The competent teacher understands the diverse characteristics and abilities of each student and how individuals develop and learn within the context of their social, economic, cultural, linguistic, and academic experiences. The teacher uses these experiences to create instructional opportunities that maximize student learning. 

The first artifact you are seeing is a presentation that I completed to show the various ways in which one can go about teaching individuals who experience learning disabilities. 

Teaching Strategies Presentation: 

The presentation that I have created serves to display strategies for teaching students in the middle grade and high school grades who have various learning disabilities, created in the Fall of 2018 for a class that provides instruction on how to bring a quality education to students who have exceptional qualities while following IDEA. This presentation is my first artifact, and it provides three different strategies and how they may be applied to a classroom, which I have learned in the process of becoming an expert on learning disabilities. Examples that I have included range from how we administer tests and quizzes, methods for presenting, and how an environment can be adjusted to impact the learning of a child. 

With the intention to teach students in high school, I have created this presentation as a resource to provide instruction to individuals with a learning disability. According to the Illinois Professional Teaching Standard 1B, "understands how each student constructs knowledge, acquires skills, and develops effective and efficient critical thinking and problem-solving capabilities," my artifact displays this standard because the strategies provided are adaptive to each student as a unique individual. Having the knowledge of students with learning disabilities is important for the reason that we must have an understanding of what individuals with various characteristics and abilities may ask for based on their own unique lives. Each student will be different in what they may ask and therefore, having multiple strategies on how to address those requirements is crucial in ensuring an equal and quality education for every student with the acknowledgment that there are diverse learning styles. 

Since each student may ask for something different than another, the strategies I have chosen are applicable to a classroom as a whole or may be subtle enough as a way to respect privacy and ensure that there is a sense of equal opportunities for education. This is compliant with the standard 1K, stating, "facilitates a learning community in which individual differences are respected." For example, my artifact displays that having an environment that is not cluttered will affect the class as a whole and not bring attention to any one student who has requested an environment that allows for a better focus due to minimal distractions. The elements of this presentation are crucial in ensuring that all students have their right to an education of great quality and also in providing a level field to work on. 

The second artifact you see is an essay I completed in my Special Education class in the Fall of 2018. 

Learning Disabilities Essay: 

The essay that I have written is created to display what a learning disability is and how it is impactful on lives. This was created in the Fall of 2018 for a class that provided instruction on how to bring quality education to those who have exceptional qualities following IDEA. This paper is my second artifact and it covers learning disabilities from Dyslexia to ADHD. 

Intending to teach in a high school setting, this document will be a resource to give background information on various learning disabilities and how they may impact the lives of students walking into my classroom.  According to the Illinois Professional Teaching Standard 1D, "understands the impact of cognitive, emotional, physical, and sensory disabilities on learning and communication pursuant to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act", my artifact displays this standard by representing how learning disabilities are impactful to the lives of individuals experiencing them, particularly in a classroom setting. Being able to identify these characteristics will be helpful in working with those students because we will have a better understanding of how their brains are processing the information that we are teaching and how to differentiate for them to be successful and having an equal opportunity to learn.