Process of Making a Professional Development Plan - Case Study Example

Professional Development Plan Report Summary of the Problem learning outcome is a key factor that many educational institutions. However, teachers’ professional learning needs are also crucial to improve students’ educational achievements. This professional development plan focuses on enhancing the skills of a new teacher’s in developing effective instructional strategies. He creates instructional programs that do not work effectively for all students. This affects students’ performance because the instruction strategies do not meet their needs. The teacher also has a professional need for cultural competence, which is necessary to increase students learning outcomes. Therefore, the professional development plan will address his requirements. Process of making a professional development plan Reflection and self-assessment I will spend time to write reflect on my career in order to improve myself awareness. It will also help to synthesize the thoughts to help me understand my beliefs and develop an effective plan. In this step, it will be important to examine the values, interests, and motivation, skills and personality (Kelleher, 2003). Therefore, I will evaluate the activities that in I prefer most in order to include them in my plan. I will also evaluate my main role as the teacher to help understand my career deeper, which will be necessary to develop interest in my career. It will also be important to analyze the greatest accomplishments I have experienced in my life. This will help me to consider the factors that helped to realize the achievements in order to plan for future activities. In addition, it is vital to reflect on the things that are not satisfying to help implement appropriate measures of overcoming the challenges. In the first step, it will be important to analyze the current liabilities in a realistic way. It will identify my strengths and the things that I can improve. The step also requires one to identify his or her interests. As a teacher, it would be appropriate to determine the subjects of interest and the co-curriculum activities in order to become effective in the area take. Motivation is a crucial factor that enables people to perform effectively in their duties (Kelleher, 2003). The competencies to develop a profession can help people to excel in their workplaces. Therefore, I will identify the professional development competencies, which will be important to include in the plan. Goal setting The decision to use this step was based on the concept that it is based on the structure of career development. Goal setting is an important step that one must consider when creating a professional development plan because it helps in the organization of a career (Kelleher, 2003). I will set short-term goals, which will require my efforts to accomplish them within a short time. Short-term goals help to improve current performance because they are achievable within a short time frame. Goal setting can also involve long-term objectives if their effects are required in the future. Similarly, I will also set long-term goals to improve my future profession. They are also useful to plan for future life in order to avoid disappointments and problems that might occur. Both long-term and short-term goals will be specific and measurable that will make them achievable. They will also be realistic and action-oriented to inspire my efforts towards their achievement. Action steps This step requires a person to set strategic plans that are necessary to accomplish the short-term and long-term goals (Kelleher, 2003). Action steps are important because they help people to move from where they are to where they admire. They also help to identify the factors that can help improve satisfaction with your profession. The action steps that will be useful to achieve the goals include Updating my resume Seeking guidance from the people experienced in the field Attending conferences and seminars Conducting informational interviews Reading scholarly publications and papers Volunteering for committees Collaborative with others Step 4 requires effective collaboration with others in order to determine the strengths and weaknesses that require improvements (Tucker, Stronge, & Gareis, 2013). It will be carried out by using both formal and informal methods to ensure credibility of the data obtained. Informal method will involve communication with professional society members, colleagues, mentors, and community members. The approach is useful to share and generate important information, which will help to develop an effective development plan (Glickman, Gordon, & Ross-Gordon, 2010). The formal method will involve scheduling conferences or annual review to assess the needs for development. Monitoring the progress This final step requires people to evaluate whether they have achieved the set goals. It is necessary because to ensure that the objectives of the personal development plans are achievable. Deviations from the set targets will require one to implement corrective measures in order to achieve success. Regular reflection and assessment will be carried out to determine the achieved goals. It also helps to identify the reasons that made it difficult to achieve the set objectives. Teachers’ needs a. How the needs were determined Surveys helped to determine the teacher’s needs. He was provided with survey questionnaires, which he filled. His participation in the process was voluntarily, and he was required to write his names on the papers for future reference. There was need of indicating his name because the primary intent was to obtain information, which will benefit him significantly. Surveys that aimed at collecting data concerning participant’s