Daniel Bell's Professional Portfolio

Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium
The teacher plans instruction based upon knowledge of subject matter, students, the community, and curriculum goals.

CEC Content Standards for All Beginning Special Education Teachers
Individualized decision-making and instruction is at the center of special education practice. Special educators develop long-range individualized instructional plans anchored in both general and special curricula. In addition, special educators systematically translate these individualized plans into carefully selected shorter-range goals and objectives taking into consideration an individual’s abilities and needs, the learning environment, and a myriad of cultural and linguistic factors. Individualized instructional plans emphasize explicit modeling and efficient guided practice to assure acquisition and fluency through maintenance and generalization. Understanding of these factors as well as the implications of an individual’s exceptional condition, guides the special educator’s selection, adaptation, and creation of materials, and the use of powerful instructional variables. Instructional plans are modified based on ongoing analysis of the individual’s learning progress. Moreover, special educators facilitate this instructional planning in a collaborative context including the individuals with exceptionalities, families, professional colleagues, and personnel from other agencies as appropriate. Special educators also develop a variety of individualized transition plans, such as transitions from preschool to elementary school and from secondary settings to a variety of postsecondary work and learning contexts. Special educators are comfortable using appropriate technologies to support instructional planning and individualized instruction.

Artifact

Unit Plans

Rationale

This artifact is a series of unit plans that I constructed for my TV Productions 1 classes that I teach at Chelsea School as the Media Productions Teacher. The plans are done in Chelsea School’s unit plan format. These unit plans are an overview of the units that I have constructed using the goals and standards from my curriculum and they take the students from a firm grounding in the basic concepts and skills of video production, storytelling, and media productions to guiding the students through a series of different types of video projects that target and enhance specific skills along the way. To enrich these skills and give them real-world significance, the units include field trips to Access Montgomery, Montgomery County’s cable access station. More on Access Montgomery can be found in standard 4 under “Cable Access Partnership.” This shows my understanding of the importance of instructional planning in a collaborative context including the individuals with exceptionalities, professional colleagues, and personnel from other agencies as appropriate. These unit plans include a myriad of different strategies that appeal to diverse learning styles and different levels of ELN students. This artifact conveys my knowledge of this standard by showing my ability to develop long-range individualized instructional plans anchored in both general and special curricula taking into consideration an individual’s abilities and needs, the learning environment, and a myriad of cultural and linguistic factors. Also, these plans express my selection, adaptation, and creation of materials, and the use of powerful instructional variables. I will continue to plan in the long-term and short-term sense and use appropriate technologies to support and enhance my instruction.

IEP Intervention Strategies

As part of the IEP development process of my EDTE 637: Preparation of Individualized Learning Prescriptions course, I created a plan that applied learning strategies to a chosen language-based learning disabled student’s IEP goals. The goals are across the academic spectrum and include literacy, math, study skills, and occupational therapy. Arrays of instructional strategies accompany each goal and include strategies such as the utilization of a reader and scribe, organizational strategies, and assistive technology. A plan for support from the special education teacher is also included should this student learn in an inclusive classroom. This was a very helpful experience because it allowed me to analyze an entire IEP and specially decide how to best help this individual student achieve each educational goal. This artifact meets this standard in that it shows my understanding of the implications of an individual’s exceptional condition and my selection, adaptation, and creation of materials. As I continue teaching my ELN students I will modify my instructional plans based on ongoing analysis of the individual’s learning progress.

Individualized Transition Plan

This artifact was completed for my EDTE 630: Human Resources & Career Education in Special Education class and it is a combination of several related assignments that include the development of a Career Interest Inventory for a specific ELN student, the analysis and reflection of the interest inventory, and the ultimate Individualized Transition Plan that I created from my analysis and synthesis of the gathered information. The Career Interest Inventory required that I give a short case study on my chosen student whom I wished to help transition from high school to post-secondary life. I administered the test that was a series of questions about different areas of work and education that, when scored, gave specific insight into where this student’s interests and passions truly lie. Then I analyzed the data and came to conclusions about how this student should proceed in terms of his transition. Next, I took that information and data and created a specific plan not unlike an IEP with goals and objectives to meet those goals of what this student should do to succeed. I feel that this artifact expresses my grounding in this standard because it shows my development of individualized transition plans, such as transitions from secondary settings to a variety of postsecondary work and learning contexts. I constructed this individualized plan into carefully selected shorter-range goals and objectives taking into consideration my student’s abilities and needs, the learning environment, and a myriad of cultural and linguistic factors, which I will continue to do for my students to help ensure their success within school and in their futures as contributing members of society.

Microphone Lesson Plan

For my EDTE 629: Teaching Students with LD & ED class I constructed and implemented this lesson on the different types and uses of microphones in my Principles of Recording class that I teach at Chelsea School. Being that my students have language-based learning disabilities, they especially flourish with hands-on activities, and I made sure to plan this lesson with this in mind, as I try and do with all of my lessons. This lesson includes a discussion and demonstration of the different kinds of microphones and how they each work, and what their uses are. Once the class had a grounding in this knowledge, we moved on to the independent practice portion where the students had to exemplify their knowledge by capturing different sounds from the around the school with the appropriate microphone and justify why they used a certain mic for a certain sound. This lesson was a lot of fun and the students seemed to really enjoy themselves during the process. I included this artifact with this standard because it is a clear example of my understanding the implications of an individual’s exceptional condition and how I use that information to guide my selection, adaptation, and creation of materials, and my use of powerful instructional variables.



Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium The teacher plans instruction based upon knowledge of subject matter, students, the community, and curriculum goals. CEC Content Standards for All Beginning Special Education Teachers Individualized decision-making and instruction is at the center of special education practice. Special educators develop long-range individualized instructional plans anchored in both general and special curricula. In addition, special educators systematically translate these individualized plans into carefully selected shorter-range goals and objectives taking into consideration an individual’s abilities and needs, the learning environment, and a myriad of cultural and linguistic factors. Individualized instructional plans emphasize explicit modeling and efficient guided practice to assure acquisition and fluency through maintenance and generalization. Understanding of these factors as well as the implications of an individual’s exceptional condition, guides the special educator’s selection, adaptation, and creation of materials, and the use of powerful instructional variables. Instructional plans are modified based on ongoing analysis of the individual’s learning progress. Moreover, special educators facilitate this instructional planning in a collaborative context including the individuals with exceptionalities, families, professional colleagues, and personnel from other agencies as appropriate. Special educators also develop a variety of individualized transition plans, such as transitions from preschool to elementary school and from secondary settings to a variety of postsecondary work and learning contexts. Special educators are comfortable using appropriate technologies to support instructional planning and individualized instruction.
Artifact Unit Plans	Rationale This artifact is a series of unit plans that I constructed for my TV Productions 1 classes that I teach at Chelsea School as the Media Productions Teacher. The plans are done in Chelsea School’s unit plan format. These unit plans are an overview of the units that I have constructed using the goals and standards from my curriculum and they take the students from a firm grounding in the basic concepts and skills of video production, storytelling, and media productions to guiding the students through a series of different types of video projects that target and enhance specific skills along the way. To enrich these skills and give them real-world significance, the units include field trips to Access Montgomery, Montgomery County’s cable access station. More on Access Montgomery can be found in standard 4 under “Cable Access Partnership.” This shows my understanding of the importance of instructional planning in a collaborative context including the individuals with exceptionalities, professional colleagues, and personnel from other agencies as appropriate. These unit plans include a myriad of different strategies that appeal to diverse learning styles and different levels of ELN students. This artifact conveys my knowledge of this standard by showing my ability to develop long-range individualized instructional plans anchored in both general and special curricula taking into consideration an individual’s abilities and needs, the learning environment, and a myriad of cultural and linguistic factors. Also, these plans express my selection, adaptation, and creation of materials, and the use of powerful instructional variables. I will continue to plan in the long-term and short-term sense and use appropriate technologies to support and enhance my instruction.

IEP Intervention Strategies	As part of the IEP development process of my EDTE 637: Preparation of Individualized Learning Prescriptions course, I created a plan that applied learning strategies to a chosen language-based learning disabled student’s IEP goals. The goals are across the academic spectrum and include literacy, math, study skills, and occupational therapy. Arrays of instructional strategies accompany each goal and include strategies such as the utilization of a reader and scribe, organizational strategies, and assistive technology. A plan for support from the special education teacher is also included should this student learn in an inclusive classroom. This was a very helpful experience because it allowed me to analyze an entire IEP and specially decide how to best help this individual student achieve each educational goal. This artifact meets this standard in that it shows my understanding of the implications of an individual’s exceptional condition and my selection, adaptation, and creation of materials. As I continue teaching my ELN students I will modify my instructional plans based on ongoing analysis of the individual’s learning progress.

Individualized Transition Plan	This artifact was completed for my EDTE 630: Human Resources & Career Education in Special Education class and it is a combination of several related assignments that include the development of a Career Interest Inventory for a specific ELN student, the analysis and reflection of the interest inventory, and the ultimate Individualized Transition Plan that I created from my analysis and synthesis of the gathered information. The Career Interest Inventory required that I give a short case study on my chosen student whom I wished to help transition from high school to post-secondary life. I administered the test that was a series of questions about different areas of work and education that, when scored, gave specific insight into where this student’s interests and passions truly lie. Then I analyzed the data and came to conclusions about how this student should proceed in terms of his transition. Next, I took that information and data and created a specific plan not unlike an IEP with goals and objectives to meet those goals of what this student should do to succeed. I feel that this artifact expresses my grounding in this standard because it shows my development of individualized transition plans, such as transitions from secondary settings to a variety of postsecondary work and learning contexts. I constructed this individualized plan into carefully selected shorter-range goals and objectives taking into consideration my student’s abilities and needs, the learning environment, and a myriad of cultural and linguistic factors, which I will continue to do for my students to help ensure their success within school and in their futures as contributing members of society.

Microphone Lesson Plan	For my EDTE 629: Teaching Students with LD & ED class I constructed and implemented this lesson on the different types and uses of microphones in my Principles of Recording class that I teach at Chelsea School. Being that my students have language-based learning disabilities, they especially flourish with hands-on activities, and I made sure to plan this lesson with this in mind, as I try and do with all of my lessons. This lesson includes a discussion and demonstration of the different kinds of microphones and how they each work, and what their uses are. Once the class had a grounding in this knowledge, we moved on to the independent practice portion where the students had to exemplify their knowledge by capturing different sounds from the around the school with the appropriate microphone and justify why they used a certain mic for a certain sound. This lesson was a lot of fun and the students seemed to really enjoy themselves during the process. I included this artifact with this standard because it is a clear example of my understanding the implications of an individual’s exceptional condition and how I use that information to guide my selection, adaptation, and creation of materials, and my use of powerful instructional variables.