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Blooming On:
Marissa K. Lambert
Personal Growth
Having attended Azusa Pacific University (APU) to further my education in the area of
special education and learning and technology, I grew in ways that I could never have imagined.
At APU I completed many different courses that helped me to develop immensely, I have
reflected on these classed on Appendix A. My faith has been strengthened enabling me to deal
with the various struggles I have faced during this program. I have grown to be more adaptable;
listening when others are speaking and not thinking that what I say is most important. I am my
own most prominent critic. I believe that I cannot do much right, but through my newfound
confidence, I have grown to accept and listen to other’s criticism without taking it too personally.
My faith has strengthened in abundance because if I did not have my faith, I would have
never gotten through my Masters of Arts in Education: Learning and Technology (LRNT). God
has been my true guiding light through this whole experience. He has shown me exactly which
direction to go, and He’s given me the strength and ability to be successful on this path. I know
that God himself picked me to be a teacher; I have witnessed Him working through every step I
have taken. I have cried to Him through prayer, calling out His name, asking Him to help give
me the strength and wisdom to make the right decisions. He has also given me the ability to deal
with emotions, which is something that I have struggled with my entire life.
At APU I have studied my strengths through a book called StrengthsFinder 2.0. We took
an assessment to find out what our strengths were. I learned that my number one strength is
adaptability. After discovering this, I have worked to nurture my strength. I fly by the seat of my
pants and expect for plans to have sudden detours or requests (Rath, 2007). I have also grown to
be much quieter; I used to have to always talk, and my opinion had to be heard. It was through
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learning and talking to other teachers and educators that I started to keep quiet and learn by
While growing up, I was never a patient person. I wanted what I wanted immediately. I
believed that everyone was going to do what I wanted at any given time. It has been through the
LRNT program that I have displayed an amount of patience that has even surprised me. I have
At APU I have grown and changed in more ways than I could have imagined personally.
I have grown to depend on my faith to get me through the day to day situations through prayer
and guidance from God. I have become more adaptable in all cases in life, including staying
quiet and learning from others. I have grown to be more confident of myself, believing in what I
Professional Growth
Amidst my professional journey, I have grown and blossomed. I view many of the areas
that I have developed professionally as wins for my students. The professional maturity I’m most
proud of is my ability to communicate my passion for teaching special education and the
importance of educating others about the gift that special needs students bring. I also recognize
that the relationships that you build with your students help you to gain production from them.
Strengthening my skills in making parents feel more comfortable when given difficult news is
another growth I have achieved. They understand that I do care for their child and want what is
Through my entire life, I have enjoyed working with this unique population. I can not
grasp why people treat special needs children poorly. I want to educate the world about how
gifted these children are. Some special needs students “... have been in the hands of other people,
and it did not feel like being loved. More often it felt like rejection, if not downright abuse”
(Reinders, 2011, para. 3). Educating general education teachers about how these students want to
feel included and loved is an essential work of a special education teacher. General education
teachers need to see these children as gifts, as people that grow and learn just a bit differently.
Having a relationship with students is more crucial than some teacher candidates believe.
Relationships cannot be taught. Teachers are shown how to give a direct lesson through
students. This method helps me to push them to their full potential. Having a relationship with
my students allows me to treat them as an individual. They feel more comfortable with me, and
Working in special education (SPED) I knew that I would encounter parents often.
Interacting with parents scared me at first. I realized I have the skill of making people
comfortable. When I had to say something to a parent, I have lost sleep and had terrible stomach
issues. When breaking difficult news to parents, I was able to make parents feel comfortable, by
merely telling them the facts. Parents can see that I want what is best for their child through the
Throughout my entire professional growth journey, I have matured in areas that I feel are
important. These areas may not be seen as necessary to all educators, but for me, they are the
reasons that people trust my opinion and believe in my ability. I can help them feel calm and
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convey what I am doing is best for their student. Gaining students’ trust will allow me to expect
more from them, producing because I believe in them. Working toward gaining general
When I obtain general education teachers’ understanding and willingness to try, everyone is
Technical Growth
Throughout the LRNT program, I have grown in many different technical areas. I grew in
how I view technology in the classroom and also in applications that I use. I saw the most
data collection techniques that can direct my teaching to the specific needs of my students. The
area I developed the most in was my perspective on the potential use of technology in the
classroom.
abused by the teachers. Teachers were placing students on different forms of technology for
extended periods of time throughout the day and not teaching the students anything themselves.
