EDUC 638 Blog 4

The individual growth plan or professional growth plan is a tool for administrators and teachers to review performance standards and set goals that will improve teaching and learning.  Educators use self-reflection to determine individual professional growth needs that can be indicated by student performance, professional evaluation, and other sources of input.  The goals reflect the areas of practice that need the most attention (Gonzalez, 2015).

My individual growth plan has three goals.

1.       I will obtain a Masters of Education Leadership degree in order to enhance my abilities as a leader to improve student learning.  After obtaining my master’s degree, I hope to implement my knowledge and skills in a leadership position.  As an educational leader, I will use data and research to support teachers in improving teaching and learning.  I expect to make progress in this goal with in one year.

2.      I will learn best practices for mentoring new teachers in my school. I will participate in the district Cognitive Coaching Professional Development and attend Mentor Module online workshop for mentoring teachers. Evidence of success will include district PD certificate, course completion certificate, and self-reflection on mentoring opportunities.  I expect to make progress in this goal with two years.

3.      I will achieve Google Educator Certification in order to incorporate classroom technology into my instructional practices to enhance student learning and to lead other educators to incorporate technology in their classrooms.  I will complete online Google courses and exams.  I will participate in district provided Google Certified Educator on-site training.  Evidence of success will be course completion certificate and technology incorporation into lesson plans.  I expect to make progress in this goal within two years.

Technology is a large part of my individual growth plan.  I am attending graduate classes online and will complete my entire master’s degree in the online format.  Many professional development opportunities are available online.  The Mentor Module is a complete workshop held online and can be completed whenever it is convenient to the educator.  Online professional development opportunities reduce the need for substitutes and do not take away from instructional time.  Becoming proficient in technologies is necessary for today’s educator.  The Google Educator certification builds a solid foundation of online tools and provides guidelines for instructing students with the use of online tools.

Professional growth plans are beneficial to fostering continuous improvement of practices through lifelong learning.  Teachers become lifelong learners when the information is relevant to help them cope with real life problems and perform more efficiently (Ross & Ziemke, 2014).  School leaders must give teachers a chance to plan, monitor, and adjust meaningful professional development opportunities to facilitate individual learning styles and personal preferences which will motivate lifelong learning.  Personalized professional development enables teachers to process information from a variety of sources and formats so they can draw their own conclusions and create a personal knowledge path (Boschee, Jenson, & Whitehead, 2013).  Opportunities to better instructional practices and to be competitive in a globalized world benefit all stakeholders. 

As a future educational leader, I plan to do my part in moving schools into the globalized market.  Researching technologies, training, and improvement plans will be on the forefront of my responsibilities.  Motivating, mentoring, and leading educators to implement new and innovative techniques will be beneficial for all.  I will serve as a model by continually improving myself through professional development and by using data and feedback to identify areas of improvement.   Technology will allow me to share successful strategies with the district and professional communities of educators.

References

Boschee, F., Jensen, D., & Whitehead, B. (2013). Planning for technology: A guide for school administrators, technology coordinators, and curriculum leaders (2^nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

Gonzales, J. (2015 May 27). Goal setting for teachers: 8 paths to self-improvement. Retrieved from https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/goal-setting-for-teachers/.

Ziemke, L. & Ross, D. B. (2014). A Professional Growth Plan for Lifelong Learners. Fischler College of Education: Faculty Articles 175, 34-37. Retrieved from http://nsuworks.nova.edu/fse_facarticles/175.

EDUC 638 Blog 3

The relationship between the constructivism learning theory and the Breaking Ranks Framework is simply that both are student centered.  The constructivism idea is that learners must take information and make it their own by discovery and transformation (Slavin, 2015).  Teachers need to make information relevant and meaningful to students, not just give them information.  Students must be given the opportunity to discover and apply information in order to construct the knowledge in their own minds.  Students must be taught to use their own strategies for learning and have an active role in their own learning.  Instead of teachers lecturing and controlling the classroom, they should be guides to help students discover their own meanings.

The Breaking Ranks Framework was developed to help school leaders create a more student centered environment in individual schools (Sheninger, 2014).  This framework is a guide to personalizing programs and support systems that takes into account the needs of individual students.  The framework addresses the areas of collaborative leadership, personalizing school environment, curriculum, instruction, and assessment to improve student performance.  The stimulus for the school change is technology and essential skill sets. 

The public high school where I currently teach does not embrace 21^st century learning.  The school has technology available in the forms of computer labs, ipad and laptop carts, and smartboards.  But the school embraces more of a teacher lead environment instead of a student centered environment.  If I were to become a leader at my present high school I could make recommendations based on the Breaking Ranks Framework.  This school needs to improve from an adult focused, activity oriented school environment to a student and learning focused culture. 

First, collaborative leadership is absolutely necessary for school improvement.  Every teacher and school leader must believe that each and every student can achieve high levels (NASSP).  Everyone must be on board with school change for the change to be successful.  Teachers and staff who will not cooperate with school improvement doom the proposed changes to failure and ultimately the school to fail the students.  School leaders need to help teachers develop a growth mind set which is a belief that success is the result of time, work, and deliberate practice (NASSP).  School staff must share the beliefs that work and effort create ability.  With a growth mind set, teachers and ultimately students become resilient learners who view problems as opportunities to learn.

Next, leaders need to personalize the school environment.  This requires knowledge of the diversity of students, staff, and the culture of the community.  With this knowledge, leaders can create a culture that fosters change and challenges and educates each student.  This may require a dramatic shift in direction and require new ways of thinking and acting.  Also, leaders must fully understand and address the support system. 

