Reflective Practice
Evidence 9.1 Practicum: 20-hour Pre-Student Teaching Journal
I chose to document twenty hours of Art class room practicum experience because of the direct affect on my decision to become a teacher in the Art content area. The opportunity to teach so many different forms of Art at 6th-8th middle school grades and the 9th-12th high school grade levels was very exciting. I was able to review the students' Art knowledge, comprehension levels, execution skills, and gain insight into curriculum that I may want to incorporate into my student teaching. I also had the opportunity to review my own strengths in content, and determine where I could improve.
Evidence 9.2 Reflective Paper on the IEP Process
Procedures for Assessing and Providing Education for Children with
Disabilities
My personal understanding and relevance of the assessment and subsequent education of students with disabilities is based on numerous substitute teaching assignments. My experience includes exposure to working with all grade levels and having the opportunity for personal follow-up and review with the special education teachers. My personal interview with a high school special education teacher was also a practical learning experience.
Although my experience working with children with disabilities has been at all education levels, the majority has been at the high school and middle schools in my district. My willingness to accept special education assignments and my capability to manage has provided many hours of exposure to students and the administrative process.
For me, identification and an IEP remains the most important issue when teaching students with learning disabilities. Writing this paper enhanced my understanding of the importance of why the IDEA has already had changes made that became effective July 1, 2005 as posted on the US Government Education website [1]. In essence, the changes regard updates found in The IDEA Reauthorized Statute to the original IEP regarding: the status of the student's present performance and goals, reasoning for a child to take an alternative assessment, progress reports to parents, and a child's records transfer between states and their educational facilities.
