Professional Learning & Ethical Practice Or How To Improve Professional Skills
As a future educator, I understand that a teacher never stops learning. Seeking out new learning opportunities, reflecting, and setting goals all are equally important when working towards becoming a teacher. I will always make an effort to enhance my knowledge to make myself a better educator. I plan to use professional development opportunities, and feedback given to me through evaluations and other observations to be aware of how well I am teaching as well as my strengths and weaknesses. I will set goals based off of the evidence and do your best to always improve my quality of teaching.
Analysis
How does this artifact demonstrate you understand the competencyBy attending professional development opportunities, such as “Be the Change,” I will be making an effort in enhancing my knowledge to make myself a better educator. By using the feedback that is given to me from my professors and/or clinical faculty, I can improve on my weaknesses and enhance my strengths. By setting short-term and long-term goals, such as graduating college, and learning American Sign Language, I am choosing to continue my education. By bettering myself, I can better my quality of teaching, and I can better the lives of my future learners.
REFLECTION
How will your understanding of this competency impact your future students’ learning? Knowing and understanding this competency, will prepare me to be the best teacher I can be, which will impact my students and help them become better learners.Conceptual Framework Goals“We do not learn from experience we learn from reflecting on experience.” –John DeweyProfessional Learning Beyond my coursework, there are many opportunities available that I can participate in a professional development that helps translate new ways to provide my future learners with appealing curriculum and learning experiences. Outside of the school’s professional learning opportunities, one that I will attend is “Be the Change! Instructional Conference.” When I was in high school, this organization and inspirational team of people came to our school and it was life changing. This conference happens every year, and it is always comes with new knowledge and different material to inform their audience. I look forward to attending this conference again, and every year to come.
By attending this Professional development opportunity, “Be the Change! Instructional Conference” every year, this conference will motivate me to “be the change” for my students. I want to bring back knowledge from this conference to teach my future learners and make sure they know that they can “be a change” in someone else’s life as well. I would also like to attend a conference on Early Childhood Education before, during, and after I start teaching. I know that I will gain information from that conference that it will prepare me to be a better teacher to my young-aged students. Beyond my coursework, I can make a positive impact on my students’, and this conference will give me new and creative tools to do just that. (Be the Change! Instructional Conference. (n.d.).
Reflection
I strongly believe that if there is a positive growth within myself, that there will be growth in my students also. For my students, my personal and professional reflection are both equally important. Taking the time to stop and reflect should be a requirement. My own personal reflection is important to me because it gives me the chance to gather and reconsider my thoughts and feelings about a certain viewpoint. Having a professional reflection will help build confidence in myself and in my career. By building confidence in myself, I’ll be a better teacher, which will impact my students and help them become better learners.
There are many ways that I will use personal reflection and feedback from my NSU instructors and Clinical Faculty. When I am provided feedback from either my NSU instructors or Clinical Faculty, I understand how important this is for my learning process and experiences. Everyone has a “blind spot,” and with effective feedback I know I can improve and adjust my instructional practices that benefit as well as have an impact on my students. If I am teaching an assignment, activity, lesson, quiz, or test, and the students’ scores are lower than I expected, that means I have to reflect and adjust my instructional practices.
Finding methods that is an appropriate level for each learner is necessary when it comes to adjusting instructional practices. To do this I have to get to know each student. Beyond knowing their name, age, friendship groups, or family, as teacher I must know their learning circumstances and boundaries. I should get to know what makes them a unique learner and why they learn differently than their peers. Feedback is a useful tool to promote effective role transitioning from student to teacher. (Using the Power of Self Reflection, n.d.). To advance and improve my professional skills and behavior, reflection and feedback are vital. Feedback will help me understand and find out the areas that I have improved and areas where I still need growth. By finding these things out, I will improve and advance my skills, which will allow me to provide my students to have the best learning environment and experience.
Biases and Ethics
Biases have an impact on people inside and outside of the classroom. I grew up in a small town, where everyone knew everyone. If your parents were well known in the town, if you were one of the most athletic, or one of the smartest, people knew who you were. It’s hard not to be bias towards people you know, when you live in a small town. When I taught at a daycare, there were kids that I already knew because I knew their parents or siblings. I tend to be bias towards my friend’s kids, or just kids I know outside of the classroom.
Having a bias will influence every decision I make inside of my classroom. I need to make certain that I am making fair decisions for my students. Being aware of my biases and keeping an open mind will help ensure that I do not negatively impact my students.
All children deserve the same amount of chances. All children should be treated equally. When I become a teacher I want to ensure that I have an anti-bias environment. “Anti-bias work provides teachers a way to examine and transform their understanding of children’s lives and also do self-reflective work to more deeply understand their own lives.” (Ant-Bias Education p.2). I will encourage each individual child, and teach them to understand that we are all equal, even though some may be different, and/or live differently.
“Discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin is prohibited by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; sex discrimination is prohibited by Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972; discrimination on the basis of disability is prohibited by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; and age discrimination is prohibited by the Age Discrimination Act of 1975. OCR also has responsibilities under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, which prohibits disability discrimination by public entities, whether or not they receive federal financial assistance.” (Protecting Students). Being a teacher, I will have many responsibilities to students that come from the laws and regulations. “According to law and school policy, the professional educator deals considerately and justly with each student, and seeks to resolve problems, including discipline.” (Code of Ethics). When I become a teacher, I will provide learning opportunities that support my students’ intellectual, social, and personal development.
Goals
Three immediate goals that I have:
Demonstrate effective oral and written communication skills. This goal is to improve my communication skills, and coming out of my shell more. For example, when I am being interviewed for a job, I want to be confident in communicating with my interviewer. On a day-to-day basis, I can communicate with others well, but in a professional setting I want to be able to feel more comfortable in communicating with others. I will do this by being more engaged, and minimize my use of visual aids.
Demonstrate professional ethical behavior. Maintaining at least 2.5 in school is demonstrating professional ethical behavior because it shows consistency and dedication. To be accepted into the College of Education program, you have to maintain at least a 2.5, and by doing this I plan on going to and participating in class, being organized, and making use of the library. By obtaining this goal, I will have demonstrated professional ethical behavior.
Three long-term goal that I have: Demonstrate an understanding of how diversity, including multicultural, ethnic, socioeconomic, gender, and exceptionality issues, affects P-12 student learning. I am very enthusiastic about learning American Sign Language (ASL). I volunteered at Happy Hands, which is a school for kids who have hearing deficiencies. This motivated me to want to learn sign language. Once I learn, I want to teach ASL to my students in my classroom. “If a child speaks sign language, the child is considered bilingual. When children are taught English and ASL together, they are processing language using both sides of the brain. This gives the children two places to recall language from instead of just one.” (“Benefits of Sign Language” n.d.). By learning sign language, I will be able to demonstrate an understanding of how exceptionality issues affects student learning.
References:
- Powell, W., & Kusuma-Powell, O. (n.d.). Chapter 1. Knowing Our Students as Learners. Discussing the importance of knowing your students and how to teach now. Retrieved on September 27, 2018, from http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/111011/chapters/Knowing-Our-Students-as-Learners.aspx
- Zimmerman, S., Hanson, D., Stube, J., Jedicka, J., Fox, L. Using the power of Student Reflection to Enhance Professional Development. (n.d.) The internet journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice. April 2007, Volume 5 Number 2.
