Reck

Introductory Narrative
My name is Katherine Reck and I am a teacher from Baltimore City, Maryland. I am 31
years old and am originally from Ellicott City, Maryland, where I currently teach at Northfield
Elementary School. I attended Towson University and earned my degree in Early Childhood
Education from Towson University in 2008. I began my masters in special education at Towson
University in 2012. In my eight years of teaching, I have taught kindergarten, first grade, second
grade and instructional technology, all in Howard County Public Schools.
Rationale for Building the Portfolio
My professional portfolio is a collection of work that has been done while learning many
skills that will help me impact students education in the most positive and efficient way
possible. There are five different assignments that are featured in the portfolio and they each
feature different skills that can be applied to working with students each day. Building the
portfolio has helped me to learn how to use these skills in the classroom and then showcase them
in a way that others can be confident in the same skills. Knowing that I can complete all of these
assignments, gives me the confidence that I will be able to tackle any issue that may arise whilst
working with students of all backgrounds and abilities. All of the assignments and rationales
were written with the knowledge that what I was creating was helping me develop the expertise
that would make the most comprehensive and effectual teacher that I could be for all students.
There are many reasons that building a portfolio can be a helpful and useful experience the most
prominent would be to showcase our abilities and give examples of the work that we are capable
of doing while working with children with exceptionalities. These examples of work show that I
have been able to complete what is expected of someone and I am a dedicated educator of
children. I would envision that this being a very useful tool when I begin to work in a new

Reck

environment where the principal or other staff may not know who I am or what I am about to do.
This can be a fantastic tool to use when being interviewed or as a way for potential employers or
co-workers to see your work even before you meet with them. The work is thorough and shows
the reader all of the different skills that I have been developing during the past four years of this
program.

Reflections on Coursework, Learning Experiences, & CEC Professional Standards

When I finished my undergraduate degree in 2008 and entered the classroom as a first
year kindergarten teacher, I like to think that I was prepared, as much as someone can be. Even
though, in my first two years I did not get to work with as many students with exceptionalities as
I did in the following three years. There were many students with a wide range of issues, and I
learned more about myself as a person and an educator in those three years than I did ever
before. I used to think that many students were just not listening to me or unable to focus, but I
soon came to realize that all students were simply doing the best that they were capable of. It
was not that they were purposefully being distant or rude, but they were dealing with issues that
were not openly apparent as they came through the door. I began to consider home life,
background, sleep duration, food intake/nutrition and other factors that can all have adverse
effects on a how a child may act or learn in a classroom. Building deeper relationships with
students and families helped me to provide meaningful and challenging experiences for them
while still giving them the best chances for success. I have learned that creating a calming and
positive environment is very important to helping children develop into confident learners. I did
this by revaluating how I was disciplining students who were being disruptive in the classroom
and taking a negative situation and turning it into a positive one using descriptive language. I

Reck

also worked hard to foster more interactions between all of my students by creating group
assignments and encouraging all students to use their strengths, no matter what they are. I have
engaged in team planning and co-teaching to further my knowledge about topics that I do not
feel are my strengths (math and science). I have also made a point to collaborate with other
teachers and challenge myself to teach subjects that I do not feel are my strongest. I have taught
kindergarten, first grade, second grade and instructional technology and the change has always
kept me learning about new curriculum and working with students of varying abilities. Skills
that I used to make a kindergarten classroom successful were not the skills that worked when
working with second grade students. I also spent sometime working with students who did not
have needs beyond the regular classroom and sometime with students who have required
significant intervention. This balance has provided me with multiple perspectives that have
helped me grow considerably. While teaching such a wide variety of students in multiple grades,
this gave me the chance to experience different teams of people and find the most effective ways
to assess students and their growth throughout the year. I have held onto the assessments that
were most effective and left behind those that did not show me information that was useful in
monitoring progress of students. I began using a daily exit ticket when teaching math to track
which students were able to master concepts each day and which needed review or further
interventions. I put much less emphasis on mid year assessments that were an overload for many
students and required days of sitting and testing on skills. Applying all of this knowledge to my
classroom daily, whilst keeping in my mind CEC and INTASC professional standards, have all
kept my desire to make myself better a continuous journey that I do not soon see an end for.
Philosophy for Teaching

Reck

I believe that all students, especially those with disabilities, must be able to experience
success and feel like they are active members of a community of teachers and students within the
school. When students are invested emotionally and feel as though they are needed and wanted,
they will have the desire to apply themselves to the best of their ability. To be an effective teach
for all students, that ability must be known and understood to the best of the teachers ability as
well. Gathering information and building knowledge about each student will help the teacher to
know what approaches and interventions will be the most effective the first time that they are
tried. Students must feel they are an active and important member of their community and that is
accomplished through compassion, and adapted strategies. I work very hard to ensure that all
students feel they are an important part of the classroom and that their presence is needed. This
is achieved through understanding of each childs abilities and knowing what skills they are
developing as a person and as a learner. As a teacher, I feel I am someone who tries to include
all students, no matter their capabilities. There is no achievement too small to not be celebrated
among teacher and student. Building a relationship based on trust and compassion is a very
important part of what I believe being an effective special educator. I work with my students to
let them know that they can trust me to make positive decisions on their behalf and create an
environment where communication is encouraged. If students feel that they can share their
feelings and thoughts with their teachers, I will be able to help them work through those feelings
and create positive learning and social experiences. Using meeting times and interviews with
students, I am able to achieve this open communication goal. There are times when working
with students who do not communicate well that gaining trust and keeping communication open
was very difficult but with dedication, it was possible and make working with that student a
wonderful experience. I believe that building classroom communities where all students feel

Reck
needed, wanted and appreciated allows all students to feel connected and invested in their
education.