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Alyssa Daffron
Educ-M403 Technology In The Classroom
Dr. Conner-Zachocki
26 April 2015
CSA Lincoln Field Reflection 2
Field experience this week was a little sad because I knew it would be the last
day I was with my students at CSA Lincoln. I was looking forward to what I was going to
learn and thinking back on things that I have seen and experienced since I started
observing here. Morning meeting and announcements were pretty much the same.
However, during them I was helping a few students in the hall with morning work and
tests. I spent most of the morning in the hall helping these students until math and
literature time came around.
The rest of the day progressed normally with Ms. Cook teaching the math portion
of the class and Mr. Shipley teaching the language arts portion. Ms. Cook taught the
students about long division when dealing with large numbers and how important it is to
show your work and keep track of your numbers. I helped teach one station while she
did another station that was more specialized by the learning level of the students. The
first part of the day I helped students with their science station. Students worked in their
science journal to read and answer questions about the different types of soils. Many of
the students did not have very many questions because the answers were in the
reading. A few times students asked me questions about something that was in the
reading and I referred them to the page number they needed. Students each have their
own chrome book and they look up the activities that the teacher has planned for them

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and the links that they will need. Students also have a choice station during these
rotations in which they can choose a game or other activity that will enhance their
learning about that topic. This allows the students to use Universal Design for Learning
(UDL). Differentiated instruction (DI) and universal design for learning (UDL) are
frameworks for adjusting curriculum and instruction to address the needs of diverse
students within the same class (Maloy, 2014). These types of instructions give the
students a chance to express and take in knowledge in a variety of ways. This allows
their brain to make multiple connections to this topic and will allow the students to have
better recall for this topic. The purpose of universal design in schools is to create
teaching and learning situations that serve the needs of the widest range of students
without diminishing or reducing opportunities for anyone (Maloy, 2014). This allows
every student to have an opportunity to learn, understand, and demonstrate their
knowledge about any subject that is covered in the classroom without taking away from
any student to achieve this goal.
During the second part of the day, I joined a different station to help students.
Instead of being in the science station, Ms. Cook wanted me to work with a group of
students in each station on their acuity testing. She wanted me to work through the
problems with them so that they could see how I was doing the problems and the kind
of answers I was getting. I also had students tell me what operation I would use and the
order the numbers would go in before I did the problems. This allowed the students to
recall their knowledge and apply it to a problem. Many students had difficulty with this
the first few problems and I had to help them rationalize which operation to use, why
that operation, and in what order the numbers should be written into the equation. After

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those initial problems, students became more confident in their abilities and started to
tell me what to do after they read the problems.
Ms. Cook also reads to the students each day and gives them about forty-five
minutes of silent reading time. This allows students to take information in using two
methods as well. Ms. Cook uses the smart board to show different videos, music
videos, and skits to her students about the topics that she is covering in class. She also
writes examples on the smart board so students can take notes. In this way students
are hearing the information and writing the information. She also provides worksheets
and other activities that pertain to the topic she is covering. The use of the smart board
with the written notes provides several different ways for students to receive the
material.
Ms. Cook is very good at using UDL every day in her classroom. She provides
multiple ways for students to receive the knowledge and she gives them many options
on how they want to demonstrate the knowledge they have gained to her. She is eager
to engage her students and make them interested in the material she is teaching them.
She also wants to make the learning environment fun so that students are eager to
come back each day.
My experience at CSA Lincoln has given me many helpful hints on how to
incorporate UDL and PBL into my classroom. It has also given me many ideas about
how I want my future classroom to be. It has shown me how important it is for students
to enjoy their learning and want to come back each day. UDL is very important to help
engage students and help them have fun with their learning. Restricting students on

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how they can demonstrate their knowledge of a topic is unfair. Students need to be
able to express themselves and enjoy their learning. When students are interested and
engaged it makes the teacher happy and more interested in making the educational
experience fun and exciting. Any aspect of the classroom may make the difference
between students maintaining or losing interest in what is being taught; therefore, it is
up to us as teachers to make the room inviting so that students are comfortable being
there, but at the same time not distracting. This will allow students to learn and grow
into brilliant intellects.

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Work Cited
Maloy, R. (2014). Ch. 10 Promoting Success for All Students through Technology.
InTransforming learning with new technologies (2nd ed., p. 248, 250, & 253).
Boston: Pearson.