1. Adriana has always wanted to be a teacher and was inspired by her autistic cousin Matthew to pursue special education. She volunteered as a tutor which led her to work at a special education school. 2. She views her career path as a series of events: Matthew inspired her interest in special education, her family has always supported her goals, college is preparing her for her future career, and gaining confidence is an ongoing process like practicing for field events. 3. Her ultimate goal is to pursue a career in teaching and create children's books and TV shows to promote early childhood development and inclusion for all types of children.

1. Adriana
Petrongolo
On Your Mark, Get Set

2. Preface
Elementary/Special Education Field
Always knew that i wanted to be a teacher
Autistic cousin, Matthew
Always loved being in front of a class
Worked many different jobs, but always felt out of place
Started volunteering as a tutor, which led me to Saint John of God School

3. Design
1.Matthew: Shotgun
2.Family: Bleachers
3.College: Finish line
4. Confidence: High
Jump
5.career: Relay Baton

4. 1. Matthew
Matthew is the shotgun for me because he is what really started my interest in special
education. Seeing the disadvantages that Matthew faces because of his disabilities makes me
want to change education for the better.
Theories: observational, forward-reaching transfer, intelligence, extrinsic motivation
principles: episodic memory, critical thinking, declarative memory, rapport talk, scaffolding,
micro-systems, meso-systems
Goals: To change the way people think about students with disabilities and to give those
students more options in education
Mislearnings: Those with disabilities are not smart

5. 2. Family
My family represents the bleachers because they are always rooting me on, win or loss,
success or fail. They may not always encourage my decisions, but any input they give is in my
best interest and directed toward my success.
Theories: Observational, interference, social cognitive, intrinsic motivation
Principles: long-term memory, modeling, critical thinking
To show my family that I can succeed and meet their best expectations for me
Mislearnings: Family’s support does not always agree with what you might have in mind

6. 3. College
College is the finish line because it does not matter whether you finish first. All that
matters is that you finish on your terms with dignity to the best of your ability. Track is not
really about competition with others as competition with yourself, exceeding your own
expectations. The finish line marks the end of one road and prepares you for the next.
Theories: Classical conditioning, observational, peer tutoring, mastery, vertical transfer,
extrinsic motivation, cooperative learning,
Principles: long-term memory, moral development, modeling, encoding, elaboration
Goals: To take as much as I can from each of my classes and eventually go to graduate school
Mislearnings: College is a four year straight road

7. 4. Confidence
Confidence has always been a struggle for me, much like the field event, long jump. Since it
is not my strong suit, I try to work on it as much as possible because I know how important it
is in the career that i wish to pursue.
Theories: Social cognitive, Mastery learning, Operant conditioning
Principles: Law of effect, modeling
Goals: To exude confidence in my classroom everyday and make sure that my students are so
confident in themselves that they can do anything that they set their minds to
Mislearnings: Teachers are always sure of themselves

8. 5. Career
The relay baton represents my future career because all of the knowledge that I acquire is
being passed on to eventually lead me to what I need for my future job. It also represents
the different opportunities that lie ahead of me.
Theories: Observational, social cognitive, mastery, backward-reaching transfer, vertical
transfer, intelligence,
Principles: Long-term memory, episodic memory, moral development, critical thinking,
assimilation, meso-systems, macro-systems
Goals: To pursue a career in teaching and eventually write children’s books and television
programs targeted to early childhood development to a variety of children, including
various cultural backgrounds and disabilities.
Mislearnings: Education is limited to the classroom