the district and the
high school are economically disadvantaged, these numbers are alarming. It is even more
disconcerting to compare this data with the assessment results of the students who are non-
economically disadvantaged. In the district, approximately 50% of non-economically
disadvantaged students have not performed at grade-level or have not performed at the level of
rigor considered to be on-track for college success. In the high school, that statistic again is
slightly higher at 57%. Although these numbers are still high, they are not nearly as high as those
of the students of low socioeconomic status. This reveals a discrepancy between these two
subcategories of students that needs to be addressed.
The second subcategory of students I looked at were students with disabilities compared
to students without disabilities. For the district, I found that 12% of the student population are
students with disabilities, while, in the high school, only 9% of students have disabilities. As
with socioeconomic status, I decided to look at the assessment results for English Language Arts.
In 2016, approximately 87% of students with disabilities in the district have either not performed
at grade-level standards on their assessments or have not performed at the depth or level of rigor
considered to be on-track for college success. In the high school, that statistic is even higher at
94%. When taking into consideration the assessment results for students without disabilities,
these numbers become even more alarming. In the district, approximately 57% of students
without disabilities have not performed at grade-level or have not performed at the level of rigor
considered to be on-track for college success. In the high school, that statistic remains the same
at 57%. As with the data I gathered for socioeconomic status, although these numbers are still
high, they are not nearly as high as those of the students with disabilities. This gap in
performance between the two subcategories of students leads me to believe that the students with
disabilities may not be receiving a fair education. I do not say an “equal” education because
“equal” and “fair” are not the same, but all students, regardless of whether they have a disability
or not, should be receiving an education that meets their individual needs. If those needs were
being met, I believe the data I have gathered would reveal more positive results for students with
disabilities.
The third subcategory of students I planned to analyze were ethnic groups. As a district,
an overwhelming majority (89%) of the students are Caucasian, 5% are Hispanic, 2% are African
American, and 4% are considered multi-racial. In the high school, these numbers show little
variation: 90% of the students are Caucasian, 3% are Hispanic, 3% are African American, and
4% are considered multi-racial. Unfortunately, I was unable to gather assessment results for any
of these minority groups. To protect student privacy, when a subgroup has fewer than ten
students, the Kansas State Board of Education does not display the data. While some may
consider this to be a limitation of data disaggregation, this procedure is necessary. For example,
if there were only two Hispanic students in the high school, it would be easy for someone
reviewing the assessment results to identify the two potential students, thus violating their
privacy.
As I was gathering data for Girard Unified School District 248 and Girard High School, I
became curious as to whether other state departments have building report cards similar to
Kansas. Because I am from Oklahoma and I plan to teacher there after I graduate college, I
decided to look on the Oklahoma State Department of Education website. While I was able to
locate report cards for schools in Oklahoma, I was disappointed with the limited information
they provided. Whereas, in Kansas, the building report cards allow access to disaggregated data,
the Oklahoma report cards only provide data that has been combined to represent the student
population generally, or aggregate data. Performance and demographic data for various
subcategories of students is not accessible. This discovery allowed me to further reflect on the
importance of disaggregated data. By looking at data that has been disaggregated, districts and
schools may uncover discrepancies that larger, aggregate data is likely to mask.
Target Student(s) Profile
Student A
- Grade: 12
- Ethnicity: Caucasian
- Gender: Female
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During my visits to Girard, Student A could always brighten up my day. I never saw her
in a bad mood. From the second she walked through the door, she was happy, energetic, and
smiling. By working with her, I was able to observe some of her strengths. During group
activities, she often was the student to take initiative and fulfill the role of a leader, she
frequently encouraged her classmates, and she was creative/artistic. Despite her strengths, she
also had some challenges. Sometimes, her abundant energy made it difficult for her to stay on-
task, she had a hard time sitting still, and she often talked too quickly for others to understand
her. Ms. Hardesty told me at the beginning of my visits that Student A struggles with reading,
and I observed through working with her that her reading level seems to be low. There were
many words in her textbook that she could not pronounce while reading aloud.
Student B
- Grade: 12
- Gender: Male

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Like Student A, Student B usually always had a smile on his face, but unlike Student A,
his smiling seemed to be the result of joking around a lot and making inappropriate sarcastic
comments. Also like Student A, Ms. Hardesty told me at the beginning of my visits that Student
B struggles with reading, but I observed through working with him that one of his strengths is
reading aloud. It seemed to help him when the students took turns reading aloud together. I was
also impressed by his use of advanced vocabulary on some of his assignments. However, I
quickly discovered that the struggle Ms. Hardesty was likely referring to was reading
comprehension. After reading passages together from the government textbook, I usually asked
him and his classmates questions to check for understanding. He often revealed that his
comprehension of the material was poor.

Student C
- Grade: 12
- Gender: Male

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Unlike Students A and B, Student C was more reserved and quiet. When he walked into
Ms. Hardesty’s classroom, he usually went straight for his desk and sat down. He was well-
behaved and had exceptional manners. I don’t recall him ever showing any behavioral issues. As
with Students A and B, Ms. Hardesty told me at the beginning of my visits that Student C
struggles with reading, but unlike Student B, Student C’s strength appeared to be reading
comprehension. Although he struggled with reading himself, I observed that if he followed along
as someone else was reading, his comprehension of the material was exceptional. Student C’s
greatest struggle seemed to be communication. He frequently became frustrated with himself
when he was unable to effectively communicate what he was trying to say. Through my time
working with him, I was led to suspect that Student C may have an expressive language disorder.
If he does, I believe that may be why he keeps to himself during class.

Student D
- Grade: 9
- Gender: Female

10/4/2016 8:15-9:15 2
I was first introduced to Student D in a 33-hour field experience separate from the
Diversity Project. Because she was also one of Ms. Hardesty’s students, I had the opportunity to
attend and observe her IEP meeting in October. At that meeting, I learned that Student D has
been diagnosed with ADHD, PTSD, and anxiety. In my 33-hour field experience, I noticed that
Student D frequently picked at her skin during class. After talking to Ms. Hardesty, I learned that
this behavior is linked to her anxiety. Although Student D was usually quiet, she did open up
more and her communication skills improved when she was talking to someone one-on-one.
Throughout my 33-hour field experience, Student D grew more comfortable in striking up
conversations with me and even spoke up during class when I taught my lessons. I only wish I
could have worked with her more one-on-one, but unfortunately, I was never given the
opportunity.
Student E
- Grade: 11
- Gender: Male

10/6/2016 9:25-9:35 3
I initially wrote about Student E in my third journal entry because my cooperating teacher
introduced me to him as if she wanted me to work with him for the Diversity Project. However,
at my next visit, Ms. Hardesty said she had changed her mind and wanted me to focus my
attention on Students A, B, and C. Because I only met with this student for about ten minutes, I
never gained an understanding of his personality, strengths, and/or challenges.
Student F
- Grade: 11
- Gender: Male

10/6/2016 9:25-9:35 3
I initially wrote about Student F in my third journal entry because my cooperating teacher
introduced me to him as if she wanted me to work with him for the Diversity Project. However,
at my next visit, Ms. Hardesty said she had changed her mind and wanted me to focus my
attention on Students A, B, and C. Because I only met with this student for about ten minutes, I
never gained an understanding of his personality, strengths, and/or challenges.
Student G
- Grade: 11
- Gender: Female

