Rebecca Traficante Conceptual Framework At Edinboro University, my beliefs as a teacher have been molded by ten statements that are

represented as the Conceptual Framework. These statements have been implemented in my learning and my teaching in the classroom and through instruction. The conceptual framework has made me the effective facilitator of learning that I am today. Throughout my experience at Edinboro University, I have multiple experiences in all ten statements which are listed below. Conceptual Framework A: A. Accept the requirement to build a civil society that focuses on respect and embraces diversity. SEDU 271 taught me the essentials and the overall background knowledge about diversity in the school setting ECED 244 taught me how to connect the classroom to the community and to the families of students I have experience with diversity through my field work and student teaching in the inner city of Erie, PA. Throughout my experience at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, I have been exposed to diversity whether it is in a class or teaching at a school. Classes that focus on diversity, discuss what diversity is, how it applies to teachers, and how to reach all students of a different diversity. My first year at Edinboro University, I was in a class called SEDU 271. This class focused on multicultural learning and how to embrace diversity within the classroom. In this class, I was exposed to articles about classroom diversity and had to reflect on how I thought about how classroom diversity was being handled. I also completed observations for this class in a multicultural classroom. I completed observation hours in a diverse classroom, with English Language Learners, in Westmoreland County. I also took a class called ECED 244 which focused on building partnerships. These partnerships included partnerships with parents, guardians, family, and community, as well as partnerships within the school. A project that I completed in this class was a book bag. The purpose of this bag was to create a connection between the school and the home. Students would take the book bag home that contains a book and activities to follow the book. Students would be able to complete the reading and activities with their family, at home. This was a great way to build a partnership with the school and the home. Another experience of diversity that I have throughout my time at Edinboro University is field work and student teaching within a diverse school/district. I completed my special education field experience in inner city Erie, at Deihl Elementary. I completed my special education student teaching in another inner city Erie school: Roosevelt Middle School. Throughout these experiences, I was able to implement what I learned in my classes to my teaching. I learned how to adapt lessons to fit all students needs based upon diversity. I had to use strategies to meet the needs of English Language Learners and also had to meet the needs of students from a

different socioeconomic status. My field and student teaching were incredible learning experiences of diverse learners. Conceptual Framework B B. Demonstrate pedagogical skills built on a solid foundation of discipline specific content, reinforced by a broad liberal arts education and supervised clinical experiences. Content classes Field experiences Student Teaching While at Edinboro University, my content classes provided me with a solid foundation of content and how to teach students at different age levels and different learning abilities. Within some content classes (ECED 345 and 342, and SPED 320), we were required to teach our peers to show our knowledge on certain subjects. Early Childhood content classes included instruction in child development and play. For the prekindergarten and kindergarten core classes focused on creative arts, math and science, and language and literacy. Core classes in grades 1-4 focused on math, science, and social studies. Special Education core classes focused on classroom management, low and high incidence disabilities, family involvement and IEPs, accommodations and modifications, and behavior. These classes prepared me well in order to be an effective facilitator of learning in the classroom. I have completed field work in a kindergarten classroom at Elk Valley Elementary in Girard where I had to prepare and complete five lessons. I was at Deihl Elementary in Erie for my special education field in grades 3-5 learning support. This was a push-in setting where I was able to be exposed to co-teaching and inclusion. I was at Grover Cleveland Elementary in Erie in second grade for my last field experience. In addition to field experiences I have had two student teaching placements: 6th grade learning support at Roosevelt Middle School in Erie and 3rd grade at Edinboro Elementary. Conceptual framework C C. Effectively utilize community resources to support the educational and personal growth of learners. Volunteer work Council for Exceptional Children Pottersfest While being a student at Edinboro University, I have completed many volunteer hours to support the growth of all learners. In the spring of 2013, I volunteered at Pfeiffer Burleigh Elementary in the inner city of Erie. I would attend the after-school program to help English Language Learners with language and reading comprehension. I have been a member of the Council for Exceptional Children for two years. This experience allows me to share my knowledge of working with people with exceptionalities to the public. While as a member, I have attended

