ELED 4220 Diverse StudentsClinical

The purpose of this clinical is to acquaint you with instructional strategies for addressing the diverse needs of students. It has three parts.

  1. Interviews (1-2 hours)
    You are to interview two regular classroom teachers who have experience in teaching students with special and diverse needs and who currently have such students in their class. They may or may not be in the same grade as you are interning in; interviewing your CT is fine if she/he has experience in teaching diverse students and currently has such students in his/her class. Think of questions you might ask them regarding how they make modifications in their curriculum and instruction to meet the diverse needs of their students. The quality of the questions is more important than the quantity. Be sure your questions will give you rich information about teaching diverse students. When considering diverse needs, think about learning styles, multiple intelligences, and cultural and racial differences, as well as those special needs identified by the school district. Using the questions you write down, interview the teachers, taking notes as they answer. Type the questions you asked and the answers you got for each teacher. Then write a short paper (2 pages) to summarize what you learned from the interviews. Some possible questions to consider are: What trends did you spot? What do the teachers do the same? What do they do differently? What information did you get that you could use in your own edTPA project and in your own classroom after student teaching?
  1. Observation (2 hours)
    Spend at least two hours observing the two teachersyou interviewed as they are teaching and modifying instruction and curriculum for the diverse needs of students. Take some notes on your observations and write a 2 page summary of your observations, highlighting what you saw the teacher doing to modify instruction for students and how it was accomplished. Also note some things you saw that surprised you or that you had never thought of before, or that you have never seen implemented before. What were your impressions and implications for planning for instruction? For example, Mrs. Smith has an ESL student and an autistic student. How does she modify her curriculum and her instruction for these two students? What do you observe her doing differently in class during instruction for these students? How does it help the students? Does what she do distract other students and take away from the lesson? Or does she do what she does in such a way that it seems to be a routine part of the lesson so that it does not detract from instruction? Also consider if what you saw matched the information you got from the interviews.
  2. Application to this course (2 hours)

Have a conversation with your CT regarding the needs of students in your classroom. What special needs are present? How does the CT know about these? (i/e., Do students have an IEP or PEP, did she find out by talking to parents or a former teachers?) What types of cultural diversity are present in the class? What advice does your CT have regarding designing a 3 lesson literacy unit to make the instruction responsive to individual and cultural needs?

Complete the following section and submit with the clinical assignment.

About the Students in the Class Featured in This Assessment

1.Grade level(s) [

2.Number of

students in the class [

males [ and females [

  1. Complete the chart below to summarize required or needed supports, accommodations, or modifications for your students that will affect your instruction in this learning segment. As needed, consult with your cooperating teacher to complete the chart. The first two rows have been completed in italics as examples. Use as many rows as you need.

Consider the variety of learners in your class who may require different strategies/supports or accommodations/modifications to instruction or assessment (e.g., students with IEPs or 504 plans, English language learners, struggling readers, underperforming students or those with gaps in academic knowledge, and/or gifted students needing greater support or challenge).

Learning Needs
Category / Number of Students / Supports, Accommodations, Modifications, and/or Pertinent IEP Goals
Example: Visual processing / 2 / Close monitoring, large print text, window card to isolate text
Example: Struggling readers / 5 / Leveled text, targeted guided reading, ongoing reading assessment (e.g., running records, miscue, conferencing)
Example: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder / 1 / Seated close to the front of the class, Behavior monitoring sheet, included in many hands-on activities

Submitting your assignment: Submit your work via Moodle by the due date and time. Please be sure to number and title each section of the paper for clarity:

1. Interview questions and answers
2. Interview summary
3. Observation summary.
4. Application to Unit

Students will present their clinical findings informally in a class discussion. Everyone will be expected to participate. (This is a required class meeting.)

Scoring Sheet (Points are earned for both completeness of content and quality of information.)

Diverse Students Clinical (4220) Scoring Sheet
points possible
Part 1 - Interviews
Questions are pertinent and relevant. / 2
Questions are sufficient to provide needed information. / 2
Summary paper shows synthesis of the information. / 2
Summary paper shows evidence of new learning. / 2
Part 2 - Observation Summary
Paper relates pertinent details of the observation. / 3
Paper discusses how teachers modify curriculum and instruction to meet diverse needs of students. / 3
discusses surprises, things not seen before, impressions, etc. / 3
Part 3 - Application to Unit
“About the students”…sections 1 and 2 complete / 2
“About the students”…chart 3 complete with appropriate and quality information / 3
Overall assignment: mechanics, grammar, organization / 3
total / 25