Last Fall, some staff from Sorenson’s Ranch took 16 kids to the Shakespearean Festival at Southern Utah University in Cedar City, Utah. We went to see “A Midsummers Night Dream.” The Festival is world famous and even won a Tony Award a few years back.
We try to give our students opportunities to attend activities/performances such as this for two reasons: first, we want them to be exposed to culturally significant events that coordinate with the subjects we teach in the classroom; second, we want them to have opportunities to demonstrate their trustworthiness and practice new behaviors that they are striving to master in connection with their overall therapeutic goals.
When we arrived, we had the opportunity to go to a lecture, conducted by festival staff, that helped the kids understand what the play was going to be about, why the actors speak the way they do, and why they dress the way they do. The students were allowed to ask questions and tour the outdoor theatre.
We got to sit in the balcony of the indoor theatre. As the play started, we thought the kids might start acting up, but we were pleased to see their eyes glued to the stage. By the time the intermission arrived and we went down to look at the Shakespeare displays, we heard the kids trying to predict what was going to happen next and saying how they couldn’t wait to get back to the play.
All of the students acted like perfect ladies and gentlemen. After the play, we went to the library and viewed a display of Shakespeare’s writings and other materials associated with the plays. We saw an original folio from the 1600’s that contained the works of Shakespeare. It was in a special display, maintained at a certain temperature and guarded by a security officer. It was so interesting and the kids felt privileged to see it.
Finally we went to lunch a Taco Bell, which they all loved and then we took them to A&W for root beer ice cream. We discovered that 80% of them had never had root beer ice cream which was fun also.
Our day was wonderful, and we are always getting requests for a return visit to the festival in 2012.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Sorenson's Ranch School Teacher Highlight
My name is Steve Nielson. I am the science and math teacher here at Sorensons Ranch School. I have been teaching at Sorenson’s for 20 years now and have a lot of much-needed experience with our type of student. Patience becomes a key word regarding reaching children at Sorensons. I believe in tolerance (to a point) and building rapport in order to help students reach their potential academically. We walk a fine line at Sorenson’s with regard to our patience as teachers. Most of our students have not been successful in public school environments because of discipline problems. We have to balance the need for patience and tolerance with the need for respect for other students’ learning opportunities and the necessity for hard work.
I believe that peer tutoring is a key in helping me reach students in the classroom. It has been working for me as of late, and I believe that many times the brighter students can be used as an asset with academically challenged students. Using this type of teaching technique allows me to spend more one-on-one teaching time with the middle of the class students and the accelerated students. I find that when I teach to the middle and higher performing students, the rest of the class will rise to the level of expectation. This simply has proven itself time and time again in my teaching experience.
I also believe that touching each students life in my classroom is very important. Just a simple statement such as, “Do you need my help?” or,”How is it going today?” can make a big difference in the teaching process. Students simply perform better in this type of environment. Success begets success, and true teachers make sure success is felt daily.
I believe that peer tutoring is a key in helping me reach students in the classroom. It has been working for me as of late, and I believe that many times the brighter students can be used as an asset with academically challenged students. Using this type of teaching technique allows me to spend more one-on-one teaching time with the middle of the class students and the accelerated students. I find that when I teach to the middle and higher performing students, the rest of the class will rise to the level of expectation. This simply has proven itself time and time again in my teaching experience.
I also believe that touching each students life in my classroom is very important. Just a simple statement such as, “Do you need my help?” or,”How is it going today?” can make a big difference in the teaching process. Students simply perform better in this type of environment. Success begets success, and true teachers make sure success is felt daily.
Friday, February 3, 2012
New Data-management Program Streamlines Record Keeping at Sorenson's Ranch School
The combination of therapeutic and academic goals common to facilities such as Sorenson’s Ranch School causes challenges not found in regular, September-to-May types of educational institutions. Our open-enrollment, individually-paced program necessitates a greater amount of flexibility and an accompanying amount of complexity. Along with this flexibility and complexity come correspondingly complex record keeping problems. To try to meet these needs, the management of SRS contracted with a computer firm in Salt Lake City to design a custom program for the school which would work in concert with the behavior management tracking software already in place.