satisfaction were also used to determine the teacher’s needs. He expressed his level of satisfaction with the current professional development plan to help determine the need for developing a new plan. The teacher was identified because of his professional needs, which could affect students significantly if it was not addressed in good time. The administration also participated in the interview to determine the needs of the teacher. The administration explained the challenges he was experiencing, which hampered students’ success. He also stated the problems that hindered him from meeting the educational needs of students. It was necessary to consider his perspectives to ensure that the development plan incorporates his needs, which will ensure success of the technique. Staff projection and teacher credential helped to obtain crucial information that was relevant to identify teachers’ needs. It was also important to review his professional development plans to establish the areas that required improvements. Data Collection Tools Interviews were used to collect data, which could be used to create the professional development plan. Interview sessions were identified one moth in advance to allow the participant to prepare adequately for the sessions. It was carried out once because of the limited time that was available to conduct the process. Open-ended questions were employed to allow the interviewee to contribute his opinions without any limitation. It was an important technique for the process to ensure that the plan incorporate all the information concerning the teacher in order to benefit them significantly. Questionnaires also helped to collect relevant data concerning the requirement that could be included in the plan. Professional Development Plan What must be done? The assessment revealed that newly recruited teacher had poor instructional strategies. He could not issue effective instructions to students from different settings. Therefore, the professional development plan will require the new teacher to participate in trainings that will enhance his instructional strategies. They will enable the teacher to acquire knowledge and skills of developing standardized instructional program that meets the needs of students from different programs. Cultural competence is an important factor that professionals should posses to work in different settings (Blandford, 2012). Teachers also interact with students from diverse backgrounds, which show the importance of cultural competence in achieving students’ needs. Training sessions will incorporate diversity lessons to influence his beliefs concerning the value of understanding and recognizing cultural differences. Who is responsible? School-based professional development staff and the principals will ensure that the newly recruited teacher participate in the training programs. They possess the accountability of ensuring effective professional development plan. The principals will encourage the teacher to participate in the process. They will also monitor him closely to ensure that he attends all the trainings. The principals will conduct classroom observation as way of improving follow-up. They will also provide purposeful feedback to determine whether the teacher mastered the new strategies. School-based professional development staff is mainly concerned with improving career of individual teachers. It will identify if the teacher lacks good instructional strategies by carrying out classroom observation. It will recommend the teacher for further the training sessions to improve their skills. Timeframe Implementation of the program will take a period of five months to enable the participant acquire adequate skills. Training will occur on Thursdays only, which show that it will take quite long. The plan recommends one day in every week to create time for the students in order to prevent poor performance. The timeframe is also appropriate to allow him learn the materials systematically to prevent workload that may result in stress, thus affecting their performance and productivity. Type of reporting required The teacher will report directly to the principal or the school-based professional development staff. This will prevent distortion of information hence enabling the leaders respond to the situations appropriately. He can report any problem they encounter with the professional development plan. The information may help change the training techniques to provide effective ones. The principal should encourage him to report various issue without any fear. Resources required Time is a major resource that is necessary to ensure success of the plan. The teacher should have adequate time to participate in the training programs. Therefore, the principals will ensure that the teacher has enough time to attend the trainings. They can exclude the teacher from duties during the training dates. Training remains accomplished weekly showing that his absence from the ordinary duties would reflect a negative effect on the students’ learning outcomes. Training facilities are also necessary to ensure successful implementation of the plan. They include training halls, computers, and writing materials that facilitate the process. The principal and the school-based professional development staff will set a room for the training. It should be designated specifically for training to prevent any inconvenience on the training day. Human resources are also necessary for the implementation of the professional development plan. Consultants such as facilitators, presenters and evaluators will help the teacher acquire the new strategies. It is the responsibility of the principals and the school-based professional development staff to organize how the consultants can reach the institution. They