Artifact: Contextual Factors Analysis

Performance: 2(d) Brings multiple perspectives to the discussion of content, including attention to learners’ personal, family, and community experiences and cultural norms.

2(f) Accesses resources, supports, and specialized assistance and services to meet particular learning differences or needs.  

Essential Knowledge: 2(g) Understands and identifies differences in approaches to learning and performance and knows how to design instruction that uses each student’s strengths to promote growth.
2 (k) Knows how to access information about the values and norms of diverse cultures and communities, cultures, and community resources into instruction.

Critical Dispositions: 2(m) Respects learners as individuals with differing personal and family backgrounds and various skills, abilities, perspectives, talents, and interests. 

Description: The Contextual Factors Analysis (CFA) was an assignment due before the start of student teaching and required my thorough analysis of my student and community population as well as my school's key features. This information was to be used to help guide my preliminary instruction as I learned more about my students each day.

Rationale: The CFA allowed me to break down cultural and community norms and think about what additional resources I may need in order to meet all of my learners’ needs. I integrated data from the Maine Department of Education as well as my own personal knowledge of the area to create a thoughtful analysis of potential problems and additional services or instructional modifications my students may need. Taking the time to research my community and the student population gave me a better understanding of those I would be teaching, it also helped me to plan for accommodations in my lessons and think about ways I could better meet student needs.

Artifact: IEP Observation

Performance: 2(b) Makes appropriate and timely provisions for individual students with particular learning differences or needs.
2(f) Access resources, supports, and specialized assistance and services to meet particular learning differences or needs.

Essential Knowledge: 2(h) Understands students’ exceptional learning needs (both disabilities and giftedness) and knows how to use strategies and resources to serve those needs.
2 (j) Understands that learners bring assets for learning based on their individual experiences abilities, talents, and prior learning, and peer and social group interactions, as well as language, culture, family, and community values. 

Critical Dispositions: 2 (l) Believes that all learners can achieve at high levels and persists in helping each learner reach his/her full potential.
2 (n) Makes learners feel valued and helps them learn to value each other.

Description: During the semester I attended an IEP for one of my students that was a determination of services meeting. This artifact is the reflection about that meeting, what I observed, and learned from it. The student, parent, and several staff members were present with the goal to hear the students concern about the potential need for services and discuss some recent behavior and academic issues troubling the student. 

Rationale: Attending this IEP was very important to me as it was for one of my students that had been in a large amount of disciplinary trouble at school lately and who had a sharp decline in his grades. The student had burned many bridges with many teachers since the beginning of the year, and his severe behavior problems were forcing him to face disciplinary actions and having to change classes. I had bonded with this student and he had given me no behavior problems and so I made sure that I was present at the meeting to talk about his strengths as well as combat the clear problems he was having. This artifacts demonstrates how deeply I believe that no matter the circumstances all students can and should experience success in school and that I will make the time to collaborate with other members in the school and parents to do what is best for the student. While I felt my student needed to make adjustments and take responsibility for his actions, this artifact also demonstrates that I valued him, believed in him, and chose to focus on his positive actions as a way to evoke a change in his behavior.