Standard 1.3 Instructional Partner
Candidates model, share, and promote effective principles of teaching and learning as collaborative partners with other educators. Candidates acknowledge the importance of participating in curriculum development, of engaging in school improvement processes, and of offering professional development to other educators as it relates to library and information use. |
Reflection
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“Thank you for opening the IT door for me to access additional websites for my students!” - ESOL Teacher, Grades K-2
Working as a collaborative partner with staff members is one of my favorite parts of my job. These collaborative efforts allow me to model effective teaching practices, especially in terms of integrating technology into classroom instruction. I understand that technology can be intimidating to many teachers. However, I also know that given the appropriate scaffolds, every teacher can learn to use 21st century tools in his/her instruction to benefit students. As a classroom teacher, I know first-hand how busy teachers are and strive to help them in any way possible. Offering professional development sessions targeted on teachers’ specific interests and needs is one way to support teachers, and therefore have an impact on their students’ achievement as well.
I was tasked with providing professional development to my staff during SLM552, my student teaching practicum in an MCPS regional summer school. Since the teachers came from multiple schools across the county, I knew they had all attended different professional development sessions in the past and came with varying degrees of technological proficiency. I wanted my professional development session to be as helpful as possible, so I gathered staff input about the topic of my presentation beforehand. Based on their feedback, I focused on gathering and organizing reliable research websites.
I decided to offer this training online so that each teacher could work through it at his/her own pace. I also wanted to allow for differentiation because it was important to me that I honor staff’s expertise and make them feel respected throughout the presentation. My staff’s feedback proved that my goals were met.
Working as a collaborative partner with staff members is one of my favorite parts of my job. These collaborative efforts allow me to model effective teaching practices, especially in terms of integrating technology into classroom instruction. I understand that technology can be intimidating to many teachers. However, I also know that given the appropriate scaffolds, every teacher can learn to use 21st century tools in his/her instruction to benefit students. As a classroom teacher, I know first-hand how busy teachers are and strive to help them in any way possible. Offering professional development sessions targeted on teachers’ specific interests and needs is one way to support teachers, and therefore have an impact on their students’ achievement as well.
I was tasked with providing professional development to my staff during SLM552, my student teaching practicum in an MCPS regional summer school. Since the teachers came from multiple schools across the county, I knew they had all attended different professional development sessions in the past and came with varying degrees of technological proficiency. I wanted my professional development session to be as helpful as possible, so I gathered staff input about the topic of my presentation beforehand. Based on their feedback, I focused on gathering and organizing reliable research websites.
I decided to offer this training online so that each teacher could work through it at his/her own pace. I also wanted to allow for differentiation because it was important to me that I honor staff’s expertise and make them feel respected throughout the presentation. My staff’s feedback proved that my goals were met.
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This process taught me the important lesson that an effective professional development session opens the door to future collaborations with staff members. Once the teachers at Candlewood Regional Summer School realized that I was a valuable resource for effective instruction and collaborative relationships, they came to me with additional questions about Google Classroom, ActivInspire and other online resources. As a result, I was able to spend the next month helping them develop their curriculum resources with online tools and providing individualized professional development based on teachers’ specific needs.
This in-service gave me the confidence to continue providing professional development to teachers. Since leading this training, I have worked with teachers in my current school to integrate 21st Century tools into their instruction. I have also trained our school’s University of Maryland student teachers in using ActivInspire to create engaging and interactive lessons. Ultimately, my goal is to provide professional development to teachers so they can then use these effective teaching practices and 21st-Century skills to benefit their students.
This in-service gave me the confidence to continue providing professional development to teachers. Since leading this training, I have worked with teachers in my current school to integrate 21st Century tools into their instruction. I have also trained our school’s University of Maryland student teachers in using ActivInspire to create engaging and interactive lessons. Ultimately, my goal is to provide professional development to teachers so they can then use these effective teaching practices and 21st-Century skills to benefit their students.