Phillip Gibson

Skill Application tests are my favorite form of assessment personally but because of the different learning styles I have used all of these except standardized test. Each has it's own benefits and this section did a great job of summarizing all of them.

General Educations Assessment is a huge  highlight for my CTE class. The FIRST domain we go over is workplace skills where students have to answer questions and solve problems that deal with critical thinking and writing. Most jobs today aren't filled because of the lack of training in these areas so it does us instructors no good to commit all this time to technical skills and our students still not get the job because they can't write, communicate, or have basic problem solving skills.

The key for me in this section is to frame my questions in ways not just to get the answer but to check for understanding, and afterwards give my students time to not only answer correctly but affirm and encourage them by repeating the answers they give me to clarify the answers and solutions to a question or problem.

The learning style survey is a great way to not only engage students on the front end of a class but establish who learns best in what way. The best thing about being a career tech teacher is the ability to engage these learning styles from classroom work, to computer lab work, to equipment lab work, it gives each student a chance to shine especially when they work in small groups

I like the guided note taking approach for students with learning disabilities. We also have so much technology that many of these students have grown up with we should definitely be using these apps more in the classroom to accommodate the students with disabilities. Depending on the career path and the safety measures of the job they work on it may actually be acceptable for them to continue using these techniques in their post-secondary and professional endeavors. 

The difference between accommodations and modifications was my biggest takeaway. The statistics on postsecondary teachers and even worse employers who go unaware of students and employees who are in need of accommodations was alarming and sad at an equal level. 

This section was ALOT, but very informative. I guess the biggest takeaway for me is really talking to my IEP expert about students that show symptoms but are not diagnosed. Alot of the learning disabilities they discussed I notice with failing and disruptive students and are probably just unaddressed, and I definitely don't want to fall into the "oh well" trap that can happen with students like that just because they can frustrate you. Getting them tested/diagnosed and getting an understanding about a potential learning disability can make all the difference.

The biggest takeaway for me is that learning disabilities and dyslexia and reading difficulties are not always one in the same. The takeaway was the extreme disadvantage a student is put in if they miss a level in reading and it goes unchecked. It's easy to forget it is not magic to learn how to do something like spell and read in chunks there were steps to it, and if a student missed that step he/she is automatically at a disadvantage and has to be taught correctly to catch up.

I personally take on too much responsibility at times and it was refreshing seeing that highlighted in this section. The most practical technique I can take from this section is taking note of the mistakes and miscues I make each semester to improve how I teach for the future. 

The biggest takeaway for me in this section was documentation when it comes to difficult students, a disruptive student, angry student, and cheating student all need to have measures of documentation to navigate the situation for yourself, the student, and possibly a third party if it comes to that. I also liked the ways to incorporate your silent students, a lot of times those are your best students so finding ways to include them like the small group setting for example is a great way to bring out their potential and keep them involved.