Carlena Lowell 1

Competency #8 Reflection
The eighth competency area, Professional and Ethical Practice, was heavily emphasized
in many of the courses in this program. An invaluable concept I became proficient with
throughout this program was reflective thinking. It played a large role not only in my academics
but also in my professional development as I became more capable at carefully considering
aspects of various meetings, relationships, and my ethical practice, among other things.
Reflective thinking is a focus in several sub-competencies in this area, and is something I have
greatly benefitted from and will continue to throughout my career. I chose five products to
demonstrate my knowledge and skills in this competency; however, only four have
documentation. These products are: 1.) documentation and reflection of three intake visits with
families as a service coordinator, 2.) a reflective journal of my work in SEI 523: Home-based
Practicum in Early Intervention, 3.) a self-evaluation of my work in SEI 513: Practicum in Early
Intervention, 4.) documentation and reflection of five quarterly reviews with families in the role
of service coordinator, and 5.) shared current news articles with peers involving early childhood
public policy and advocacy (no written product for this as all articles were submitted to the class
folder; relates to sub-competency 8.5 Ability to remain current in the early intervention field and
maintain involvement in relevant professional organizations and professional growth activities).
The documentation and reflection of three intake visits and the documentation and
reflection of five quarterly reviews allowed me to examine two types of in-person meetings with
families that happen often in my role as a Part C service coordinator. I developed these
assignments as two of six activities for SEI 513: Practicum in Early Intervention; the structure of
each is similar to one another. Through these assignments I was able to look at my current
practices, consider improvements to better those practices, and also to think about my personal
strengths and needs in my professional role. The documentation of these two assignments,
Carlena Lowell 2
Competency #8 Reflection
which is actual work from my professional role, can be considered interchangeable with the sub-
competencies with which I paired them. The reflection of three intake visits pertains well to sub-
competency 8.1 Knowledge of professional codes of ethics and application of codes of ethics and
ethical principles to professional practice, and the documentation of five quarterly reviews to
sub-competency 8.4 Ability to clearly and articulately express yourself in oral and written form.
At the finish of the SEI 513: Practicum in Early Intervention course, I was able to
evaluate myself on several components: my direct work with children and families, completeness
and quality of my projects and required portfolio components, my work in relation to the five
competencies I focused on, and my participation in the practicum seminar. This evaluation was
more concise than a reflective journal, although in it I did evaluate my academic and professional
strengths and needs of the course in a reflective manner. This product relates well to sub-
competency 8.2 Ability to evaluate your personal strengths and needs as they relate to your
professional role.
Although I maintained many reflective journals throughout this program, this one was
particularly helpful to me. The reflective journal for SEI 523: Home-based Practicum in Early
Intervention came during the semester in which I began my professional role as a Part C service
coordinator. This reflective journal allowed me the opportunity to discuss in-depth things that
were going well, and things I was not as comfortable with in the new position. Service
coordination is a position I had wanted to assume for a few years; however, is very different
from the teaching I had done up to that point. This journal helped make the transition into an
unfamiliar role smoother. This product best represents sub-competency 8.3 Ability to engage in
reflective thinking about practices in working with children, families, and other professionals.