10/6/2016 9:25-9:35 3
I initially wrote about Student G in my third journal entry because my cooperating
teacher introduced me to her as if she wanted me to work with her for the Diversity Project.
However, at my next visit, Ms. Hardesty said she had changed her mind and wanted me to focus
my attention on Students A, B, and C. Because I only met with this student for about ten
minutes, I never gained an understanding of her personality, strengths, and/or challenges.
Daily Entries
Journal Entry #1
Date: September 29, 2016
Time: 9:35-10:35
Target Students: A, B, C
Although I have been in my field placement at Girard High School for two weeks now, I
just began working on the Diversity Project today. Ms. Hardesty is the cooperating teacher I am
working with for the project. She is one of three special education teachers at Girard High
School, and I discovered she is a Pitt State graduate. I met Ms. Hardesty during my first visit to
the school. Although she has her own classroom, Ms. Hardesty spends the entire first period
working with English I students in Mrs. Gray’s classroom. Mrs. Gray is my cooperating teacher
for Clinical Experience.
As I walked into Ms. Hardesty’s class today, she was giving instructions to three of her
students for their government assignment. Students A, B, and C were to find two articles online
about the 2016 presidential elections and to write a summary of those articles. The articles had to
be published within the last month, and they had to come from a reliable website. Once Ms.
Hardesty had finished giving instructions, she introduced me to the four students in her class. I
was excited to find out that Students A, B, and C are all high school seniors. In my previous field
placement at Pittsburg Middle School, I worked with eighth-graders, and in Mrs. Gray’s class at
Girard, I am working with high school freshmen. People often ask me what grade I want to
teach, and I’ve always thought I would like to teach high school juniors or seniors, but this will
be my first experience working with students of that age group.
When I first started working with Students A, B, and C, the first thing I noticed about all
three of them was that they worked quickly on their iPads. Every student at Girard High School
has an iPad provided to them by the district. Although I am pretty familiar with Apple products
and Apple software, one of my target students, Student A, actually had to teach me how to print
from an iPad.
One thing I noticed about Student A is that she has a difficult time staying on task. She
was constantly trying to talk to someone, whether it was myself, Ms. Hardesty, or Student B. Ms.
Hardesty would remind her that she would only has one class period to work on the assignment.
Student A would then get back on-task. When she would begin talking to me or Student B, I
would try to bring her attention back to the assignment by asking her to show me how far she
had read. This seemed to work, but it proved to be a momentary fix. If I have the chance to work
with Student A again, and I suspect I will, one of my goals will be to develop a strategy for
keeping her on task for longer periods of time. I think part of the problem was that she was
sitting so close to Student B and Ms. Hardesty’s desk. Perhaps she would concentrate better if
she had an area of the classroom to herself.
The second student, Student B, also seemed to struggle with staying on task. Student A
frequently distracted him, but at other times, I noticed he was simply looking around the room.
Ms. Hardesty informed me before I began working with the students that Student B struggles
more than the other two students do. In particular, he struggles with reading, so she suggested
that I ask him if he would like for me to read the articles with him. After he had printed his two
articles, I asked him, but he told me he wanted to read by himself. Not long after I stepped away,
I realized this might be a problem. When I noticed that Student B wasn’t making much progress
in his reading, I walked over to his desk and suggested he use a highlighter for marking key
points in the article. He seemed to like the idea, so I found a highlighter for him. Although he
was still distracted from reading at times, the highlighter seemed to help him stay focused.
Of the three students I worked with today, Student C made the most progress in the
assignment. As soon as Ms. Hardesty had finished giving instructions at the beginning of the
class period, Student C went straight to work. Once he had found his two articles, he asked me to
check and make sure they were from reliable sources. I looked at them and gave him the go-
ahead to print. After printing the articles, he began reading them right away. By the end of the
class period, he had written at least one of his two summaries. Because Student C wasn’t
disruptive and he didn’t seem to have trouble with the assignment, I didn’t work with him as
much as the other two students. In hindsight, I wish I would’ve checked on him a few more times
throughout the class period. I don’t want to overlook or neglect a student just because he/she
isn’t being disruptive.
Although I enjoyed working with these three students, the most exciting part of my time
at Girard today was that Ms. Hardesty invited me to attend an IEP meeting with her. I was taken
by surprise when she asked me if I would like to go. She mentioned reading something about it
in the letter regarding the Diversity Project. The meeting is on Tuesday, October 4th at 8:15. I’m
normally in Mrs. Gray’s class at that time, so I had to rearrange my schedule in order to make it
work, but I’m glad I was able to. I’m so thankful to have this opportunity. Ms. Hardesty expects
the meeting to last around an hour, and she informed me that this will be the first time she has
talked to the student’s parent in person. All previous communication between the two parties has
been via phone. I received an email from Ms. Hardesty this afternoon letting me know that the
administrators have approved her request for me to come to the meeting, and the parent has
given her consent as well. I’m looking forward to Tuesday, and I am eager to write about the
experience in my next journal entry.
Overall, I left Girard this morning feeling excited and confident, but I am nervous too. I
already know I’m going to learn so much this semester from Ms. Hardesty and her students. Ms.
Hardesty seems to have a genuine interest in my education as a pre-service teacher. My only
concern so far is that I will be working with multiple students for the project. Although I only
worked with three students today, it was tricky. Student A and Student B were sitting in one area
of the classroom, and they frequently strayed off-task. Student C, on the other hand, was sitting
in an entirely different part of the classroom but working diligently. I think this semester is going
to challenge me, but that’s the best part. I can’t wait to see what these students teach me.
Journal Entry #2
Date: October 4, 2016
Time: 8:15-9:15
Target Student: D
Today I had the opportunity to sit in on an IEP meeting for a student in my Clinical
Experience field placement. This meeting was the first face-to-face interaction between the
student’s mother and Ms. Hardesty. Among the other individuals in the meeting, the high
school principal, the school psychologist, and the school counselor were also present. About
halfway through the meeting, Student D joined us as well. Although the parent knew I
would be there, for Ms. Hardesty had to obtain her permission, Student D must not have
been made aware that I would be in the meeting. When she was called in, I noticed that she
stared at me as she walked into the room. The only empty seat at the conference table was
between me and her mother, so she sat down, but I could sense that she was uncomfortable
(F). When someone would speak to Student D, her voice was inaudible.
This brings me to the subject of communication. In the IEP meeting, I learned that
although Student D is able to communicate with staff and peers, she frequently requires
prompting to respond and is inaudible when she does so. In the meeting, I learned that Student D
opens up and communicates more clearly when working in small groups or one-on-one. Previous
to the meeting, I had worked one-on-one with the student, and I had observed this for myself.
When Mrs. Gray had addressed Student D during English class, her voice was always quiet, but
when I received the opportunity to work with her one-on-one for a vocabulary assignment, I was
surprised to find her eager to communicate with me. Attending the IEP meeting allowed me to
learn that Student D’s communication skills are dependent upon her emotional state.
Student D’s current diagnoses are ADHD, PTSD, and anxiety. According to her IEP,
Student D’s learning is effected by the ADHD and anxiety. When I was reading through the IEP
draft before the meeting started, I was puzzled when I came across the diagnosis of PTSD. I have
heard of adults having PTSD, particularly military veterans, but it surprised me that a student as
young as Student D would have PTSD. Ms. Hardesty told me before and after the meeting to feel
free to ask her any questions, so being curious about this diagnosis, I asked her if she knew what
traumatic event had triggered this disorder. Ms. Hardesty informed me that while she did not
know what the specific event was, she did know that it had occurred when Student D was young,
so young that Student D does not recall the event to this day. Ms. Hardesty also told me that
Student D’s father is out of the picture, so she has wondered herself if that might have something
to do with it.
During the meeting, I also learned that every effort has been made to involve Student D
in inclusive education in the general education classroom. Math is the only content area course
that Student D does not take in a general education classroom setting. As far as accommodations
go, Student D’s IEP designates separate, quiet settings and time extensions on assignments as
modifications for her learning.
In addition to gaining knowledge about Student D and her needs, I also learned more
about the role of school staff in the IEP process during this meeting. Before, I had just assumed
that special education teachers, principals, and parents were the only parties concerned in an IEP
meeting. Not only were there more individuals involved in the process than I had expected, but I
was also surprised to discover how extensive and active a role they play for just one student’s
education. During the meeting, the parent gave an update of Student D’s healthcare outside of
school. I learned that the school psychologist at Girard stays in communication with the
psychologist that Student D has regular appointments with. I guess I had never considered the
role of school staff as liaisons.
Another thing I found interesting was the transition planning involved in the meeting.
Student D’s desire to work with exotic animals someday, perhaps at a zoo, was brought up to the
parent. Student D has recently discussed going to college and pursuing an animal science degree,
which was news to her mother. Student has apparently never expressed a desire to attend college.
The most relevant courses offered at Girard High School are agriculture classes, so it has been
written into Student D’s IEP that she will join FFA next year.
Another example of transition services being provided to Student D is her current
enrollment in a life skills course. Apparently, Student D is enjoying this particular class. From
what I heard at the meeting, it seems like a class Student D can benefit from. Ms. Hardesty
informed me that Student D was anxious the other day when she had to place something in an
oven. It is in Student D’s best interest to gain this sort of experience before she graduates high
school.
Moving forward, I feel like the knowledge I gained about Student D in the IEP meeting
will prove useful to me throughout my time at Girard. I understand her struggles and needs better
than I had before. Furthermore, I believe the knowledge I gained about IEPs in general will
prove useful to me as a pre-service teacher. Had I not attended the meeting, I’m not sure when I
would have first had the opportunity to look at an IEP. If I have the chance to attend another IEP
meeting, whether it be during my current field experience or in future placements, I fully intend
to jump at the opportunity.
Journal Entry #3
Time: 9:25-10:35
Target Students: A, B, C, E, F, G
Today was my second visit to Ms. Hardesty and her students. I reached her classroom a
few minutes earlier than I did last time, so there were some students in there I didn’t have the
chance to meet during my last visit. Ms. Hardesty introduced me to them. Students E, F, and G
are high school juniors who work on English with Ms. Hardesty. As with Students A, B, and C, I
am looking forward to working with these older students. I learned from Ms. Hardesty that
Students E, F, and G are working on things such as resumes, business letters, etc. as part of their
English curriculum this semester. They won’t be looking at literature until next semester.
Although this is different than a general English class, I can see the benefits of it. Students E, F,
and G will be gaining knowledge that will prove relevant to them in their futures.
Because I didn’t enter the classroom until the end of the class period, I didn’t have the
opportunity to work one-on-one with Students E, F, and G today; however, I did notice that
Student E seems to have a negative attitude towards school. I mentioned this to Ms. Hardesty,
and she informed me that this student is notoriously negative about school. In SPED-510, I have
learned that if a student hates school or says something that is unnatural for the setting, the best
thing to do is find out why they feel the way they do instead of becoming angry. As I work with
Student E this semester, I hope to find out why he dislikes school so much.
I also learned in the short amount of time I was with these students that Student F is
planning to leave school for two months beginning in January. When Student F mentioned this,
Ms. Hardesty told him he needed to work with the school if he plans to leave. I didn’t catch his
reason for leaving on a temporary basis, but Ms. Hardesty suggested he take online courses so he
doesn’t fall behind in his credits. Girard High School has a program set up for students to take
half-credit, online courses. In order to receive one full credit for a course, this means they must
take two online courses. Ms. Hardesty said some students take these classes over the summer,
and some students take them if they are enrolled in remediation classes. In hindsight, I should’ve
asked Student F on the spot his reason for leaving, but I was trying not to interrupt the
conversation between the student and Ms. Hardesty. Within my next couple of visits, I’m hoping
to acquire more information on this from the student.
In the few minutes I was with these students, I didn’t learn much about the third student,
Student G. She was diligently working on an assignment when I walked in, and I never had the
chance to talk with her. On my next visit, I plan on becoming better acquainted with her.
Although Ms. Hardesty was mostly just introducing me to these three students today, I felt that
Student G was largely neglected from our attention. On my next visit, I need to do a better job of
paying attention to each student.
In between class periods, Ms. Hardesty asked if I would like to work through a
government lesson with Students A, B, and C when class began. At my last visit, Ms. Hardesty
had me start working with the students right away, so I never had the chance to see her work
through a lesson with them. I told Ms. Hardesty I thought it might be best if I had the opportunity
to see her work with the students first, before I worked through a lesson with them myself. At the
end of the class period, when I told Ms. Hardesty that I would see her on Tuesday, she informed
me that she is going to be gone on that day. She told me I was still welcome to come on Tuesday,
but a substitute teacher will be in her classroom. Having now watched her teach a lesson, I
suggested to her that I could work through a lesson with Students A, B, and C when she is gone.
Ms. Hardesty loved the idea. Needless to say, I’m nervous and excited for this experience on
Tuesday.
The government lesson today was discussion-based, and I immediately understood why
Ms. Hardesty had chosen this method of instruction. As I mentioned in my first journal entry,
Students A and B are pretty chatty during class. Today Ms. Hardesty had the students take turns
reading aloud through their government textbooks, but she stopped after almost every paragraph
for discussion. This allowed Students A and B to fulfill their urge to talk in a productive way. In
my first journal entry, I also mentioned that Ms. Hardesty said Student B struggles with reading
more than his classmates; however, when Student B read aloud today, I was impressed. I
understood why Ms. Hardesty said it may help Student B to read out loud. Although he read
rather fast, he didn’t seem to stumble over words like I had expected him to.
Another thing I noticed during the discussion today that pertains to Students A and B is
that they both exhibit inappropriate behavior at times. For example, Student A kept burping
throughout the class period today and laughing about it. Although I first tried to ignore the
behavior, hoping she would realize that she wasn’t going to elicit the reaction she was looking
for (laughter/attention), this didn’t seem to work. The next time she burped, I quietly said,
“Student A, I think you’re old enough to have better manners than that. Don’t you?” She didn’t
answer me, but I never heard her burp again.
Student B, on the other hand, often exhibits poor behavior by making negative,
inappropriate comments. For example, today Ms. Hardesty was teaching about money as related
to government. She discussed taxes, the IRS, and government-funded programs in our country.
When she reached the topic of government relief efforts during natural disasters, she posed a
question to her students: “What would you do if your home was destroyed by a tornado? Where
would you stay?” Although Ms. Hardesty was trying to make her students understand the
government’s role in situations such as this, Student B remarked, “I would laugh.” Trying to give
him the benefit of the doubt, I replied, “I don’t think you mean that.” Another example of a
negative comment made by Student B is one that I forgot to mention in my first journal. On my
first day of working with the students, Student B made an inappropriate comment about the
presidential candidates. He said that it didn’t matter who was elected because either one would
be assassinated when they took office. I was shocked by this comment, and I didn’t know how to
react. Although I couldn’t have predicted a comment such as this, it made me realize the
importance of role-playing as we have discussed in SPED-510. Seeing as both Student A and
Student B exhibit inappropriate behavior often, I plan to look at the Pre-Referral Intervention
Manual before my next visit for ideas on how to address such behavior.
While Student C didn’t give his input during the discussions as often as Student A or
Student B, I could tell he was still engaged. As we have discussed in SPED-510, active
participation looks different for each student. Student C’s body language (nodding his head,
making eye contact, etc.) communicated that he was actively listening. I suspect Student C may
have a similar learning style to me. Even in discussion-based classes, I prefer to listen. It’s not
that I don’t pay attention, but I learn best when I am listening and when I can hear other people’s
perspectives. Student C also demonstrated he had been paying attention when he completed the
assignment at the end of the class period. He had no trouble answering the questions correctly.
At this early stage in the Diversity Project, I am still trying to become better acquainted
with the students I will be working with this semester. Today I was introduced to three new
students in one class period, and the following class period was largely discussion-based. That
being said, I am looking forward to interacting more with Students A, B, C, E, F, and G during
future visits.
Journal Entry #4
Time: 9:35-10:35
I worked with Students A, B, and C today for my Diversity Project. It was an interesting
class period because Ms. Hardesty was gone, and a substitute teacher was present. Ms. Hardesty
emailed me yesterday, asking me to work with the students on their government activity today.
This included watching the most recent presidential debate, taking notes, and pausing for
discussion. I interacted with Students A, B, and C by leading the discussion.

