Caitlin Carr

Portfolio Introductory Narrative

My name is Caitlin Carr and I have worked with children for the past 9 years. Ever since
I could remember, I had a natural instinct to work with children in my career. I have had fantastic
teachers along the way who left a lasting impression on my view on education and wanted to
follow in their footsteps. I want to be able to help children to overcome obstacles, to help them
grow and learn, and most importantly help them succeed in life. I have worked in educational,
clinical, and private environments with children who have special needs.
Thomas Johnson Elementary Middle School located in Baltimore City provided me with
an amazing opportunity to intern for the past two semesters. During my internship I was given
the chance to apply the knowledge I learned from my graduate classes at Towson University.
This professional practice focused on student development, applying learning theories, ethics,
pedagogy, curriculum, educational research, assessments, and planning for and responding to
individual students and learning communities to become an effective educator.
I worked at Kennedy Krieger Neuro-Behavioral Unit, an inpatient unit that is dedicated to
assessment and treatment of severe problem behavior displayed by individuals with autism and
intellectual disabilities. I was trained and certified in Applied Behavior Analysis, an intervention
strategy to help children with behavioral issues and disabilities. Working at the NeuroBehavioral Unit gave me the opportunity to apply my psychology knowledge with students with
disabilities.
When I was working on my undergraduate and graduate degrees I worked as a nanny for
two families. As an early childhood major this type of job gave me the chance to work with
young children and watch them grow. I was able to utilize the information I was learning and
have learned throughout my schooling years.

Caitlin Carr

Rationale for Building the Portfolio

This portfolio was built to display my professional assignments that I was required to
complete during my graduate program at Towson University. A collection of a wide variety of
projects that exhibits skills and knowledge needed to be successful in special education. For the
future, I will be able to use this portfolio as a reference that provides examples in supporting me
in becoming a successful special educator. This professional portfolio will allow me to reflect on
my learning and implement the strategies into the future. To be an effective teacher, selfreflection is significant to become an expert teacher. This process grants teachers to critique and
examine personal teaching strategies and allows adjustments to be made to become a successful
educator. Having these important assignments in my portfolio will allow me to look back and
remember important strategies to use in special education.

Reflections on Coursework, Learning Experiences, & CEC Professional Standards

I have grown significantly throughout the special education graduate program at Towson
University. At the start of my masters program, I had the basic knowledge of special education
and how to be an effective educator. After completing the program, I have a deeper
understanding of essential skills and teaching strategies that are important in special education
field. After my three years in the program, the coursework and learning experiences helped me
increase my knowledge of the types of disabilities and how to effectively teach students with
various strengths and weaknesses. I am confident that the skills and strategies I learned from
Towson Universitys Special Education Graduate Program I will be a successful educator.
Aligning the CEC standards to the coursework and learning experiences has allowed me
to understand to incorporate these standards into my own teaching. Through the standards, I have

Caitlin Carr

learned to become a more flexible and collaborative educator. I have learned to collaborate with
other teachers using their methods and becoming more flexible in my own teaching will help me
become more successful. The CEC standards has helped me focus on important standards others
will hold me to in the special education field.

Philosophy of Teaching
My philosophy of teaching must integrate the four learning theories into instruction;
allowing students to learn in a variety of ways because one size doesnt fit all. All the learning
theories can be easily integrated into instruction as long as the teacher is flexible. My classroom
will be a student-centered environment which is based on the fact that students take on more
active roles as learners and that our roles change as educators. As a future educator, important
components must be featured to effectively incorporate culturally responsive teaching in a
classroom. Teachers and students must not stereotype disabilities, race, and gender roles by
providing equal opportunities in participating in class. Treat all students equitably, contingent on
the needs of each individual student. Differentiate instruction must be applied into the classroom
for all students to be successful.

Revised: 12/16/2014