Analysis of East Memorial Elementary School Professional Development Activities
Introduction
East Memorial Elementary (EME) is consisting of Kindergarten through Fifth grades. The school is a part of Weld County School District Six (WCSD 6). The population of the school is a little over 500 students. The school is in Greeley, Colorado about an hour north from Denver. An Analysis of professional development was conducted to see how efficiently the training is changing attitudes, knowledge, and skill of the teaching staff. The purpose of this paper is to present an action plan that was developed based on the findings from the action research to improve professional developments at EME.
Diagnose of the Problem
The problem is the EME professional development (PD) is not efficiently changing the “…attitudes, collaboration, knowledge levels, skills, and practices of individuals that will assist them in performing their roles-present or future” (Robbins & Alvy, 2009, pg. 121). EME has an opportunity to improve how the school conducts PD’s based on research. According to Robbins and Alvy PD’s are very important to the overall success of the students. When teachers grow so do the students (2009, pg. 128).
What questions then needs to be answered? What is the explanation of ineffective PD’s at EME? What actions would EME leadership need to take to increase the effectiveness of PD’s? To answer these questions an analysis was done to discover what steps need to be taken to improve EME PD’s. The goal or purpose of this planning is to create a highly effective PD that changes “…attitudes, collaboration, knowledge levels, skills, and practices of individuals that will assist them in performing their roles-present or future” (Robbins & Alvy,...
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... is interviewing the teaching staff asking now they feel about the study group activities.
This is an action plan that was made to help create PD’s that will efficiently change the “…attitudes, collaboration, knowledge levels, skills, and practices of individuals that will assist them in performing their roles-present or future” (Robbins & Alvy, 2009, pg. 121).
References
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A successful educator must be taught effective instructional strategies that convey content in a manner that students can understand. One can learn to be an effective teacher, and teaching skills can always be enhanced in a way that increases student learning. Professional development is a powerful tool for improving teachers’ instructional practices and raising student achievement, however it can only be beneficial when essential characteristics are present.
William Marston developed his DISC model through his book Emotions of Normal People. William Marston’s book does not give a behavioral assessment instrument for determining one’s behavioral style. Dr. Tony Alesandra develops such an instrument for one to use, assisting individuals, and teams into understanding how these behavioral styles may adapt to promote effective communication. The developing of a professional development plan (PDP) ensures that individuals of a learning team hold a tool for assessing the individual member’s skills, strengths, areas of improvement, and the resources necessary to help these individuals reach their goals. The PDP ensures that a learning team can work together efficiently, and assist the leader in leading the team.
Fratt, L. (2007). Professional Development for the New Century. (Cover story). District Administration, 43(6), 56-60. Retrieved from Academic Search Complete database.
The development of effective self practice among early childhood educators has become an increasingly important aspect of quality management and improved service delivery in the ECE sector. The significance of professional development for ECEs is that it enhances the acquisition of professional knowledge, skills, and dispositions as well as the application of this knowledge in professional practice. Professional development is mainly through continuous learning and training and is dependent on the educator’s core personal and professional values and beliefs. These beliefs are shaped by publications of regulatory and professional bodies and through constant self reflection and evaluation. This then enables ECEs work on their beliefs that shape their professional practice as regards mode of teaching and also professional relationships with family and community.
The SEDL Stages of Concern instrument was used to evaluate faulty members’ attitude toward edTPA implementation as a high stakes assessment. There is an established validity and reliability for the
There will be various professional attributes discussed in this paper that have contributed to my success and growth as an educator. A discussion
Van de Walle, J.A., Karp, K. S., & Bay-Williams, J. M. (2013). Elementary and middle school
Traditionally, teacher development typically occurs through trial and error in the isolated confinements of each teacher’s classroom with some periodic whole-group professional development (Goddard & Goddard, 2007). Within the past few decades, many schools and districts, including ours, have considered and experimented with Professional Learning Communities (PLC) as an alternative framework in guiding a more efficient development program for their teachers. PLCs are focused on enhancing student learning through developing teacher practices. The concept of PLC relies on using structured collaborative sessions amongst teachers within the school to build internal capacity. Through PLCs, teachers critically reflect on current practices, brainstorm solutions, and obtain help and advice from others in a supportive growth-oriented environment over an extended period of time (Vescio, Ross, & Adams, 2008; Nelson, 2009; Scher & O'Reilly, 2009; Bolam, McMahon, Stoll, Thomas, & Wallace, 2005). The theory of change guiding PLCs holds that by providing teachers with targeted support from within the school community, as oppose to hiring additional outside experts, professional developments can become for efficient. Implementation of effective PLCs requires intentional effort, school-wide and possibly district-wide restructuring of teacher schedules, and additional resources. For schools considering implementing PLCs, it is important to understand the logic of action and the benefits of PLCs as it relates to teacher improvement and increased student achievement.
Van de Walle, J.A., Karp, K. S., & Bay-Williams, J. M. (2013). Elementary and middle school
Professional development is critical to success in a teacher’s career. Teachers need to be opened to continuing their education and consistently reflecting on lessons and interactions with students. At the expert stage of teaching, “the teacher’s practice is characterized by fluency, automaticity, and efficiency” (Garmston,1998). In order to achieve this level of teaching practice, the educator must continue to learn new teaching strategies, understand the curriculum, recognize students and their differences, and conduct self-reflections. A teacher who is dedicated to professional development and wanting to improve their teaching, will make a stronger impact on students. I believe that I am in the Proficient level of performance according to the Framework for Professional Teaching Practices (Danielson, 1996).
Personal and professional development plans (PDP) are the course of actions created on the basis of our values and our reflections on our skills which help us learn and develop ourselves and prepare us for the future. They are our estimations on how to and when to accomplish the tasks. Both personal and professional lives are benefitted with the development plan.
Another factor considered in this study is the professional development of teachers. Professional development of teachers is a strong factor that enhances teachers’ knowledge and learning. A number of studies have reflected that the said factor is imperative to a positive change of every individual that seeks development professionally.
...o expand knowledge of subject matter is through read books, journals, and magazine, participate in professional development activities and attend conferences. The value of participating in professional associations and organization helps teacher to move towards expertise to become engaged, active, and passionate and connect to their students (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009). As the teacher enhance and grow in the professional development can have a greatly impact on student learning, “Expert teachers know more than novices and organize that knowledge differently, retrieve it easily, and apply it in novel and creative ways” (Garmston, 1998). Therefore, there is such a significant value of participating in professional development through joining association or organization to help teacher to grow in expert in teaching and making an impact on student learning.