Reflection

More than anything, this class has taught me how much actually goes into an assessment.  Assessments are not just the standardized tests that we are required to give from year to year.  When I first thought of this class, I assumed we would simply focus on the many standardized assessments used with the ASD population.  Instead, we spent a great deal of time talking about the actual process of assessment and what goes into it.  I found this much more helpful as I could easily relate it to my experience and it felt like a much more holistic approach.  Assessments should be comprehensive and address the whole child; while standardized tools can be helpful in some sense, they should not be relied on completely.  Instead, assessments should include observations, data collection, portfolios, etc.  The process of completing an assessment should also include a wide variety of team members who are constantly communicating and sharing information to help put together an accurate picture of a child.  This I will certainly remember in my daily practice.

In terms of assignments, I found the wiki particularly helpful.  It is an excellent tool to use, especially in this day and age.  I particularly liked how interactive it could be.  For me, it came at a very appropriate time as I have struggled with my parent population this year and needed to find a way to address these issues.  Not only did I find learning how to actually use a wiki beneficial, but researching inclusionary classrooms and all of the benefits of inclusion re-affirmed how I felt and gave me solid content to relay back to my parent population.  I will certainly be using this from year to year.

Overall, I feel that ESP 621 has opened my mind a bit more to assessment and all that is involved.