The new program allows the school staff to have all academic records at their fingertips. Gone are the days of separate roll books, grade sheets, registration records, class change forms, and transcript files. All previous academic data is entered into the program when a new student enrolls, and this foundation information is then updated whenever a change is made at SRS. The new program automatically calculates days in class, grade point average, and credits earned. Our old system required us to type each transcript using word processing software. The new program will allow us to generate and print a transcript with a key stroke. With the old system, the monthly report card process was very labor intensive with each teacher having to manually enter the current number of days enrolled, assignments completed, grade, and comment code. Now, the only information items entered manually each time are the teacher comment codes.
The switch to the new program has not been without its problems, but such is the nature of the process when any new system is adopted. The teachers have spent many hours transferring the data from their old record keeping formats into the new program. Some of our faculty have been employees of other schools when new programs of this nature have been implemented, and they have reported that the number of glitches (or “bugs” as the computer professionals call them) with our new package has been less than what they have experienced before. Our requirements are much more complex than those schools which require only an academic data program, as ours must coordinate with our “tracker” program as well. The head programmer on our project has been very responsive to our “bug reports” and has made every effort to have us up and running in time to meet our deadline of February 1st for doing report cards for the first time on the new system.
Even though the changeover process has been very labor intensive and somewhat frustrating at times, the teachers are reporting satisfaction with the new one-place-for-everything approach. We will be adding some new features in the near future which should make it even simpler for us to meet all of our students’ needs.
The new program allows the school staff to have all academic records at their fingertips. Gone are the days of separate roll books, grade sheets, registration records, class change forms, and transcript files. All previous academic data is entered into the program when a new student enrolls, and this foundation information is then updated whenever a change is made at SRS. The new program automatically calculates days in class, grade point average, and credits earned. Our old system required us to type each transcript using word processing software. The new program will allow us to generate and print a transcript with a key stroke. With the old system, the monthly report card process was very labor intensive with each teacher having to manually enter the current number of days enrolled, assignments completed, grade, and comment code. Now, the only information items entered manually each time are the teacher comment codes.
The switch to the new program has not been without its problems, but such is the nature of the process when any new system is adopted. The teachers have spent many hours transferring the data from their old record keeping formats into the new program. Some of our faculty have been employees of other schools when new programs of this nature have been implemented, and they have reported that the number of glitches (or “bugs” as the computer professionals call them) with our new package has been less than what they have experienced before. Our requirements are much more complex than those schools which require only an academic data program, as ours must coordinate with our “tracker” program as well. The head programmer on our project has been very responsive to our “bug reports” and has made every effort to have us up and running in time to meet our deadline of February 1st for doing report cards for the first time on the new system.
Even though the changeover process has been very labor intensive and somewhat frustrating at times, the teachers are reporting satisfaction with the new one-place-for-everything approach. We will be adding some new features in the near future which should make it even simpler for us to meet all of our students’ needs.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Mathematics at Sorenson's Ranch School
There are two questions every math teacher answers repeatedly. “Why do I have to do this?” and “When am I ever going to use this?” At times it is difficult to help students understand why we do difficult things, and it is even harder to help them understand when they may use math in life.
Let’s start with the “why mathematics” question. The purpose of mathematics is to train the brain for critical thinking and problem solving skills. Mathematics requires that creativity and common sense work together to solve complex problems. Mathematics follows the basic, real-life model for problem solving below:
1) Explore
Examine problem.
What do you know? What do you need to know?
2) Plan
How do facts relate to each other?
Make a plan to solve the problem.
Estimate your answer.
3) Solve
Use your plan to solve the problem.
If your plan does not work, start over.
4) Examine
Is my answer reasonable?
Does it make sense?
If not, try again.
Although we use mathematics to teach this problem solving strategy, it is clearly a way to approach any problem one may encounter throughout life. From financial decisions to fixing a car, the decision making process learned from mathematics is critical to productive living.
