Service Learning Reflection

My Service-Learning volunteer work was done at Douglas Byrd High School. The grade level of students that I worked with is 9th through 12th. My regular day-time class consists of six learning-disabled male students. Three of the students are African American, one is White, and two are Hispanic. The individuals have a variety of learning needs that must be carefully planned out. Everyone has a detailed individual education program because of their unique educational needs. Also, there are some specific behavior interventions that must be followed to help keep the individuals on track. In Addition, I got to have a great experience with helping teachers that work with regular population students that are at risk of academic failure in one of

The students have plenty of space for all of their activities. Each student has an individual table and chair that gives each student ample work space. On the back wall, there is a line of storage cabinets, a huge closet sits to the left, a large kidney table, a set of desk top computers, clothing rack, and shelves for hanging up coats. The projector is in the middle of the class, and there is an extra cart that holds the Elmo and other supplies, as well as there is another small cart that holds supplies such as pencils, scissors, glue, paint, and other supplies that is used most often. On days when more computers are needed, the students were taken into the computer lab so that there is enough equipment for each individual to have his own computer. The extra computer lab used is a large square sized room that has about 30 or so desktop computers. Also, that room has cabinets, a teacher’s desk, and a big storage closet. (insert

Shepherd my supervisor about her thoughts on classroom management. She began by letting me know that Douglas Byrd is a school that has a lot of discipline issues. She informed me that before school began in August, the principal held a meeting to discuss with teachers how important it is to have in place intervention and follow-up plans for working with students who may present problems throughout the school year. Ms. Shepherd let me know that it is very important to set up an atmosphere in the classroom that is functional to the students’ academic needs, but is comfortable, safe, and well organized. She stressed to me also that picking out catchy room decorations also is a big help. For example, hanging up subject related and humorous posters that encourage the students throughout the year is very important. In addition, she pointed out that the physical arrangement of the classroom is extremely important because teachers need to be able to have access to all students, materials, and clear walkways for safety. She let me know that over the course of the school year, changes can be made if needed; however, teachers must do their best to start out with a good classroom set-up because students are very perceptive and take notice to whether there is structure and efficiency. Finally, a good tip that she left with me is, once I get my roster of students for the new year that I should go through their IEP’s, BIPs, and general records to see if there are any special