Storey 1 Abbey Storey Practicum Phase 4 April 22, 2013 Phase 4 Integrated Reflections This semester I taught each

day in a functional life skills and vocational transition classroom with students ages 18-22. This program is unique in that it is housed in a church. I have had seven students who I have grown close to and watched grow over the course of the semester. I am privileged to have increased my teaching abilities and professional knowledge this semester through my work with this program. Two areas in which I wanted to focus on for growth this semester were in taking a leadership role in charge of paraprofessionals who have more years of experience than myself and in dealing with conflicts. Both of these have proven difficult for me over the years, as I am a people pleaser who desires to make everyone happy and avoid conflict at all costs. To discover the true issues behind my faults in these areas I wrote journals about my interactions with paraprofessionals and during conflicts to figure out how I could improve. I was able to come up with interventions to follow to be successful in both of these areas. I grew in my confidence and my ability to take charge and mediate during my takeover this semester. I wanted to further my professional development this semester as well. I made a few goals to complete in order to better understand all that is involved when working with a student with severe multiple disabilities. I took it upon myself to learn how to feed, toilet, transport, position and change this student, as well as how

Storey 2 to strap his wheelchair into the public transportation buses. This broadened my abilities to work with a larger population of students with special needs. Overall, this semester has been a time of expansion of my knowledge and expertise areas, as well as a time of growth personally and professionally. I feel very prepared to begin work as a full time teacher in my own classroom.