Now let’s look at the “when” question of mathematics. It is true that many people will not use many of the things that they learn in mathematics after graduation from high school or college. We will use the basic math skills and problem solving abilities forever, but not many of us will need to know how to write the standard form of an equation of a hyperbola. This is what makes the “when” question difficult to answer. Truthfully, unless you are going to be an engineer, computer scientist, actuarial scientist, doctor, business administrator, or many other high-paying jobs, you won’t need higher level mathematics. Nineteen of the twenty highest paying and highest demand jobs rely heavily on math. One of the comments I like to use is: “If you don’t learn something, it is certain that you will never have the chance to use it.” Those who know more are able to do more, especially knowing mathematics. Encourage students to do well in all subjects, even if they don’t like them or feel that a given area of study is too difficult. There will be opportunities for them to use the knowledge they gain, and they will thank you later.
Let’s start with the “why mathematics” question. The purpose of mathematics is to train the brain for critical thinking and problem solving skills. Mathematics requires that creativity and common sense work together to solve complex problems. Mathematics follows the basic, real-life model for problem solving below:
1) Explore
Examine problem.
What do you know? What do you need to know?
2) Plan
How do facts relate to each other?
Make a plan to solve the problem.
Estimate your answer.
3) Solve
Use your plan to solve the problem.
If your plan does not work, start over.
4) Examine
Is my answer reasonable?
Does it make sense?
If not, try again.
Although we use mathematics to teach this problem solving strategy, it is clearly a way to approach any problem one may encounter throughout life. From financial decisions to fixing a car, the decision making process learned from mathematics is critical to productive living.
Now let’s look at the “when” question of mathematics. It is true that many people will not use many of the things that they learn in mathematics after graduation from high school or college. We will use the basic math skills and problem solving abilities forever, but not many of us will need to know how to write the standard form of an equation of a hyperbola. This is what makes the “when” question difficult to answer. Truthfully, unless you are going to be an engineer, computer scientist, actuarial scientist, doctor, business administrator, or many other high-paying jobs, you won’t need higher level mathematics. Nineteen of the twenty highest paying and highest demand jobs rely heavily on math. One of the comments I like to use is: “If you don’t learn something, it is certain that you will never have the chance to use it.” Those who know more are able to do more, especially knowing mathematics. Encourage students to do well in all subjects, even if they don’t like them or feel that a given area of study is too difficult. There will be opportunities for them to use the knowledge they gain, and they will thank you later.
Monday, September 12, 2011
Science at Sorenson’s Ranch School
My primary purpose as a science teacher at Sorenson’s Ranch School is to make science and technology go hand in hand. Field trips and hands-on experience helps me tremendously to accomplish this task.
Science teaches thinking skills which control our ability to succeed in life. Without these critical thinking skills, the ability to become successful is greatly decreased. So many new technologies are springing up everywhere. It’s my job as a science teacher to create the opportunity for learning in this space-age environment.
I also desire that students feel a learning atmosphere in my classroom. They always need to feel free to ask any question that they desire. Learning should be a life-long skill that enhances life.
Mastery learning is rapidly becoming a necessity as a part of today’s and tomorrow’s workforce. Skills are becoming more specialized and students need to know how to be self-directed learners.
Science can teach them to think and analyze problems through the use of the scientific method. This method teaches them to become that self-directed learner. Students need to feel that their instructors care about their learning. Once they feel that caring atmosphere, they will actually begin to care about their own learning.
In summary, teaching at Sorenson’s Ranch School is rewarding, challenging, and fruitful as we see students change and grow.
Steve Nielson
Spanish & Science Teacher
Sorenson’s Ranch School
Science teaches thinking skills which control our ability to succeed in life. Without these critical thinking skills, the ability to become successful is greatly decreased. So many new technologies are springing up everywhere. It’s my job as a science teacher to create the opportunity for learning in this space-age environment.
I also desire that students feel a learning atmosphere in my classroom. They always need to feel free to ask any question that they desire. Learning should be a life-long skill that enhances life.
Mastery learning is rapidly becoming a necessity as a part of today’s and tomorrow’s workforce. Skills are becoming more specialized and students need to know how to be self-directed learners.
