Reflection:

The artifact that I chose to represent Standard Nine: Professionalism, Leadership, and
Advocacy, is a family routines interview that I had to do for my SpED 414 class in fall 2013. For
this assignment, I had to interview the parent of a student with special needs in order to get a
better perspective of their daily activities and routines. My artifact is the write-up of the
interview and my reflection of the process. This paper is a great demonstration of my emerging
and developing leadership skills and how they apply to a variety of learning communities. The
artifact also reflects my ability to communicate with families and encourage enhanced family
participation.
This artifact accurately represents Knowledge Indicator E because it demonstrates that I am
cognizant of my emerging and developed leadership skills and the applicability of these skills
within a variety of learning communities. The family interview was a reflection of leadership
skills in and out of the classroom. To be a good novice teacher I have to constantly be building
my leadership skills in and out of the classroom. This responsibility involves communicating
with families to better understand my students. In order to effectively communicate and
interview a parent of a child who has special needs, I have to understand the proper etiquette and
leadership skills needed. At the end of this interview process, I reflected on what I learned. I
demonstrated my emerging leadership skills, and the confidence I acquired as the interview went
on.
This artifact also is also a reflection of Performance Indicator D because it demonstrates
my ability to communicate with families, respond to concerns, and contribute to enhanced
participation in student education. The purpose of the interview was to learn about the daily
routines of the families and understand any concerns the parent may have. Through this
interview process, I demonstrate my ability to communicate with families in the classroom
special needs. As well, throughout the interview, I record anecdotes between the parent and
myself. I recorded myself reassuring the parent about certain aspects of his/her child that the
parent was concerned about.
This artifact demonstrates my growth and development as a teacher because I can be
leader in different aspects of the classroom. This artifact focuses on my advancement working
with parent communication. I will be more prepared in my future teaching because of this family
interview. It has helped me understand how to better communicate with parents and has helped
me gain confidence in my leadership and communication skills. It can be difficult bringing up
sensitive issues such as a childs medical history and other questions that were asked during this
interview, but since I was able to build a rapport with the parents, I feel confident in my
communication and social etiquette.