Jesse Blake

SPED 510

Dr. Gloria Flynn

18 November 2016

Diversity Project

Introduction

The Diversity Project for Overview of Special Education was a valuable experience for

me as a future educator. I worked with students in Mr. Mahnken’s fourth grade class at George

Nettels Elementary in Pittsburg, Kansas. I mostly worked with one student throughout my hours

of the project. This student was in the process for pre-referral, and began new medication for

ADD near the end of my classroom visits. I also worked with one other student occasionally. The

classroom population was mostly students without differences or learning disabilities.

Pittsburg School District 250 Building Report Card

Total population of the school district (not the community)___3,104_______________

Find the percentages of the following student populations:

Gender: __53%_Male _47%_Female

SES (socioeconomic status): _60%_Economically disadvantaged _40%_ NONeconomically

disadvantaged

Race/Ethnicity: __4%_African American/Black _15%_Hispanic _____Asian

_71%__Caucasian/White _____Native American __10%_Other

Disability: __17%__ ELL (English Language Learners): __3%__

School Building Information

Find the percentages of the following student populations: Gender: _52%_Male _48%_Female

SES (socioeconomic status): _45%_Free/Reduced Lunch (Economically disadvantaged)

_55%_ Self-Paid Lunch (NONeconomically disadvantaged)

Race/Ethnicity: _3%__African American/Black _7%__Hispanic _77%_Caucasian/White

__13%_Multi-Racial (Other)

Disability: _11%__ ELL (English Language Learners): __0%__ Migrant _0%__

Assessment Data Reading Assessment Data 2016

All Students Level 1_15.52%_ All Students Combined Levels 2 – 4_84.45%_ All Level 4

Only_21.73%_

Select 2 other categories of student populations and provide percentages as indicated below:

Category 1______Math________ Level 1_13.04%_ Combined Levels 2 – 4_86.95%_ Level 4

Only_22.36%_

For the percentages of all students in the building who took the math assessments, the

Level 1 data has increased from last year. The data from 2015 for students in this category

increased from 25.17% to 26.74% in 2016. However, the Level 4 data also increased from 7.94%

in 2015 to 9.87% in 2016.

Based on Pittsburg’s high Hispanic population, I decided to compare the data for

Hispanic students and Caucasian students in the math category at George Nettels. The Level 1

data for Hispanic students from 2015 to 2016 increased from 31.68% to 34.32%. The Level 4
data did not increase significantly, but was 5.44% in 2015 and 5.97% in 2016. The Level 3 data

increased from 16.33% in 2015 to 19.9% in 2016. Compared to the state data, Hispanic students

at George Nettels performed better on math assessments. The Level 1 data increased in the White

student population from 21.64% to 23.56% in 2016. Data in Level 4 increased from 8.81% in

2015 to 11.25% in 2016.

I then decided to research the data for students with disabilities in the school. In math, the

data for Level 1 increased from 58.64% in 2015 to 64%. This data is higher than the overall state

data which was 53.45% in 2015 and 60.67% in 2016. The Level 4 data is small, but decreased

from 1.68% in 2015 to 1.2% in 2016 at George Nettels. Based on this data, I noticed that this

school has some work to do for accommodating for minority students and students with

disabilities.

Target Student(s) Profile

During my Diversity Project, I primarily worked with one student, referred to as Student

A throughout this report. Student A was 9 years old, white, and female. I mostly helped this

student on reading and writing skills, such as reading aloud for assignments, tests, and the

reading assessment, helping her understand key details of a story, and organizing her thoughts on

paper for a personal narrative writing assignment. Student A had deficits in spelling, staying on

task, and some difficulty in reading. When I worked with her individually on writing

assignments, she had great ideas of what she wanted to write about, so I believe she was creative

and has strengths in that area.

 Student B that I worked with was 10 years old, white, and male. I worked with him on a

writing assignment my first day in the classroom, and also helped him read aloud during tests

and the reading assessment. This student seemed somewhat discouraged by school sometimes, in

that he appeared overwhelmed with the work. He would often try to finish his assignments

quickly, and occasionally at the expense of having the correct answers. However, this student

was also helpful to others. When there was a new student introduced in the classroom towards

the end of my project, Student B helped him know what to do on the assignments and assisted

him with how things run in the classroom.