numerous ESO dances which are sponsored by CEC. While at these dances I would socialize with people with exceptionalities from the ages of 18 and above. I have met some amazing people while attending these dances. In the Fall of 2011, I participated in Pottersfest on campus at Edinboro. I volunteered my time to decorate the Miller school to represent Hogwarts. I also volunteered my time to be the Quidditch coach when the students came to the school. I taught the students the rules of Quidditch and skills needed to play. Students played with brooms and had to throw balls between hoops. Conceptual framework C D. Engage in a professional learning community committing themselves to excellence, continual study, practice, reflection, and self-improvement. Reflections PEAL conference Student teaching/ field Beginning in the first core classes of education, reflections for every lesson plan has been a requirement. Reflections on teaching and the learning of students help to develop self-improvement. Not every lesson is going to run as smoothly as I have planned and reflections allow me to look back on a lesson and discuss what was good about the lesson and what could be changed in order to meet the learning objective. Reflections also allow for an opportunity to express ideas on how to alter the lesson plan to make it based upon the student. These reflections are then discussed with a professional. In March of 2013, I attended the PEAL conference in Pittsburgh with one of the special education professors at Edinboro University. This conference gave me the opportunity to expand my knowledge on the autism spectrum and on behaviors and how to control behaviors either in the classroom or in the home environment. I am highly interested in Autism and this experience only made me want to teach students with autism even more. In the fall of 2013, I completed my student teaching internship. Student teaching allowed me to be in a classroom 5 days a week for the entire school day. This experience allowed me to practice classroom management skills, and teaching skills. Throughout this time I was able to self-improve by reflecting on my teaching about how I could teach differently to reach all students. Conceptual Framework E E. Exhibit continual informed decision-making, planning, and facilitation of learning based on knowledge of research, best practices, state and national student, performance standards and ethical standards of the profession. Meetings within the school IEP goals Unit Plans and data As an educator, informed decision-making is an ongoing process that happens every day. When I was completing my student teaching at Roosevelt Middle School in Erie, I attended all PLC meetings and in-service days to continue my learning of how to make decisions based upon research, best practices, and standards. PLC meetings were held every day for 30 minutes to discuss best practices and how to implement them into the classroom. While at Roosevelt Middle School, I was also able to sit in on two IEP meetings. I was able to observe how IEP goals were written and

implemented in the classroom. Also during field work, I created IEP goals based upon assessment scores and observations. IEP goals are developed from the Present Levels of Learning. While in student teaching, I created two unit plans with data for every student in the classroom. My first unit plan focused on grammar in a learning support classroom. I created data for each student in the classroom to see which learning objective(s) was not being met. This allowed me to see which students needed extra support and reteaching in grammar. Objectives were aligned to Common Core Standards and a pretest and posttest were used to develop data on each student. Conceptual Framework F F. Give back to the community through civic action. Volunteering for ECED 120 Dan Rice Days Active voter While completing my bachelor degree at Edinboro University, one of the first core classes that I took was Introduction to Early Childhood (ECED 120). For this course it is a requirement to give back to the community by volunteering at a local early learning facility. I completed 10 service hours at the Early Learning School behind Edinboro University. While completing my hours, I would help in the preschool classroom with snack and cleaning up snack, and during play hours. Edinboro University expects their students to complete volunteer hours throughout their time in college. When I completed two courses during the summer of 2012, I attended the Dan Rice Days in Girard, PA. While I was there I volunteered my time to give back to the community by working with children. I created crafts with them and painted some childrens faces. While I was there I also talked to the children about bullying and the factors that go along with bullying. I am a strong advocate for a no-tolerance rule in schools about bullying, that I feel it is necessary to talk with students outside of the school to enforce this rule. I am also a registered voter in the state of Pennsylvania. Conceptual framework G G. Lead and monitor all student learners using motivational and management skills. Classroom Management plans Incentives Progress Monitoring Classroom management is one of the many things that classroom teachers seem to always be altering to fit the needs of their students. In my time at Edinboro University, I have developed many different classroom management plans and have used different teaching strategies to reach the needs of all students in the classroom. While completing course work, I created a classroom management plan in SPED 240. This classroom management plan focused on a third grade inclusive classroom. I created procedures, rules, and a hierarchy of consequences. (This would have been done with the students because I think it is important for the students to understand the value of rules. If rules are created together, students tend to follow them more than when a teacher dictates rules.) I also listed ways to address negative behaviors. For chronic behaviors, I used a behavior contract with a student and a self-monitoring sheet for the student to judge their own behavior. Another part of classroom management is the use of incentives. I believe that in elementary school, a token economy is very effective in motivating and managing students in the classroom. My first classroom management