Seeing this caused me to develop a disdain for technology in schools. Teachers’ abuse of
technology was a sizable reason that I chose to get the LRNT Masters. Working in special
education, I have students that are at different learning levels. My University mentor, Carleen
Maurer stated: “technology allows students to learn and develop in areas that a teacher can not
reach because each student needs something different than another” (C. Maurer, personal
communication, October 2, 2018). Studying different programs and allowing my students to use
various programs, I discovered that technology could make learning fun and students can learn
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As a SPED teacher, collecting data has always been a huge stressor. Communicating with
other teachers and researching different technological programs, I found ways to collect data for
my students’ goals. Many applications have an adaptive feature, meeting students where they are
and slowly helping them grow. Data collection provides teachers with the materials to know
precisely where a student is working and help them to achieve their goals. That data can then be
used to help guide your instruction. I have my students complete these assessments and then base
some of my curriculum on the data collected. One particular program I use has students use a
computer component and a direct teaching component. The program has helped several of my
students improve their reading comprehension. One of my students has grown over two years in
reading comprehension since the beginning of the school year. I also base my teaching off where
a group of students understanding is. My students use adaptive programs to help fill in the gaps
When I started the LRNT program, I assumed that I would be learning about how
different technology works within the school system. I did not think that I would completely
change my perspective of technology use in schools. I now see that technology is used to help
students grow in areas that sometimes teachers cannot reach them. Another way that I gained
perspective is how technology collects information that can be used to help teachers better teach
all students.
❏ I will attend Special Education Conferences, ones that will further explain special
education law.
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❏ I will attend every training possible through my school district that will give me further
❏ I belong to Special Education teacher groups on social media where I can ask questions
Conclusion
The LRNT program has been a tremendous growing experience. There have been many
highs and an abundance of lows, but through all of those difficulties and triumphs, I have
become the teacher that I hope God intended me to be. I know for a fact that my faith is the only
way that I have been successful through this process, God has given challenges that I never
imagined. There were many times I wanted to quit, but through the whole journey reminded
myself that I was not alone and that my Savior was my biggest cheerleader. Knowing that to be
Along with the hard parts, came the joys, the little things, it was realizing that I could use
using it. It was seeing my students excited about reading when before they would do everything
in their power to detour from having even to try. Throughout this program, both my students and
Appendix A
History of Coursework
EDUC 511 Spring 1 2018 Valarie Suffern I become more transparent in technology. I
stopped being afraid to ask questions. I
also learned about different technologies
that I had never experienced before, like
LiveBinders and Zoom.
EDUC 546 Spring 2 2018 Joseph Bruzzese I learned that technology could help not
only students but teachers. It allows
teachers to learn more about a content area
or subject and for them to become a
community helping to support one another.
EDTC 515 Summer 1 Timothy Holder I learned that the Darkside of the web is
2018 scarier than the public portrays it and that
we need to teach our students how to
protect themselves on the internet.
EDUC 547 Fall 1 2018 Jennifer Courduff I learned that Assistive Technology (AT) is
not just electronic devices, but any tool that
can help a student to learn better.
EDUC 549 Fall 2 2018 Kathleen Bacer I reflected on what I learned throughout my
entire Masters and Credential courses. I
learned about how I grew professionally,
personally and technologically and how I
can use this growth in my classroom and
throughout my entire life.
SPED 575 Fall 1&2 Angela Guta I further understood what it takes to be a
A&B 2018 caring and adequate teacher, through
mentorship from a seasoned special
education expert.
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References