Times I spent in the classroom:

Wednesday, October 5, 2016, 8:15am-9:10am

Wednesday, October 12, 2016, 8:15am-9:20am

Wednesday, October 19, 2016, 8:10am-9:10am

Monday, October 24, 2016, 8:05am-9:05am

Wednesday, October 26, 2016, 8:10am-9:10am

Monday, October 31st, 2016 8:10am-9:15am

Wednesday, November 2nd, 2016 8:10am-9:10am

Wednesday, November 9th, 2016 8:10am-9:10am

Monday, November 14th, 2016 8:10am-9:10am

Wednesday, November 16th, 2016 8:10am-9:10am

Daily Journal Entries

Jesse Blake

Journal Entry #1

Wednesday, October 5, 2016, 8:15am-9:10am

I had a great first day observing for the Diversity Project at George Nettels! I was placed

in a fourth grade classroom with Mr. Mahnken. At the beginning of the class when I came in, the

students were doing morning work on their chrome books and eating breakfast at their desks. Mr.

Mahnken had a slide on the front board that listed what they were going to do in the class period

this morning. I liked how he had a relaxed atmosphere for the students to start their day, but also

prepared them for the work they had to do. After a few minutes, Mr. Mahnken went to the front

of the class and introduced the me to the students, and he asked me to say a few things about

myself. I appreciated that Mr. Mahnken wanted to acquaint his students with me and let them

know that I would be in their classroom from time to time.

I was able to work with two students today. I helped Student A study the words for the

spelling test the class was going to take. Mr. Mahnken told me at the beginning of class that this

is a student he is going to suggest for a “sit in” for to talk about some of their specific academic

needs they may have. This student seemed eager to learn, but also possibly a little uneasy

working with someone unfamiliar, as they made limited eye contact with me while we studied

the vocabulary words. Student A then returned to their seat after a few minutes of studying to

take the spelling test with the class. As I studied with the student and listened to some of the
words this fourth grade class had on their test, I was very impressed. There were a couple of

words that I didn’t even know the definitions to before Mr. Mahnken reviewed with the class!

After the spelling test, the students had a packet with a review of their vocabulary words

and a writing assignment to work on. I worked with the same student that I had studied the

spelling words with, as well as another student (Student B). My cooperating teacher did not talk

with me about Student B’s academic standing. I was excited that Mr. Mahnken gave me two

students to work with already on my first day! Both seemed willing to work on their assignment

and wanted to do well. The assignment was to reflect over a story they had read in their Wonders

book, with prompt questions and a writing rubric. I helped the students go over the rubric and

start their writing.

Overall, I had a great first day observing with Mr. Mahnken’s fourth grade class. I am

looking forward to getting to know the students that I worked with today better, and have many

more experiences throughout my project. The students are out of class this coming Monday, so I

will be eagerly waiting to return next Wednesday!

Jesse Blake

Journal Entry #2

Wednesday, October 12, 2016, 8:15am-9:20am

I had another great day working with students in Mr. Mahnken’s class. Today when I

walked in, the students were working on a morning assignment and eating their breakfast. Mr.

Mahnken said that breakfast in the classroom is a new program that the school is piloting. He did

not seem too thrilled about it. Although I will be teaching in a music classroom, I don’t think this

is something I would want to do if I were a regular classroom teacher. I would be afraid that the

students would spill their drinks or make messes on the tables; even adults have accidents

sometimes.

The main thing the students were working on today was a personal narrative writing

assignment. They had to choose an event in their lives to write about. They had a packet with an

outline to fill out before they started writing, beginning with an interesting opening sentence, the

problem or event, details that support the main idea, the solution to the problem, the lesson

learned, and so on. There were also a list of words and phrases the students could use in their

writing. I thought this was a useful tool for the students to begin to organize their thoughts before

writing. I worked with the same student, Student A, as last week. She already had an idea in

mind of an event she wanted to write about, so I helped her to start and think of some details to

write about her story.