After I emailed Ms. Hardesty back yesterday to let her know I was more than happy to
work with the students, I received no further reply from her. When I reached her classroom
today, the only instruction she had left with the sub was for me to start the video where the
students had left off on Monday. Having no further instruction on how to conduct the discussion,
I decided to pause the debate once a candidate had finished responding to a question. At first, I
realized I was doing a lot more telling and a lot less asking when I paused the video. Realizing
that this wasn’t encouraging active participation for the students, I decided to change my method.
I began asking the students to share what they had written in their notes every time I paused the
video. When I first opened up the discussion to the students in this way, Student A eagerly began
sharing what she had written. Student B shared some, but he seemed to be missing the larger
points the candidates were making. Student C wasn’t talking at all. I resumed the video, but I
realized I needed to change my method once again. The next time I paused the video, I called on
Student C first to share what he had written. This seemed to work. The student just needed
prompting. After he had spoken, I called on Student B. Once Student B had shared, I called on
Student A. I noticed that as one student would share, the other two would write in their own
notes what helpful information their classmate had provided. If there was something important I
felt none of the students had mentioned, I would then bring it up so they could all write it in their
notes. This method allowed us to cover the most significant arguments being made by Donald
Trump and Hillary Clinton.
Sometimes when I paused the video, the students were eager to give their opinions on the
presidential candidates rather than discuss what was being said in the debate. I reminded them
that our purpose for the activity was to discuss the various stances being taken by Trump and
Clinton on key issues. Although I told them I didn’t mind if they shared their opinion briefly, I
reminded them we needed to stay on-task. When the debate was playing, Student A continued
giving her opinion, making it clear that she dislikes Clinton. Student B became distracted by
Student A’s comments and began to offer her his own opinion in response. They began talking
about Clinton’s facial expressions and her outfit for the debate. Hoping the proximity technique
would encourage them to stop talking during the video, I went and stood by them. I was
disappointed to find this didn’t work, so I quietly whispered to them, “Let’s focus less on what
the candidates look like and more on what is being said.” This quieted them, and they began
taking notes again.
I was exceptionally pleased with how the students behaved today. Before class, I was
nervous, thinking that with Ms. Hardesty being gone, the students might act out. Other than what
I have just described, the class period ran smoothly, and Students A, B, and C made a lot of
progress in their activity. Although I was also nervous at first about leading the discussion, I can
now see how beneficial this experience was for me in becoming more comfortable with the
students. I also believe the students are becoming more comfortable with me. In between class
periods, Students A, B, and C seemed more eager to talk with me than they had before. Although
I will be glad to have Ms. Hardesty back the next time I visit, I think her absence today forced
me to step outside of my comfort zone, and I truly believe this was the best thing for me.
Journal Entry #5
Time: 9:35-10:35
In Ms. Hardesty’s class today, I worked with Students A, B, and C again. The students
were writing definitions for vocabulary terms in their government textbooks. Student A and
Student C had the assignment partially completed because they worked on it yesterday when I
wasn’t there, but Student B was absent yesterday, so he just started the assignment today. As I
was working with the students, I noticed that Student C’s definitions were quite a bit longer than
those of his classmates. I asked Ms. Hardesty if there was a particular definition she was looking
for, and she told me she had asked the students to give the definitions from the glossary in the
back of their textbooks. As Student C overheard this, he became upset. He had looked the
definitions up online. Ms. Hardesty told him it would be okay but to use the glossary in the
textbook for the remainder of his definitions. Student C still seemed upset. Trying to encourage
him, I said, “Hey, she said it’s okay, and on the bright side, the definitions in your textbook are
much shorter.” This cheered him up a bit.
Student A didn’t seem to need much help. Both she and Student C completed the
assignment within the first ten minutes of class. When they were finished, Ms. Hardesty told
them they could listen to music, play games on their iPads, etc. She told them they wouldn’t be
starting a new lesson until tomorrow. To be honest, I didn’t quite understand this. I know she
was probably postponing starting a new lesson because Student B was just beginning to work on
definitions, but I think Student A and Student C could have made better use of the remaining
class period. Even if the students didn’t start a new assignment, they could have worked on
homework for another class or even read a book. I noticed Student A had The Fault in Our Stars
sitting on her desk. Trying to compel her to read instead of looking up music videos on her iPad
as she was doing, I struck up a conversation with her about the book. I asked her if she liked it, if
she had watched the movie, and how much she had read. I told her I had read the book and
watched the movie, but I thought the book was better. She said she had watched the movie, but
she wasn’t enjoying the book so far. She hadn’t read much of it though, so I encouraged her not
to give up on it yet.
I spent the majority of the class period working with Student B. He chose to type his
definitions on his iPad, but I noticed this was taking him a while. Knowing that Ms. Hardesty has
keyboards for the iPads, I asked him if he thought using one might make typing quicker for him.
He liked this idea, so I went and found one. Ms. Hardesty wasn’t expecting Student B to finish
his definitions in one class period, but after I acquired the keyboard for him, he moved along
quickly. He finished the assignment about five minutes before the bell rang. I have noticed that
Student B uses his iPad for nearly every assignment. From what I have observed, this technology
is an excellent tool for him. It allows him to work quickly if he uses the keyboard, it keeps his
assignments stored in one place, and if he misspells a word, it underlines it for him, and he is
able to see the correct spelling by clicking on it.
After Student B finished his definitions, I talked with Ms. Hardesty for a few minutes.
She asked if I had ever heard of Dynamic Learning Maps. I told her I didn’t think so. She had
one on her desk, so she gave it to me to look at. Ms. Hardesty explained that Dynamic Learning
Maps are alternative assessments aimed at serving students with significant cognitive disabilities
for whom general state assessments are not appropriate, even with accommodations. I asked Ms.
Hardesty if Dynamic Learning Maps are used in every state. Although she wasn’t sure, she said
that she knew they were used across the state of Kansas. She also said that at the last training
session she attended, she learned that 55% of students in Kansas who should have Dynamic
Learning Maps do not. This was an alarming statistic, and I wanted to discuss it further with Ms.
Hardesty, but I had to leave so I could make it back to Pittsburg in time for class.
Although Ms. Hardesty gave me a general idea of what Dynamic Learning Maps are, I
still had a lot of questions by the time I left, so I decided to research the topic online. I was able
to find the website for Dynamic Learning Maps: www.dynamiclearningmaps.org. According to
the website, the Dynamic Learning Maps project (DLM) is facilitated by the Center for
Educational Testing and Evaluation at the University of Kansas, and it was initially funded in
2010 by a five-year, $22 million grant from the United States Department of Education. States
have the option to join the project for both English language arts and mathematics testing, for
science testing, or for all three. Current members of the DLM Consortium are: Alaska, Colorado,
Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North
Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. The DLM
Alternate Assessment System helps educators facilitate student success by illustrating the
interrelation among the knowledge, skills, and understandings necessary to meet academic
content standards in a learning map model. The basis of all DLM assessments, the learning map
model, was developed by teams of researchers through extensive review and synthesis of
research literature. It undergoes continual review and refinement by experts in academic content,
special education, and cognition. According to the website, the learning map model acts a
common road map. Although students may share a common destination, they often begin their
journeys from different points on the map. The learning map model helps parents and educators
guide students to success by showing them where a student is now, where the student has been,
and where the student is going. That is, the learning map model helps parents and educators
identify a student’s current knowledge and skills, see how the student has developed over time,
and look forward to more advanced academic content the student can learn next. Students who
take DLM assessments are instructed and assessed on Essential Elements (EEs). EEs are grade-
level-specific expectations about what students with the most significant cognitive disabilities
should know and be able to do. EEs are related to college- and career-readiness standards for
students in the general population.
On the DLM website, there is a link for each state that participates in the program. Seeing
as Oklahoma is one of those states and I plan to teach there, I would like to look further into the
Dynamic Learning Maps project when I have more time. I would also like to talk more with Ms.
Hardesty about her experience with DLM assessment.
The time I spent in Ms. Hardesty’s class today reminded me of the invaluable benefits of
the Diversity Project. I feel like I am learning so much not only from the students but also from
my cooperating teacher. Although Student A and Student C spent the majority of the class period
playing games and looking up music videos on their iPads, this allowed me to reflect on how I
might do things differently as a teacher. Although Ms. Hardesty didn’t want to start a new lesson
with Student B still working on his vocab. assignment, I think if I were her, I would’ve had
Student A and Student C working on something, anything, that would benefit their education and
promote learning, whether that be reading, working on other homework, etc. I haven’t even
completed half of my hours for the Diversity Project yet, but Ms. Hardesty has already provided
me with knowledge and opportunities, such as being introduced to Dynamic Learning Maps and
attending an IEP meeting a few weeks ago, that I might not have had elsewhere, prior to
graduating college.
Journal Entry #6
Time: 9:35-10:35
Today I worked with Students A, B, and C again. So far, this has been my favorite visit. I
had the opportunity to lead the students in their activity for the day, much like I led them in a
group discussion a couple of weeks ago. Ms. Hardesty was present today, but she could barely
speak because she had lost her voice. She asked me to read through a section of the government
textbook with the students, stopping for discussion and to check for comprehension. I was
nervous at first because I’m not as familiar with government as I am with my own content area –
English; however, by the end of the class period, I thought everything went surprisingly well.
As we began reading, I asked the students to take turns reading aloud a paragraph each,
and I also took a turn reading with them. I was surprised by Student B when he began to read. On
my first visit to Ms. Hardesty’s class, she told me that Student B struggles with reading. I had
assumed she meant he is a slow reader. Today Student B proved me wrong. He had little trouble
reading. I would like to talk with Ms. Hardesty about Student B’s particular struggles. After I
heard him read today, I’m thinking he may struggle with reading comprehension. I noticed when
I had the students stop reading and I asked them questions to check for comprehension that
Student B was rarely able to give a correct answer. When this occurred to me, I began stopping
more frequently to discuss the key points of the section, hoping that this would allow him to
better comprehend the material.
I also noticed today that Student A has difficulty with pronunciation of words. As we
were reading, if the students were struggling to pronounce a word, I would say it for them. I
quickly noticed that Student A would pause to let me say the word, but she wouldn’t repeat it
when she resumed reading herself. For example, one word she struggled with was “registration.”
This word appeared frequently in the section because voter registration was a key topic in the
section. When Student A came to this word while reading, she would stop to let me say it for her,
and then she would read the rest of the sentence, but she would never say the word herself after I
had said it. Instead of learning the pronunciation, she just allowed me to say it for her. I wanted
her to learn how to say “registration.” The next time she came to the word, I pronounced it for
her, but I asked her to repeat it after me. This frustrated her, but it only took a couple times of
hearing me say the word slowly for her to be able to pronounce it herself. For the rest of the class
period, she was able to say “registration.”
I was also surprised with how today went because Students A, B, and C stayed on-task
throughout the entire class period. I was surprised because they are normally easily distracted, by
each other, their iPads, Ms. Hardesty working with another student, etc. Today, however, the
students followed along as we were reading, and their responses to my questions were relevant to
what was being asked. I think taking turns reading a paragraph at a time contributed to this
positive behavior. The paragraphs were fairly short, so the students knew they needed to pay
attention because their turn would be coming up quickly. If the paragraphs had been longer, or if
I had asked them to read more than a paragraph at a time, I think the time they had to wait before
reading again would have been too long.
Another thing that I was pleased with today was that the students seem engaged
throughout the class period. I attribute this to an attempt at making the material relevant to them.
For example, when we were reading about voter registration, I stopped to ask the students if they
were old enough to vote, and if so, had they registered to? Students A and B said they were old
enough to vote, but they hadn’t registered. When I asked them why, Student B replied, “Because
voting doesn’t matter. We already know that Clinton is going to win.” Student A agreed with
him. I began talking with the students about the importance of voting, and I reminded them that
there will be more elections for them to vote in than just the presidential election of 2016. Ms.
Hardesty overheard our discussion and backed me up on what I was telling the students. I
emphasized to the students how and where they can register to vote. Although the students
seemed skeptical at first of what I was telling them, they were engaged and eager to participate in
the discussion because it was relevant to them. In the back of my mind, I kept thinking about
transition planning as I was talking with the students. I believe teachers should encourage all of
their students to register to vote because voting pertains to their lives as adults and their duties
and responsibilities as active U.S. citizens.
Today was my favorite visit so far with Ms. Hardesty and her students because I felt
needed. Ms. Hardesty needed me because she was unable to speak, but the students also needed
me, I believe, because they needed someone to have the discussion with them that we had today.
It was an important discussion. As I have learned in Overview of Special Education, “A teacher
has a need to feel needed.” Today I felt needed. I left Girard today feeling like I had made a
difference, even if that difference was small, and for that, I am grateful.
Journal Entry #7
Date: November 1, 2016
Time: 9:35-10:35
Target Students: A, C
During my visit to Ms. Hardesty’s class today, I only worked with Students A and C.
Student B was absent. Because of this, Ms. Hardesty told me at the beginning of the class period
that she wouldn’t be starting a new lesson. Having only three students in the class, she explained,
makes it difficult to move on when one student is gone and even more difficult to catch the
student up when he/she returns. With that being said, Ms. Hardesty decided to have a review day
for Students A and C on material she felt they hadn’t quite grasped. After my last visit on
Thursday, Ms. Hardesty had the students complete an assignment on the material I covered with
them then. Ms. Hardesty was not satisfied with the grades the students received on this
assignment, so she asked me to go over the questions with them while I was there today.
When Ms. Hardesty told me that the students did poorly on the assignment, I couldn’t
help but think maybe I was to blame. After all, I was the one who read through the chapter with
them. Perhaps there was a concept I hadn’t stopped during the lesson to discuss with the
students. Another thought was that maybe the assignment should have been given to the students
immediately after we discussed the chapter on Thursday, but then I remembered that we didn’t
stop reading until the bell rang. There hadn’t been enough time then to give the assignment. Plus,
I also found out that the students reviewed the material with Ms. Hardesty yesterday, before
receiving the assignment. Although I found it difficult to pinpoint exactly why the students did
not do well, I did develop a theory: Due to parent-teacher conferences, Girard did not have
school on Friday, so the students had a three-day weekend. Because we covered the material on
Thursday, perhaps too much time elapsed between reading the chapter on Thursday and
completing the assignment on Monday. I’ll admit, we covered a lot of material. It isn’t far-
fetched to believe that the students might have forgotten a lot of what we read.
These were my immediate thoughts upon learning that the students did not do well on the
assignment; however, as I began working with Students A and C today, I soon discovered that
my ideas may have been wrong. There were a few things that the students missed on the
assignment because they had given an incorrect answer, but most often, the students had points
deducted simply because they had failed to give a complete answer. For example, many of the
questions had multiple parts, such as a part A and a part B. While the students may have
answered part A, they often forgot or chose not to answer part B.

