February 7, 2006 Partner Connection
UIC Partners meet with CPS Partners
During the Partner Connection held on February 7, 2006 UIC partners met their CPS partners in an attempt to start collaborative conversations around special education students' learning and teaching. The meeting started with a brief introduction of what artifacts are. Artifacts are examples from working teachers’ classrooms that include students' work as well as how teachers use reasoning and theoretical ideas to create their practice. We attempt to center our conversations around these artifacts in order to talk about how actual classroom teaching influences students' learning.
Both students and partners introduced themselves by showing a personal artifact and talking about its significance in their life. Partners brought in a wide range of items from pictures to examples of their own artwork. This eased all participants into easy conversation and functioned as a warm-up for the work at hand.
Next, CPS Partners showed students examples of literacy artifacts from their classrooms. One CPS Partner had developed a food network unit where students chose items they would like to prepare on cooking day. Students worked with parents to purchase food and work to prepare it. Students who were not cooking on the assigned day received lists of ingredients with pictures so that they could learn new words and understand. There was also a writing component at the end, which had students reflect on the whole experience.
Another CPS Partner brought in blue prints of her house and showed it to her students in order to bring algebraic principles to life. Students eventually designed and plotted their dream house using a computer program to draw actual blue prints.
A third Partner discussed using the biographies of popular rap stars to help students learn new words and practice reading.
Morgan shares an artifact from his practice.
Partners share their personal and literacy artifacts,
including photographs and diagrams of atoms.
Donn works with UIC Partners and other CPS Partners.
