This is a clock that one of my students built as an independent learning project. The student was designated exceptional by the ministry and had difficulty engaging in class work with assignments. In order to accommodate this he was put on an IEP and typically completed self-directed learning. This clock was one of the projects that he completed. The clock was a working pendulum clock made only with paper and glue. In the background of the picture the students cluttered workspace is visible. This workspace was an area that he felt comfortable completing his independent projects in.
The significance of this artifact is that it represents a focus on student development. For this student it was important that he be able to complete work independently. Although he was often included in lessons with the whole class he would quickly become bored and frustrated with some lessons. In order to succeed and feel challenged it was often appropriate to engage him in differentiated learning. It was one of my goals during this practicum to ensure that this student was provided with challenging tasks that engaged him during the class time. I would supervise these tasks during the class and ensure that his independent work was completed appropriately. I selected Standard 3: Educators understand and apply knowledge of childrens growth and development because this artifact provides evidence that I focused not only on classroom inclusion but also differentiated learning. By ensuring that the classroom was both independent and learning was differentiated I was able to contribute to the development of the diversity of learners in the classroom.
In my future teaching I expect to work with individual learners developing IEPs and supervising their progress. This might entail using formal IEPs developed by school based teams but I would also like to differentiate learning for students in my class who while may be officially designated may require independent work.