As I went over the questions with the students, I first asked them to share what they had
put as their answer. If the student’s answer was correct, I acknowledged that and gave further
explanation of why it was correct. If the student’s answer was wrong, I asked the students to turn
back in their textbooks to where the subject of the question first appeared. I then asked one of the
students to read that passage. After that, I returned to the question and asked the students if they
knew what the correct answer should have been, given what we just read. I didn’t want to just
give the students the answer because I knew that would do nothing to improve their retention of
the material. Although the students didn’t always give the right answer on the first try, I found
ways to rephrase the question or prompt them further so that they were eventually able to reach
the correct answer.
At the beginning of this activity, Student A took a Capri Sun juice pouch out of her bag.
Ms. Hardesty noticed but didn’t say anything, so I assumed it was okay for students to have
drinks in her class. Personally, I didn’t see a problem with Student A having the drink until she
finished drinking it and began chewing and slurping on the straw. Knowing that I am easily
bothered by such noises, I initially chose not to say anything to her. I thought Ms. Hardesty
might address it, but she never did. As Student B began reading a passage aloud from the
textbook, Student A looked up at me as she was chewing obnoxiously on the straw and smiled,
almost as if she could tell it was bothering me. If my body language communicated that I was
annoyed, I need to be more aware of my body language in the future. If students can detect that I
am bothered/annoyed, this may encourage their behavior. Trying not to distract Student B from
what he was doing, I decided to try a silent strategy for addressing Student A’s behavior. With a
stern face, I looked her in the eye and shook my head in a disapproving manner. She stopped
chewing on the straw, but she kept it in her mouth. I feel it is important to note that I wasn’t just
annoyed by her behavior because I have a natural tendency to hate chewing/slurping noises, but I
was also bothered by her behavior because I viewed it as childish. Student A is a senior in high
school. She will soon be graduating, and as an adult, she will be expected to behave like one. I
had this in mind as Student A began chewing and slurping on the straw again. I took out a piece
of paper and wrote, “Student A, either stop chewing on the straw, and put it back in the juice
pouch, or go throw it away. Please and thank you!” I then slid the note to her. She read it and did
as I had asked her to.
As usual, Student C, on the other hand, was well-behaved, but I did have to work with
him on something new today. Sometimes when Student C was attempting to answer a question,
he would talk so fast that I either couldn’t hear everything he was saying or what he was saying
didn’t make sense. After noticing this a couple of times, I stopped him and jokingly said, “Hey,
slow down. You’re talking way too fast for me to keep up.” He laughed and then proceeded to
take his time answering the question. Once he slowed down, I had no trouble understanding him,
and I think he was better able to process his answer before saying it out loud. If he started talking
fast again, I just smiled and mouthed the words “slow down” as a gentle reminder. As the class
period went on, I noticed I was having to do this less and less.
At the end of the class period today, we had about five minutes to spare, so I began
talking with the students about what they did for Halloween. Student C said he didn’t do
anything to celebrate, but Student A said she had dressed up and went trick-or-treating. As I
talked with her some more, she also commented on how she didn’t arrive back home until 2:00
in the morning. She said that she was tired. I jokingly said, “Well, no wonder you’re tired. Why
didn’t you go home earlier so you could actually get some sleep?” She gave me a sassy reply that
I wasn’t expecting: “I couldn’t go home early. I have a two-year-old.” I was shocked, to say the
least. This was completely new knowledge for me. Once I had time to process this new
information, there were a few concerns that arose: 1) Student A acted as if having a two-year-old
out at 2:00 in the morning is nothing unusual. 2) I wonder if anyone is helping Student A raise
this child, and if so, how much are they helping her? 3) For Student A to behave as
inappropriately and childishly as she does sometimes, it concerns me that she is apparently
raising a child of her own. Because this conversation occurred at the end of the class period, I
didn’t have time to stay and talk with Ms. Hardesty about it, but I plan to on Thursday. I would
like to know more about Student A’s home life.
I felt like today’s visit to Ms. Hardesty’s class was productive in more ways than one. I
was able to recognize that I need to do a better job of controlling my body language and
concealing my emotions. I was also able to successfully check Student A’s inappropriate
behavior without disrupting other students and the activity we were doing. I also worked with
Student C on taking time to process his thoughts and to slow his speech so that he could respond
in a coherent manner. Lastly, I learned more about Student A and her life outside of school,
valuable information, I think. My eyes were opened today to the fact that I need to become better
acquainted with these students. I may be able to recognize certain needs they have and areas
where they struggle, but I am lacking information about their lives outside the classroom.
Moving forward, I think the best solution would be for me to talk more with Ms. Hardesty, ask
her any questions I have, and continue to interact more with the students. I may have never
learned of Student A’s child if I hadn’t started talking with her about something as simple as
Halloween. It may be simple, but I have learned that sometimes just talking can do wonders.
Journal Entry #8
Time: 9:35-10:35
Target Students: B, C
Today I worked with Students B and C for the Diversity Project. Student A was absent.
As Ms. Hardesty has had me do previously, I read through a chapter of the government textbook
with Students B and C, stopping for discussion. The students also filled out a chart that covered
the main points of the section. At the end of this activity, the students completed a short
assignment on voting. With Student A gone today, I was able to recognize how Student B’s
behavior seemed to improve in her absence.
In the time I have spent working with Student A and Student B so far, I have failed to
observe that one student’s behavior is the antecedent to the other student’s behavior. For
example, if Student A and Student B sit near each other during an assignment that is to be
completed independently and one of them begins talking about non-instructional topics, the other
is likely to stop working on his/her assignment and begin talking also. I have formed this theory
based on my time working with Student B today. With Student A being absent, he managed to
talk only when it was appropriate, and he kept his comments related to government.
As the students and I were taking turns reading through the chapter and stopping for
discussion, I noticed that they were having trouble comprehending the material. After one of the
students finished reading a passage, I would stop and ask them a “Checkpoint” question from the
teacher’s edition of the textbook. It was evident that the students were having difficulty
understanding what we were reading because either their answers to my questions were incorrect
or they couldn’t answer the questions at all. Rather than give them the answers without
explanation, I attempted to reword the questions so as to guide them to the correct answers. I
believe the students are struggling with the reading because their textbooks seem to be written
for a higher reading level. This is problematic, seeing as Ms. Hardesty told me on my first visit
to her class that Students A, B, and C have low reading levels. I talked with Ms. Hardesty at the
end of the class period about this. She agreed with my observation, saying that unfortunately,
that textbook is what was provided to her by the school district. Students A, B, and C are
expected to use the same textbook as their classmates who don’t receive special education. I’m
not sure how Students A, B, and C are having their needs met if they are being expected to read a
textbook that’s reading level is above their own.
In addition to having me work with the students today, Ms. Hardesty also showed me
some of the different methods she uses for collecting and recording data on her students. For
example, some of Ms. Hardesty’s students have a class period in their schedule that is designated
for working on homework. When the students come to Ms. Hardesty’s class for this period, she
has them fill out a form in their Google Drive that requires the students to assess themselves. On
the form, the students are asked to specify what homework they worked on and to grade
themselves based on what they accomplished. Ms. Hardesty showed me some examples of these
forms that students have submitted. Ms. Hardesty noted that the students are usually honest in
their responses. In the examples she showed me, Ms. Hardesty’s students gave a range of
answers. I didn’t see a single form where a student gave himself/herself the highest grade
possible for every single day. Ms. Hardesty uses the data she collects from these forms when
trying to determine if a particular student truly needs this class. For example, if a student has
reported having “no homework” on most of the forms they submitted, she considers that the
student might not need to be enrolled in the class and could use their time more effectively
elsewhere.
This was just one type of data Ms. Hardesty showed me. In her Google Drive, Ms.
Hardesty has countless forms that allow her to collect information from her students, from paras,
and from her own observations. I think Ms. Hardesty’s choice to store this information on her
Google Drive is wise. With as many forms as Ms. Hardesty receives from students and paras, if
she were to collect hard copies, they might easily be misplaced. Google Drive allows Ms.
Hardesty to keep them all in one central location, and she can access them on any computer with
an internet connection. I was truly shocked by how many different forms Ms. Hardesty has for
gathering data on her students. I can’t even begin to imagine how much time Ms. Hardesty spent
in preparing these forms. Although it may have been a tedious task, the benefits she reaps makes
it all worth it, I think. When Ms. Hardesty has meetings to discuss a student’s IEP, she can easily
go into her Google Drive, pull up the data she has collected on the student, and present it to the
team. I’m grateful that Ms. Hardesty took the time to show me these documents. Although it has
been mentioned in SPED-510 that a basic knowledge of data is valuable for teachers, I gained a
greater appreciation for data in education by talking with Ms. Hardesty today.
Although we missed having Student A in class today, it was interesting for me to observe
what difference her absence made. If Student A hadn’t been absent, I’m not sure when I would
have finally realized that her behavior and Student B’s behavior are antecedents for one another.
It seems obvious now that I think about it, but it was something I hadn’t quite put my finger on
before. I have been so focused on the behaviors of these students, that I’ve neglected to consider
the antecedents to those behaviors. Overall, I consider this my greatest takeaway from today’s
visit. In the time I have left to work on the Diversity Project, I hope to improve my skills as a
reflective practitioner by taking more time to reflect on what triggers negative behavior for
Students A, B, and C.
Journal Entry #9
Time: 9:35-10:35
During my visit to Girard today, Students A, B, and C began working on a Veterans Day
project. Ms. Hardesty gave them a list of different projects they could choose from. They were to
work individually, with a partner, or in a group. The students chose to all work together, and the
project they selected was to create a picture collage related to Veterans Day and to describe how
the pictures they used pertained to that day. I was excited that the students chose to work
together on this project because it was my first opportunity to observe them working on a group
assignment.
As the students set to work, they each picked up their iPads and began looking online for
pictures they wanted to use. For about five minutes, they were glued to their screens. Noticing
that there was a lack of collaboration, I told the students they might want to talk amongst
themselves about their plans for the finished project. Student C began trying to share an idea, but
he couldn’t seem to get the words out. No one could understand what he was trying to say. As he
continued stumbling over his words, I could tell he was growing increasingly frustrated. Finally,
Student C stood up from his seat and went to sit by himself. I stood up and walked over to him. I
was surprised to see that he was on the verge of tears. Trying to comfort him, I said, “Hey, it’s
okay. Let’s just sit here, take a little time to calm down, and when you’re ready, you can try
explaining your idea to me.” After sitting there for a couple of minutes, he calmed down and was
able to share his idea: he wanted to put a picture he found online of the American flag in the
center of their collage. Although this idea seemed rather simple once he was able to finally get it
out, I realized how frustrating it must be for Student C to know what he wants to say but to
struggle with expressing it. When we walked back to the table where the group was working, I
told Students A and B of Student C’s idea. Student A gave him a smile and said, “I think that’s
great!”
For Student B, on the other hand, a different set of concerns arose during today’s activity.
Although the students had agreed at the beginning of class that they all wanted to work together,
Student B took this as an opportunity to avoid doing any work himself. While the other two
students were collecting pictures to use for the collage, I caught Student B looking at shoes
on his iPad. I casually said, “That doesn’t look like Veterans Day pictures to me, Student B.
Please exit out of that. Remember, this is a group project.” Overhearing me, Ms. Hardesty
chimed in, “Student B, as members of a team, you all are going to be grading each other on
participation. If you don’t do your part, I’m guessing your classmates won’t hesitate to
deduct points on your participation.” He laughed and started on his work. A few minutes
later, I walked behind him so I could monitor what he was looking at on his iPad. He had
dimmed the brightness on the screen, trying to make it difficult for me to see. I saw that he
was on YouTube. Deciding to try proximity control, I moved near him. He exited out of the
app and resumed working. A few minutes later, I walked by again. This time, he was
looking at the App Store. Reminding Student B that this was a group effort, warning him
that his classmates might give him a poor grade on participation, and utilizing proximity
control weren’t quite cutting it. I told Student B, “Why don’t you go ahead and turn the
iPad off? Ms. Hardesty and I have asked you a few times now to get back on-task, but you
are continuing to abuse your iPad privileges.” Students A and C were still looking for
pictures on their iPads, so I knew I had to come up with something Student B could do
while still contributing to the group. After he turned his iPad off, I had Students A and C
print the pictures they had already saved, and Student B began cutting them out for the
poster board. With the iPad out of the picture, Student B managed to stay on-task and
fulfill his part in the group project (B).
In SPED-510, we have talked about discovering a student’s strengths by talking to
teachers the student has in other content areas and by observing them in a setting outside of the
classroom. While students may struggle in one content area, they may have great strengths in
another. As Students A, B, and C worked on this group assignment, I was able to recognize
a strength in Student A that I never had before: Student A is creative and artistic. Once the
students had printed all of their pictures and cut them out, they began arranging them on
the poster board. Students B and C didn’t seem to understand the concept of a collage.
They lined the pictures up on the board in straight rows, and they didn’t overlap them at
all. I was about to explain what a collage generally looks like, when Student A beat me to it.
She picked up the pictures and began showing Student B and Student C different ways to
position the pictures and how they could overlap them. Ms. Hardesty walked by and said,
“Wow, Student A. That looks really good!” If Ms. Hardesty had never assigned this
project, I might not have known of Student A’s creativity. After class, I talked with Ms.
Hardesty about what I had observed. She said, “Yeah, I noticed that too. Student A seemed
to enjoy this project.” I told Ms. Hardesty, “This is a great thing to know about Student A.
It might be a cool idea to have more projects like this in the future. I think it would make
the learning enjoyable for her” (C).

