Daniel Bell's Professional Portfolio

Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium
The teacher uses an understanding of individual and group motivation and behavior to create a learning environment that encourages positive social interaction, active engagement in learning, and self-motivation.

CEC Content Standards for All Beginning Special Education Teachers
Special educators actively create learning environments for individuals with ELN that foster cultural understanding, safety and emotional well being, positive social interactions, and active engagement of individuals with ELN. In addition, special educators foster environments in which diversity is valued and individuals are taught to live harmoniously and productively in a culturally diverse world. Special educators shape environments to encourage the independence, self-motivation, self-direction, personal empowerment, and self-advocacy of individuals with ELN. Special educators help their general education colleagues integrate individuals with ELN in regular environments and engage them in meaningful learning activities and interactions. Special educators use direct motivational and instructional interventions with individuals with ELN to teach them to respond effectively to current expectations. When necessary, special educators can safely intervene with individuals with ELN in crisis. Special educators coordinate all these efforts and provide guidance and direction to paraeducators and others, such as classroom volunteers and tutors.

Artifact

Learning Environments

Rationale

I have included this paper on my position on learning environments and classroom behavior techniques from my EDTE 689: Advanced Seminar in Teaching course because I feel that it adheres well to this standard of positive, safe, and engaging educational environments. In this paper I discuss how I believe that, first and foremost, respect and a consistent classroom management plan are key aspects to creating an effective and positive learning environment and how this environment will foster positive social interactions while valuing cultural diversity. I speak to the belief that respect across the education spectrum including teachers respecting students, students respecting teachers and one another, etc. are what allows us to live harmoniously and productively in a culturally diverse world. I will continue to utilize and reflect upon my classroom management plan and to always uphold the ideal of respect in my classroom so that my students can carry these positive and tolerant ideas with them throughout their lives as well.

Classroom Management Plan

This artifact is my Classroom Management Plan from my EDCC 541: Foundations of Education class and it speaks directly to this standard. In this paper I discuss the different aspects and philosophies that make up my classroom management plan with the purpose of creating a safe, engaging learning environment that values cultural diversity and individuality. The aspects of my classroom management plan include the constructed layout of my classrooms that foster active engagement, the belief that mutual and reciprocal respect for all people and materials in the classroom will keep my learning environment and social interactions positive and educationally effective, and having consistent relevant rules and procedures with student input. All of these aspects convey my understanding of this standard because I implement and utilize them day-to-day in my classroom, which has been and will continue to be a positive and respectful place to learn and grow.

Self-Determination Paper

This artifact was completed for my EDTE 630: Human Resources & Career Education in Special Education course. It is a reading response to an article regarding self-determination. In this paper, I discuss the resources available to the disabled in and out of an educational environment and how ELN individuals can and should develop skills of self-advocacy and self-esteem so that they can transition from grade to grade and out of an educational facility into the working world as contributing members of society. This assignment helped me to understand the importance of self-determination, no matter the student’s disability or culturally diverse perspective and that all ELN students are capable of whatever they put their minds to. This assignment also gave me insight into how I can shape environments to encourage the independence, self-motivation, self-direction, personal empowerment, and self-advocacy of individuals with ELN, which I will continue to strive to do as a special educator.

Intervention Plan
- video portion

This artifact is an Arts-Infused Intervention Plan for a troubled student that was part of my EDTE 636: Psychology of Exceptional Children and Youth course. The idea behind the project was to find a child that was experiencing an acute emotional or social issue and, as an adult mentor, I had to intervene in this child’s life with a method that could help alleviate their issue with little to no monetary resources available. It was quite a challenge having previously been used to intervening with children in my school with a plethora of resources available to me. This was a very helpful project because it forced me to look at the situation from a wholly different perspective than I had been used to. It also helped me gain a better understanding of an individual and their beliefs, traditions, and values. The issue that I was targeting was anger after having been robbed at gunpoint and the nature of this child’s problem very much helped me understand how something so apart from an educational environment can nevertheless affect relationships among and between students, their families, and the school community. Indeed, this student’s issue was having a serious effect on his attitude at school and how he interacted with others. I looked at this child as a unique individual and, knowing that he was interested in percussion, I had us vent some of his frustrations by playing the drums on overturned trashcans. We videotaped the intervention for documentation of the event and to use for reflection. I chose this artifact for this standard because it conveys how I can safely intervene with individuals with ELN in crisis and how I engage my students in meaningful learning activities and interactions, which I will continue to do as a special educator.



Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium The teacher uses an understanding of individual and group motivation and behavior to create a learning environment that encourages positive social interaction, active engagement in learning, and self-motivation. CEC Content Standards for All Beginning Special Education Teachers Special educators actively create learning environments for individuals with ELN that foster cultural understanding, safety and emotional well being, positive social interactions, and active engagement of individuals with ELN. In addition, special educators foster environments in which diversity is valued and individuals are taught to live harmoniously and productively in a culturally diverse world. Special educators shape environments to encourage the independence, self-motivation, self-direction, personal empowerment, and self-advocacy of individuals with ELN. Special educators help their general education colleagues integrate individuals with ELN in regular environments and engage them in meaningful learning activities and interactions. Special educators use direct motivational and instructional interventions with individuals with ELN to teach them to respond effectively to current expectations. When necessary, special educators can safely intervene with individuals with ELN in crisis. Special educators coordinate all these efforts and provide guidance and direction to paraeducators and others, such as classroom volunteers and tutors.
Artifact Learning Environments	Rationale I have included this paper on my position on learning environments and classroom behavior techniques from my EDTE 689: Advanced Seminar in Teaching course because I feel that it adheres well to this standard of positive, safe, and engaging educational environments. In this paper I discuss how I believe that, first and foremost, respect and a consistent classroom management plan are key aspects to creating an effective and positive learning environment and how this environment will foster positive social interactions while valuing cultural diversity. I speak to the belief that respect across the education spectrum including teachers respecting students, students respecting teachers and one another, etc. are what allows us to live harmoniously and productively in a culturally diverse world. I will continue to utilize and reflect upon my classroom management plan and to always uphold the ideal of respect in my classroom so that my students can carry these positive and tolerant ideas with them throughout their lives as well.

Classroom Management Plan	This artifact is my Classroom Management Plan from my EDCC 541: Foundations of Education class and it speaks directly to this standard. In this paper I discuss the different aspects and philosophies that make up my classroom management plan with the purpose of creating a safe, engaging learning environment that values cultural diversity and individuality. The aspects of my classroom management plan include the constructed layout of my classrooms that foster active engagement, the belief that mutual and reciprocal respect for all people and materials in the classroom will keep my learning environment and social interactions positive and educationally effective, and having consistent relevant rules and procedures with student input. All of these aspects convey my understanding of this standard because I implement and utilize them day-to-day in my classroom, which has been and will continue to be a positive and respectful place to learn and grow.

Self-Determination Paper	This artifact was completed for my EDTE 630: Human Resources & Career Education in Special Education course. It is a reading response to an article regarding self-determination. In this paper, I discuss the resources available to the disabled in and out of an educational environment and how ELN individuals can and should develop skills of self-advocacy and self-esteem so that they can transition from grade to grade and out of an educational facility into the working world as contributing members of society. This assignment helped me to understand the importance of self-determination, no matter the student’s disability or culturally diverse perspective and that all ELN students are capable of whatever they put their minds to. This assignment also gave me insight into how I can shape environments to encourage the independence, self-motivation, self-direction, personal empowerment, and self-advocacy of individuals with ELN, which I will continue to strive to do as a special educator.

Intervention Plan - video portion	This artifact is an Arts-Infused Intervention Plan for a troubled student that was part of my EDTE 636: Psychology of Exceptional Children and Youth course. The idea behind the project was to find a child that was experiencing an acute emotional or social issue and, as an adult mentor, I had to intervene in this child’s life with a method that could help alleviate their issue with little to no monetary resources available. It was quite a challenge having previously been used to intervening with children in my school with a plethora of resources available to me. This was a very helpful project because it forced me to look at the situation from a wholly different perspective than I had been used to. It also helped me gain a better understanding of an individual and their beliefs, traditions, and values. The issue that I was targeting was anger after having been robbed at gunpoint and the nature of this child’s problem very much helped me understand how something so apart from an educational environment can nevertheless affect relationships among and between students, their families, and the school community. Indeed, this student’s issue was having a serious effect on his attitude at school and how he interacted with others. I looked at this child as a unique individual and, knowing that he was interested in percussion, I had us vent some of his frustrations by playing the drums on overturned trashcans. We videotaped the intervention for documentation of the event and to use for reflection. I chose this artifact for this standard because it conveys how I can safely intervene with individuals with ELN in crisis and how I engage my students in meaningful learning activities and interactions, which I will continue to do as a special educator.