Aed201_Final_Project__a_Professional_Development_Plan

Final Project: A Professional Development Plan I have been been out of work for quite a while but have always wanted to be a teacher aiding students in developing their knowledge to better prepare them for the real world. I finally decided that instead of sitting at home dreaming of being a teacher that I should get up and do something about it. I set a goal for beginning college to become a teacher. After a few phone calls, and much trepidation and worry, I enrolled myself into the online learning program with University of Phoenix. Now that I am in college and working on my degree. I hope that in five years I will have my Teaching Certificate as well as a college degree. I hope that in five years I will be working as a teacher at Mort Elementary School, which is just a short walk from my house, giving me the opportunity to avoid a commute, help the environment, and make sure that there is nothing keeping me from getting in to work to see my students. I must stay dedicated to my studies to assure that I am best prepared for my teaching position and that I am prepared to be the provider of an education to these students. I will be the first to admit that I have struggled a fair amount to push through my studies, but I will let nothing stop me. The school districts in the Florida are in need of teachers with common sense, and a good grasp on their knowledge. Since I am currently not working, I anticipate a struggle getting the teaching job I'd like, right off the bat. So, I will start from the bottom if I have to, and I will work my hardest to develop an amazing resume based on my personal experience in the school system and the top notch education that I have received through college. I hope to become a tenured teacher after the first ten years. I plan to further my education within the ten year time period and to stay focused and involved in the mentoring and induction programs. I hope that I can begin teaching and have an exceptional mentor show me the ropes. By the end of the ten years I hope that I have been able to aid many new teachers in fulfilling the workload of teachers and the making it through the difficulties that do arise. My ultimate goal as a teacher is for each student to leave my classroom at the end of the day and to have enjoyed the time they spent learning with me. I will strive my hardest to make sure that all my students are able to grasp the materials presented to them. I hope to develop a trusting relationship with my students so they know that if there are and problems or concerns, even on a personal level, possibly something at home interfering with their concentration at school, they can discuss this will me. I will work my hardest to ensure that the situation is mediated and rectified. I must not get discouraged when I or a student has a bad day because in reality, everyone has a bad day every now and then, even students. I must stay patient with my classroom and continue to encourage students while at the same time encouraging parents to stay involved in their child’s education through involvement and caring. I will encourage parents to take a hands on approach at home, with homework and studying. A problem that I foresee is that of trying to deal with difficult parents while treating them with the utmost respect, regardless of their friendliness. There is a sad mentality with a blooming generation of parents, and it is only my job to do the teaching, when it is completely necessary for them to follow up with the lesson at home, and guide their children through the assigned work. While I wish for all students to have parents who are proud of their children and parents who are involved in and care for their schooling, I am completely conscious of the cases where these parents may not be involved. The realization that there is only so much I can do and that I cannot change who these parents are is something that may pose as an obstacle. I will continue to make the proper and needed contact attempts to parents. If I come in contact with the positive response from parents I will be elated. If I am faced with parent’s who seem less positive and attentive to their child’s education then I must understand that I made the best effort that I could. I have every intention be an active participant in the school’s Parent Teacher Association as I hope it will encourage my student’s parents to be. The Parent Teacher Association provides teachers and students with the openness of sharing their concerns, knowledge, and experience on children, students, and an education. Members of the Parent Teacher Association work with one another to focus on student’s education, health, and safety. The Parent Teacher Association members speak for the students who do not have the opportunity to do so themselves, on local, state, and even national government level. The National Parent Teacher Association, known as the PTA, is the largest group of volunteer child advocates in the nation, reminding our citizens that it is the countries obligation to the children to offer parents and family members a strong voice to speak for the children, all the while giving parents the tools available to aid their children to be successful students (PTA, 2009). The PTA works with many other programs and organizations focused on national education, health, safety, and child advocacy (PTA, 2009). The collaboration of projects between the PTA and other organizations can only benefit the students more, bringing valuable resources to the individuals working for the children. Parents and family members involved in the PTA will experience the advances and changes that these organizations bring. Hopefully the encouragement of these parents will provoke other parents to join as well. In my opinion, ever parent should attend and join PTA meetings. The PTA offers parents an opportunity to stay involved in their child’s life and school, because you cannot hear everything from the students alone. The school staff members should be encouraged to offer an bonus or incentive for each grade based on the level of parent involvement in the PTA. This will provide students with a reward for encouraging their own parents or guardians to participate in their education through the PTA. To be the best teacher that I can and develop the leadership skills necessary to teach I plan to become involved in the many committees or research programs within my school. I plan to join the