My visit to Ms. Hardesty’s class today allowed me to observe how well Students A, B,
and C work together and how much they enjoyed or disliked working on a creative project.
While Student C had a difficult time communicating with his classmates at first, he seemed to do
much better once I had talked with him and he had received encouraging words from Student A.
On the other hand, working in a group seemed like it was going to be a negative thing for
Student B, but once the iPad was no longer there to distract him, he worked well in a group. I
was impressed with Student A not only because of her creativity but also because of the small
gesture of kindness and encouragement she offered Student C. Overall, this visit was an excellent
opportunity for me to observe how differentiation can be beneficial for students. Whereas Ms.
Hardesty’s instruction normally involves reading and discussion, this group project today was
more engaging for the students. Today the students had a variety of different projects they could
choose from, including essays, PowerPoints, iMovies, collages, etc. Allowing the students to
choose how to demonstrate what they have learned is an excellent technique, I think. I hope to
see Ms. Hardesty do this more often for her students in the future.
Journal Entry #10
Time: 9:35-10:35
Target Students: A, B
Today Ms. Hardesty had me work with Students A and B on finishing their Veterans Day
project. Student C was absent, but Ms. Hardesty said that the students needed to move on.
Although they had already completed the collage, Ms. Hardesty decided she wanted them to
present it, describing each picture and how it relates to Veterans Day. Throughout my time
working on the Diversity Project, I have yet to see the students do a presentation, so I was eager
to work with them on prepping for it.
After Ms. Hardesty explained this additional component of the assignment, I asked the
students to come sit with me at a round table with chairs for each of us. Students A and B
normally sit at individual desks, but I was hoping that this temporary seating arrangement would
encourage more collaboration between the two of them. At first, I was tempted to just tell the
students how I would suggest doing the presentation. When it comes to presentations, as well as
many other things, I tend to be a perfectionist, but I knew this was clouding my judgment.
Working with students isn’t about achieving “perfect” results. I wanted to see what the students
could come up with on their own and then guide them from there. When I asked Students A and
B if they had any ideas for their presentation, Student A immediately began telling me what
pictures she was going to cover during the presentation and what pictures she would leave for
Student B. Overall, there were twenty pictures in the collage, and Student A quickly made it
obvious that she was planning on doing most of the talking during the presentation. I said, “Well,
I think you have the right idea by thinking about the presentation picture by picture, but I think
we need to make sure Student B plays an equal role in your presentation. This is a group project,
and Ms. Hardesty will expect an equal amount of work from both of you.” Student B chimed in,
“I think we should just stick with Student A’s plan.” I was happy to hear that Student B was open
to Student A’s suggestion, but I also knew that her suggestion required little effort from Student
B. I suspected this was why he was so eager to accept her idea. I replied, “I agree that Student
A’s idea is a good one. I’m just suggesting a slight alteration. Since there are twenty pictures on
your collage, how about you split it in half? Ten pictures for Student A, and ten pictures for
you.” Once they had both agreed to my suggestion, they began trying to determine who was
going to cover which pictures. Again, Student A began picking which pictures she wanted and
telling Student B which ones he could have. Instead of involving Student B in the decision
process, Student A was making all of the decisions on her own. I interrupted at this point: “Okay,
how about you guys take turns choosing so that you both get to pick some that you like?” Once
the students had agreed to this, the rest of the planning process flowed smoothly.
Next, I had the students practice their presentation for me. I enjoyed this experience
because it allowed me to work with Student A and Student B on presentation skills. In a
way, this could be considered a form of transition planning. The presentation skills we worked
on today are useful not only now, but they will also be useful in the future. With both Student A
and Student B, eye contact was an issue. When it was their turn to speak, they kept their eyes on
the collage/poster board the entire time. I pointed this out to both of them. I let them know that I
too struggle with eye contact, especially during presentations. I told them the simple technique I
use when I am giving a presentation: I try to look at people’s foreheads. To the audience, it just
looks like you are making eye contact. When we ran through the presentation a second time, the
students showed improvement, but besides eye contact, they were also struggling with word
articulation. Student A was speaking too quickly, and Student B was mumbling. After I had
acknowledged this issue with both of them, they showed progress at first. It was clear as
they resumed practicing that they were making a conscious effort to improve. As Student A
began speaking too fast again, I made a motion with my hand to tell her to slow down.
Similarly, when Student B began to mumble, I cupped my hand to my ear as if I were
straining to hear him. While the students continued practicing their presentation, I
continued to use these cues. By the end of the class period, I found myself having to use
them less often. There were instances where I would raise my hand to make the gesture,
and immediately seeing what I was about to do, the students corrected themselves (A).
One last thing we worked on for the presentation was posture. When we first began
rehearsing, Student A and Student B were standing slouched and holding their poster board
crooked. After we went through the presentation the first time, I told them that their posture was
inappropriate for a presentation. I then discussed the importance of professional and confident
posture. When we ran through the presentation a second time, Student A did much better, but she
struggled with standing still. Student B’s posture, on the other hand, became too rigid. Because
Student A seemed to struggle with standing in one spot, I suggested that she occasionally shift
her weight from one leg to the other. This allowed her some movement. I think this activity was
exceptionally difficult for her because she had to keep holding the poster board too. If she hadn’t,
I would’ve suggested she move around the room. For Student B, I thought it might help if he saw
me give a demonstration of appropriate posture. We went through the presentation a third time,
and both Student A and Student B showed improvement.
Throughout my visit today, I kept thinking about how I wished Student C was not
absent. I know it is difficult to slow down the rest of the class for one student, but on this
particular assignment, I think it would have been best if Ms. Hardesty waited on Student C for
the students to complete the project. After all, he was a member of the group. I would have liked
to have worked with Student C on his presentation skills as well. Student A and Student B
seemed to benefit from our work today tremendously. I would make one alteration if I could go
back. If I could do this activity all over again, I would record a video of the students practicing
their presentation and allow them to view it afterwards. I know in my own experience, being able
to watch a recording of myself is useful in identifying areas where I need to improve.