Science can teach them to think and analyze problems through the use of the scientific method. This method teaches them to become that self-directed learner. Students need to feel that their instructors care about their learning. Once they feel that caring atmosphere, they will actually begin to care about their own learning.
In summary, teaching at Sorenson’s Ranch School is rewarding, challenging, and fruitful as we see students change and grow.
Steve Nielson
Spanish & Science Teacher
Sorenson’s Ranch School
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Sorenson's Ranch School New Technology!
New computers and a new program! The Technology Department here at Sorenson’s Ranch School recently updated its computer lab, complete with new Dell flat-screen computers, loaded with Office 2010 and Windows 7. We also have new workstations and an updated curriculum. Due to this update we are now teaching Windows 7 to our Computer Literacy students. Over the years, our students have left this program having learned many things that will help them in both educational and occupational pursuits. In order to continue that tradition, our administrators felt that it was time to update our program to reflect the most current computer systems that our students will likely be using when they leave.
Another phase of this transition, due to some personnel changes, was the inclusion of a new instructor. Ross Franks has been on our faculty for some time, in several capacities, and now will add Computer Literacy to his daily teaching schedule. Ross will maintain teaching assignments in other areas as well and is a welcome addition to this subject area. Ross understands the importance of technology in our modern world and the positive effects that a current and consistent syllabus can have on the learning environment in the classroom.
The new text-manuals we are using are interactive. Activities and lessons are broken down into the steps of the operation. Students are able to see, practice, experiment, and learn through a variety of activities that are designed with real-world application. Many of the steps have pictures of what should be appearing on the monitor as students progress through the lessons, so that they can check their work for accuracy as they go. The new program is complete with templates of many of the activities that students can open from a read-only disk, save the file to their own profile on their computer, and then complete the activity as outlined, saving it for future reference if needed. Students are able to experiment with not only manipulating the data in a given program, but also integrating programs and using the same set of data for a variety of applications in different programs. These text-manuals start with an overview of basic computer systems and then cover various other programs such as Windows Navigation, Word 2010, Excel, Access, and PowerPoint. The new manuals are well organized, detailed, and easy to understand for most of our students. The copyright date of 2011 ensures that they are current with industry standards and Utah State Core Standards as well.
Our students are adjusting quickly to the improvements in the program and seem to be pleased with our commitment to help them experience educational success. We realize that many of our students have struggled with academics in the past for various reasons. It is a focus of our program to help them have positive experiences during their time with us.
Another phase of this transition, due to some personnel changes, was the inclusion of a new instructor. Ross Franks has been on our faculty for some time, in several capacities, and now will add Computer Literacy to his daily teaching schedule. Ross will maintain teaching assignments in other areas as well and is a welcome addition to this subject area. Ross understands the importance of technology in our modern world and the positive effects that a current and consistent syllabus can have on the learning environment in the classroom.
The new text-manuals we are using are interactive. Activities and lessons are broken down into the steps of the operation. Students are able to see, practice, experiment, and learn through a variety of activities that are designed with real-world application. Many of the steps have pictures of what should be appearing on the monitor as students progress through the lessons, so that they can check their work for accuracy as they go. The new program is complete with templates of many of the activities that students can open from a read-only disk, save the file to their own profile on their computer, and then complete the activity as outlined, saving it for future reference if needed. Students are able to experiment with not only manipulating the data in a given program, but also integrating programs and using the same set of data for a variety of applications in different programs. These text-manuals start with an overview of basic computer systems and then cover various other programs such as Windows Navigation, Word 2010, Excel, Access, and PowerPoint. The new manuals are well organized, detailed, and easy to understand for most of our students. The copyright date of 2011 ensures that they are current with industry standards and Utah State Core Standards as well.
Our students are adjusting quickly to the improvements in the program and seem to be pleased with our commitment to help them experience educational success. We realize that many of our students have struggled with academics in the past for various reasons. It is a focus of our program to help them have positive experiences during their time with us.
