Portfolio Part One

Portfolio Part One

The Learner and the Learning

Meghan McGurl

Vermont State University- Castleton Campus

Spring 2024
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Introduction

Being a learner and actively learning has different meanings to me. Learning allows us

to grow in our knowledge of course content, but it also helps us to understand ourselves and

how we learn better. Allowing ourselves to learn will ultimately expand the opportunities

available to us, allowing us to flourish in any direction we choose. In addition to personal

growth, being a learner will help us to become more open-minded. Learning about various

cultures and beliefs will help us see others who are different from ourselves from a new

perspective. Throughout our lives, we will continue to be learners, expanding our knowledge

through experience and learning about others’ cultures and beliefs. Using these experiences to

enrich the perspectives of those around us helps to create a much more understanding and

inclusive world.

Performance Criterion 1.1

Candidates use understanding of learning theory (in areas such as cognitive, linguistic, social emotional
and physical) to design appropriate learning experiences.

Description

In various aspects of teaching, we often have to adapt to the needs of each of our

students. Throughout my placements in various districts and personal work experience, I have

seen how students can grow in the classroom when teachers are willing to adapt to practices that

will work best for the student. Determining the ways students learn best and are the most

engaged will not only benefit the amount students are learning, but it will also significantly
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impact the classroom's learning environment in a positive way.

In my placements, I have seen various special education and general education teachers

adapt to their students. These adaptations include changing the ways information is presented,

accommodations to students with disabilities, and understanding various situations students are

going through. Considering all student’s needs when teaching allows students to feel comfortable

in school, ultimately creating an inclusive environment for each student to flourish to their full

potential.

In my work experience, I have learned to work with the students to create lessons that

best suit how they learn. While working as a summer school teacher at a rural New York school

district, I had the opportunity to teach both special education and history. In this experience, I

was able to grow very much as an educator. On the first day of my classes, I had each of my

students fill out a survey in which they could express which ways they have learned the best and

what has not worked for them. After reading through the data, I was able to create lesson plans

that would be much more educationally beneficial to each student in the classroom. Working

with the students rather than going against what worked for them was beneficial for each of the

student’s learning targets when taking the class. In addition, adapting to students’ needs who

have disabilities has also helped aid students' overall experience in the classroom. Meeting

students, whether it is allowing extra time, modifying assignments, and/or providing more

direction, has dramatically helped each of the students I have had the pleasure of working with.
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Salient Evidence & Analysis

Learning theory helps to create new skills and concepts for students to learn in class.

Throughout the research, I chose, The Influence of Service Learning on Students' Personal and

Social Development (Simons, 2004). This article speaks about students participating in

community-based educational opportunities. The study showed that students who participated in

this type of learning were more aware of diversity, political awareness, and community

self-efficacy. In addition, these students did better on civic engagement exams. I believe

community-based learning is very important to show students the real-world problems they will

face once they leave high school. Giving students this set of skills will allow them to be more

prepared for the future and what they may encounter down the line in terms of their community,

the country, or even the world.

While working as a substitute teacher, I have noticed the importance of learning beyond

the classroom in order to have students make connections to real-world situations. I have had the

opportunity to work alongside the Granville High School Future Farmers of America program.

While working with this program, I judged competitions based on public speaking skills and

attended field trips where the students taught young children about the animals they worked with

(FFA Rubric). During the public speaking competitions, students are encouraged to speak about

policies and laws that have heavily affected the farming communities in their area and

nationwide. Seeing how students can thrive in these environments and connect what they have

learned in school to the real world has been eye-opening. Seeing students who have grown their

confidence in class to finally public speaking in front of an audience is inspiring. Public speaking

is a forever communication skill that is linked to self concept and self confidence. Working with
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this competition showed me how the teachers used not only modeling and practice, but an

understanding of learning theory and individual learning needs to help each student be

successful.

Reflection

In the future, I plan to have my students participate in civic engagement activities in order

to better develop their thinking beyond the classroom setting. By doing this, students will be

better able to relate what they have learned to real-life scenarios and learn why what they learn in

school really matters. Students will benefit significantly from civic engagement activities

throughout high school. In addition, I will encourage my students to participate in appropriate,

mature political debates (Debate Prep Worksheet). By having students debate in a classroom

setting, they will learn how to speak and portray their beliefs effectively without discrediting

someone else’s beliefs. Creating an environment for students to expand their knowledge outside

the classroom will greatly help students thrive within their educational experiences.