Considering that the students each have access to their own iPads, I wish I would have thought of
this sooner. It would have been an easy task.
Journal Entry #11
Time: 9:35-10:35
Today I visited Ms. Hardesty’s classroom for the last time. I completed my tenth hour for
the Diversity Project by helping Students A, B, and C study for a government test. At the
beginning of the class period, Ms. Hardesty gave me the study guide and answer key and asked
me to go over the questions with the students in preparation for their test tomorrow. I didn’t
expect this to be a difficult activity, seeing as the students had already completed the study guide
themselves; however, I was quickly proven to be wrong.
Several times when I asked the students a question, they sat in silence, not knowing the
answer. At other times, when they did answer, they were incorrect. After I had gone through the
entire study guide once, I asked the students if they had studied at all since receiving the study
guide, and all three said “no.” I then asked how long they had had the study guide, and they told
me they completed it yesterday in class. When I asked why they had not studied, Student B said
he had not wanted to, Student C said he had forgotten, and Student A surprised me by saying that
she had not had time to study because she was taking care of her daughter and babysitting her
cousins last night. This surprised me because I had failed to consider that while some students
simply choose not to study even when given a study guide, other students have situations at
home that prevent them from devoting time to their homework. When it occurred to me that the
students may not study, either by choice or by circumstance, outside of the time allotted during
class, I knew that I had to make effective use of our time together.
Knowing that some students are auditory learners, I continued to go over the study guide
with the students orally. After hearing me repeat various questions and explain the answers, the
students showed progress in answering the questions correctly. About halfway through the class
period, Student C asked if they could have some time to study on their own. Student A and
Student B agreed that they would like some individual study time. I looked to Ms. Hardesty for
approval, and she said that she was fine with it as long as they stayed on-task. The students
began studying on their own, but Student A and Student B kept looking at their iPads. It occurred
to me that, if used properly, the iPads could serve as a study tool rather than a distraction. I
walked up to Student A and Student B and said, “Since you guys seem to want to use your iPads,
I have an idea for a way you could use them to study.” Student A laughed and asked, “How?” I
then introduced the students, including Student C, to a flashcard app on Apple’s App
Store. I explained the concept of the flashcards and how the app works. I also told them
that I have personally used this app as a study tool and suggested they use it to create
flashcards for the questions and answers on their study guides. I had no problem
convincing them to download the app. They were excited to use it because it was new to
them (E).
I believe the flashcard app was an excellent resource to introduce the students to for a few
reasons. First, I have observed during my time working with Students A, B, and C that they are
all skilled with technology. Secondly, I believe that having to type the questions and answers for
their study guide on this app was much like having them write the questions and answers. In
many cases, it is easier to remember things if we write them first. Lastly, encouraging the
students to use their iPads made the learning intriguing and engaging for them.
The students were all able to complete these flashcards before the end of the hour, and
they all had at least the last ten minutes of class to study them. Whereas Students A and B were
distracted before by their iPads, once they began using the flashcard app, they no longer used
their iPads inappropriately. They stayed on the app for the remainder of the class period. At the
end of class, I reminded the students to use these flashcards to study before their test tomorrow. I
also suggested they pull out their iPads and open the app whenever they had a few minutes to
spare, like on the bus ride home from school, in the car, a few minutes before going to bed, while
eating breakfast, etc. Ms. Hardesty joined in on the conversation and asked the students if they
thought using the flashcard app would make them more likely to study. I was beyond excited
when they all three said “yes.” Just before the bell rang, I mentioned that if they liked using the
app to study for their government test, they should also consider using it for studying in other
classes.
Although the study tool I introduced to Students A, B, and C today was one that many
people are familiar with, I was encouraged by the students’ response to it. Previously, they had
not known flashcard apps existed, and although using flashcards may seem like a simple study
strategy, it is one I believe the students are likely to use for other classes and for future tests. This
experience I had today may seem insignificant to some people, but I was delighted that my last
visit to Ms. Hardesty’s class was spent introducing the students to a practical study tool they may
use long after I am gone.

