Professional Development Reflection - September

Professional Development - Enhancing Professional Practice: A Framework for Teaching

September 17, 2013

As a member of the New Teacher Mentor Program with District 205, I am required to attend five professional development meetings. As a part of the program, I am asked to reflect on each of the meetings I attend, and with good reason. Reflection, to me anyway, is one of the most beneficial, meaningful, and healthy exercises that I can do to continuously check in with myself on how I am doing professionally and emotionally. In District 205, every teacher is evaluated at least once a year in accordance with the Charlotte Danielson model. There are four domains in which a teacher is evaluated on: Planning and Preparation, Classroom Environment, Instruction, and Professional Responsibilities. This first professional development meeting went into further detail explaining each of these four domains more specifically.

The leader of the mentor program asked us to reflect on the following question: What insights have I gained from this meeting, and how will those insights impact my classroom?

I am glad to have learned more about the Danielson model. I learned what exactly is expected of me during my observations. (Since I am a new teacher and non-tenured, I will be observed THREE times with a summative evaluation at the end of the school year.) I want to tailor my teaching to align with the Danielson model not only for the purpose of my evaluation grade, but more importantly so that I know that I am a good and effective teacher.

__________________________

Updating this blog on October 30, 2013:

At this point, I have already been observed twice by an administrator, and on both observations, I received a Proficient mark (3 out of 4 points on the Danielson scale). My mentor and I are in the process of creating a goal for this year, and a part of that goal will entail striving to receive an Excellent mark (4 out of 4 points on the Danielson scale) on my third and final observation. Since I attended this first PD meeting, I've really been reading through and reflecting on the Danielson model. In preparation for creating this new goal, I am really thinking about Domain 3 in particular, which deals with Instruction. Administration will be looking to see whether or not I am a good teacher, but more than that, they will be looking to see how students respond to my lessons during classtime. Are students taking ownership for their learning? Are students motivated and involved with the lesson? What are students doing to ensure their successes? Domain 3 has five components:

3a Communicating With Students
3b Using Questioning and Discussion Techniques
3c Engaging Students in Learning
3d Using Assessment in Instruction
3e Demonstrating Flexibility and Responsiveness

As I continue moving through this year, I will be working very hard toward increasing the meaning of my classroom instruction.

A QUARTER of the way there!

Well, it's official.

I've made it through my very first quarter of teaching!

Yes, it's true. This morning, I finished entering my grades for first quarter! I clicked the 'save' button, said goodbye to last quarter, and shouted hello to the future! In my first 10 weeks of teaching, there have been many ups and downs. Some nights I came home glowing, and others I stumbled through the door in tears. But through it all, I've discovered one extremely important thing: I am a teacher. I am a good teacher. And I am doing exactly what I was put on this Earth to do.

Gosh, I just can't explain the surreal-ness of going to a JOB that I am absolutely smitten with!

As I look back over first quarter, I am pretty happy with all that I've done during my first ten weeks as an educator. What I'm most proud of are the relationships I've formed with both my students and my colleagues. I am a part of a great team at East High School, and I couldn't have asked for better students!

Much more to come. Now that I've finally found my nich, I seem to have more free time, especially on the weekends, and I promise to blog as much as I can!

This was our first ESL social. We had just under 100 students
come out to the park for a picnic in last September. It was wonderful!

GLAD (Guided Language Acquisition Design) Training (Professional Development Reflection)

This is my favorite quote! It is posted on a window in the
library and Creekside Middle School. I'm so glad to see that
others are promoting reading with these special words.

The Guided Language Acquisition Design, so cutely acronym-ed GLAD, jam-packed my brain with classroom strategies for two entire days (October 1st and 2nd). I really took so much away from this training. These two days stood as an overview of the model, but I will be returning to Creekside Middle School (Woodstock, IL) next month for four additional days where I will be given the opportunity to see these strategies play out in the classroom.

As a new teacher, I feel like a little sea sponge. I just want to soak up as much knowledge as I can. I am continually reflecting and evaluating my performance as a new teacher, so the more strategies that are made available to me, the more prepared I feel. After the first half of Quarter 1 comes to an end, and after much reflection on my beginning units, I feel ready now to jump in even more forcefully than ever. My Strategic Literacy class could have been much better planned, and I'm sort of kicking myself in the behind for not being better prepared; but I'm all-the-more motivated and encouraged to plan an out-of-this-world unit on the disastrous happenings of the Titanic.

The bilingual department of District 205 sent me to the GLAD training, so initially I thought it was geared strictly for my ESL classes, but after learning about the many different strategies, I can (and will!) absolutely use what I've learned in my Literacy classes as well.

The walls of the training room were plastered with TONS of example posters. I took ovre 75 photographs. I've included some of my favorites.

 This is an Inquiry Chart. It's similar to the KWL chart, except that there is no 'L' (which I enjoy, because how often to do really go back and fill in the 'L' column of the chart after we've finished the assignment?). In the left hand column, students are asked to write about what they already know about a topic. In the right hand column, students are asked to write about what they want to know about a topic. You can see the different colored markers. What's nice about this chart is that it will go up on the wall and stay there through the entirety of the unit. You will notice the orange marker. After students have learned more about the topic, the teacher can go in later with a different colored marker and add additional or new ideas (the 'L' comes into play here).

This pictorial input chart is also really neat. Do you see how well-drawn this is?! One of the trainers began with a blank poster and made this! This chart is used as a great visual, especially for ESL students. Rather than simply lecturing at students, you can involve them with the learning by asking them to contribute to the picture, repeat what you write after you say it out loud, and add realistic pictures right on top of what you've drawn.

 

I will have MUCH more to report after I begin implementing many of these strategies into my lessons this week.