Professional Development
Page overview:
This page highlights how I have developed professionally as a teacher during this teaching practice.
Professional Development Plan (PDP)
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Goals
I had three goals that I planned to fulfill for this semester as a way to develop myself as a teacher. The following table outlines each goal:
Goal01
Planning for challenging activities
Plan of Action
1. Find the high achievers in the classroom.
2. Identify the level of challenge they are usually working at.
3. Implement activities that will challenge the high achievers further, compared to their classmates.
4. Collect evidence to see if the activities are challenging enough.
5. Check if the high achievers are working in the learning zone.
Goal02
Implementing transition techniques
Plan of Action
1. Choose a main transition strategy:
-Transition sticks: images that signal the beginning, or end of an activity.
2. Notice if the student's in the classroom follow any transitions with their usual teacher.
3. Begin to model the transition techniques during the second week while teaching.
4. Continue to reinforce transitioning routines, so students are constantly reminded that they must listen to the instructions.
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Goal03
Controlling students' voice levels in the classroom
Plan of Action
1. Observe students during their lessons, and check if they have an awareness of maintaining a specific voice level during various activity types.
2. Introduce a voice-level scale that indicates what voice levels are to be used during different activities (scale ranges from 0-4, 0 meaning silence, and 4 being presenting voice).
3. Stick the chart in the classroom, and attach small lights under each chart, so when one light is turned on, students can see which chart it is under, and which voice level that indicates.
4. Monitor students as they work, and make sure nobody goes above the voice-level that is required for the activity.
Mentor Feedback
Goal 1: Plan for challenging activities
Previous Semester
Previously, my past mentor told me I lacked the ability to stretch the high achievers in the classroom because the activities were too easy for them.
Current Semester
After implementing my goal this semester and using various strategies from literature, my college mentor observed that the activities were challenging enough for the students.
Goal 2: Implementing transitions
Current Semester
While in the past, I had little control over the time it took students to complete activities, after using transition strategies to keep the pace moving, my time management has improved.
Goal 3: Controlling students' voice levels
Previous Semester
Current Semester
My previous school mentor advised me to work on my classroom management skills because it had an affect on students' learning.
This semester, my behavior management has gotten significantly better as seen from the above comment from my current school mentor.
Professional Reading
During the planning period prior to the implementation of my goals, I did research on effective strategies found in literature, and ones proven to be effective by studies. Using strategies that are backed-up by literature increases the likeliness of their effectivess.
CV Writing Workshop
I attended a CV writing workshop so that I am able to write a better resume that is of good quality, and is able to highlight my skills well. I learned about the components of a CV, and what points to highlight, and what to keep out.
Action Research
While carrying out a research project for the course EDU 4003: Research Methods and Reflective Practice in Education, there was a lot of planning and considerations that were taken into account.
Research Overview
The title of the research is "The Effect of Leveled Reading on Second Language Learners". The main aim is to find students' instructional level in reading, which refers to a book that is not too easy, nor too difficult to read. Then, reading interventions are applied as the child practices reading skills with the level they have been assigned. According to Adams (1990), when readers encounter difficult words, they should be prompted to read them rather than skip them (Adams, 1990). Encountering difficulties enables a child to use their problem-solving skills, which is important for the attainment of new knowledge.
A part of this research links to my teaching philosophy, as one area of pedagogy I advocate is to provide students with adequate challenge in their learning.
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Research Form
Before conducting my research at the school, I asked the school principle for permission to carry through with my work by presenting an ethics statement that outlined my responsibilities as a trainee researcher. In addition, I explained in detail what the research project consists of.
Letter to Parents
My research had to employ the use of the story books that belonged to the school, in which I had to send the books home with students so that they can do the assigned reading. Therefore, I wrote a letter to the parents letting them know about the importance of keeping the story books in good condition.
Book Record
I was responsible for making sure that all books were returned safely, so I created a recording sheet to keep record of the books. Whenever a book was taken home by the students, I used this sheet to note down the details of the book, along with the date and student's name.
References:
Adams, M. J. (1990). Beginning to read: Thinking and learning about print. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.