Monday, August 8, 2011
Mastery Learning
Here at Sorenson’s Ranch School, we have worked hard over the years apply curriculum and instruction techniques which have been demonstrated through research to be effective. Because we are a non-traditional school operating within a residential treatment facility, our challenges in providing an adequate education to our diverse student body with its inherent diverse needs are many. One of the ways we try to ensure that we meet the needs of our students is our focus on Mastery Learning.
Mastery Learning is defined as an instructional model which presumes that all children can learn so long as they are provided with a learning environment and accommodations that are commensurate with their learning needs. A foundation principle of Mastery Learning is that in order for a student to move on to more complex learning objectives, he or she must demonstrate ability to apply the current objective with eighty percent proficiency.
The nature of our facility and the diverse nature of our students require us to operate on an open enrollment basis. Our students come to us from almost every state at varying levels of educational accomplishment. Frequently they are more than one year behind schedule for graduation due to causes which include Reactive Attachment Disorder, drug and alcohol abuse, depression and anxiety, and poor family dynamics. All of these factors make it very desirable for us to be able to provide a way for our clientele to “catch up” in school. Mastery Learning is the mechanism that allows us to meet this need.
In a “regular” school setting, credit is earned in lock step with the other students in the class. Assignment due dates don’t change, no matter how far in advance a student completes the required work. Within a Mastery Learning environment, once the student demonstrates proficiency at the eighty percent level, he or she can move on to the next assignment. Mastery Learning does not guarantee that a student will earn credit at an accelerated rate, but it does provide that opportunity.
Another integral part of the student experience here at Sorenson’s Ranch School is the level system which rewards appropriate student behavior with increased privileges and opportunities for enrichment activities. The level system is organized according to a number system with level 1 at the bottom and level 5 at the top. No student is allowed to progress above level 2 unless he/she is on schedule for credit in all classes. This reinforcement of academic achievement through the level system provides extra incentive for students to stay current in school.
Not every student who attends our school will make up all of the credits that he/she is behind, but many do. It is almost always necessary to get a student’s behavioral issues under control before he/she will buy into the system and start to progress adequately in school. The real issue is that once the student experiences a change in behavior and begins to have success in the program, school progress at an accelerated rate, without the necessity of extra school days, becomes a possibility.
Mastery Learning is defined as an instructional model which presumes that all children can learn so long as they are provided with a learning environment and accommodations that are commensurate with their learning needs. A foundation principle of Mastery Learning is that in order for a student to move on to more complex learning objectives, he or she must demonstrate ability to apply the current objective with eighty percent proficiency.
The nature of our facility and the diverse nature of our students require us to operate on an open enrollment basis. Our students come to us from almost every state at varying levels of educational accomplishment. Frequently they are more than one year behind schedule for graduation due to causes which include Reactive Attachment Disorder, drug and alcohol abuse, depression and anxiety, and poor family dynamics. All of these factors make it very desirable for us to be able to provide a way for our clientele to “catch up” in school. Mastery Learning is the mechanism that allows us to meet this need.
In a “regular” school setting, credit is earned in lock step with the other students in the class. Assignment due dates don’t change, no matter how far in advance a student completes the required work. Within a Mastery Learning environment, once the student demonstrates proficiency at the eighty percent level, he or she can move on to the next assignment. Mastery Learning does not guarantee that a student will earn credit at an accelerated rate, but it does provide that opportunity.
Another integral part of the student experience here at Sorenson’s Ranch School is the level system which rewards appropriate student behavior with increased privileges and opportunities for enrichment activities. The level system is organized according to a number system with level 1 at the bottom and level 5 at the top. No student is allowed to progress above level 2 unless he/she is on schedule for credit in all classes. This reinforcement of academic achievement through the level system provides extra incentive for students to stay current in school.
Not every student who attends our school will make up all of the credits that he/she is behind, but many do. It is almost always necessary to get a student’s behavioral issues under control before he/she will buy into the system and start to progress adequately in school. The real issue is that once the student experiences a change in behavior and begins to have success in the program, school progress at an accelerated rate, without the necessity of extra school days, becomes a possibility.
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