My Response to Q2

ForChapter3(pt.2)discussion,postareflectiveresponsetooneofthequestionsbelowonour
onlinediscussionboard.ThisreflectionpostisduebyThursday,Sept.24at10:00p.m.After
postingyourresponse,readthroughyourclassmatespostsandreplytoatleastoneofthemby
furtheringthediscussioninsomemeaningfulway.Youmightalsowanttocheckperiodicallyto
seewhethersomeonehasrepliedtoyourpostwithaquestion,askingyoutoelaborateorclarify
yourresponse.YourreplytoyourclassmatespostisduenolaterthanSunday,Sept.27at10:00
p.m.
Youwillreceiveatotalof6pointsforyour2discussionposts.Therubricforscoringtheseposts
isincludedinafilecontainedwithintheCourseOverviewFolder,foryourreference.Pleasetitle
yourresponsemyresponsetoQ1ormyresponsetoQ2asthecasemaybe.
Q1:Inthesectionbeginningonp.104ofyourtext,theauthordiscussesimplicationsofCIPfor
instruction.ChooseatleastoneoftheaspectsofimplementingtheCIPtheorythatshediscusses,
andgiveanoriginalexampleofhowthatmightworkinaneducationalsetting.Besuretobe
specificaboutwhatisbeinglearnedinyourexample.
OR
Q2:InthearticleTheMindsJourneyfromNovicetoExpert,theauthorsdiscussseveral
applicationsoftheideathatthelearningprocessisanalogoustotheprocessinvolvedinmoving
fromanovicetoanexpertinagivenarea.Chooseatleastoneoftheauthorskeyconcepts
and/orapplicationsasdiscussedinthearticle,andnotewhyyoufounditparticularlyinteresting
andhowitmightapplytoyoupersonally,inyourroleasaprofessional(instructor,counselor,
coach,administratororwhatever).
Im choosing to respond to Question 2 in relation to the article The Minds
Journey from Novice to Expert. I hope that my response being at a slightly
different angle is within my academic freedom. I find the article and more
particularly this concept of both reciprocal teaching and the concepts
surrounding information processing systems of particular personal interest. I
am not sure exactly how I might tie this in with the work I do in an
administrative role in Information Technology, but I can certainly use the
knowledge as a parent of a daughter with a complex diagnosis.
In all actuality I am not sure we have ever really been able to quite diagnose
her. She is now 21 and finished high school with a special education degree.
If you met her, you would likely not know there was anything different about
her. She can carry on adult conversations, watch my 6 year-old, take care of
herself, read, etc. She cannot, however, pass higher math classes, science
classes, make friends with kids or now age appropriate acquaintances. She
was our first child and we didnt know for a while that there were any issues.
She met all of her milestones until she really started in school. My wife could
tell you at what age we began testing, what types of tests they conducted,

theories posed about her, etc. The bottom line was over the course of her
educational career we had to be extremely involved with IEP plans, testing,
classroom modifications, counseling, and the list goes on. My wife fought
tooth and nail to drag our public school system along with her and provide
every possible intervention and assistance we could. My daughter had great
reading and language skills, but tests in fine motor, gross motor, math
computations, etc. resulted in an overall lower IQ score. This is not the same
issue that Charles had in this article, he struggled with language skills. We
fought to get her additional help, tutorial services, special education
modifications, and other items, but kept her in a mainstream class. For the
educational system, she was labeled as being somewhere on the Autism
spectrum, possible some attributes of Aspergers Syndrome, but really more
non-verbal learning disorder. Unfortunately, she doesnt really line up nicely
with the text books.
As hard as we fought for modifications and all the research my wife did on
any kind of assistance, I dont know that we ever came across these same
solutions in this article. I know there were all the basics modifications made
in the classroom and we had great teachers, counselors, special education
teachers, and advocates from the central office. There just wasnt any
special theories or practices put in place like these. I dont know if reciprocal
teaching doesnt fit with her symptoms or there simply isnt enough
knowledge in the average town and public school system to deal with the
complexities of these learning disorders. It certainly makes me wonder if she
could have been assisted with some of these approaches. Although the
article points out some real world success cases, I still find it difficult to
imagine there is this level of success in most places. I think it really takes a
subject matter expert to apply some of these principles. I also know how
hard we have worked with my daughter on some of the most basic things.
You think you finally have a breakthrough and she knows something, only to
find out a week later she has lost it again. It can feel like you are beating
your head against a wall. Id love to know what became of some of these
success cases and where they landed ability wise in life. Was this short term
success and mastery or long term critical learning skills that are now a part
of their repertoire?
We finally had to switch her to a special education diploma once she reached
high school. She had fallen behind in other areas of study because she was
getting so much extra remedial work in math. She then couldnt pass
standardized and required Georgia tests in other areas like sciences, social
studies, and others.
My daughter will never drive a car and likely live with us indefinitely, but we
still fight every day to teach her new skills and try to unravel her many
complexities. She is currently attending a local day program, Floyd Training
Center, where they work with those like her to assist in teaching life skills

and for some to be able to perform some basic job responsibilities. She
wants so badly to fit in with the rest of the world. I will certainly take this
information from this article and do additional research, as you never know
what lies under the next rock you turn over that might be of assistance to
her.