A reflection on paraprofessional for a special education

Beginning Module 4, candidates engage into a reflection on their own practice. They submit 6 one-page reflective journal entries that focus on the insights and puzzling questions on their own teaching practice. During three meetings candidates will learn how to use narrative, visualization, and dialog to reflect on teaching and learning and build their own practice. Instructor will provide feedback to each journal entry.

Remember, the point of the journal is to have a place to record ongoing thoughts/ideas and impressions. The work with journal should be on a regular, on-going basis and should focus on your insights, puzzling questions and your daily teaching experience.

Your module 12 reflection will be the reflection on the all reflections. Your goal is to demonstrate/capture your growth to use reflection to inform your teaching and how this has changed/informed your praxis. You should demonstrate your ability to consider multiple perspectives, response to feedback, questioning biases, posing critical questions, shifts in inquiry, and new insights into practice, which would constitute as a portfolio of your reflection on your praxis.

You will submit your reflective journal (6 entries) as a part of your portfolio.

Candidates earn complete/incomplete grade for this assessment. To earn a grade of complete, submit 6 reflexive praxis journal entries .

Suggested topics for reflective entries include:

Comparison of teaching and management strategies among observed teachers.
Thoughts and questions about topics such as parent/teacher relations, faculty interaction, and student affairs.
Discussion of classroom/behavior management strategies.
Reflections on abilities to work with special needs students, or with small and large groups.
Insights about attitudes toward teaching and educational concerns.
Periodic self-assessments in the areas of professional growth and development, including knowledge about children and teaching.
Descriptions of peak experiences, crises, surprising occurrences or other events that appear significant to professional growth.
Advocacy for the ability and culturally diverse students
Instructions and guiding questions for writing your reflective journal:

Select a critical event (Joshi, 2018) in practice that you experienced. Why was it a critical event?
What was your personal reaction to the event? Has the critical event in practice clanged your understandings, beliefs, or values?
What was the problem? What pedagogical, cultural, political, ethical dilemmas or uncertainties were at place?
How have it informed your thinking about teaching and learning and, potentially, your future practice?
What questions do you have for your future learning?