Grand Valley State University
College of Education
ED441/442 Curriculum for CI/EI
E-portfolio

	Standards 1 - 3 Below you will find a brief explanation of each standard. Below each explanation is a link to view a sample of my work that meets the standard.
Home Philosophy Resume Standards 1 - 3 Standards 4-6 Standards 7 - 10	Content Standard # 1 Foundations Special educators understand the field as an evolving and changing discipline based on philosophies, evidence-based principles and theories, relevant laws and policies, diverse and historical points of view, and human issues that have historically influenced the field of special education. One of the more common methods of examining human issues that affects student behavior is a Functional Behavioral Assessment. The functional behavioral assessment is a research based technique that examines closely the human and environmental issues that affect how a student behaves and seeks to answer the question as to why they are behaving that way. Here is an example of a functional behavioral assessment I conducted during my student teaching. Content Standard #2: Development and Characteristics of Learners Special educators know and demonstrate respect for their students first as unique human beings. Special educators understand the similarities and differences in human development and the characteristics between and among individuals with and without exceptional learning needs. They understand how exceptional conditions can interact with the domains of human development and they use this knowledge to respond to the varying abilities and behaviors of individuals with exceptional learning needs. During the course of their educations, students go through phases of development that are predictable. During my coursework at Grand Valley State University, I devoted a research project to studying these differences in student thinking at the middle school level. Here are the results of that study. Content Standard #3: Individual Learning Differences Special educators understand the effects that an exceptional condition can have on an individual’s learning in school and throughout life. Special educators understand that the beliefs, traditions, and values across and within cultures can affect relationships among and between students, their families, and the school community. One of the students I’ve had the privilege of working with during my first student teaching placement was a student by the name of Federico. He is a student who was diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment whose primary language is Spanish. He is in the process of learning English and one of my tasks was to assess his progress. Here are the results of a running record I conducted with him to establish a baseline for future assessments.