Context: As a teacher of students with special needs, I work hard to come up with lessons that are designed to meet individual needs, focus on the Standard Course of Study, and involve students with the lesson. As a teacher, I want my students to be involved with the lessons I present to them on a daily basis. Throughout my graduate classes my professors have shared many inspiring lessons that can be completed in my classroom. I wanted to take what I have learned and design it to fit into my classroom. For example, the book critiques that I completed in Advanced Study of Children's Literature, taught by Dr. Green became a guideline for my students. I took the idea of a book critique to my inclusion class and had my students choose a book that they have or are currently reading. They wrote a summary of the book and drew a picture that represented their favorite part. Along with the book critiques, I also did an author study during Dr. Green's class. I am planning on having my student's do an author study at the end of this year. In Teaching the Language Arts, taught by Dr. Ulmer, our main project was to complete a multi-genre project. My multi-genre project was done on Rosa Parks. What I learned from Dr. Ulmer's understanding of a multi-genre project allowed me to come up with two multi-genre projects that I completed in my fifth grade inclusion class. The fire presentation was video taped and was shown to the whole school in the month of October. The other multi-genre that I have included is one that I designed to use with my fifth grade inclusion class. This will be used during their Social Studies class. A rubric is also attached and will be used to grade the final presentation. Dr. Ulmer also shared how to use The Important Book, written by Margaret Wise Brown, to write a class book. I read the book with my 4th grade inclusion class. I then shared the book that I wrote for Dr. Ulmer. I had them brainstorm what they would like to write about. As a class, we designed our books for a week and then shared with each other. This was a great way to work on writing, interaction, and creativity.
Alignment: In completing these activities the following Standards for the Master's Degree program were met.
* Standard A: Instructional Expertise: The candidate demonstrates instructional expertise by applying the theoretical, philosophical, and research bases for educational practice in P-12 settings to improve student learning: This artifact shows that I am able to come up with lessons that align with the information presented in my masters program. I am able to show many lessons that my professors have demonstrated, and apply them to my special needs classroom. The success that I have see is tremendous and the learning environment has supported my students.
* Standard B: Knowledge of Learners: The candidate incorporates knowledge of the nature of the learner, learning processes, variations in learning abilities and learning styles, and strategies for evaluating learning into the planning, delivery, and evaluation of instruction. This artifact shows that I am able to modify instructional ideas to meet the needs of students who are functioning below grade level. I respect the differences that my students have and am able to maintain a classroom that is conductive to learning.