EDU 638
My personal professional growth plan
Hi I am Casey and today I have decided to talk about
option 2. My personal professional
growth plan will evolve over a period of years.
I currently like my school and district, so I don’t see myself moving
away. If I do it would be to a close by school or university. I really believe that God has a path for
everyone and he will put you where he needs you. McCampbell (2001)
discusses the need for standards and technology to develop together. The main thing that I
really want to do is get my students to use technology for purposes other than
social media. Today all students need to
learn technology that they can use after high school.
Our school currently offers very little integration
with class content and technology. The
tools that I have been learning and gathering through Liberty will help me in
the next few years in our 1 to 1 transition.
Buczynski (2013)
looks at interesting topics that schools and teachers are facing and list pros
and cons of each situation. Technology
brings a lot of change for everyone in a school. Teachers have felt that they have to reinvent
the wheel because all the freedom a computer brings to a student. I have embraced the change and plan to use it
more for offering all students a supplement to traditional classroom
thoughts. I also hope that it can help
me differentiate learning and focus more on my IEP population and their needs.
The more our school
changes and develops in technology the need for a full time technology director
will emerge. Our school lost it Technology
Director two years ago and now has the director of grounds looking over
it. Indiana has cut a lot of school
money like the rest of the US. We will lose
an extra million dollars this year because of our high poverty rate. When I complete my degree from Liberty I am
hoping we will once again get a Technology Director. If not I would like to volunteer my services
to the district to assist on projects. I
have started blogging to pass information that I know to my peers. After I complete my second master’s degree
from Liberty, I will continue to learn though professional development and
associations. I would also like to go to
some technology conventions.
In that end I look
at Philippians 1:6 "For
I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will
perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus."
Reference
Buczynski, S. (2013). Technology in schools. Choice,
50(10), 1895. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1365790840?accountid=12085
McCampbell, B. (2001). Technology standards for school
administrators. Principal Leadership, 1(9), 68-70. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/233342298?accountid=12085
The Holy Bible, New International Version. Grand Rapids: Zondervan House, 1984. Print.
Six elements that drive change
Hi, in this blog post I will be discussing Sheninger’s (2014) six elements that drive change. Sheninger (2014) talks about six secrets of change, which consists of: loving your employs, connecting peers with purpose, prevailing through building capacities, learning is the work, being transparent, especially when it comes to rules and policies, and having effective learned systems.
These are all very valid points in any leadership position. In order to grow and develop school district many elements have to fall in place. All of the secrets follow along with God’s word and can transpire to daily actions. Romans 15:2 says,
“Each of us is to please his neighbor for his good, to his edification”. To me this means to help yourself and what you love you must be willing to help those around you.
One of the secrets to change is loving your employees. Those that feel needed and like to come to school feel appreciated. As teachers we don’t make a million dollars and we know that coming in. All we want is to be heard and know that others care about you and your work. We also spend a lot of home time on work. So when higher up positions plan meetings and events out of contract hours make sure that they are meaningful. Send out agendas let them know what is going on in advance. Also, when having professional development make sure that it is a need and relevant to what is going on in education or in the school district.
Tomlinson (2000) talks about the importance of knowing the difference between whole school versus small group development when educating peers. Make sure that topics fall into both categories. Data could help in this area. Survey your district and see what they feel that they need. If data from students suggest the need for something, then find the best approach that get the most info to teachers in an allocated time. This also ties in work and learning as an intertwined principle.
Districts should also be transparent with teachers and staff and that should be relevant in rules and policies. When teachers and staff know what to expect they suffer less resistance and confusion. When no regular rules or feeling of discussion exist in a school more sidebar discussion happens. This can cause the rumor mill to start moving. As the leader you need to run a tight ship one that allows for suggestions and openness and at the same time leads expectations and professionalism.
References
The Holy Bible, New International Version. Grand Rapids: Zondervan House, 1984. Print.
Sheninger, E. (2014). Digital Leadership. Changing Paradigms for Changing Times. (pp. 54 – 57). Thousand Oaks, CA. Corwin Publication.
Tomlinson, H. (2000). Managing professional development in schools. School Leadership& Management, 20(3), 392. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/218988902?accountid=12085
Hi, Casey! We took on the 1:1 digital conversion one and a half years ago. We started providing extensive professional development to our teachers during what we termed "School Day Staff Development" six months before students got their devices. This gave teachers time to experiment. The earlier you can start supporting and training faculty, the better.
ReplyDeleteMrs. Belcher,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your post, I agree with all of your comments and thank you for pointing these important ideas out. A transparent administration helps reduce the stress in the school environment by allowing teachers and students time to anticipate change and adapt. A challenge in High School environments is creating a stable environment for students who are still adapting to being young adults. While all the workings of the school cannot be public knowledge, keeping an open dialogue with teachers and parents is important to stabilize the education environment.
I agree with your assessment of the need to collect data when making decisions in the school. Good ideas can quickly fall flat when administrators learn teachers do not support the concept. I have seen this in the technology field a few times when a new technology becomes available and business jump before the idea is tested. This can result in expensive mistakes, which take years to fully recover from. I have seen in schools where devices have been purchased, only to find out teachers see no need for them when existing technology does the job better. Simply discussing this with staff can avoid many of these dangers by learning what teachers want or need. In recent memory I know of a school system that spent millions on a tablet for the classroom, only to find a single teacher had pushed the device through for the entire district. The result was a subpar device teachers could not use in the classroom. Had administrators and board members approached more than a single teacher to decide on the device, money could have been saved and a better cheaper tablet could have been selected. Thank you again for your post, I feel you covered a few major points often forgotten in the rush of professional development.
Greetings Casey,
DeleteI enjoyed reading your post. I have replied to another option 3 from another classmate and enjoy the views from both administrators and teachers. I definitely agree with your post and loved how you applied Romans 15;2. We have to love to serve! Anyone going to education must or should subscribe to this theory as the power to make a change begins with loving to serve others!
D. Marie