Ms. Rogic's Class And Instructional Plan

During our pre-conference, Ms. Rogic helped me to get to know about her class and instructional plan. Ms. Rogic was immediately open to discussing her teaching methods, her concerns, and her plan for the lesson I would be observing. We quickly established a positive rapport and easily worked towards establishing a goal for the upcoming lesson.

In an effort to learn more about Mrs. Rogic, including about any challenges or concerns she was having about her teaching, I asked the following questions:

How have things been going in your classroom?

Can you tell me a bit about the students you are working with in your class?

Can you tell me about some areas that you are finding success?

My goal is to offer you guidance that will help your teaching

Ms. Rogic informed me that she has worked with this group of students for 3 consecutive years, and believes she is familiar with each of their unique needs. She stated that she is finding success in her classroom in areas of academic improvement. The reading and writing skills of all of her students have improved, due to frequent assessments and diligent monitoring being performed by Ms. Rogic. She was proud that one of her students went from reading at a 1st grade level, to reading at a 2nd grade level in only 3 months.

When we discussed how things have been going in Ms. Rogic’s classroom, Ms. Rogic was very open about discussing the challenges she’s been having with her class. She mentioned how, with special education students, “you never know what you’re going to get.” Her class is sometimes unfocused, and often unmotivated. Some of her students are on various medications, and are still adjusting to them. She also stated how some students are working hard at improving, while others are very difficult to motivate.

I also asked Ms. Rogic:

1. What kinds of assessments are you planning to use in this

Rogic’s class, homework is differentiated, and students have their own graphic organizers that differ in requirements for each student. Students may be involved in small group instruction for reading, based on their ability levels. Some students may complete different types of work, both for homework and in class, depending on their ability levels and unique needs. For example, some of the students in this specific class work on spelling while others work on vocabulary. Ms. Rogic also stated that she does a lot of one-on-one work with her students, and this is where most differentiation occurs.

Towards the end of our pre-conference, I worked collaboratively with Ms. Rogic to set some goals for her instruction. It was decided that she would try to incorporate classroom strategies that encouraged all students to remain focused and engaged throughout the lesson, as well as try to motivate students who sometimes make little effort to participate. We made a list of behaviors that would lead to more active learning and listening throughout the class, including:

Incorporate more collaborative learning activities into the lesson, for examples, rather than asking students to work alone, organize pairings of students to work together and then raise their hands after they’ve completed activities or found the