School of Education Portfolio University of Wisconsin Platteville Artifact Reflection Title of Experience/Artifact: Date Experience Completed: SHI Project/

/ Wisconsin Center for Blind disc golf Spring 2014

Describe your educational experience/artifact:

My first artifact is a class project based on using the SHI assessment program to find and use a grant for a specific school district. We started off by choosing a school district that appealed to us, we then used the SHI module questions to identify the strengths and weaknesses of our school district. When our weaknesses were identified we then decided which specific weakness to pursue and created an action plan to strengthen this weakness. After that, we chose a grant, and then we created a narrative statement, needs assessment, and significance statement. Upon completion of that we then created a budget and budget narrative. We put all of our information into presentation form and presented our work to a mock school board. Our presentations were videotaped. The second artifact is an experience I was able to participate in. For our Teaching Exceptional Children class we hosted a field trip for the Wisconsin Center for Blind and Visual Impairment. They brought students to participate in a campus tour as well as adaptive disc golf. We were partnered with a student from the Wisconsin Center for the Blind and ate lunch with our participant as well as guided them through the disc golf course.
Wisconsin Teacher Standard Alignment

I believe these artifacts best align with WSTDL Collaboration: Teachers are connected with other teachers and the community. The teacher fosters relationships with school colleagues, parents, and agencies in the larger community to support pupil learning and well-being and acts with integrity, fairness and in an ethical manner. These artifacts align with this standard because during the process of the SHI project we collaborated with our group members in order to determine the weaknesses of our school and settle on on a grant that we felt was appropriate to apply for. We also collaborated by giving and receiving feedback on creating all the documents for the SHI project, as well as deciding on what information, and how to present it to our mock school board. We collaborated with the Wisconsin Center for Blind and Visual Impairment by proposing this field trip to them and organizing the entire day. We also collaborated with them by contacting their school and gathering information on each individual student to prepare ourselves to instruct the students properly. As part of this experience we collaborated with the company that created the adapted equipment we used to make the disc golf experience possible. Secondary WSTDL I believe the SHI Project also aligns with WSTDL Reflection: Teachers are able to evaluate
themselves. The teacher is a reflective practitioner who continually evaluates the effects of his or her choices and actions on pupils, parents, professionals in the learning community and others and who actively seeks out opportunities to grow professionally. Upon completion of the SHI project we used a rubric with specific criteria to assess each group member. This assessment allowed me to reflect on the effectiveness of each group members activity throughout the creation of the SHI project as well as my own effectiveness.

UW-Platteville School of Education Knowledge, Skills, Dispositions Alignment

I believe the SHI Project best aligns with KSD SD4.d. CONTRIBUTES TO THE SCHOOL AND DISTRICT. The candidate is able to assume a leadership role among colleagues and is supportive and cooperative with peers and volunteers, and serves as a participant and leader in school events and school and district projects. While conducting the assessment of our district for the SHI Project we identified the strengths and weaknesses of our district and created an action plan to strengthen this weakness. We chose a grant which would contribute the overall health and wellness of the school and the district. Throughout the process of the SHI Project we had to support our SHI team members by working together to create the narrative, needs, and significance statements. We also cooperated with the mock school board by hosting a question and answer session after our proposal presentation. Secondary KSD I believe the Wisconsin Center for Blind disc golf experience best aligns with KSD4.f. SHOWS PROFESSIONALISM. The candidate has the ability to participate professionally in staff decision-making and be highly proactive in serving students, working to assure that all students, particularly those traditionally underserved, have an opportunity for success in school. As part of our experience we were able to take the students on a campus tour to introduce them to the college life and hopefully inspire them to continue their education. We gave very specific attention to each individual student by asking many questions while we were working one on one to insure their personal safety, and create the most comfortable and enjoyable environment for our student during disc golf. If the students were not accompanied by aids we would have communicated with the students guardians before the event occurred. As the teacher we would provide the guardians with a specific outline of our day to ensure students are dropped off and picked up on time, we would also inform the parents of all activities included in our day as well as invite them to join us. Before the event we would also have a meeting with the guardians to find out about their student and learn how we will be able to best accommodate them while on the trip to our campus.
Explain what you learned about teaching/learning from this experience:

I learned that using collaboration is a very important tool for all aspects of teaching. While collaborating with my peers during the SHI Project I learned that in order to provide the best overall environment for our students the teachers and school employees need to collaborate to insure we are trying to achieve the same general goal. While creating the documents for our project we would ask each other to review our work and make sure we were focused on the right idea. Without that collaboration amongst ourselves our project would not have been fluent. From the experience with the school of the blind I learned that collaborating with agencies in the larger community can create unforgettable learning experiences for teachers as well as students. Using outside sources can further your own personal education as well as broaden and strengthen your students by exposing them to real life situations and creating experiences they would not receive in the average school setting. Using rubrics to assess myself and students will allow me to judge students off of specific criteria and will give me a tool to evaluate myself. Our assessments will encourage us to grow and learn from our mistakes to improve our future work.
Explain what you learned about yourself as a prospective educator as a result of this experience/artifact:

I learned how to conduct the SHI assessment program and will be able to be a member of an SHI team. Using rubrics to guide self and group assessments will be part of the way I evaluate my

students and my own teaching. I also plan on using resources and agencies outside the school that will aid in educating my students.