Good Morning! Happy last day of class and on to a new adventure!
CEC Initial Preparation Standard 5: Beginning special education professionals select, adapt, and use a repertoire of evidence-based instructional strategies to advance learning of individuals with exceptionalities.
Key Elements you will focus on:
5.1: Beginning special education professionals consider an individual’s abilities, interests, learning environments, and cultural and linguistic factors in the selection, development and adaptation of learning experiences for individuals with exceptionalities.
5.2: Beginning special education professionals use technologies to support instructional assessment, planning, and delivery for students with exceptionalities.
5.1: Beginning special education professionals consider an individual’s abilities, interests, learning environments, and cultural and linguistic factors in the selection, development and adaptation of learning experiences for individuals with exceptionalities.
5.2: Beginning special education professionals use technologies to support instructional assessment, planning, and delivery for students with exceptionalities.
1. Describe your beliefs about
teaching students with disabilities prior to this course. How have
the readings, discussions, and assignments altered or informed your
current beliefs, knowledge, and skills related to planning instruction
for students with disabilities?
I have always believed that students with disabilities should be given an education that was tailored to their needs. Prior to this course, I had little knowledge about specific strategies and practices, but I never let that stop me. I am the kind of person that follows my natural instincts; I trust them and they do not let me down. The readings in this course have confirmed that I have naturally followed the right path when working with my students who have had learning difficulties and disabilities, but I have also learned a multitude of strategies that I have been able to add to my "toolbox" for future use. Now that I have completed this course, I feel confident that i will be more prepared to not only design effective lesson plans for my own students, but I feel confident that I will be able to assist other teachers in their lesson planning when planning for students with disabilities.
2. After reviewing the CEC standard 5 and its two key elements and completing this course, what are three identified areas of professional growth?
One area of growth has been the ability to apply what I learned about the various disabilities in my previous course, to this course through the lesson plans by providing details about the needs of my students and their disabilities. Another area of growth is that using the knowledge gained from that previous course, I was able to pick and choose evidence-based strategies for instruction that I felt would best serve my students, pushing them forward in their pursuit of knowledge. Given the feedback from the instructor and some of my peers, I feel confident that I have grasped an understanding of the strategies and that of the various disabilities and can provide my students with what they need. The third area of growth is that I was able to effectively use technology within my lesson plans as a means of instruction for all students, not just those with disabilities; however, I was able to make accomodations for students with disabilities where needed, when additional use of assistive technology would be most helpful or necessary.
3.Based on your experience, current role in education, and/or future role in education how might you apply these concepts to plan effective instruction for students with disabilities?
Because I live in Georgia, I am currently unable to become a state certified teacher, so working in public school is not currently an option for me; however, I never intended to take that route professionally anyway. My professional goal is to work for Head Start where special education professionals are needed. While a lot of the strategies I learned here will not apply to three and four year old children in the Head Start setting, they will still come in handy when working with my own special needs children at home on homework. I would also like to consider working privately as an early interventionist or therapist in my state and I could apply some of these instructional strategies in that field, as well. No matter where I go, I know that I will be able to apply what I have learned in this class to providing instruction for my students and with my own children at home; I am very thankful for this course supplying me with the strategies I will absolutely need in the future.
