1.
Describe the skills or attributes you believe are necessary to be outstanding when
working in student support services.
I believe there are several attributes that are necessary to be outstanding when working
in this field. Upon reading this prompt, the three that stood out to me were flexibility,
collaboration, and reflection. Flexibility is crucial to being an effective educator,
especially when it comes to working in special education. In this field, no two students
will ever be the same, and you can almost always count on things to not go exactly as
planned. It is important to be able to think on your feet, and adapt to unexpected
situations when needed. There may be times when changes need to be made on the
spot, and it is necessary to be able to accept those changes with a positive attitude. The
ability to successfully collaborate with others is also a key to working in special
education. This job requires you to constantly be working with others, whether it be with
other teachers or support staff, administrators, or parents. The ability to work as a team
is necessary in order to improve the state of the school climate as a whole. Finally, I
believe that reflection is one of the most important qualities to have in order to be a
successful special educator. In order to be effective, you must be able to review,
analyze, and evaluate the success of the decisions you make in the classroom every
day in a constant effort to make better decisions in the future. There is always
something that can be improved or changed to better meet the needs of your students.
2. How would you address a wide range of issues in your groups?
When it comes to the groups of students I would be working with, I would address each
potential issue differently depending on the individual student and the level of respect
and rapport I have with them. Within the district and school guidelines, I would address
each issue on a case-by-case basis. For example, if a student had consistent
behavioral issues in my classroom, I would pull the student aside to address the
problem, and see if we could work together to figure out what the real issue was and
what we could do to solve it. If a student was continuously struggling academically, I
would reflect on my own practice first and, based on my knowledge of the student,
figure out what I could do differently to help the student better understand the content.
This could include putting accommodations or modifications into place to help them
access the curriculum.
3. How would you address a wide range of skills and abilities in your classroom?
The ability to address a wide range of skills and abilities in the classroom is essential to
being an effective special education teacher. In order to successfully do so, I would first
assess my students to determine their skill/ability levels. I would use this information,
along with the information I get from their IEPs, to determine their different strengths
and weaknesses. If I found that my students were performing at drastically different
levels, which is not uncommon in this field, I would group them based on their ability
levels and teach in small groups. This way, each student could receive instruction that
was more individualized to their specific ability level.
4. From your point of view, how important is technology in education? What technology-
related skills can you contribute to a school district?
I believe that incorporating technology into education can be very beneficial for students
and conducive to learning. Technology is constantly changing and evolving, and there
are so many resources out there for both teachers and students alike. The use of
technology can help teachers make lessons more interactive and engaging for students.
I have had experience working with technology since I was in elementary school. I am
very familiar with how to use a computer, laptop, and iPad, as well as how to
incorporate them into lessons to make them more engaging. I also have experience
working with SMART boards and Promethean boards from my practicum, field-based,
and student teaching experiences.
5. Describe the skills, attributes, and/or background experience you would bring to this
position.
There are several skills that I would bring to this position, including organization,
patience, flexibility, collaboration, and the ability to reflect on my teaching. My
experience at Gages Lake School has also given me the opportunity to learn a lot about
behavior management, and how to be flexible in an unpredictable environment. My
education at Illinois State University has given me a variety of experiences that has
prepared me to take on anything. During my practicum semester, I taught high school
students with severe and profound intellectual disabilities, such as Down Syndrome,
Cerebral Palsy, and Autism. During my field-based semester, I taught sixth grade
students with learning disabilities. Finally during my student teaching semester, I was
placed in a self-contained room for first through fourth grade students with behavioral
and emotional disabilities.
6. Briefly describe a positive educational experience you had either as a teacher or a
student and what you gained from it.
One recent positive educational experience I had as a teacher was when one of my
students, who struggles with the ability to regulate his emotions, used a self-regulation
strategy he had learned in my class on his own. This student had made a habit of
running out of the classroom when he was feeling frustrated, without telling anyone.
After many failed attempts at trying to get the student to verbally ask a teacher for a
break, I created break cards for this specific student, so that when he was feeling angry
or upset he could give me the card and take a two minute break outside our classroom
door. For a while, he ignored the break cards and continued running out of the
classroom, or sometimes even out of the building. Finally, after what had seemed like
forever, the student used the break card on his own one day, without any prompting
from myself or the paraprofessional in my classroom. I gained so much from this
experience, but one of the most important things I took away from it was to never give
up on a student, even if it seems like what I am trying to do is not working. This also
gave me a great boost in morale and a feeling of fulfillment in my job.
7. Please provide examples and/or evidence of how you have facilitated or
demonstrated student growth/achievement in your current and previous position(s).
In my current position at Gages Lake, the main way I demonstrate student growth is
through data collection. I collect and keep data every day based on each student's IEP
goals, which I then input into IEP Progress Reports to show how they are progressing.
Most of my current students have social/emotional goals, but a few of them also have
academic goals. Taking data on these goals allows me to reflect on past instruction and
plan my future instruction to ensure that students are progressing as they should be.
8. What makes you qualified for this position?
I hold a Learning Behavior Specialist 1 endorsement that allows me to teach students
with disabilities from PreK to age 21. I have been teaching special education for the
past six years, and have gotten the opportunity to experience multiple grade levels and
a variety of student needs. This includes co-teaching and working in the general
education classroom, as well as teaching in a self-contained environment. I thrive when
working on a team, and collaborating with other educators to provide students with an
individualized education that meets their unique needs.
Additional Info (*Change to fit position):
My experience at Gages Lake School has given me the opportunity to learn a lot about
behavior management, and how to be flexible in an unpredictable environment. I also
believe that my education at Illinois State University has given me a variety of
experiences that has prepared me to take on anything. During my practicum semester, I
taught high school students with severe and profound intellectual disabilities, such as
Down Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, and Autism. During my field-based semester, I taught
sixth grade students with learning disabilities. During my student teaching semester, I
was placed in a self-contained room for first through fourth grade students with
behavioral and emotional disabilities.
