Rationale

This Portfolio is designed to highlight my continued development as a professional Special Education Teacher. As a third-year teacher, I am focusing on the teaching domain of instructional design. The subdomains are located under the sidebar menu. Under each subdomain is contained my philosophy of teaching, a self-assessment of my progress, artifacts that demonstrait my competency within the domain, and goals for future development. Any questions or comments regarding this portfolio are welcome and may be emailed to abernstein@d211.org.

Domain 4: Professional Responsibilities

4a: Reflecting on Teaching

Philosophy

Withing Teaching, reflecting critically upon practice is essential to insure professional growth. In any given lesson, a teacher makes hundreds of decisions regarding presentation of content, pacing, student participation, and addressing student behavior. Even the most experienced and gifted teacher will find that each lesson provides innumerable miscues, missed missteps and missed opportunities. These errors, when viewed through the lens of reflective practice, are opportunities to learn from one's mistakes and to improve instruction the next time the material is presented.

Progress Self-Assessment

During the course of instruction, my reflective practice has taken two forms- personal reflection on the successes of failure of lessons, and discussions with peers. After the conclusion of a lesson, I immediately right down qualitative impressions of the lesson. Were students grabbed by certain activities, while others fell flat? Did certain activities require more explanation for the sake of clarity? These impressions are copied in a log attached to the lesson. I review them and consider modifying the lesson when I present the material again. Exit slips provide students with an opportunity to provide subjective feedback kon which aspects of the lesson with successful and which were not.

Exit interviews, quizzes, and exams provide more quantitative data on practice. If the lesson was successful, they provide evidence of skill mastery. When the student's results fall short, they can be an indication of areas where reteaching may be necessary. In Special Education, I have a responsibility to make sure that all students have an ability to access the content. If certain students are consistently falling short of mastery, I often have to modify the modalities in which the content was presented.

Explanation of Artifacts

The Reflective Journal is used to reflect day-to-day on any given lesson. I break down the activities in order to make the determination as to which activities went well, and which fell flat. I also use the the log to reflect on formative assessments and recognize when reteaching may be necessary. The logs are kept in binders with the unit plans so that I may look back on the reflections when I present the content again in subsequent years.

The Reflective Behavior Log is a forum for examining student conduct and which interventions were effective. This is completed in partnership with my classroom Teacher's Assistant. We reflect on behavioral difficulties we had in the previous day and brainstorm interventions for the upcoming day. We also discuss whether appropriate behavior was sufficiently reinforced and built in recognition and rewards for to maintain positive behaviors.

Artifact 1:

Reflective Journal


Artifact 2:

Reflective Behavior Log

Areas for Future Development

In the upcoming year, I hope to pair reflections to the critical learning standards (CLS). The reflective behavior log would include an indicator as to how well the students performed on CLS formative assessments and indications for how this might shape the subsequent days' instruction.

4b: Maintaining Accurate Records

Philosophy

Maintaining accurate and up-to-date records is a critical aspect of teacher organization. Doing so allows for the teacher to provide prompt and prudent feedback to students about their progress in the class. Students who are missing work must be made aware of the missed course content. Students who have not reached mastery in any given area must know where they stand, and what content they have yet to learned. In the age of technology, an online grading system is the perfect way to teach students to proactively monitor their course progress.

Progress Self-Assessment/ Explanation of Artifacts

In the 2011-2012 school year, I have begun using engrade, a dynamic classroom portal for maintaining student grades, communicating with students and parents, and storing and distribution of classroom content. Students, at the beginning of each class, are directed to log-in to their account, where they see their grade and check classroom content. In my English 201 class, I am piloting a paperless model, where students download course content, complete the work on their computers, then submit the assignment online. The assignments can be checked-in immediately, where I am also able to give students feedback on the quality of their work.


Artifact 1:

Areas for Future Development

In the future, I would like to continue to teach students to be proactive in their use of online grading systems to check grades and submit work. In the 2012-2013 school year, I would like to begin to provide parents with information on online gradebook system so that they may track their child's progress and communicate with me directly with questions and concerns.

4c: Communicating with Families

Philosophy

Having frequent, positive communication with parents or guardians of students provides an essential extension to school-based activities. Providing parents with up-to-date information regarding student progress not only helps to inform parents knowledge of their child's progress, but also enables them to team with the teacher to provide the student with consistent message of support. If a student is performing poorly, either behaviorally or academically, families are in a unique position to help inform and implement the appropriate intervention.

Progress Self-Assessment

Positive interactions with families is a cornerstone of all my academic and behavioral interventions. This is particularly important in an alternative school, where in past instances a majority of family interactions may have been negative. At worst, families may have felt blamed for the difficulties of their children. In other instances, families may lose trust in the school and withdraw from the process of informing successful interventions with his/ her child.

In any school, building and maintaining relationship with families ensures that they participate in and support school-based interventions. To build these relationships, it is incumbent upon teachers to establish positive rapport with parents. To this end, I strive to assure that a majority of phone calls to parents are positive and express a genuine appreciation for the skills, strengths, and abilities of the student. This frequent, positive contact disarms families and prevents them from fearing that contact from school may bear bad news. When I must address student conduct issues or need for academic remediation, parents recognize that it is coming from a place of support and represents a desire to see their student succeed, rather than being punitive or blaming them for their child's shortcomings.

My ability to speak Spanish has also put me in a unique position to connect the school to families. Almost 50% of students at Academy-North have Spanish- speaking parents Through translating at IEP meetings, family nights, and phone calls, I have been fortunate to serve as a bridge between the school and the Spanish- speaking community. Latino families will frequently contact me directly to discuss concerns, needs and questions regarding their students.

