Ms. Rumble's Portfolio
Standard #2:
Learning Differences
The teacher uses understanding of individual differences and diverse cultures and communities to ensure inclusive learning environments that allow each learner to reach his/her full potential.
Artifact #1: IEP observation
Description: I attended an IEP meeting for a student to decide whether he was eligible for special services for the next school year. A variety of teachers were present for the meeting, from the vice-principal to the parents to the general education teachers. Much was said about the student’s past progress and the options available for him to continue that progress and end the semester strong. This was my first IEP meeting and it provided some necessary insight into what my role looks like as a general education teacher in this type of meeting.
Rationale: Not one student is the same, just like not one snowflake is the same, or one fingerprint. So, as a teacher, we need to be able to truly recognize and celebrate that each student learns differently. By attending the IEP meeting, I realized the numerous supports in place for the student. One of the steps on the agenda was creating goals with the student, and collaboratively brainstorming how to help this particular student succeed, even though he had a learning disability. Although the student I observed was not my student, I learned the role that I need to play as a general education teacher for students with special services. I brought that knowledge and insight back with me to my classroom and really worked with my students with disabilities so that they could feel comfortable and productive in my classroom.
IEP Meeting Narrative
Artifact #2: Workshop Day
Description: During student teaching, we had a professional development day to attend two seminars, one on trauma in students, and one on civil rights and what that looks like in school. In both seminars, I worked with my student teaching colleagues to develop ideas and share stories and experiences within both topics. Both presenters had us do small group work and gave us the tools and resources necessary to address these sometimes-uncomfortable topics in our classroom.
Rationale: This professional day that I attended gave me the necessary insight to further understand my students and where they’re coming from. Farmington is a very poverty-stricken area, which I researched in my CFA, so everything that I learned was very pertinent to my classroom and my interactions with my students. I learned that all my students come from diverse backgrounds, so I was mindful of their lives outside of school, which affected my daily planning and the way I managed class time. I created a more positive and engaged environment because I did more of our work in class, respecting that reading twenty-pages in our class book for homework could be less of a priority compared to other matters.
