Exploring the Scientific Process

When teaching regular ed., the idea was to engage the learner, to make it an exciting, hands-on experience for him. I believe that this video captured the feel of most classrooms I've observed or taught in Kentucky. In Kentucky, this setup is the norm, not the exception. As with any methods, there are positives and negatives.

I started using tables in my EBD classroom with greater success than anticipated. Although my students in some cases were very removed from the notion of appropriate classroom behaviors, due to autism, and other severe handicaps, they seemed to respond well to the community feel of the table, and stayed focused for longer periods of time. This seemed odd, considering how many students needed isolation periods in order to calm down, but I believe that the table has more significance, reminders of home life, and allows for better communication between students during group efforts. Desks in most of my former classrooms were fine for testing, but tables for the rest of the time allowed for better collaborative efforts. Therefore, I agreed with the way the classroom was set up, and have seen more schools using tables for these reasons.

It was good seeing students so motivated to learn. This is when teaching becomes truly exciting, and you, as a teacher, feel that you are making a difference in the lives of your students.