Throughout the week at my practicum school I was able to observe multiple classrooms; a regular class, Foundations, Horizons and also an inclusive educational setting. It was interesting to be able to view such a variety to further establish my beliefs on inclusive education.
The most interesting situation that I was able to have the opportunity to watch was the Foundations classroom. The children were tested then put into this program and they all had different levels of cognitive ability. So some children would be with Foundations for every option class and others may just be with Foundations for three out of four of the options. This allowed for every student to be able to learn at their own pace. The environment that this classroom provided for them was an uplifting and encouraging aura. One lesson that I watched was Math class and the teacher had four to five educational assistants (EA) helping. This class, the teacher went from student to student with their own individual work sheets and gave them each an individual lesson with the help from the EA's. This allowed each child to be individually engaged at the level of cognitive ability for them.
I then continued to follow one child in particular to a gym class and watched him/her participate in an inclusive education setting since their options were integrated. What shocked me the most was that this child had no more or less issues with behaviour whatsoever. It was apparent that her cognitive ability was an area of need while other children had way more advanced behavioural issues present. I think that in this child's case it is important for these children to have these opportunities. How else will they learn the social skills needed to function in our world today? All in all I agree with the term "resource room". It is a functioning place for children that need that outside help but also gives them the chance to develop those character and citizenship educational skills.
If these rooms are taken away I think that children will be at a great disadvantage and their issues whether cognitive or behavioural will become even more present and turn their school experiences in another direction.
The most interesting situation that I was able to have the opportunity to watch was the Foundations classroom. The children were tested then put into this program and they all had different levels of cognitive ability. So some children would be with Foundations for every option class and others may just be with Foundations for three out of four of the options. This allowed for every student to be able to learn at their own pace. The environment that this classroom provided for them was an uplifting and encouraging aura. One lesson that I watched was Math class and the teacher had four to five educational assistants (EA) helping. This class, the teacher went from student to student with their own individual work sheets and gave them each an individual lesson with the help from the EA's. This allowed each child to be individually engaged at the level of cognitive ability for them.
I then continued to follow one child in particular to a gym class and watched him/her participate in an inclusive education setting since their options were integrated. What shocked me the most was that this child had no more or less issues with behaviour whatsoever. It was apparent that her cognitive ability was an area of need while other children had way more advanced behavioural issues present. I think that in this child's case it is important for these children to have these opportunities. How else will they learn the social skills needed to function in our world today? All in all I agree with the term "resource room". It is a functioning place for children that need that outside help but also gives them the chance to develop those character and citizenship educational skills.
If these rooms are taken away I think that children will be at a great disadvantage and their issues whether cognitive or behavioural will become even more present and turn their school experiences in another direction.
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