EDU 619

Dawn Lindauer

Cross Categorical Special Education e-Portfolio Course Reflection

Viterbo University

EDUC 619-Collaboration and Transition: The School and Community

Artifact Description:

The artifact that I have chosen to represent my knowledge and understanding in the areas of collaboration and transition is my “Personal Resource Guide for Transition Planning.” This guide includes multiple resources that will enable me to provide my students with an abundance of resources to help them and their families in the transition planning process. My Personal Resource Guide for Transition Planning aligns with Standard 7: "Beginning special education professionals collaborate with families, other educators, related service providers, individuals with exceptionalities, and personnel from community agencies in culturally responsive ways to address the needs of individuals with exceptionalities across a range of learning experiences." The guide is full of resources that my students and their families will need to be successful after high school rather it be going on to get a post high school education or entering the work force.

Professional Growth:

Being that I am new to the special education field, I came into this course with very little knowledge of the transition process. I thought transition planning was meeting with a student, asking them what they wanted to do after high school, and writing a goal that either had them researching technical colleges, or looking for employment. This class has taught me the importance of assessment and building relationships with both the students and their families. I have learned that I need to get to know my students before I can help them reach their full potential. This course has given me the tools and resources I need to provide my students and their families with appropriate transition planning based on their interests and needs.

This course has also helped me understand the daily struggles that families endure trying to help their special needs students succeed in school. There are many obstacles they face, including socioeconomic status, language and cultural diversity. As I reflect on my life and where God has placed me, I know that through my service I can help these families overcome these barriers. I will continue to do his work to the best of my ability and with great integrity, helping my families and their children transition into life after high school.

Application of CEC Standards:

The following CEC Initial Level Special Education Preparation Standards described below illustrate how I have gained the background knowledge and skills necessary to conduct and understand assessment procedures. A brief description of the standards focused on throughout this course are as follows:

CEC Initial Preparation Standard 3: Beginning special education professionals use knowledge of general and specialized curricula to individualize learning for individuals with exceptionalities.

Through this course, I learned the importance of transition planning for my students and how to create measurable transition goals that are appropriate to meet their needs and likes. By creating a personal resource guide for transition planning, I have access to multiple resources to help assess and guide my students in the transition process and to ensure I am meeting their transition needs and helping them prepare for a career after high school.

CEC Initial Preparation Standard 5: Beginning special education professionals select, adapt, and use a repertoire of evidence-based instructional strategies to advance learning of individuals with exceptionalities.

Through this course I gained a lot of knowledge and experimented with many transition assessment tools that will help me to meet the needs of all my students. The creation of my, Personal Resource Guide for Transition Planning has given me the opportunity to create a document that I can use during lesson planning to create lesson assignments utilizing web-based transition assessment sites. For example, students are able to create portfolios on-line through a site called the Choices Planner.

CEC Initial Preparation Standard 7: Beginning special education professionals collaborate with families, other educators, related service providers, individuals with exceptionalities, and personnel from community agencies in culturally responsive ways to address the needs of individuals with exceptionalities across a range of learning experiences.

Through this course, I have learned the importance of including everyone on the IEP team in the transition process. All team members and family must be involved to provide input and ensure the student receives the best education possible and their needs are being met. Parents are their child’s first teacher and can often share a child’s interests and likes as well as their strengths and weaknesses. Other teachers can also provide valuable input on the child’s strengths too. One of the resources in my Personal Resource Guide for Transition Planning is a timeline and the Positive Student Profile which can be filled out by the students’ parents or the regular education teachers.

Impact of Student Learners:

Prior to this course my students and I met and discussed what they wanted to do after high school. We then met with their parents, during the IEP, to create a transition goal based on our conversation. After gaining the knowledge and understanding of transition planning, my students are utilizing Career Cruising, a web-based assessment tool, which allows them to explore options, interests, and aspirations. Students are having fun going through this process and learning that they have so many more options! Some of my students have changed their minds and are taking courses or setting up college visits based on what they have learned about themselves during Career Cruising. Some of them will go on to get some type of certificate or degree and some will go right to work, but each of them have learned what their options are and how to research to find out the best fit for them.