I found this exercise to be really useful to me, as I could use some improvement on my

writing, as well. When you are studying and actively participating in the same content area all
day long, like music for me, it is refreshing to focus on another area of importance. Even helping

a fourth grade student write a story was an activity that was helpful to me in my writing. I am

looking forward to next Wednesday when I return to Mr. Mahnken's classroom, as they do not

have classes on Monday.

Jesse Blake

Journal Entry #3

Wednesday, October 19, 2016, 8:10am-9:10am

This morning when I came into the classroom, the students were working on their

morning work and eating breakfast as usual for the start of their day. Mr. Mahnken had me work

with Student A again today. The work for the morning was a story in which they had blanks to

fill in with vocabulary words displayed in a box on the top of the page. The student already had a

few of the blanks filled in, but I helped her read through and finish the assignment.

After the morning work, Mr. Mahnken played a video about George Washington Carver.

This was a documentary about his life and the important things that he accomplished. Mr.

Mahnken would start and stop the video from time to time to ask the students questions and have

them write notes about the video. On Tuesday, the fourth grade class is going on a field trip to

Diamond Grove, Missouri to the park in dedication of George Washington Carver’s life.

Watching this video, I learned a lot about George Washington Carver that I did not know. I

helped Student A keep on task with watching the video and taking accurate notes.

During the video, Ms. Weber, the music teacher, came into the classroom and asked Mr.

Mahnken if she could have the students come into her room to practice lining up for their fall

program they had coming up. Mr. Mahnken has a speaking role in the play and is going to play

guitar! He was really welcoming of taking a break from the video, as it was a sort of relaxed day

in the classroom.
 I was surprised about how much I learned watching the video with the class today. I

really like working with Student A, but I am hoping that Mr. Mahnken will have me work with

multiple students throughout my Diversity Project.

Jesse Blake

Journal Entry #4

Monday, October 24, 2016, 8:05am-9:05am

This morning was my fourth day in Mr. Mahnken’s classroom for my diversity project. It

was a usual morning as the students were eating their breakfast and schedule for the class period

was displayed at the front of the room on the board. I like that Mr. Mahnken shows his students

the schedule for the day so they see that their teacher has an organized plan. This also allows

them to know exactly what needs to be accomplished. I don’t remember back to fourth grade, but

I do remember that my band director in high school would write our rehearsal schedule on the

chalkboard and I really liked it, so I think it is a process that I will implement in my future

classroom. I think it would also help you as the teacher to follow along with the students to make

sure you are achieving your goals for the day or class period.

Today the students were following along in their textbooks to a story that Mr. Mahnken

played the audio file to and had the story up on the Smart Board. They would read and listen to

one page of the story and then write responses to the questions that Mr. Mahnken would ask

them about the story. They would have time to write their individual responses, then he would

call on students to share their answers. I think that this is a useful reflective practice to

comprehend their reading, and also see what their peers are thinking about the story.

I worked with Student A again today, helping her to answer some of the questions and

follow along in her reading. This student seemed to have trouble staying on task and keeping up

with the pace of the class. I would have to help them catch back up to the question that the class
was on. I am not sure if the student maybe took longer to process the question and come up with

an answer, or they may have been distracted by me being present, especially sitting in a chair

right next to their desk looking over their work.

Overall, I had a good experience today in Mr. Mahnken’s classroom. I hope I will be able

to work with other students as well, but am looking forward to getting to know the student I have

been working with better. Tomorrow, the class is going on their George Washington Carver field

trip, and will be gone all day, Mr. Mahnken announced to the class today. I am interested to see

how their first class period the next morning, which is when I will be in the classroom, will be

affected by the trip.

Jesse Blake

Journal Entry #5

Wednesday, October 26, 2016, 8:10am-9:10am

Yesterday, Mr. Mahnken’s class, along with the other fourth grade classes, went on their

George Washington Carver field trip. For this being the first day after their all day trip, the

students did not seem distracted from their work. They had reading assessments they took on

their computers today, as well as other tests scheduled for later. They had a pretty full day!