must provide a good environment that supports learning to ensure that the teacher obtain significant benefits from the program. The principals should coordinate with the relevant authorities to obtain financial resources. They will cater for the travelling costs of the personnel and the consultants, communication expenses, and other costs that are necessary for effective implementation of the plan. Evaluating effectiveness of the program Evaluation of the program will consider classroom observation whereby the evaluators will determine how the teacher practices the new strategies. The evaluators have adequate knowledge and skills, which will help them to tell whether the teacher benefited from the program. Questionnaires and interviews will also help evaluate the effectiveness of the plan in achieving the set objectives. The evaluators will consider teacher’s perceptions concerning professional development. Their beliefs concerning the importance of the plan, especially its relevance to their current problems provides a good evaluation of the professional development. The approach tells the likelihood of applying the new strategies in their classrooms. The evaluators will determine the teacher’s perceptions based on the questionnaire and interview responses. Positive responses will suggest many teachers applied the new knowledge in their professional practice. Consequences and incentive Intrinsic and extrinsic rewards play a significant role in motivating people to contribute their efforts towards achieving the set goals (Moon, 2013). Therefore, the program will also reward the teacher to inspire him to gain interests in the activity. He will be given allowances for attending the trainings, and this will encourage high attendance. He will purpose to attend all the sessions because of the motivational factor. Training program is examinable, and the participant is awarded a certificate to encourage him to develop interest in the activity. He will struggle to obtain the awards that will enable them to acquire relevant skills of developing effective instructions. There will be no severe consequences, but the principals must ensure that the new teacher attend the trainings. His refusal to comply with the requirement may lead to withdrawal of certain privileges, which the schools provide. The teacher may also attend the sessions to obtain the allowance rather than acquire the new strategies. The behavior could have consequences because he will repeat the program severally until they achieve the required competence. My style The style employed to write the professional development plan for the teacher is the reflectors learning style. It explains that people learn various things by observing others (Guskey, 2000). They assess what activities that are happening in order to acquire relevant information. It was the preferred style used in the developing the professional development plans because assessment of the teacher was carried out first to determine his learning needs. The teacher was required to participate in the training activities to enable him acquire the new strategies. Evaluation of the plan was carried out using different approaches such as questionnaire, interviews, and classroom observation. The latter helped to acquire important information concerning how the teacher employed the new strategies. This shows that I used reflector style, which enabled me to observe the teachers to determine his strengths and weaknesses. I was able to determine effectiveness of the plan through classroom observation. Outcomes Initially, the teacher had poor instructional strategies that could not satisfy students’ needs. He developed instructional programs, which could not work well for the learners with diverse backgrounds. The implementation of the professional development plan enabled him to acquire good skills of developing good instructions. An evaluator observed the teacher practicing the strategies in the classrooms after attending the trainings. Learning outcomes among the students also increased significantly after implementation of the plan. It shows that the plan was successful because it met the needs of the teacher. Increased learning outcomes suggest that the teacher developed instructional programs that were appropriate for students from different backgrounds. Interview responses and questionnaire findings showed that the participant interest in the plan. He participated in all the trainings, which provided him with new skills of developing effective instructions. The teacher could recognize cultural differences of the students after the trainings. It indicates that the professional development improved his cultural competence, which was a problem before the trainings. The evaluators examined their relationship with the students during classroom observations. They confirmed that the staff respected all the students despite their age, color, or gender. It was a clear indication that the teacher acquired adequate skills concerning how to relate with people from different cultural backgrounds. References Blandford, S. (2012). Managing professional development in schools. London; UK: Routledge. Glickman, C., Gordon, S., & Ross-Gordon, J. (2010). Supervision and instructional leadership: A developmental approach. Boston: Pearson Education, Inc Guskey, T. R. (2000). Evaluating professional development. Newbury Park, CA: Corwin Press. Kelleher, J. (2003). A model for assessment-driven professional development. Phi delta kappan, 84(10), 751-756. Moon, J. A. (2013). Reflection in learning and professional development: Theory and practice. London; UK: Routledge. Tucker, P., Stronge, J., & Gareis, C. (2013). Handbook on teacher portfolios for evaluation and professional development. London; UK: Routledge. Read More