PTA to provide help based on my time in the school system and to better develop my own knowledge base. I would not mind doing a little extra work for the PTA as the Membership Coordinator in charge of creating the welcome packets throughout the years for the new families, organizing and putting into practice campaigns for membership, managing the lists of the paid members, and filling out membership cards to provide to the paying members. I would enjoy becoming involved in serving on the curriculum committees to establish policies based on the attendance policies, teacher grading, and student dress code. I would like to stay involved in activities that better the students education such as composing grant proposals for the development of programs for teachers and students or conducting research to get a first hand view on the effectiveness of different methods of homework, test preparation, new programs and teaching methods to determine new methods that will produce the best opportunity for the students struggling with diversity to learn. The vast use of computers and the accessibility of programs able to track grade levels, monitoring students performances in math and reading will be efficient and provide teachers with a form of comparing and contrasting multiple computer programs to determine which program has the best level of increased learning. Through this knowledge the information can reach the appropriate person to begin the process of making a decision for school programs with extended information and research. The most important step involved in developing my own leadership skills is to continue my education. I must also push myself forward, and look past my discomfort and take the reins whenever possible. The more education and the longer personal experience of teaching will increase my knowledge on subject matter, my expertise in teaching,peer support, in-service education, and assisting new teachers as well as giving them advise and support with situations they may encounter. After reviewing the principals of the Interstate New Teachers Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC) I feel that I may be challenged in the area of the third principal, learning styles/diversity: The instructor understands how each student is different in their learning approach and creates learning plans that adapt to each of the diverse learners (INTASC Principles, n.d.). I do not have any hands on experience in developing an adaptive learning plan for a group of diverse learners so may feel a bit unfamiliar and struggle at first with teaching the diverse students appropriately. The best way to become educated and feel more comfortable with teacher the diverse learners are to look in to professional development programs in Tampa. I have heard mention of schools that provide professional development programs to offer support to new teachers and to improve experienced teachers. These programs aid teachers in reviewing works submitted by students to figure out the needs of each individual student and find patterna in the student's work habits. The teacher then must form a strategy to meet this student’s individual learning type to guide them towards achievement. There is constant research being performed based on students test scores, examples of students schoolwork, and surveys to better understand and teach diverse learners. Many programs focus their time on the development of policies and practices to meet the needs of all students through a better delivery of teachings and finally close the large gap between each student’s achievements. School system have individuals from all aspects of the school, budget, curriculum, parents, and technology, working together to provide the highest improvements to the school and the education of the students. Through working together the parents and students can develop strategies targeted at improvement. Since I am not currently working in the school system, I have not had the chance to participate in the programs based on providing teachers and staff instructions on the many diverse learning styles and expand teacher's knowledge on diverse students. We must work together to ensure the education and safety of our students. Addressing a professional development plan for me is extremely overwhelming but I will save the plan as a record of my goals while I reach them and begin to form new goals. I must stay focused on the goals at hand and avoid delays. This plan will keep my focus on the original plan for my journey to becoming a teaching professional. I will become an active member in my schools system's groups to better my teachings as well as the education of my students. I will encourage parents and family members to become involved in their child’s education and to join the PTA. My students will always be given support and encouragement on both the educational and emotional level as they move forward in life and work towards becoming an active and productive member of society. I will strive to accomplish the goals of each and every one of my students by encouraging them to make their own sets of goals and to continue working towards completing those goals. I will join the mentor or induction programs that are available to my school as both a participant and a tenure teaching aiding the newer teachers. These programs were created to better the knowledge and experience of both new and old teachers. I will try my hardest to understand the diversity of my students learning abilities and aid the more advanced students while providing increased attention to the ones who are struggling to keep up with the course work. I will encourage myself as well as all of my students to continue their educations by pursuing a college education, and to always try their best. I will try to be active in supporting and joining organizations for the understanding diverse learners. I will do my best to encourage growth within the school and the classroom in the best interests of students, families, and faculty. With more experience I can provide many with support and assistance to better them. It all boils down to this, my goal as a teacher, is to better the lives and educations of others. References PTA. (2009). Every One, Every Voice. Retrieved on December 5, 2009 from http://www.pta.org/about_pta.asp INTASC Principles. (n.d.). Interstate New Teachers Assessment and Support Consortium. Retrieved on December 5, 2009 from http://cte.jhu.edu/pds/resources/intasc_principles.htm