Performance Criterion 2.1

Candidates use an understanding of individual differences to design inclusive learning

experiences

Description

It is imperative that teachers create an inclusive learning environment for all students

within the classroom and outside the classroom. Many students have varying needs that must

be addressed in order to allow students to thrive within their educational experience. Part of

the job of a teacher is to develop skills and strategies that not only meet individual needs but

address the larger learning community and allow people to be included at their own level
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and capabilities, while sharing their ideas and building new skills. This is especially relevant

in the middle school graders where the friendships and role of the peer group are so much a

part of the identity of the student. Being able to work with friends and develop ways to share

and communicate are high interest goals for this age group. A successful teacher balances

not only creating an environment where everyone can be included, but all can participate.

Salient Evidence & Analysis

The second article, which discusses assistive technology and how it can benefit students

in the classroom, is entitled Helping Teachers Make Informed Decisions When Selecting

Assistive Technology For Secondary Students With Disabilities (Satsangi, 2019). This article

comments not only the importance of assistive technology but also ways to choose the best

technology based on each student’s needs. As teachers, it is crucial that we work with each

student to find their personal preference in order for the student to be as successful as possible.

In addition, when choosing what assistive technology should be used in the classroom, it is

essential to consider how each piece of technology will affect the lessons being taught in class

and how they are being taught.

Finally, the social implications of assistive technology are also discussed in the article.

Being conscious of social implications and working with the student to see their comfort level in

the classroom will significantly help in the selection process. A survey is included on page three

of the article to determine what technology would benefit the student at hand for the upcoming

school year. It is very important that we work with our students in order to support them properly

on their educational journey (Satsangi, 2019).

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While working and observing in classrooms, I have noticed the importance of assistive

technology across multiple disabilities and needs of varying severity. Through my experiences, I

have seen how assistive technology can significantly enhance a student’s educational and social

experiences in the classroom. For example, a student I had the opportunity to work 1:1 as a

paraeducator during the 2021-2022 school year benefited greatly from the use of assistive

technology. Some strategies that worked for this student were fidgets and a sensory sack, which

helped the student relieve stress and self-regulate. When this student was not present in school, I

also had the opportunity to work with other students who used assistive technology. The students

I worked with used TouchChat technology, which allowed me to see how more advanced

technology helped within the classroom. The TouchChat technology allowed these students to

communicate more effectively with their peers and educators (TouchChat Document). Through

my experiences, I recognize the importance of using assistive technology within the classroom in

order to allow students to thrive.

In order to ensure inclusive classrooms run smoothly, it is important to make sure the

teachers, paraeducators, and students are all on the same page. In order to do this one helpful

tool can be a checklist used to ensure each step of the students daily routine is achieved. I

created a checklist intended for paraeducators to use each day (Para Checklist Assignment).

Creating checklists will help the learning of students with differing abilities and ensure each

child's needs are met throughout the day.

Reflection

Thinking about my future as an educator, it will be of the utmost importance for me to

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create an inclusive classroom for students with varying needs as well as students of diverse

cultures. Creating an inclusive classroom environment will allow all students to have a safe

space in school where they can express their needs openly. Through my work experiences and

observations, I have been able to receive a better understanding of how to create an inclusive

classroom for all. Although I have had many experiences that helped me better understand how

to make this environment, I will need to continue to work on this as times continue to change.

Attending professional development opportunities and researching new practices and assistive

technology will allow me to continue developing as an educator.

Performance Criterion 3.1

Candidates design learning environments that support individual learning marked by active
engagement.

Description:

Creating an environment in which students are able to become actively engaged in the

classroom will vastly improve their educational experience. Many students need this type of

engagement and activity in order to understand the content at hand fully. Working with the

students to find ways to help their engagement will benefit their learning greatly. For example,

a lesson I taught involved World War I propaganda and having the students interpret the

photos. Through this lesson there were multiple stations the students went to with various

examples of propaganda. The students then answered a set of questions at each station before

moving onto the next. This activity helped the students work together to interpret the

propaganda and allowed the students to move throughout class which continuously kept their

attention. The lesson taught caught the attention of students. The students became much more
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engaged due to their movement and ability to work with peers to solve questions.

