Responses to Leah and Heidi

Prompt for reference

The Decision-Making Process

Though we can investigate steps and approaches research suggests are effective, without personal acceptance and ownership of these ideas, genuine change doesn’t happen.

1.Given what you have gleaned from this course, select one colleague to describe and how you 1.would invest in his/her professional development.

2.What does this suggest about your own professional development?

When responding to peers, consider pitfalls in the approach or ways to enhance the investment in others.-2018-2022 peer-reviewed articles

Part 1—Please respond to each  discussion post.  There are two different responses that should be ½ page each (~135 words)

Discussion 1:  please respond to leah’s post: only a 125-word response is needed! Use at least one  reference above in the response.

The colleague I chose for this discussion is a first-year teacher in my department. Last school year, I was her mentor teacher while she completed her student teaching internship in her senior year of undergraduate school. She was, by far, the best intern I have ever had. Last year, she seemed as though she already had teaching experience. She also frequently asked for feedback, was receptive to any pointers, completed work on time, and learned quickly that teaching requires you to always have a backup plan and be able to think on your feet. Even though she is now a first-year teacher and no longer an intern, she still often comes to me from across the hall when she needs help with something. I have noticed so far this school year that she needs a lot of help with the behind-the-scenes job responsibilities that are often improved with time and experience.To best support her needs–and the needs of other new teachers at the school, for that matter–I would create a new teacher professional learning community (PLC) or occasional professional development (PD) sessions that are tailored specifically to new teachers. Reflecting on my own PD experiences, I feel as though I have often felt the most supported and engaged in PLC settings. The school district often holds PD sessions for new teachers, but I have noticed that there should be school-based PD for new teachers, allowing them to focus on their specific school community and how their school operates. When teachers can collaborate and learn in an environment that is specific to their unique needs, they will be able to learn in an ongoing, collaborative, and comfortable setting (Bates & Morgan, 2018). Because time is often an issue that inhibits teachers from attending extra PD opportunities, a virtual PLC could be created to support these teachers (Sullivan et al., 2018). Also, because there are only so many hours in a day and only so many days in a school year, some learning opportunities are experienced over time. For example, I recently had to help the teacher described above file a report with CPS. I also had to show her how to fill out a grade appeal form. She noted that she did not get experience with these two tasks last year as an intern, which made me realize some knowledge is required over time. However, investing in creating a PLC where new teachers can learn from one another’s experiences, ask questions, and feel supported would help new teachers like my former intern be more comfortable with unexpected or unfamiliar job responsibilities. Lastly, a PLC will allow them to engage in shared decision-making efforts and collaboration with their colleagues. 

 References

Bates, C. C., & Morgan, D. N. (2018). Seven elements of effective professional development. Reading Teacher, 71(5), 623–626. https://doi.org/10.1002/trtr.1674Links to an external site.

Sullivan, R., Neu, V., & Yang, F. (2018). Faculty development to promote effective instructional technology integration: a qualitative examination of reflections in an online community. Online Learning, 22(4), 341–359. https://doi:10.24059/olj.v22i4.1373

Discussion 2:  please respond to heidi’s post:  only a 125-word response is needed! Use at least one  reference above in the response.Professional development is important to the growth and potential of individuals. A few years ago, I developed a group for our new teachers to provide year-long support and professional development. One of the teachers that I will describe for this post is a new culinary teacher we hired this year. Hiring someone that is coming through alternative pathways is always interesting because they do not have the typical knowledge and training that new, traditionally trained teachers have. This teacher is middle-aged and is a career-changer. He is very eager to learn, easy to get along with, and very participatory in our activities. However, he does lack instructional pedagogy and strategies that could enhance his classroom. In order to invest in his professional development, I would work to customize his learning to fit his needs.  Martin et al. (2019) explain that an effective school is one where teachers and staff participate in the decision-making process, shared responsibility, and shared vision.  It is important that this teacher participates in his learning and professional growth. The design process for his professional development is where he contributes what he would like to learn as well as some topics passed along because career-changing educators don't always even know what to ask for since they don't know the profession. Building a strong PLC is important so they can collaborate and grow as a team. Stegall & Linton (2012) posit that barriers are broken down when teachers come together with colleagues to share best practices and plan together. Helping this teacher build a collaborative PLC can teach him the skills he needs for continuous success. 

Reflection;The plan above includes getting the teacher's input and developing skills for career success. I enjoy having voice and choice in my professional learning, but there are some instances where I like being presented with things that I did not think of because I would have never known to ask. I believe a combination of being presented with topics and having some choice in my learning is a good balance to support my career. I also look for things that will help me develop over time into a better leader. We have many teacher leaders and I think helping build skills in others, builds their capacity and makes the organization better over time. I am a firm believer that we have an obligation to build capacity in others and leaders should also "train their replacement" as they say in the business world. It is important that our professional growth plans put others first so they can become the best version of themselves. 

References

Martin, L. E., Bauserman, K. L., & Quatroche, D. J. (2012). Transforming schools: the power of teachers' input in professional development. Journal of Educational Research and Practice, 9(1), 179-188. https://doi.org/10.5590/JERAP.2019.09.1.13  Links to an external site. 

Stegall, D., & Linton, J. (2012). Teachers in the lead a district's approach to shared leadership: A North Carolina district embraced teacher leadership, and the result has been overall achievement gains. Phi Delta Kappan, 93(7), 62-66.

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