Professional Practice Portfolio

Welcome to my portfolio. This portfolio serves to reflect my growth throughout my professional life and beyond. My name is Miss Sarah Ryan and currently, I am an 8 th Grade Special Ed Science teacher. To learn more about me and my teaching experience, feel free to explore my e-portfolio. 

About me as an inclusive educator 

Currently, I am an 8 th Grade Special Ed Science teacher at Park Hill School. In addition, I teach self-contained and ICT classes. At its core, inclusive teaching describes the range of approaches to teaching that consider diverse needs and backgrounds of all students to create a learning environment where all students not only have equal access to learning but also feel valued (Dewsbury & Brame, 2019). Usually, my classes operate on the premise that students with disabilities are equally competent as those without disabilities. I ensure that my students fully participate in the classroom and in the local school community Much of the movement is federally legislated which requires that such children receive education in the least restrictive areas (Stone, 2019). This means that my 8 th Grade Special Ed students can engage with their peers who are not disabled with the general education placement being a priority for them all. 

The above photo was taken during a class discussion where I had divided the students into groups. 

As one of the few African American teachers in my school building, I hold my students in high regard and standards and do not treat them any different because of their disabilities. I have also learned to accept, understand, and attend to the students’ differences and diversity. These differences vary from cognitive, physical, emotional, and social aspects (McLeskey, Rosenberg &Westling, 2017). In addition to regular education classes, I also ensure that my students spend time outside the school for other purposes such as speech and occupational therapy. My driving principle as an inclusive educator is to make sure that all students regardless of their disability feel welcomed, challenged, valued, and accepted in their efforts (Dattilo, 2018). 

Inclusive teaching matters to me as an educator because of the realization that it is beyond disciplinary content. I strive every day to create a conducive learning environment because I know that it correlates with the learning outcomes. Particularly, when a student feels valued and has a sense of belonging, there is a high chance of prediction, motivation, and engagement (Kiefer, Alley & Ellerbrock, 2015). As an inclusive educator I have achieved the following with my students: 

Development of supportive relationships with my students. 

In ensuring that there is neither uncivility in the classroom nor unproductive conflicts among students. 

Increased participation and engagement among students in various activities in the school. 

Ensured that students take intellectual risks in their academic performance and retain learning as a key objective across all contexts. 

Ways I find about Students’ Needs 

In my class, there is quite a handful of children who find learning a challenge and more than often, they cause me to feel that I have to manage certain behaviors beyond my usual area of expertise. In my role working to improve the educational outcomes of the vulnerable children in the 8 th grade, I have become aware that many are usually not in a good place emotionally, socially, and developmentally to learn. A lot of them have had rough backgrounds. Most of their childhood memories are filled with the traumatic events they have been through up to date. Others have been raised in homes that are either dysfunctional or on welfare. Tom, one of my students appears to be the most affected by his childhood past. His parents divorced when he was barely one year. Since then he has been raised by a single mother who has really struggled to pay bills and put him in school. I found this information from a fellow teacher who happens to be their neighbor all these years. 

The above picture was taken when Tom was questioned why he had come to school with the same clothes and unkempt hair. 

There are those too who have been raised around abuse and drugs. These children portray child abuse and neglect by their parents. I recall some time back one of my students’ mother, Amber had to be arrested for child neglect and abuse. Tonya, who was eight years then would come to school wearing the same clothing, with unkempt hair, unbathed, and hungry. I reached out to inquire why this was happening and I found out the mother was abusing drugs with her boyfriend in the presence of Tonya and his one-year-old sister, Stacy. In addition, the mother did not clean their home environment, bath, or feed them. After reaching out, the mother was arrested and Stacy and Tonya forced to stay in foster care. There are those too that do not belong to any service but their appearance at school reveals that they are undergoing significant hardships. 

While in the process of reaching out to students, I have realized the need of gaining their trust. This creation of trustworthiness has helped them open up about the things they are going through outside school. I have had to tell them of a similar experience I went through. All my life I had been raised by a father that was abusive. My mother was a victim of domestic violence, with regular physical, emotional, verbal, financial, and all sorts of abuse from my father. The violence escalated and at the age of ten, my mother passed on the following murder by my father. My siblings and I were forced to go to foster care. We ended up being separated. Life at foster home was not easy because often I was emotionally and physically abused. The abuse obliged me to move from one foster home to another. I narrate to them how often I would spend in the streets for fear of going home at night. Opening up about my personal story has not only made me win their trust but also earned respect from them. This has made my life easy in behavior management. 