Salient Evidence & Analysis

Through research, I have found two articles that pertain to helping students become

actively engaged in the classroom. The first article is “ Effective Classroom Management at the

Beginning of the School Year (Emmer, 1980). As we know, the first day of school can be a day

full of challenges and anxiety. However, this article explores why creating structure in the

classroom is imperative on the first day. By creating a sense of structure on the first day of

school, students are able to know what to expect in the days, weeks, and months following. In

addition to creating structure, it is also vital that we are able to create an environment in which

every student is able to reach their highest potential throughout the year. The article discusses

that this kind of environment is achievable with the use of classroom rules. Although you can

make these rules and expectations on your own, it is also important to consider involving the

students in this discussion in order to verify that they understand why specific rules and/or

expectations are put in place. This article focuses on elementary students; however, many of the

lessons translate very quickly into a high school classroom setting (Emmer, 1980).

Creating a positive classroom environment in which every student feels valued has been

very important. While working as a summer school teacher, I had three rules previously set for

the classroom and displayed for the students as they walked in (Classroom Rules). Each of these

rules created were not only for the students but for myself as the educator. I then spent time the

first day of class asking the students what the expectations for class should be. After we were

done, I hung the classroom rules on the wall so the students were constantly reminded of the
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rules they helped create. In doing this, the students listened to the rules more and were able to

hold themselves accountable if a rule was broken. In addition, by creating expectations on the

first day, the students were able to know what to expect in the days and weeks following.

Finding ways to include students in their learning will help to engage them more in what they

are learning and how they are learning.

In addition to knowing the rules and feeling involved in their creation, activities that

allow students to make predictions, work collaboratively and share input engages them and lets

them communicate with friends and peers. In a recent lesson, we were working on the simulation

that if the earth’s population was reduced to 100 people that would represent the whole earth and

we made predictions about language, population, access to health care, access to fresh water,

religions and more (If The World Was Only 100 People Worksheet). Teaching this lesson went

very well with very little redirection needed. The majority of students were very shocked by the

statistics they learned through a video watched in comparison to their previous answers on the

worksheet. In the future, I would love to teach this lesson again. However, I would like to

expand upon this and have the students pick a statistic that they were surprised by to research.

This would allow the students to further delve into their curiosity of the topics and learn more

about the world we live in.

Reflection

As I continue in my journey to become an educator, I will continue to find new ways to

implement classroom management. Including the students in the process of creating rules and

expectations will also help to ensure they are holding each other and themselves accountable for
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their actions. Although classroom management can take time, it is incredibly important to ensure

there will be a safe, inclusive, and productive classroom environment for all students.

Conclusion

Creating environments in which students are able to learn from hands-on experiences

greatly helps the students to find their passions. Finding students' passions will help the students

to find their niche for post-high school life. In addition, Adapting teaching methods and styles to

support students of differing needs. Whether students have language barriers, educational

barriers, or need redirecting, we must adapt to ensure that students are able to thrive in their

classroom environment. Fostering a positive classroom environment is incredibly important to

ensure that all students feel they are in a safe learning environment. Remembering the importance

of inclusivity, civic engagement, and classroom management will substantially help me in the

future to encourage students to participate actively in their learning. Ensuring students feel

represented within the classroom will help to build a strong rapport with each student, thus

creating a cohesive classroom. As an educator, I will always strive to help my students thrive

within and outside of the classroom to develop them as learners and individuals.
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Works Cited

Emmer, E. T., Evertson, C. M., & Anderson, L. M. (1980). Effective classroom management at

the beginning of the school year. The elementary school journal, 80(5), 219-231.

Satsangi, R., Miller, B., & Savage, M. N. (2019). Helping teachers make informed decisions

when selecting assistive technology for Secondary students with disabilities. Preventing School

Failure: Alternative Education for Children and Youth, 63(2), 97–104.

Simons, L., & Cleary, B. (2004.). The influence of service learning on students’ personal and

social…, 54(4), 307-319.