Carlena Lowell 1

Competency #5 Reflection

Competency area five, Planning and Implementing Individualized Instruction, is one I
focused heavily on throughout this graduate program. This area related to both of my
professional positions I held through the course of this program, as an early childhood special
educator in a CDS/Head Start collaborative classroom and as a Part C service coordinator.
Although this was an area I was somewhat intimidated by in the beginning of the program, I now
feel confident in my ability to apply the knowledge and skills of this area in all aspects of my
work in early intervention. I am apt in understanding many aspects of IEPs and IFSPs, and in
creating and implementing progress monitoring techniques. I am also able to employ a
continuum of teaching strategies to address a variety of developmental areas for young children.
The products chosen to confirm my competency in this area are: 1.) ten functional and
measurable outcomes, 2.) a comprehensive curriculum plan using the Project Approach, 3.)
observation and intervention plans for a child, and 4.) a DIR/Floortime case study.
The ten functional and measurable outcomes were formally developed from informal
outcomes gathered in the Routines-Based Interview completed with a family (see sub-
competency 4.10). These outcomes, although written for a course in this program, reflect the
exact way I have come to write outcomes with families as a Part C service coordinator. This
assignment coincided nicely with the early stages of my taking on this profession role, and
allowed me to better understand and practice writing functional, measurable outcomes, as
defined in the regulations. This product is best characterized by sub-competency 5.1 Knowledge
of the legal requirements and components of the IFSP/IEP.
The second product selected for this competency area is a comprehensive curriculum unit
about farm animal using the Project Approach. The inspiration for this plan was based on the
interest of the children of the CDS/Head Start collaborative classroom I taught in for the 2012-13
Carlena Lowell 2
Competency #5 Reflection

school year. In creating this detailed curriculum plan, I provided an introduction and rationale,
completed many worksheets from Helm & Katzs (2011) Young Investigators: The Project
Approach in the Early Years book, developed possible questions for the children, developed
curriculum goals and objectives, developed a booklist, compiled an artifact list, outlined an idea
for a word wall, considered parent participation, planned for documentation, and developed five
activities. This product represents sub-competency 5.3 Knowledge of universal design, assistive
technologies and augmentative communication systems and their appropriate use in facilitating
the learning and development of infants and young children with special needs.
The third assignment is a detailed observation and plan for intervention for the child who
was also discussed in the DIR/Floortime case study. This product allowed me the opportunity to
observe the child, and then plan for intervention based on the observation and on the parents
concerns. I provided goals, the rationale, and then specific strategies for intervention; thus,
proving my knowledge of sub-competency 5.4 Knowledge of a continuum of
intervention/teaching strategies for supporting the learning and participation of infants and
young children with special needs in natural and inclusive settings.
The final product for this competency area is the DIR/Floortime case study, which
reflected my ability in sub-competency 5.5 Ability to use assessment information to develop
individualized instruction/ intervention plans (i.e., goals/objectives, strategies, evaluation
methods). In this case, I analyzed the six Functional Emotional Developmental Levels from
Greenspan & Wieder (2006), discussed the childs individual differences, and then reflected on
my sessions with her including the individualized instruction.

Carlena Lowell 3
Competency #5 Reflection

References
Greenspan, S.I. & Wieder, S. (2006). Engaging autism. Philadelphia, PA: Da Capo Press.
Helm, J. A. & Katz, L. (2011). Young investigators: The project approach in the early years (2
nd
ed.). New York, NY: Teachers College Press.