Also, it is not always about books every now and then. Often we make jokes and laugh about them. As an inclusive educator, I have realized the importance of rewarding my students when they behave well. Often, I give incentives for behaving and doing well and assessments. Behavior is at times problematic because these students have had many times when they felt safe and therefore end up reacting to various triggers in order to feel safe. Besides they have been rejected numerous time and this makes them feel the need to have disruptive behaviors in class. The numerous ways in which I give incentives include having a lunch bunch, having their names in the wall of fame, and reserving special seats for them (Marlatt, 2015). The most sought after is the lunch bunch where I accompany them for a special meal and commend them for being well-behaved. Above is a picture of me having lunch with two of my most behaved students and fellow inclusive educators. 

I also celebrate every holiday with my students, gifting each of them. Below is a picture of them during the summer holidays at the Metropolitan National Museum, which left each student feeling valued, important, and loved. 

How I apply Principles of UDL 

As an inclusive educator, I am aware of the Universal Design for Learning (UDL). UDL is governed by three main principles which include multiple means of representation, multiple means of expression, and more than one way of engagement and interaction (Finnegan & Dieker, 2019). Through the science and ICT classes, I apply the principles in numerous ways. First, I present information in diverse ways. Textbooks that I provide are different in terms of graphics and prose. Presenting information in different ways helps students chose the one that best works for them (Black, Weinberg & Brodwin, 2015). Another way is videotaping the lectures and making it available for everyone on the course website. Another way is ensuring that each student’s notes are posted on the course website for reference. 

From the standpoint of multiple means of expression, I provide their students with options around how they can demonstrate their understanding and knowledge of the course content. Usually, some provide outlines, and others preset their knowledge graphically, or through pictures. Through the use of technologies such as iPads, those students who are not able to use textbooks c an better understand the content of the course. Other tools and alternatives I include are assessments and homework which focus on the students’ ability to apply their knowledge. Such tools work in my class because the children I educate have special needs and are from diverse cultures and backgrounds. Therefore the use of these resources helps ensure all students are included in the learning process. 

Mkrttchian (2018) reveals that students can be very different in the way they are engaged and motivated to learn. Considering the diversity of the class, I am dealing with, there is no way diversity will work best for all students. I noticed that students who have English as their second language are motivated by online discussions while English native speakers prefer face to face discussions. The sharing of notes also has enabled y students to have their varying experiences of seeing the value of their approaches. For instance, those with learning disabilities had believed that they were incapable of taking notes. But after seeing a variety of notes from the rest of the students, they felt their notes were valued. This has created an atmosphere of belonging, value, and love which are my cornerstones as an inclusive educator. 

References  

Black, R. D., Weinberg, L. A., & Brodwin, M. G. (2015). Universal design for learning and instruction: Perspectives of students with disabilities in higher education.  Exceptionality Education International ,  25 (2), 1-16. 

Dattilo, J. (2018). An Education Model to Promote Inclusive Leisure Services.  Journal of Park and Recreation Administration ,  36 (2). Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/openview/d3111cf91dfed5a3649b58ba1b0d9b38/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=2037373 

Dewsbury, B., & Brame, C. J. (2019). Inclusive Teaching.  CBE—Life Sciences Education ,  18 (2), fe2. 

Retrieved from https://www.lifescied.org/doi/full/10.1187/cbe.19-01-0021 

Finnegan, L. A., & Dieker, L. A. (2019). Universal design for learning-representation and science content: a pathway to expanding knowledge, understanding, and written explanations.  Science Activities ,  56 (1), 11-18. 

Kiefer, S. M., Alley, K. M., & Ellerbrock, C. R. (2015). Teacher and peer support for young adolescents’ motivation, engagement, and school belonging.  Rmle Online ,  38 (8), 1-18. 

Marlatt, K. (2015). Worth the Reward.  Keaton Anderson Preface to Volume 2, Issue 1 iii Haley Chinander The Teacher’s First Day of School: What to Do Before Walking into Class , 21. 

McLeskey, J. L., Rosenberg, M. S., & Westling, D. L. (2017).  Inclusion: Effective practices for all students . Pearson. 

Mkrttchian, V. (2018). Project-Based Learning for Students with Intellectual Disabilities. In  Instructional Strategies in General Education and Putting the Individuals With Disabilities Act (IDEA) Into Practice  (pp. 196-221). IGI Global. 

Stone, D. H. (2019). The Least Restrictive Environment for Providing Education, Treatment, and Community Services for Persons with Disabilities: Rethinking the Concept.  Touro L. Rev. ,  35 , 523. Retrieved from https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/touro35&div=22&id=&page=