Explanation of Artifacts

Artifact 1:

All communications between the school and families are tracked within a Microsoft OneNote so that all members of the case management team may be kept abreast of circumstances with a student. In this particular case, I provide a majority of the contact with the family, as the mother is Spanish-speaking. After communication, I email the document to other team members within the school (Social Worker and Director) so that they make have the most current information. The attached document has been redacted to remove names and other identifying information.

Sample Student Contact Log

Areas for Future Development

In the upcoming year, I would like to have weekly contact with the parent/ guardian of the students on my caseload and encourage parents to contact the school more frequently. I also look forward to participating in a series of Parent Nights, to solidify the relationships between family and school.

4d: Contributing to the School and District

Philosophy

Effective instruction must occur simultaneously on both a macro and micro levels. The micro level consists of rigorous, goal-oriented, self-reflective classroom instruction. On the macro level, teachers need to provide the structures and framework for the necessary instruction to take place. This occurs through participating in district-wide initiatives and partnering with other teachers and initiatives to establish a philosophical framework to bring best practice instruction into the classroom.

Progress Self-Assessment

Throughout my time at Academy-North high school, I have been active in teaming with other teachers, administration, and the district to bring best practice instruction to the school. In the 2011-2012 school year, I partnered with the district to create and implement the Academy-North SharePoint site, an online tool for providing content management and a for school staff to work together on cooperative projects. I am also an active participant on the uniform committee, which in the 2011-2012 school year has continually refined the dress code in a way that stresses student input, while simultaneously guidelines for dress that emphasize minimizing conflict in and self respect. I also co-lead a technology committee with Amy Laskiewicz, another teacher, to define policy for our students' laptop use. In past years, I have worked with the differentiated instruction committee to provide teachers with a "tool kit" that assists with instruction in the different modalities. I also continue to partner with Craig Hippensteel, the District Web Master, in creation and maintenance of the school web site.

This being said, I am most proud of my work as the Director of CAAEL (the Chicago Area Alternative Education League), and in heading the Recording Club. CAAEL provides students with an opportunity to participate in pro-social sport and academic activities, as they compete against other alternative schools in the Northwest suburbs. Recording club participants work to promote, produce, write an record an album that reflects on their own experiences in overcoming diversity. These activities have had tremendous success in building student self-esteem and creating positive feelings about the school experience.

Explanation of Artifacts

I designed the CAAEL webpage to provide a place for students to be recognized by their peers, families, and members of the community and to build student self-esteem.

The Academy-North web page is designed as a bridge between the school and students and parents. It provides information regarding school programming, activities, teacher web pages, and links students and families to school and classroom content.

Artifact 1:
CAAEL Webpage

Artifact 2:

Academy-North Webpage

Areas for Future Development

In the 2012-2013 school year, I am pleased to work with the district to launch Infinite Campus at Academy-North, a new district-wide gradebook/ portal which will enhance instruction, provided students with access to classroom content and grades, and improve communication between students and teachers.

4e: Growing and Developing Professionally

Philosophy

The field of education is constantly evolving and changing. "Best practice" is far from a static term, instead representing a set of guidelines informed by current research. To be a great educator, one must evolve and change instruction to incorporate the most currently accepted methods. As a second step, many great educators will seek to become part of the academic discourse that informs the practices in their field.

Progress Self-Assessment

Throughout my time at Academy-North, I have been consistent in participating in professional development opportunities that both enhance my classroom instruction and allow me to participate in the pedagogical discourse community. In the 2011-2012 school year, I have begun to teach English at Academy-North, and have consequently attended professional development opportunities to improve my teaching of writing: Kansas Writing Seminars, and "Six Traits of Effective Writing". These workshops have provided me with "shovel-ready" tools that I can utilize in my classroom. To better meet the needs of our Spanish-speaking students, I am enrolled in graduate school work through Concordia University. I have completed the ESL endorsement program (certification pending) and am currently enrolled in one class to complete a Bilingual certification.

Areas for Future Development

In the future, I intend to enroll in coursework to pursue my Type 75 (Administrative) endorsement, while continuing to attend professional development opportunities that assure that my practice will remain current in both areas of English and Special Education.

4f: Showing Professionalism

Philosophy

For educators, Professionalism is not so much what teachers do as how they go about their work. Affect, demeanor, and teaming with peers are all aspects of professionalism. These intangible actions convey how one feels about what they do, and has implication for the tone within both classroom and school as a whole. This tone suggests that school is a positive place where peers, administrators, families and students are appreciated an valued.

Explanation of Artifact

In the 2011-2012 school year, I was recognized in the District 211 annual report as a "superhero" for making positive impacts in the lives of students.

Progress Self-Assessment

I have always sought to sought to set a professional tone in affect, interpersonal interactions, and dress. In terms of affect, remaining positive and relaxed has been at the core of my professionalism. Even when I feel as though I am having a difficult day, I recognize that I have to frame these experiences in a way that maintains perspective and keeps the "big picture" of larger goals and progress in mind. Furthermore, when I talk about difficulties (whether personal or interpersonal) with coworkers or administrators, I frame them in terms of looking for solutions, rather than complaining or "dumping". The touchstones of the common goal of helping students and enjoying work are never far from my mind as I work with peers and students.

With students, I recognize that even when I am upset by behaviors, that my demeanor must be calm and controlled. I try to set a tone within the classroom that is safe, relaxed, fun and holds students to rigorous standards for achievement. This fosters an environment of mutual respect.

Areas for Future Development

In the next school year, I wish to hold a more central role in helping to facilitate events that make the school feel to students like a positive, safe place- one where they desire to spend time. This could include, but is not limited to, group reinforcers, continuing work with CAAEL and Recording club, and more frequent home visits.