For the reading assessments, I helped two students read their tests aloud. As we sat at a

pod of desks near the back of the room, the students I worked with would take turns back and

forth reading each paragraph from the story. Then, if they needed help reading the answers, I

would help them with that too, just not answering the questions. Each story had ten questions

following them to reinforce their reading comprehension.

Mr. Mahnken told me on the first day of my project that he may be suggesting a “sit-in”

meeting for the student I usually work with. While I work with them, I have observed that this

student is intelligent and capable of the work given in class, but has difficulties keeping up with

the pace of the class.

I am not sure what the second student’s needs are that I occasionally work with. This

student does seem to have trouble maintaining focus during classwork and tests, however. I may

observe this student some more and then ask Mr. Mahnken why he is having me work with them.
 Today was kind of a different day in the classroom, as there was not a regular lesson plan

or multiple activities that the students worked on in class. I think it was important to see how

these online assessments work in the classroom, though. I also got to observe how the para in

Mr. Mahnken’s classroom works with the students with special needs during assessments.
Jesse Blake

Journal Entry #6

Monday, October 31st, 2016 8:10am-9:15am

Today for Halloween, Mr. Mahnken’s class performed a “pumpkin investigation”. When

I came into the class, the students were working on a math coloring worksheet. Mr. Mahnken

had lights and music set up to play and get the students’ attention.

To start off the pumpkin investigation, Mr. Mahnken drew names and split the students

up into five groups. Each group had a leader that was to help make decisions for how they were

going to estimate each item in their booklet. First, the students would estimate what the thought

the diameter of their pumpkin was, then they would measure it with the tape measure provided.

They continued this process for the circumference, amount of lines around the pumpkin, and then

the amount of seeds inside the pumpkin. For this last section, Mr. Mahnken, the para, myself,

and two more adult helpers in the room cut open the pumpkin for the students.

Although each group was assigned a leader, I noticed in the group that I was

“monitoring” that one of the other students was trying to be more of a leader, and the assigned

leader’s ideas were essentially being suppressed. I tried to redirect them to follow the group

leader’s instructions, though. This made me realize that there will be times in my class that I will

have students that will shut other students down, and I want to make sure everyone’s voice in

class is heard and no one’s ideas are silenced.

 Overall, I thought that the pumpkin investigation was a great way to have fun and still

participate in educational activities throughout the day. I think all of the students had fun with

this project, and they were still utilizing academic skills to complete it.
Jesse Blake

Journal Entry #7

Wednesday, November 2nd, 2016 8:10am-9:10am

Mr. Mahnken was gone today and had a substitute for his class. I did not know that he

would be gone. When I first came in, the students were working on writing Get Well cards for

their teacher. I introduced myself to the substitute and let him know that I work with students in

Mr. Mahnken’s classroom on Mondays and Wednesdays.

The students also had a vocabulary worksheet to finish up this morning. After everyone

had finished their cards, they set them on Mr. Mahnken’s desk and the substitute got to work

with the lesson plan. The class got out their Wonders books and followed along as their

classmates went around the room reading sections of “The Ant and The Grasshopper.” The story

was in the format of a play script, and before the students read, they learned the definition of a

drama, about stage directions, and that a drama is written in dialogue. I thought that learning

about a different genre of writing was beneficial for the students. I think it is important for them

to be exposed to all kinds of reading a writing.

The student I usually work with was gone for the first 15 minutes or so of class. This

student came in as the substitute was preparing to start the lesson on “The Ant and the

Grasshopper.” After they finished this lesson, they students went to their focus math groups.

One of the things that has always impressed me about this group of students is how well

they work independently and behave appropriately. On Monday, one of the students was asked to
leave the room to read in one of the focus rooms I believe they are called, but that was the day of

the pumpkin investigation; students were excited. Overall, I have noticed that this group of

students is hard working and Mr. Mahnken’s classroom is well managed.

Jesse Blake

Journal Entry #8

Wednesday, November 9th, 2016 8:10am-9:10am

Mr. Mahnken was absent again from class today. The school had teacher inservice on

Monday, so I did not come to the school for observations. Today was a different substitute

teacher than last Wednesday. This substitute, Mr. Ozbun, was in Mr. Mahnken’s classroom

yesterday and will be for the rest of this week. Mr. Mahnken is supposed to return on Monday. I

introduced myself to the substitute and said I would help out if he needed anything.