plan that I developed used a token economy. Students would receive a sticker for each day of good behavior and when they collected enough stickers they would choose a prize from the treasure box. Another incentive plan that I created was based upon homework. If students completed a certain percent of homework within a given period that student would be able to participate in an activity (like a pizza party). Another incentive plan that I created while I was in student teaching was a plan that focused on participation. In my 6th grade learning support classroom, students did not like to participate. I created a plan where I would keep track of students participating and at the end of the week I would allow certain students to play video games at the end of the day. I brought in an Xbox 360 and age-appropriate games into the classroom and created a video game center with bean bag chairs (with the help of my cooperating teacher). Students were highly engaged in learning when they knew that if they participated they would receive video game time. It is very important to know the students in the classroom in order to create incentives that will engage the students to be actively involved in the classroom, as well as on their best behavior. Another management skill that I like to use in the classroom is progress monitoring, not just academically but behaviorally. While completing my field work in special education, I learned how to progress monitor. I would help progress monitor students with sight words and would create study tools for students to use to help with sight words. I also progress monitored behaviors in the classroom. I would keep charts and observations of student behavior, what time it occurred, and what may have started the behavior. Conception framework H H. Recognize the importance of technology and are able to utilize current and appropriate technology for instruction, administration, and facilitation of learning Technology classes/website interactive lessons data/ spreadsheets At Edinboro University it is required to take a course about technology and teaching in the classroom. In this class, I learned the importance of technology in the classroom and how I can use it to my benefit to teach students. I learned how to use PowerPoint, Word, and Excel. These programs can be beneficial in the classroom. PowerPoint and Word can be used to teach lessons and Excel can be used for data and grades. From this class, I also learned how to develop a website. Preparing for graduation and for applying for jobs, I have created an online portfolio. I think that having an online portfolio shows that I have the ability and the willingness to use technology in my classroom. I also think it shows that I am able to utilize current technology. When creating lesson plans, during student teaching, I tried to incorporate some sort of technology in to all of my lessons. One of my favorite ways to engage students into learning is by using educational videos. TeacherTube is a website that I have incorporated into multiple lessons during teaching. I also incorporated technology like the ELMO projector and a smart board into lessons. It is also important to understand the importance of data in todays teaching. Current technology today allows for the opportunity to produce multiple forms of data and spreadsheets to help with the teaching of learning objectives. I have used Excel to create tables and graphs to help me determine which students need to be retaught on an objective or if I need to completely reteach an objective to the entire class.

Conceptual framework I I. Interpersonal dispositions to interact, communicate, and collaborate effectively with students, families, colleagues, and the community. Kindergarten Registration Parent teacher conferences IEP meetings

In order to be a teacher it is important and necessary to communicate and collaborate with students, families, colleagues, and the community. At Edinboro University, we have been taught that working with parents and colleagues will help teaching to be successful. We have also been taught to use the community as a resource to better teaching. The community can be used as a place for students to participate in activities or can be used to obtain resources like books from the public library. It is important to interact and collaborate with families of students that are in the classroom. Families should be involved by sending newsletters home, asking for volunteers, and there should always be positives said for every negative about a child. During my prekindergarten/kindergarten field I volunteered my time to participate in the kindergarten registration at Elk Valley Elementary in Girard. At the registration I talked to parents about how their child was developing at home and then I worked with colleagues to decipher the childs learning level. I had students write their names and draw a picture of themselves. After registration, I worked with administration at the school place students into kindergarten or prekindergarten. During student teaching, I attended parent teacher conferences at Edinboro Elementary for my third grade class. I stayed after school to communicate with parents about how their child was doing in the classroom. I also collaborated with these parents on how they could help their child at home with academics. During student teaching at Roosevelt Middle School in Erie, I attended two IEP meetings. I was able to interact with administration, the special education teacher, the general education teacher, and the parents about what the best educational plan would be for a child. Conceptual Framework J J. Utilize personal creativity, flexibility, and skill in assessing, creating and adapting instruction that provides opportunities for every student to be successful. Differentiated Instruction Flexibility of lesson planning Creativity of lesson planning (technology, manipulatives) Part of being a teacher is that things are always changing and lessons do not go how we have planned. During my student teaching experience I have had several occasions where I had to change my lesson in the middle of teaching in order to teach the learning objective. Special education has taught me that I need to always differentiate my instruction and provide adaptations for students who require them. An example of differentiated instruction that I used in my learning support classroom was when students completed centers about subjects and predicates. One center was a cut and glue station where students had to sort subjects and predicates. I had three different leveled worksheets based upon student learning ability. Flexibility is a huge requirement in order to be a teacher. An example of my flexibility occurred in my student teaching placement at Edinboro Elementary. I was teaching a lesson on changing patterns. The students needed to use the concept of subtraction with regrouping. The students did not do subtraction before patterns so I had to change my lesson to incorporate how to do subtraction with regrouping before I could continue

with patterns. The next day instead of continuing with patterns, I created a subtraction lesson. Creativity is also another strong component of teaching. All of my lessons have some sort of creativity linked to the learning objective. I like to include technology into my lessons like videos and songs into learning. I also include manipulatives into my lessons. For example, I did a subtraction lesson in third grade using Legos. Creativity sparks an interest in the students and has them actively engaged in learning.