Final Reflection
I will forever be grateful for the insight I gained working on my Diversity Project.
Perhaps the most significant insight I gained in the process was that I have a passion for and
interest in special education. Before working on the Diversity Project, I never considered
pursuing a degree in special education. When family members suggested this field of education
to me, I recall replying, “Oh, no. I don’t have what it takes to be a special education teacher.”
However, now having taken Overview of Special Education at Pittsburg State University and
having completed my Diversity Project at Girard High School, my interest in the field of special
education has been stimulated. Dr. Flynn, my course instructor, has said time and time again that
the content presented in Overview of Special Education is just a brief introduction to the field.
It’s just a basic and surface level understanding of students with special needs, the special
education process, and the laws regarding special education services. Upon completing my
Diversity Project, and as the end of the semester draws near, I find myself longing and desiring
to know more about these things. There is so much more knowledge I don’t have that I
desperately want. I want to know more about students with disabilities, students at-risk, students
identified with gifts or talents, laws that pertain to and protect such students, IEPs, 504s, the
process of identifying students for special education, etc. Although I would still like to teach
English for a few years, I am now seriously considering pursuing a master’s degree in special
education. I never would have had this revelation if it weren’t for the Diversity Project and
Overview of Special Education.
Although I regard the Diversity Project as a highlight of my preservice studies thus far, it
did not come without difficulties. The Diversity Project both developed and challenged my
confidence in becoming a teacher. In my previous field experience at Pittsburg Middle School

