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

	Standards 4 - 6 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 #4: Instructional Strategies Special educators possess a repertoire of evidence-based instructional strategies to individualize instruction for individuals with exceptional learning needs. Special educators select, adapt, and use these instructional strategies to promote positive learning results in general and special curricula and to appropriately modify learning environments for individuals with exceptional learning needs. One of my objectives for both my teacher assisting and student teaching placements was to develop a teacher hierarchy that was based off both research and experience. This hierarchy emphasizes the importance of bringing in all the senses and hitting all the different ways students learn both of which have been researched and advocated. You can find this hierarchy here. Content Standard #5: Learning Environments and Social Interactions Special educators actively create learning environments for individuals with exceptional learning needs that foster cultural understanding, safety, and emotional well-being, positive social interactions, and active engagement of individuals with exceptional learning needs. In addition, special educators foster environments in which diversity is valued and individuals are taught to live harmoniously and productively in a culturally diverse world. During our first student teaching placement, we were assigned the task of describing the characteristics of the class we were going to teach in. When I examined the characteristics of my classroom closer, I liked the dynamics of them so much that I worked really hard to maintain them when I took over all the teaching responsibilities. Here is the description I wrote. Content Standard #6: Communication Special educators understand typical and atypical language development and the ways in which exceptional conditions can interact with an individual’s experience with and use of language. Special educators use individualized strategies to enhance language development and teach communication skills to individuals with exceptional learning needs. Often times, students walk into the classroom with various levels of language development. Some students are highly adept at communicating, while others have to take their time to form their sentences. One such student of mine has difficulty communicating due to his pronunciation of words and small vocabulary. This assessment was conducted to help place him into a A-O language program that would help him develop his speaking skills.