Leadership Impact

Running head: LEADERSHIP IMPACT PLAN PAPER

Capstone Experience

Program Leadership Impact Plan Paper

Lisette Lacosta

American College of Education

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The reason I enrolled in this program was to expand my knowledge on early

childhood development, education and appropriate practice. By meeting these goals, I

hoped to improve my practice as a behavior analyst and better collaborate with teachers

and other therapists. I work with children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and related

developmental disorders. Before I enrolled in this program the teachers of the children

that I work with often frustrated me. I also noticed that they were often frustrated by me.

I realized that although we had similar goals, we were trained differently and had

different approaches. One of my main goals was to understand the teacher’s

perspective and learn what they know. I thought that if I can relate and understand the

educational approach, I would have better relationships with teachers and ultimately

improve the way we treat our students.

I definitely feel I have grown as a leader throughout the course of this program.

Primarily I have learned a great deal that I have been able to pass on to colleagues and

supervisees. Additionally, I feel that I have achieved my goal of improving collaboration

with teachers. Many of the teachers I work with are open to my ideas and have taken

my guidance. I have also improved my practice and become a better leader to my

students. I have noticed that I have been more successful in helping my students

achieve their goals.

The leadership qualities that are most important to me are humility, empathy,

fairness and ethics. I believe all of these qualities have been enhanced by my graduate

experience. The reason I enrolled in the program as a behavior analyst shows humility

in that I did not consider myself an expert and wanted to learn a different perspective. I

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feel this characteristic has been enhanced throughout the course of this program with

each class. Empathy is very important when helping others, particularly children. I

believe learning different developmental theories and family dynamics have helped me

to be more empathetic, patient and understanding with my students. Being fair, firm and

consistent can be vital in being an effective educator. I learned this through several

courses in this course as well as through discussion posts with peers. I consider using

data and literature to make decisions to be an ethical obligation in our line of work. I

think we can actually do damage to our student if we do not use accurate information

and use ethical practices. This program has enhanced my knowledge and ability to

conduct research and find evidence-based information.

Many colleagues and leaders influence me in my profession as well as in the

educational profession. I try to attend at least one behavior analysis conference per

year. In these conferences I have been able to listen to and meet some of the pioneers

in the field of behavior analysis. Two of the most inspiring leaders that I have seen in

these conferences are Dr. John Friman and Jose Martinez. Dr. Friman is a patient, open

and humble professional who works with kids, teaches in college and conducts research

in the area of behavior analysis. He is inspiring to me because he uses data and

research when he presents but he is also humble and open to a different perspective.

Jose Martinez is also a professor as well as a an owner of a successful behavior

analysis company. Jose Martinez is passionate and goes to great depths to ensure he

is doing the best he can for his students. I have seen him cry when telling stories of the

kids that he works with! I am also very much inspired by some of the teachers that I

have the privilege of working with.

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My favorite topics that I learned and studied in this program were the

developmental theories. As a behavior analyst I have studied the behavior theory

extensively and I was no longer considering other important theories as possible clues

to understanding my students. Curriculum development was not my favorite but

definitely the most impactful. I had never written or even read lesson plans. I have been

able to implement what I learned in the curriculum classes by researching standards to

writing full curriculum for a social skills group. Research methods was another very

valuable class to me as I learned to comfortably and efficiently research peer reviewed

journal articles in order to use valuable information when making treatment decisions.

Throughout this course I have changed the way I work with children as well as

communicate with parents and teachers. Some of the knowledge and practices that I

acquired in this course I have been able to apply immediately in my work. I have

discussed different learning theories and made suggestions to teachers about

classroom set up and instruction. I have used my knowledge and research to better

understand what goes on in the classroom and in the home with students. I have also

created a curriculum based on what I learned in this program.

The leadership competencies that I have applied and will continue to apply will

improve the learning and growth of the students that I work with. I feel I become a better

researcher, communicator and behavior analyst. I feel I can have more educated

conversations with colleagues, parents and students. I now make sure to use

evidenced-based and current journal articles to inform my decisions. Ultimately, what I

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have learned in this program has made me a better behavior analyst and has ensured

that my students are more successful in achieving their goals.

I would like to continue to develop my leadership skills beyond completing this

program. I will continue to attend conferences and will probably include occasional

educational conferences in addition to behavior analysis conferences. Eventually, I

would like to present at one of these conferences. I will also continue to use peer-

reviewed journals to learn and keep up with the most up to date practices in my field. At

this end of this year, I would like to get certified in Behavior Analysis. With this

certification, I would like to take on more supervisees in the field of behavior analysis in

order to help other young professionals.

I have learned a great deal in this program that I will use and cherish throughout

my profession. I believe by combining therapy and teaching, I can make great

differences in the students that I work with. I also feel that I can bridge the gap between

the two professions. A lot of times we all have the same outcomes but we just speak

different languages. If we can get on the same page, we would be more successful in

helping our students reach their goals.