Running Head: TEACHER INTERVIEW PROJECT

Teacher Interview Project

Introduction to Inclusive Teaching
Samantha Sharkey
Ivy Tech Community College

TEACHER INTERVIEW PROJECT

Standard #3: Learning Environments- The teacher works with others to create environments
that support individual and collaborative learning, and that encourage positive social
interaction, active engagement in learning, and self motivation.
Title of Artifact: Teacher Interview Project
Date: April 30th, 2016
Course: Introduction to Inclusive Teaching
Description: I chose Standard 3 because it talks about how teachers create certain environments
for their students. It talks about creating an atmosphere that includes collaborative learning and
also encourages positive social interaction. This relates to my Teacher Interview Project, because
the teacher I interviewed shares a lot about her experiences as a teacher and how she created
certain environments in her classroom.
Rationale: Special education teachers individualize material and certain aspects of the
classroom to best fit their students needs. Special educators are supposed to find ways to help
motivate their students to reach their full potential. I can take the experiences of the teacher I
interviewed and reflect on them to see how they could affect my decisions I make as a future
educator.

As an aspiring special education teacher, hearing from people who have experience in
this field is very beneficial. This Teacher Interview assignment was very helpful in many ways. It

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pushed me to think more about how I would like my classroom to look someday and why I am
entering this profession in the first place. The teacher I interviewed had so many great and
insightful things to say. She pursued a career in education because she really enjoyed children
and had some of her own. She thought it was the most mom friendly career. She shared with
me many of the methods that she has used over her years of teaching. She has taught for 19 years
as a special education pre-school teacher. She said, My favorite thing to do is to make sure that
I'm using positive behavioral support for children in order to help them achieve their goals.
She has used a form of ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis) therapy from the Star
Program, which part of the Star Program also helps children learn how to use a schedule in order
to transition between tasks more smoothly. In addition she has used the Teacch Method, which
involves structured tasks that helps students with autism. She uses the Brigance to assess her
students and will evaluate all the areas they can develop in. She observes her classroom
environment and works closely with the students parents to analyze the students needs. After
she has determined the students needs, she will write goals for the IEP in those areas. She then
designs instructional activities within the classroom to help the students achieve those goals set
in their IEPs.
She never co-taught but she believes that it is really great for everyone that is involved in
a co-teaching experience. She said, Teachers have such different styles of teaching that I think it
would be beneficial to have material presented from both teachers. Having two teachers available
may also allow the teachers to work with the children in small groups. When I asked how she
would describe herself as a teacher, she said that she would like to think of herself as a loving but
firm when she needs to be. She expects a lot from her students and she also shared that they
usually rise to those expectations.

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I agreed with a lot of the things she said and I would like my classroom and my
relationship with my students to look a lot like hers. I love what she said about expecting a lot
from her students, because when a teacher believes in a student they will want to succeed much
more. As a teacher I want to have a classroom that has a very inclusive and comfortable
atmosphere. I decided to pursue a Special Education degree because I have always been a leader
and I have always loved to guide people and help people think deeper about things. I also love
people with disabilities deeply. My brother Michael has Downs Syndrome, so I grew up around
people with disabilities basically my entire life. In high School I was very involved in one of the
Special Education classes, where the teacher would allow me to lead reading groups and also
help with homework. Eventually I permanently switched my study hall over to be in this special
education classroom, because that was essentially where I spent the majority of my time in high
school. The time I spent in this classroom taught me a lot about special education and the teacher
of this classroom is one of my role models, who I still talk to frequently. Her classroom is always
open for me to stop by and say hi or even volunteer my services from time to time. I am pretty
close friends with the students I met through that class and I see them every now and then since I
have graduated.
I was also the President of a club for 3 years at my high school called Best Buddies. The
goal of the club was to match our peers without disabilities with our peers with disabilities in a
one-on-one friendship. We would have meetings throughout the month, where all of our
members would come and we would do fun things. Some of those things included going
bowling, going to the arcade, meeting during our study hall, and many more things. We also
encouraged our one-on-one friendships to hang out outside of school and go out and do things
together in the community. We would participate in a lot of community events and even

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volunteered as a club at different places from time to time. My role as President included many
responsibilities. I would organize all of our meetings, make sure our members were fulfilling
their requirements, I would address and solve problems that happened in our club, I delegated
jobs to my officers, and I set an example of what our friendships were to look like with our peers
with disabilities. Through this club I made so many wonderful friends; friends that I am still
friends with to this day. I also have volunteered with this organization beyond my high school
years. Best Buddies has man different sections of it and it even offers things for people with
disabilities to be involved with beyond high school. Through this club and organization, I learned
where my true passion lies and I also learned what my strengths and weaknesses are as a leader.
Having the ability to have had so much experience with people disabilities has allowed
me to view them in such a different way than a lot of people do. I view them for who they are; a
person. I can clearly see that they are just like me. And having that mindset of putting the person
before their disability is very important as a Special Education teacher. I feel that my mindset
towards people with disabilities will be very beneficial in my role as a Special Education teacher.
I think that through that mindset I will be able to encourage my students and build them up in
many ways. I will want my students to strive and progress because I will care about them very
much.
I hope when I have my own classroom that I implement a lot of UDL (Universal Design
of Learning) ideas. By facilitating the design and implementation of a flexible, responsive
curriculum, UDL offers options for how information is presented, how students respond or
demonstrate their knowledge and skills, and how students are engaged in learning (Ralabate,
2011). I want to learn what my students interests, strengths and weaknesses are so that I can
assist them to the best of my ability. Most curricula are designed as if all students learn in the

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same way. In reality, the idea of a "typical" learner is a myth (Ralabate, 2011). As a Special
Education teacher, I feel I will have more opportunity to do so, since a part of my job is to
observe how my students perform. I strongly believe that every single student learns differently.
That is why I love the idea of UDL classrooms. Also co-teaching would be very effective in a
UDL classroom, because it would allow for the teachers to cover all parts of the class and make
more individualized plans for each student. I am very excited to eventually fill the role of a coteacher someday. I think it would be very interesting to maintain a classroom alongside another
teacher.
During the interview, I learned a lot of new terms that I have never heard before. I was
specifically interested in the Teacch Method. I went home and I searched for more information
on this method. The TEACCH method provides the individual with structure and organization.
This method relies on five basic principles (Edelson, n.d.). These principles include physical
structure, scheduling, work system, routine and visual structure. This is a technique I know that I
will try to implement in my classroom, since it has been super effective in many classrooms. In
high school, I would help a student who had autism with his school work frequently and through
my experiences with him I have seen teachers implement this Teacch method. He had a very
specific schedule and structure to his school day that looked very different from the peers in his
class. It was very interesting learning about the things that were helpful for him and the things
that really hindered his learning.
I have already learned a lot more about this profession through this interview. I am
excited to continue researching the new things I learned. This semester has been wonderful so far
and I learning many things that I did not know before. The more time I spend in Special
Education classrooms and the more time I spend learning about the profession, the more sure I

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am that I am exactly where I am supposed to be and I am following the right career path for me. I
am very excited for my future as a Special Education teacher.

References

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Edelson, S. (n.d.). Structured TeachingThe TEACCH Method | Autism Research Institute.
Retrieved February 27, 2016, from http://www.autism.com/treating_TEACCH
Ralabate, P. (2011, August 30).Universal Design for Learning: Meeting the Needs of All
Students. Retrieved February 27, 2016, from
http://www.readingrockets.org/article/universal-design-learning-meeting-needs-allstudents