Education Specialist Level I Program Portfolio

• Sample Level I E-Portfolio
• Template for Level I E-Portfolio
• Download the entire Template Folder to create your own E-Portfolio: MyEportfolio.zip [Zip file, 26KB]

Education Specialist Level I Portfolio Requirements

Each candidate in the Education Specialist Credential Program at CSULB is required to assemble a portfolio. The portfolio represents each candidate's opportunity to highlight developing competencies in relation to the program goals of becoming effective and caring teachers, partners with parents and others in the development of quality educational programs, and life long learners engaged in program development reflective of best practices in special education.

Purpose of the Portfolio

Developing and maintaining an up-to-date program portfolio serves many purposes:

• Facilitates demonstration of special education teaching competencies as specified in the Education Specialist Level I Competency Checklist.
• Provides an ongoing opportunity to critically reflect upon what you have learned in your coursework and field experiences.
• Serves as a way to document your ongoing professional development.

The Portfolio Process

Each candidate will begin to assemble his or her portfolio in EDP/EDSP 480 (Foundations of Inclusive Education) as part of the requirements for this course. This portfolio will be then be built upon in subsequent semesters throughout the credential program. The portfolio will be reviewed by instructors in program courses, and by your University fieldwork supervisor during advanced fieldwork (EDP/EDSP 587/588). Your University fieldwork supervisor will give final approval to your portfolio. The portfolio will serve as an important tool to link your coursework and fieldwork experiences, and as a means to demonstrate your teaching competencies during your advanced fieldwork courses.

Display/Format

Each candidate should select a method for display and formatting that best allows for a demonstration of his or her competencies in an organized fashion. An electronic portfolio, a binder or series of binders, or a file box or other format as desired by the candidate and approved by the candidate's advisor could be used. A table of contents should be included and it should list the components of the portfolio and clearly identify the location of portfolio components.

Required Portfolio Components

• Title Page with your name and credential objective
• Table of Contents
• Personal Philosophy of Special Education (see below)
• Coursework and Fieldwork Artifacts with accompanying reflective narrative in each of 6 competency areas (see below)
• Field Experience Log (See below)
• Completed Competency Checklist

Personal Philosophy of Special Education

This written document will originate in EDP/EDSP 480. In 2-3 pages, each candidate is required to write a personal philosophy of special education including its relationship to general education. The statement of personal philosophy should include the candidate's views on collaboration, diversity, literacy, technology, and transition. Each candidate's personal philosophy may change with new insights gained throughout involvement in the program and so the personal philosophy statement will most likely need to be revised after the original document is written in EDP/EDSP 480.

Coursework and Fieldwork Artifacts with an Accompanying Reflective Narrative

Candidates will include the artifacts listed below that serve to demonstrate their competencies in each of the 6 program competency areas. For each competency, there will be at least two artifacts; at least one from your University coursework and at least one based on fieldwork experiences. An accompanying 1-2 page (double spaced) reflective narrative should explain the link between the coursework and field experience artifacts and the competency area.

The following artifacts must be included in your portfolio to support each of the following 6 competency areas:

• Historical and Legal Foundations
• EDP/EDSP 480 Philosophy of Education and Legal Principles Exam
• Fieldwork Artifacts – Reflective Journal Entries addressing historical/legal/ethical issues and influences affecting their field practices.

• Assessment and Progress Monitoring
• EDP/EDSP 564 Case Study Project
• EDP/EDSP 564 Instructional Progress Monitoring Project
• Fieldwork Artifact – Initial or tri-annual assessment report
• Fieldwork Artifact- Ongoing progress monitoring data for a particular student in the areas serviced

• Program Planning
• EDP 558 or EDP/EDSP 567 and 569 IEP Assignment/s
• Fieldwork Artifact – Current IEP implemented in the classroom
• Instructional Implementation
• EDP 558 or EDP/EDSP 569 Unit/Lesson Planning Project
• EDEL 452 or EDEL 462 Unit/Lesson Plan
• EDP/EDSP 567 Literacy Intervention Project
• Fieldwork Artifact – Lesson plan developed for use with your student/s that demonstrates appropriate accommodations/modifications

