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 (2nd 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.
Ruth,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your video post for this week. You have a great personal growth plan in place. The education you are receiving in this graduate program should prove to be very helpful with your future goals. You had mentioned a few pieces which are not directly tied to the graduate program, such as Google certifications. These certifications are a personal goal for myself as well. It appears many other companies are jumping on this bandwagon and having training available to make teachers “masters” of their particular product.
I particularly like the piece you mentioned in your plan involving mentoring of new teachers. Since you would most likely have a part in developing the professional development opportunities in your schools hoping mentoring will be much more smooth. From a personal standpoint, developing educational technology professional development is going to become part of my current job. Our district did away with Instructional Technology Resource Teachers (ITRT) this school year and hired iSTEM teachers. I started this position in January and part of our responsibilities moving forward will be to cover some of the the ITRTs old responsibilities such as professional development.
The last section I was really impressed with was your drive to continue researching and modeling best practices. You stated the need for sharing these best practices with your school district. This is very important and will strengthen the staff, administration, and students of the schools you represent. Some educators tend to get in a rut with their everyday practices. If educators like yourself can implement these best practices and model them appropriately it will strengthen all stakeholders involved.
Ruth,
ReplyDeleteI want to echo Jason's sentiments as well! Great plan! You have given me some ideas with the Google certifications. Becoming a lifetime learner is a great goal for an educator. I know from experience, it can be easy to get into a rut of doing things they way you've always done them in the classroom. It takes time to step out of the routine to do something new. You have inspired me. Well done!
Ruth,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your post! You have set strong goals with measurable outcomes and implemented specific plans to achieve those goals - well done. God wants us to utilize our talents and abilities that He gave us which requires always growing and learning (Romans 12:6-8, 1 Peter 4:10-11, Colossians 1:9-11, 3:23-24). I appreciated the amount of time you gave yourself to achieve your goals without setting an unrealistic timeline that would cause undue stress.
Another evidence of your goals being achieved would be the teachers you mentor and the new technology you help bring into your school. These are tangible evidence that you have made a positive difference in the lives of those around you. It is great that you are committed to helping others, this shows a kind heart and is a positive testimony for Christ.
You made excellent points that technology is a large part of life today so students need to be trained with technological skills, and teachers need to be able to be competent in using technology to help students learn and aid in their own teaching responsibilities (Sheninger, 2014). You made a valid point regarding the role of technology in professional development.
It is very wise of you to prepare yourself to be a leader. Leaders must have the right mindset, abilities, and skills to lead properly and effectively (Sheninger, 2014). Leaders must find solutions to problems by adapting, changing, and improving in order to be successful (Sheninger, 2014). It is great that you plan to share all your ideas and successful strategies. Social media and technology has allowed many successful and creative strategies to be shared among educators which improves schools for students and leads to happier teachers and administrators (Sheninger, 2014). Teachers are a special group of people who wisely learn from others successes and failures in order to improve the educational system for the students they truly care about which improves the future for us all.
Thomas Tascone
Reference
Sheninger, E. (2014). Digital leadership: Changing paradigms for changing times. Thousand
Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.