Reflective Analysis of Portfolio Artifact

Rationale/Reflection
InTASC Standard:
Standard #2: Learning Differences The teacher uses
understanding of individual differences and diverse cultures and
communities to ensure inclusive learning environments that
enable each learner to meet high standards
CEC Initial Preparation Standard #6: Professional Learning
and Ethical Practice
Beginning special education professionals use foundational
knowledge of the field and the their professional Ethical Principles
and Practice Standards to inform special education practice, to
engage in lifelong learning, and to advance the profession (CEC,
2012).

Brief Description of Evidence: (include semester completed)

As part of my SPED210, Collaborative Relationships class I
took in the spring of 2016, I worked on a variety of tasks to gain
knowledge about how to collaborate with students, families, and
school faculty.
For my artifact I am using are my Insource entries where I
had the opportunity to go to support group meetings and listen to
some of the parents talking about their children who have
depression or severe disabilities. I also was able to look around on
some great websites that I had been told about called Classroom
2.0 and Simple K12. These are websites that are made for
professional teachers that provide them with a variety of

resources including; webinars, forums, online discussions, and

chat rooms with teachers worldwide.

Analysis of What I Learned:

One thing I learned in particular is how to work
collaboratively and respectfully with students and families of
different backgrounds. Knowing how to handle families cultures
and backgrounds is very important when becoming a teacher
because you need to know how to make the family and the
student feel welcomed and appreciated. Another thing I have
learned is how diverse each student is and how each student
learns at a separate pace. Having students with diverse
backgrounds will always be a part of being a teacher. For
instance, if a child is of the Hispanic race and none of his family
speak English then it would be appropriate for the teacher to
provide newsletters and permission slips in written or typed
Spanish.
At the beginning of this semester I had the opportunity to
collect data from other teachers through a survey. The survey
consisted of questions including how often the teacher and the
parents communicated and what forms of communication tools
were used to contact the parents whether that be via email,
phone call, or social media. For my observation hours my advisor
was able to get in touch with Insource and allowed me to go to
Facilitated Parent Support Groups. I have met with parents of
children with disabilities who have learned how to cope with their
childs disability and work with their childs special education
program as well as their IEPs.
I have learned more in depth about how parents want their
childs teacher to communicate regularly. I am now able to take
the information I have learned during this course and apply it to
my communication skills as an aspiring teacher. Learning about

how to cooperate with school personnel and faculty will help

benefit me as a teacher by opening myself up to new ideas and
giving my own ideas to my peers.

How This Artifact Demonstrates my Competence on the

InTASC and CEC Standards:
My competence for SPED210 was able to provide me with
the information I need to be a successful teacher. By creating my
own communication plan on Trello I was able to prove that I
researched collaboration within teachers and parents prior to
doing the assignment. I took some of the things I learned through
those sites and incorporated some of it onto my Trello board. I
believe that by creating a good communication plan with the
parents of your students you are able meet the needs of those
learners more efficiently.
One of the reasons is how much I learned about working
together and how important it is not only for the sake of the
families and the faculty but also for the child. The child is the
most important part of being able to be a teacher. The survey I
completed also proved my competency by being able to reflect on
real life answers from professionals already in the field of
education. I believe that I have mastered my skills by being open
to online forums that were created by actual professionals in the
education field who discuss collaboration ideas and instructional
planning.