• Managing the Teaching-Learning Environment
• EDP 405 Behavioral Intervention Project
• Fieldwork Artifact – classroom management system and individual behavior plan

• Professionalism and Interpersonal Skills
• EDP/EDSP 480 Systems Change Project and Peer Evaluations (minimum of two)
• EDP/EDSP 587/588 A/B sample field notes written by University Fieldwork Supervisor
• Professional Disposition Qualities self-evaluation from EDP/EDSP 480, and EDP/EDSP 587/588
• Fieldwork Artifact – Current administrator evaluation (formal or informal) if applicable
• Fieldwork Artifact – Evidence of communication with families (e.g., phone logs, notes, newsletters)
• Fieldwork Artifact – Evidence of collaborative participation (e.g., notes from meetings with department teams, pre-referral intervention teams, grade level general education teams)
• Fieldwork Artifact – Evidence of participation in professional development (e.g., district conferences, trainings, etc.)

Please refer to the Education Specialist Program Competency Checklist for detailed components of these 6 areas.

Optional Artifacts Demonstrating Competencies

The candidate is encouraged to include in their program portfolio other artifacts that reflect their professional development as they relate to the 6 competency areas. These artifacts might include information on certification completed, staff development conducted, membership in professional organizations, etc.

Per our arrangement with CCTC, every student in the Education Specialist Credential Program must demonstrate a breadth and depth of field experiences with students with and without a range of disabilities at different age and grade levels. The field log documents these field experiences. While many of these field experiences will be conducted as part of course requirements, you may need to conduct additional field observations, to ensure that you have observed students across age and disability levels as listed below.

You will start working on your field log in EDP/EDSP 480 and continue to build upon it throughout the program. Your University fieldwork supervisor will give final approval of your field log.

Each field experience will be accompanied by:

• a completed field experience description form (see template attached)
• an accompanying narrative discussing what was learned during the field experience and relating the field experience to coursework.

The narrative may be a required course assignment that describes an assigned field observation project. If your field experience was not done as part of a course requirement, please include a 2-page narrative that addresses the following 4 questions:

• Description of the experience conducted.
• What did you learn from this experience?
• Describe how this experience builds upon or connects with your coursework in the Education Specialist program?
• How did this experience demonstrate best practices in one or more of the 5 Education Specialist program theme areas (i.e. collaboration, literacy, transition, technology, and diversity)?

The field experience log will include experiences across the following settings:

• Each candidate must conduct brief observations, lasting 1 to 3 hours, of individuals with and without disabilities in a range of educational settings (you must complete at least one experience in an inclusive setting, a special day class (SDC) setting, and a resource (RSP) setting) across the following age levels and disability categories:

• Students with mild/moderate disabilities at the elementary level
• Students with mild/moderate disabilities at the secondary level
• Students with moderate/severe disabilities at the elementary level
• Students with moderate/severe disabilities at the secondary level
• Students in a post-secondary or transition program

• Each candidate must complete a forty-five hour experience in a general education setting. This could be an observation or instruction in an inclusive classroom or another general education setting in the capacity of classroom teacher, co-teacher, teaching assistant, student teacher, volunteer, or other. A prior experience in a general education setting lasting 45 hours or more, may be written up to meet this requirement, after obtaining approval from your EDP/EDSP 480 instructor.

• Observation in a setting that involves the use of assistive technologies for individuals with disabilities e.g., a classroom with students using AT/AAC, a high-tech or AT lab, AT exhibitions, TASK AT Center, ATECH at Goodwill Industries, etc.

Candidate's name:

Observation Site:

Supervisor's name:

Supervisor's phone number:

Supervisor's signature:

Date(s) of experience:

Length of experience (i.e., number of hours):

Description of students (e.g., ages, disability labels):

Type of setting (e.g., general education class, inclusive classroom, RSP, Special Day Class, Special Center/NPS, community-based setting, recreation setting, etc.):

FIELD LOG COVER SHEET

The candidate must complete at least one experience in each of the following settings: special day class, RSP, and inclusive/collaborative setting. Field experiences may be part of course assignments in the following courses (EDP/EDSP 350, 405, 480, 567, and 569).

Last update: 8/22/07