Cross Categorical Special Education Portfolio - Home



Sara Hendrickson12/7/17Viterbo University Practicum ReflectionHow did this experience contribute to formulating my beliefs about how students learn?This semester’s Special Education Practicum has solidified my belief that all students learn all skills and information in a myriad of ways. For example, in a small group math lesson on multiplying decimals, one student understands the concept by lining up the numbers and doing the multiplication, one uses a generic rectangle to dissect the parts of the numbers, and yet another uses parts of rectangles divided both ways to find the answer. Some of my students in reading prefer to read silently, some prefer to be read to, and some like to listen to the book with headphones. It is my job as a Special Education Teacher to help students understand how they learn best, and then teach them to use their strengths to build understanding. How did I create a positive learning environment for all students? One thing that has always come easily to me is developing relationships with students. Getting to know each student and their abilities gives me a chance to know their strengths and weaknesses, and to tailor their instruction to help them get to their next level of learning, wherever that might be. Creating a physical learning environment in the classroom has been a work in progress this semester. We have some work stations for privacy and focus, work tables for group work, comfortable chairs for relaxing, and exercise balls for those that need to move (although we have a couple of students who have a difficult time handling those). We have muted lighting and some lamps for soft light when needed, iPads, coloring, and books for when students need to take a stress break from class, and weighted blankets for calming down. We have instructional materials from classes, a white board, and a Smart Board for instructional time. But learning environments are not only physical. I really try to make my classroom a safe place for kids to be able to express themselves, try, make mistakes and learn from them, without fear of judgement from myself, other teachers, or students. Positivity is key!How did I customize learning to meet the needs of all students? Being aware of the strengths and weakness of each students’ learning is a necessity for special educators. Once I got to know the skill set of the student I was working with, I was able to personalize a lesson or project to their strengths. For instance, once I understood that the 7th grade student with autism that I worked with in reading intervention was successful connecting words to pictures, I made vocabulary cards with the word on one side and a picture representation on the other. When we read through the story, I would use the cards to reinforce the vocabulary words as we came across them. Then he would point to the pictures and say “yes” when he understood.What informed my instructional decisions? When making decisions about what and how students on my caseload should learn, I take into consideration many factors. I look at their disability and how it manifests itself in school, bearing in mind their strengths and interests. I look at their test scores, both standardized and evaluation assessments, and also their progress monitoring data. Putting all these factors together, and considering the whole child, I can feel confident that I am giving the student a chance to learn the material and show that they have learned it in the way that gives them the best chance for success.How did I give feedback to my students about how well they were doing or how they could improve? I think that feedback is most effective when it is timely. When doing progress monitoring, I like to have the student’s results next to me so I can show them their growth over time, or if they have slipped, where that might be happening. For kids with behavior plans, I try to check in with them a couple times a day (at least during lunch and at the end of the day) to see how things are going, or check their daily tracking sheets. Sometimes it is not possible to give behavior feedback until a student has calmed down or taken a break. If an incident has occurred, the feedback will need to wait so they have time to breathe and relax before debriefing and problem-solving with me about strategies for future situations. I am able to access all grades for the students on my caseload, and I see them at least once a day in resource, so I use that time to check in with them about how their grades are looking, what they are working on, and where they need assistance.What was special or unique about my teaching? Before beginning my special education journey in the middle school, I taught 4K for 10 years in the same school district. I think that the background I developed in differentiating instruction to individual needs, meeting students where they are, and scaffolding skills to help students meet goals gave me a unique perspective on teaching and learning that I did not get in my college coursework. My colleagues say that this gives me more patience for the adolescents that we work with, and an advantage in finding different ways to explain and present things to help students understand the material. Working with the same students in Middle School that I taught in 4K has been really fun, and continuing the relationships that we started then has proved entertaining as well!How will I continue to improve my teaching? Teaching, especially special education teaching, is on a constant conveyor belt of revolving techniques, practices, trials, tribulations, and tweaks. What works for one student most likely will not work for another, even in the same situations. I plan to collaborate with my colleagues, stay current with educational research, attend professional development trainings when available, and finish the Masters in Education program through Viterbo University. Also, I believe that experience can be the greatest teacher of all. The more experiences I have as an educator, the more comfortable and better prepared I will be to handle the myriad of situations that will come my way. Explain your experiences participating/observing in IEP meetings. I have now participated in two different IEP meetings for two students with very different needs and disabilities. While I was not able to do the writing of the IEP, I was asked to contribute information and to help discuss possible goals for the students, based on my work with them. One student I worked with very closely on a daily basis, and the other student less so. With student A, I was able to be a more contributing member of the IEP team. I helped look at their progress monitoring, test results, grades, behavior, attendance, etc, in order to determine if they had met their previous goals, and what new goals should be set for the coming year. I collaborated with Speech Therapy, Occupational Therapy, and Physical Therapy during the process as well. I have daily communication with the parents of this student, so they were on board with me attending the meeting and being a part of the discussion. It was a great experience to see all parts of the educational team working together with the family to meet the needs of the student and push them to get to their next level in their education. I know this is not always the case, and have heard many colleagues talk of families that never come, leaving it up to the special educators to make the educational plan without their input. I am happy to say that this was not my experience, but I know there will be varied situations that come up in these meetings, and am prepared to problem-solve through them.Describe the significance of your most memorable moment that occurred during the practicum. One moment that really sticks out to me was in a 5th grade reading class about halfway through the semester. I was supporting a child with Down Syndrome who is at a very basic reading level and needs a lot of support just to be present in the classroom with her peers. She is very shy and does not like for kids to look at her. The class was doing an activity where they were to take on the perspective of one of the characters in the book and say a few sentences. We quietly came up with a couple small sentences for her to say at her desk, but I wasn’t sure if she would be willing to stand up and say them like her peers had done. When it was her turn she got a big smile on her face, but still looked apprehensive. I asked if she wanted to stand up and she said no, but she did want to say her part. The only way I could make her feel comfortable with her peers all watching her was to let her hide behind her book while I fed her the sentences and she said them. She wasn’t very loud, and she didn’t read them on her own, but the look of pride on her face when she was able to do the activity like her peers and they cheered her on, was amazing. This is one example of meeting a child wherever they are at, and being flexible enough to modify assignments on the spot in order for everyone to feel included.Describe how the students and staff will remember you.I have been a part of this staff for three years now, and a part of this community for my entire life. As I look forward to job searching for next year, I do not see any openings coming up in our district and am sad at the prospect of leaving for another. But stepping out of my comfort zone will bring growth, I know this, and I am eager to start my journey as a special educator. I like to hope that the students and staff at New Glarus Middle School will remember me as being a positive, bright spot in their day, a smile in the hallway, a hello or high five in the cafeteria. I would like to be remembered as someone who truly cared about all kids, not just the special education students, and did my best to make them feel like they matter. I try hard to collaborate with special and regular ed teachers, to ask for and provide feedback, and work as a team to develop the best learning plan possible for each child I worked with. ................
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