1. Teaching Diverse Students 

This cultural response essay that I completed was part of a course I took within my program that focused on ethics and social justice within the field of education and learning about how to be an advocate for change as educators, to work towards promoting restorative justice both within education and beyond.  Standard 1 highlights the importance of the competent teacher being able to help meet individuals where they are and adjust learning to fit varying social, economic, cultural, linguistic, and academic backgrounds or experiences in order to allow for all students to reach their highest potential overall as a result.  It is our duty as educators to abide by and uphold these cultural responsibilities and address differences in our classroom in a manner where they are celebrated and each student feels welcome and represented in some way, regardless of where they come from.

This artifact meets Knowledge Indicator 1F which states, "The competent teacher understands his or her own personal perspective and biases and their effects on one's teaching."  Through the development of this essay, from the brainstorming stage to the final product, and each step in between, each student was coming to terms with their own personal perspectives and biases, perhaps for the first time.  We were also challenged to think about the way in which these biases can and will come into play in our teaching profession.  This shows how diverse characteristics of students are met within varying contexts; especially regarding social, economic, cultural, and linguistic components and is also why this artifact meets this standard, because it brings personal perspective and biases to light and allowed us to wrestle with some difficult ideas and thoughts that we may have regarding varying people or people groups and how this connects to and is directly related to the teaching profession. 

Creating this cultural response essay, I was able to come to terms with my own perosnal perspectives and biases overall, but more importantly how they will effect and directly impact my teaching and the way in which I approach social interactions with other colleagues, students, and their families and/or guardians.  Having this opportunity to self-reflect on my own biases and look more internally, I was able to realize some things about myself that I had never quite come to terms with before, especially regarding the lack the diversity that I experienced growing up, all the way up until almost the end of my college years and beyond.  I never really thought of how cookie cutter my upbringing was and how I had never come into contact with people of different backgrounds than me, until much later in my life.  It was interesting to learn these things as I dug deeper and crafted this essay.  I began thinking about how I wanted to change this for myself moving forward so that I could better prepare myself for the varying experiences, backgrounds, cultures, etc. that would be entering my classroom as I got closer to becoming a fully licensed teacher.  I want to be a teacher who celebrates differences and ensures that all students feel welcomed and represented within their classroom learning environment. 

I had the opportunity to create a Functional Behavior Assessment in one of my special education classes that I took during my program, where I was able to practice data collection, observation, and implementing behavioral interventions.  Throughout the development of this FBA (Functional Behavior Assessment) data report that I compiled through monitoring student behavior and tracking changes that were observed over the course of time, there was clear indication of how a teacher goes through the analyzing process and uses acquired information to make informed decisions for student success.  Within the creation of this FBA data report, this was a project that was done in stages and was meant to set a student up for more overall success that would promote continued growth and more individualized access to the student's education and learning environment.  This was a fruitful experience that equipped me with the necessary skills to be able to approach differentiation from a behavioral standpoint in order to meet students where they are and come up with creative ways to set them up for success in their educational endeavors. 

This artifact meets performance indicator 1H which states, "The competent teacher analyzes and uses student information to design instruction that meets the needs of students and leads to ongoing growth and achievement."  When conducting an FBA (Functional Behavior Assessment), there are many components that go into it.  It is meant to determine the function of a student's behavior to create a plan for moving forward on how to address any challenging behaviors that may be having an adverse effect on the student's access to their education.  That being said, when conducting this FBA and then elaborating on the data that was drawn from the assessment that was done, this was an opportunity to learn how to analyze and use student information to construct instruction in a way that meets all student needs and promotes the continuation of the positive behavior that is being strived for overall.  

Constructing this FBA data report allowed me to learn how to differentiate for varying student needs beyond just academic challenges that students may face.  This was a mix of meeting both academic and behavioral needs for a student so that they could have specific supports and interventions put in place for them within the context of their specific learning environment.  It also taught me how to appropriately implement positive reinforcement to strengthen and increase the likelihood that the positive behavior would continue.  This was also a way in which I was able to learn how to go about creating clear boundaries, rules, and expectations for students, so that they know what their routine looks like and how they should be behaving in order to earn their reinforcer that they are working for.  I also realized the importance of implementing a rewards system that utilizes external reinforcers with students, not just within special education, but for all students as a whole in order to increase motivation and work towards promoting more overall student self-assessment that once again connects back to performance indicator 1H regarding the component that clearly outlines meeting needs of students and doing so in a way that leads to ongoing growth and achievement.