Finally, leaders must address curriculum, instruction, and assessment to improve student performance.  Guiding students into 21^st century learning has to include technology.  Using technology to allow students to discover ideas and knowledge and take ownership of their learning is paramount.  Teachers have to utilize the technology tools in their content areas which may require personalized professional development to aid teachers to move into student centered learning.

Schools must first ask how they are meeting the needs of each student.  A school may have to make a dramatic change in school environment and teaching and learning.  But, a school can only change if all stakeholders believe in that change.

References

National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) (n.d.). The breaking ranks framework: An overview. Retrieved from https://www.principalsmonth.org/igx_temp/nassp_leading_success/M8R4_BRframework_pp1-6.pdf

Sheninger, E. (2014). Digital leadership: Changing paradigms for changing times. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin

Slavin, R.E. (2015). Educational psychology: Theory and practice (11^th ed.).  New York, NY: Pearson.

EDUC 638 Blog 2

Eric Sheninger in his book Digital Leadership identifies seven essential skill sets that 21^st century schools must provide students: creativity, communication, collaboration, critical thinking, problem solving, technology proficiency, and global awareness.

 Creativity is using a wide range of idea creation techniques to create new and worthwhile ideas and demonstration of originality and inventiveness (National Education Association).  Students need to be able to think and work creatively to be able to develop unique and useful solutions.  Creativity is necessary in our economy and when students learn to be creative they become adaptable which prepares them for life after the classroom.

Communication is the ability to articulate thoughts and ideas orally, written, and nonverbally.  It is also the ability to effectively convey meaning through various media on both personal and professional levels (National Education Association).  Students will communicate all of their lives.  For today’s workplace, students must learn complex communication that can involve explanation, negotiation, and intense interactions.  In addition, communication is vital for relationships with customers, fellow employees, and supervisors.

Collaboration is the ability to work efficiently and respectfully with diverse teams (National Education Association).  Students must learn to be flexible, make compromises, and to be helpful to accomplish a commons goal. Collaborative efforts are necessary for people working together to produce valuable resources.  Collaborative efforts create more holistic results than individual efforts and are necessary in today’s world due to globalization and technology.  Students must also be able to collaborate in both the physical and virtual world for the modern workplace.

Critical thinking is the ability to use various types of reasoning and analyzing parts of a whole (National Education Association.  Critical thinking is important because it leads to development of higher level concentration, deeper analytical abilities, and improved thought processing.  Students need to develop critical thinking skills to be a citizen, family member, and employee that can make sensible decisions. 

Problem solving is the ability to analyze data and arrive at a logical and defensible conclusion (Crockett, 2016).  Students need to develop this skill set to solve problems, resolve conflicts, and discover alternatives.  Problem solving skills are vital to preparing students for challenges after graduation.  Employers look for people with strong problem solving skills.

Technological proficiency is the ability to apply technical knowledge and skills.  Students must be exposed to and be familiar with current technology in order to compete in the world market place (Crockett, 2016).  Also, it is important for students to be proficient in evolving technology to compete and flourish in society and the workplace.

Global awareness is the appreciation of relationships and differences in values, customs, and norms of diverse global communities (Crockett,2016).  Students need to understand and address global issues to be a productive member of today’s society.  It is advantageous for a person to be able to learn from and work with individuals of diverse cultures, religions, and life styles with mutual respect and open dialog. 

In the school setting, students at any age can begin learning these valuable skills.  Adding these skills in the classroom as early as pre-K and Kindergarten allows students to build on these skills as they mature.  Adding more complexity of the skills at each grade level will allow the student to be proficient in these vital skills upon graduation.

References

Crockett, L.W. (2016 August 02). The critical 21^st century skills every student needs and why. Global Digital Citizen. Retrieved from https://globaldigitalcitizen.org/21st-century-skills-every-student-needs

National Education Association (n.d.). Preparing 21^st century students for a global society: An educator’s guide to the four Cs.  Retrieved from http://www.nea.org/assets/docs/A-Guide-to-Four-Cs.pdf

Sheninger, E. (2014). Digital leadership: Changing paradigms for changing times. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin

EDUC 638 Blog 1

Hello!  I am Ruth Joiner.  I live in Louisiana.  I have been married for 24 years and I have 2 grown sons.  I am in my final semester of my Masters degree in Teaching and Learning with a concentration in leadership.  My youngest son is graduating from high school in May and with that my life will be slowing down.  So I decided that since I am going to have all of this extra time on my hands I want to be a school administrator.  And so began this wonderful journey at Liberty University.  I have 15 years teaching experience and I currently teach Biology in a public high school.  I admit that I am technologically challenged.  I don’t tweet or blog, so I am looking forward to learning how to use these technological tools.  I want to be able to use technology effectively to help my students learn.  I know that I could be doing so much more to improve my instruction with technology.  I hope to move into an administrative position and I know I am going to need technology knowledge to serve my students and staff. 

The one scripture verse that I rely on is Jeremiah 29:11.  From the New International Version it reads “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future”.  I have clung to this verse through some trials in my life and I am always secure in knowing that God has my future.  Also, I apply this verse to my classroom.  As the teacher, it is my responsibility to help my students have hope and a future.  And so many kids need just that: some hope and someone to tell them that they can have a future.  God loves them and has great plans for them and so should I.  I don’t keep up with movie stars, but if I were to choose one to play me, I would pick Carrie Underwood.  She may be more of a music star than movie star.  I am originally from Oklahoma, very near where she is from.  We are both country girls and love the Lord with a deep faith.  And she would be an improvement to my singing ability.

I am looking forward to working with all of you.

Be blessed!