Anthony Lawlis

EDUG 787 Final Growth Statement

December 7, 2014
After looking back on this semester I have to say that the one class I learned the most
from was EDUG 787. I went to this class with a positive attitude because I knew I was learning
something valuable. Another contributing factor was having a professor that was realistic and
gave us assignments that served a purpose. This course focused in on the types of assessment
used in the field of special education. Reflecting on the experiences I have had in this class has
shown me how much knowledge I now have about the various assessments. I also gained
knowledge in how to write a psychoeducational report writing for students once all of the
assessments have been completed. Overall, I am grateful for this class and to my professor for
all the learning experiences I have had this semester.
One of the major learning experiences came when we began looking at the various types
of assessments used on students. We looked at the WIAT-III as well as the Woodcock Johnson.
The first assessment is more commonly used in schools now compared to the Woodcock
Johnson. It helped though to see the similarities and differences between the assessments.
Discussing what the pros and cons of each assessment had. It was a great experience for me to
get exposure to different assessment tools that could be used in a school. One thing I was
thankful for was getting to toy around with the WIAT before administering it. This helped
tremendously because it gave me a chance to try out what I was going to be doing with one of
my students in a few weeks. The last major learning experience I had from this occurred after I
had administered the WIAT to my student. Administering assessments is a very difficult task and
the school psychologist is usually the person who administers it. At the end of the day, I found a

new appreciation for the people who conduct these assessments in our schools because they have
a difficult task.
The last area of growth I have seen in myself throughout this course was my analytical
skills especially when it came to the psychoeducational report. In one of the last classes of the
semester we looked at a psychoeduational report that was in our textbook. We then had to break
into groups and each group got a specific portion of the report checklist to look over with their
group. Then at the end of the class we all shared about how we felt the reporter did with each
section of their report. It was interesting to see all of the areas in which the reporter did a good
and bad job. Being able to sit and look over and analyze the report only helped me to write a
better psychoeducational report. In the end, being able to write a psychoeducational report is an
important skill because you never know when the skill will come in handy.
In conclusion, this semester in EDUG 787 has been full of learning experiences that I will
take as I enter into the field as a special education. I am going to take the skills I have refined
and perfected so that I can be the best teacher I can possibly be. I have grown so much as a
special educator this semester and I look forward to continuing to grow next semester in EDUG
789. All of the growth I have made this semester will help me to grow even more next semester
when I begin to create an IEP for my student that I assessed in this class. Overall, I am excited to
see where I will be at the end of next semester because I have already seen how much growth I
have made this semester.