This morning the students were working on worksheet packets about Veteran’s Day.

Most of them finished before moving onto the next activity, but Mr. Ozbun told them they could

finish their work later if they did not get complete it in time.

The next activity the class did was reading The Moonlight Concert Mystery. This was a

story about a turtle that was investigating a set of musical instruments being stolen, only to find

out this was a ruse for a surprise party being thrown in his honor. As they read through the story,

Mr. Ozbun asked the class questions to reinforce their comprehension. Today I sat next to the

student that Mr. Mahnken usually has me work with, and helped her follow along in the reading

and think about the answers Mr. Ozbun was asking the class.

I am glad that I was able to experience seeing two different substitute teachers in the

classroom. Mr. Mahnken seemed to have left fairly clear instructions for those working with his

class while he was gone, which is important to do. The class was well behaved and followed
directions well. This experience has allowed me to reflect on what instructions I would leave for

my substitute when I am needing days out of the classroom.

Jesse Blake

Journal Entry #9

Monday, November 14th, 2016 8:10am-9:10am

Mr. Ozbun was substituting for Mr. Mahnken again today, and there was a new student in

the classroom as well. The class was working on making a graphic organizer and writing their

new vocabulary words in their notebook that they would be studying.

I just learned today that the student I usually work with has been on new medication for

ADD since the middle of last week. I tried to observe her behavior while I worked with her to

see if she acted different than the last time I worked with her.

After the students finished their breakfast and their morning work, they got out their

Wonders books and turned to their new list of vocabulary words. Mr. Ozbun chose students to

read the sentence with the vocabulary word in it, and there were questions such as synonyms and

antonyms for the word, and other questions to reinforce comprehension of the word. My student

I work with still seemed to have some minor difficulties staying on task and following along with

writing the definitions that Mr. Ozbun was reading for the class to write down. I realized that I

also may have been a distraction to her because I was sitting right next to her, and she was

wanting to talk to me about the work.

The vocabulary work took up most of the hour that I was in the classroom. Many students

were wanting to share their personal stories or examples of the words they were studying. They

will have a test over this list sometime later this week.
 The last two times I have observed with Mr. Ozbun, he seems well-prepared and knows

Mr. Mahnken’s classroom fairly well by now. He also seems personable and concerned with the

students. I am hoping for Mr. Mahnken to be back in the classroom soon. I have really enjoyed

working with the students in this classroom throughout my Diversity Project.

Jesse Blake

Journal Entry #10

Wednesday, November 16th, 2016 8:10am-9:10am

Mr. Mahnken was still sick today, but Mr. Ozbun was still substituting for his classroom.

Today Mr. Sachs, who Mr. Mahnken’s para told me was an intern, mostly worked with the class.

The students were doing their morning work, a vocabulary worksheet, when I first came into the

room.

The story that the class read today for their lesson was about the buffalo and the Indians.

The story talked about the important relationship between the two. Mr. Sachs showed the

students on a map of North America where the buffalo once roamed before white settlers began

to expand the territory of the United States. I was surprised to learn that the students had not

studied American Geography yet. Many of them were unsure where the states were located, and

did not know the 50 states. Mr. Mahnken’s para said they had not yet studied the United States.

Mr. Sachs then showed the students a video of the Dust Bowl. It was a preview of a

documentary on PBS. People who had live throughout the Dust Bowl talked about how awful it

was. They had a class discussion about what they saw in the video and how they felt about it.

Some of the students got a little out of hand with yelling out their comments talking

during the reading. If I were having an open class discussion with my students in my future

classroom, I would make sure to remind them of raising their hand when they want to speak, and

asking specific questions of the class to reflect on.

 Today was my last day observing in the classroom for my Diversity Project. I had many

great experiences working with these students throughout the semester. I had never observed or

worked with this grade level of students in the classroom setting. I was lucky to have such a

supportive cooperating teacher, and even when he was gone, the substitute was welcoming of my

help in the classroom.