and in my field placement for the Diversity Project at Girard High School, I have had the
opportunity of working one-on-one with a variety of students with special needs. While no two
students are alike, each having their own individual needs, working with these students has
allowed me to encounter situations and characteristics in students that I am likely to come across
in the future. As with many other things, experience and practice are key to becoming a highly
effective teacher. The Diversity Project afforded me experiences to sharpen my skills as an
educator. The more time I spent with the target students of my Diversity Project, the more
confident I became in working with them, conversing with them, and discovering their strengths
and struggles. However, I was also frequently reminded that I still have room for improvement.
There were times that I surprised myself in my ability to quickly recall and apply what I have
learned at Pittsburg State to my experiences in the classroom, but there were also several times
that the students behaved in such a way that I honestly didn’t know how to respond. When the
strategies I used to address certain behaviors failed, there were times that I was at a loss as to
what strategy to try next. This raised some concerns for me, but as I continue in my preservice
studies at Pittsburg State, I hope to add to, polish, and refine my strategies and techniques to use
in my future classroom.
Another personal benefit of the Diversity Project was that it allowed me to draw
connections between my experiences at Girard High School and my on-campus studies. In the
courses I have taken in the Department of Teacher Education and the Department of Teaching
and Leadership at Pittsburg State, my instructors have frequently stressed the importance of
professional responsibility. The Diversity Project provided opportunities for me to practice and
become better prepared for my professional responsibilities as a teacher. While working on my
project, I continually engaged in self-evaluation and reflection, completing journal entries at the
end of each visit and adapting my practices to meet the needs of each target student while I was
in the classroom. I also took advantage of opportunities to advance my professional knowledge.
In addition to the ten hours I spent in the classroom, I also jumped at the opportunity to attend an
IEP meeting while I was at Girard.
I have also learned from my instructors at Pittsburg State that students bring unique,
individual differences to the learning process and that highly effective teachers use this
understanding of difference to implement appropriate and relevant learning experiences. During
my visits to Girard, I was able to identify some individual strengths and struggles each of my
target students exhibited, and using that knowledge, I was able to make the content they were
studying relevant to their interests and appropriate for their individual needs.
At Pittsburg State, I have also learned the importance of creating an environment for
students that supports individual and collaborative learning, includes use of technology, and
encourages positive social interaction and active engagement in learning. While I frequently
encouraged collaboration and social interaction between the target students for my Diversity
Project, I also recognized their need to work individually on some occasions. While we often
worked in group settings, there were times that the students needed to work alone. As for the use
of technology, the students’ school-provided iPads served as a distraction in many instances;
however, during one of my visits to Girard, the students became actively engaged in their
activity for the day when I introduced them to a study app they could download to prepare for an
upcoming test.
As I have previously mentioned, I consider the Diversity Project to be one of the
highlights of my preservice studies thus far. The Diversity Project provided me with new insight
as to my professional goals as an educator, it developed and challenged my confidence in

becoming a teacher, sometimes raising concerns about areas I need to improve in, and it allowed
me to draw connections with my on-campus studies at Pittsburg State University. My only regret
is that I did not have more than ten hours to devote to this project. I am confident that I gained
more from my experiences with my target students than they did from me.

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Pittsburg State University

Overview of Special Education (SPED-510)

Dr. Gloria Flynn

school students in grades 9-12.

students were of Caucasian ethnicity and appeared to be of low socioeconomic status.

Building Report Card

economically disadvantaged. In the district, approximately 50% of non-economically

subcategories of students that needs to be addressed.

Date Time Journal Entry

Date Time Journal Entry

comprehension of the material was poor.

Date Time Journal Entry

greatest struggle seemed to be communication. He frequently became frustrated with himself

If he does, I believe that may be why he keeps to himself during class.

Date Time Journal Entry

Throughout my 33-hour field experience, Student D grew more comfortable in striking up

Date Time Journal Entry

never gained an understanding of his personality, strengths, and/or challenges.

Date Time Journal Entry

never gained an understanding of his personality, strengths, and/or challenges.

Date Time Journal Entry

I initially wrote about Student G in my third journal entry because my cooperating

minutes, I never gained an understanding of her personality, strengths, and/or challenges.

Date: September 29, 2016

for Clinical Experience.

be my first experience working with students of that age group.

she had an area of the classroom to herself.

isn’t being disruptive.

experience in my next journal entry.

Hardesty seems to have a genuine interest in my education as a pre-service teacher. My only

Date: October 4, 2016

modifications for her learning.

role of school staff as liaisons.

Another example of transition services being provided to Student D is her current

to jump at the opportunity.

Date: October 6, 2016

to acquire more information on this from the student.

paying attention to each student.

answer me, but I never heard her burp again.

importance of role-playing as we have discussed in SPED-510. Seeing as both Student A and

Date: October 11, 2016

discussion. I interacted with Students A, B, and C by leading the discussion.

Trump and Hillary Clinton.

taking notes again.

Date: October 18, 2016

much shorter.” This cheered him up a bit.

able to see the correct spelling by clicking on it.

to find the website for Dynamic Learning Maps: www.dynamiclearningmaps.org. According to

students in the general population.

Hardesty about her experience with DLM assessment.

Date: October 27, 2016

better comprehend the material.

period, she was able to say “registration.”

reading again would have been too long.

and responsibilities as active U.S. citizens.

It was an important discussion. As I have learned in Overview of Special Education, “A teacher

Date: November 1, 2016

answered part A, they often forgot or chose not to answer part B.

the correct answer.