Key Experiences

Many of the academic goals I worked with Student A on were reading and writing

type activities. The first assignment I was given to work on with this student was studying

for a vocabulary test, and one of the last assignments I worked with her on was writing

definitions for new vocabulary words the class was studying. I also worked with this

student a lot on spelling. In her writing, she frequently misspelled several common words.

I helped with some writing activities with Student B, such as filling out a graphic

organizer for a writing assignment. Most of the work I did with him was helping him read

for his tests, though. (A)

Student A that I worked with throughout the Diversity Project I believed had

average level skills to that of her peers. One of the most significant struggles she had was

focusing her attention on the teacher and the lesson that was being presented. She also

would fall behind in taking notes or keeping up with the rest of the class as they completed

their work in class. Near the end of my hours in the classroom, I was informed that she had

begun medication for ADHD.

One of the ways I helped this student stay actively involved in the subject was

reminding her to follow along in the book if they were reading a story as a class, or

repeating the question or answer given by the teacher. (B)

Student A was generally creative in coming up with answers asked during class, she

had good ideas for her writing assignments, and was imaginative.

Student B seemed fairly social, and would usually raise his hand for questions asked

of the class, or would have a comment to make. I believe he has natural leadership skills
that could be refined and used for positive experiences in the classroom. He is often social

and seems to want to please his peers. (C)

Overall, Student A was generally well motivated to do her work. I believe she had

good ideas with her writing assignments that I worked with her on, but she just had trouble

staying on task. She seemed eager to learn and do well in the classroom, and she would

show more focus on a task when I reminded her of what she needed to be working on.

When I worked with Student B, he seemed to have more trouble finding motivation

to work. He did not seem to be as interested in the subjects and often would work ahead or

not follow directions when Student A and I were reading through the test or assignment. I

tried using more reinforcement with this student by giving him verbal praise when he had

completed a section or remained on task with the assignment. (D)

I helped my two students with their reading assessments online. As a future

educator, it was a good experience to see how these tests are administered. The two

students I worked with on this day took turns reading the paragraphs of the story aloud.

They would occasionally read their answers aloud, but I would not help them answer the

questions.

I was also able to experience the classroom on Halloween. Mr. Mahnken created a

“pumpkin investigation” project in which the students measured the pumpkin, estimate

how much they thought it weighed, and eventually (with help from adults in the room)

were able to cut it open and clean out all of the seeds. This was a busy and noisy day in the

classroom, but I thought Mr. Mahnken created an activity where the students were still
participating in academic learning, but had fun participating in the project and doing

something different than usual also. (F)

Final Reflection

I still have so much left to learn about becoming a teacher, but the Diversity Project was a

significant event in my education process that helped me feel more prepared to become a teacher

and work with students in the future. I was able to observe and work with some wonderful

professionals in the field, and understand more about students with struggles and possible

learning disabilities.

I have worked with kids with autism for over a year. Although I have had a lot of

experience and exposure to students with special needs, I was able to see another side of it as

well. The students I worked with for the Diversity Project were not qualified for special

education services and were not on IEPs. I had never worked with students in the prereferral

stage, and I felt that this was a beneficial part of the process to experience. This allowed me to

observe what characteristics and behavior traits students have who may be referred for a SIT

meeting. These students experienced different, but no less valid, areas of struggle with their

school work.

Although my degree will certify me to teach at any grade level from Pre-K through 12th

grade, I prefer to work with younger students in the range that I did for my Diversity Project.

Overall, the Diversity Project was another great experience working with students at the age and

grade level I plan to teach. I loved that I was able to actually work with the students and help

them in their areas of struggle compared to when I did observations for Explorations two years

ago. I loved having the opportunity to observe in the classroom, but the Diversity Project

allowed me to be a part of these students’ education and make more of an impact in their lives.

I feel that this experience has made me more prepared and more comfortable working

with students who struggle on a one-on-one basis. The project reinforced for me the importance
of individualized instruction. Not every student learns the same way, and we cannot be

successful educators without being actively involved in the progress of our students.