Professional Growth Plan

Over the past six years of teaching, I have developed in some expected and surprising ways.  I remember struggling with classroom management  during my first year of teaching.  I devoted many nights that first year to reading various strategies of classroom management from "The Key to Classroom Management" by Robert J. Marzano and "Handbook for Qualities of Effective Teachers" by James H. Stronge, Pamela D. Tucker and Jennifer L. Hindman.  I joined a teacher forum and read what felt like every post regarding classroom management ideas.  I observed the classrooms of some of the more senior staff which the students respected.  After all of this, I discovered that the most important aspect of classroom management was building relationships with the students.  I realized that if the students respect you that they will be respectful.  If they know that you care about them, they will care about the class they attend.

Since my first year of teaching, I have devoted more of my time to becoming a mathematics content expert.  I began by watching Khan Academy videos on the subjects that I teach.  These video's sometimes provided me with an alternative way to teach a topic.  I found that when a lesson was not going as planned, Having an alternative method of delivery is invaluable.  I would pick a topic and then research the history of that topic.  This is something that was never discussed when I was in high school.  The history associated with the formulas and theories is very interesting and when presented to my class they seem more eager to learn once the history has been discussed.

Collaborating with colleagues has been the most beneficial professional development I have experienced.  One example that was very beneficial to me was when I was teaching Algebra I students how to solve and graph absolute values.  The first lesson I taught on the topic did not go as expected and the students were confused throughout the lesson.  I went to the middle school mathematics teacher to get her opinion on why the lesson failed.  I showed her how I presented the lesson to the students,  then she showed me how she taught the topic to the students the previous year.  The approach she took to teach the topic was different and more efficient.  When I modified the lesson to adopt her methods, the students were familiar with the method and were successful.  

A key component to my professional growth has been the digital resources of the Oklahoma Education Association(OEA).  Once I became a member, I was able to access digital information on a flipped classroom.  The content provided step by step instruction on how to create a flipped classroom.  By following the resources, I was able to flip one of my classes which allowed more classroom time for projects and exercises.

In the past six years, I have made some large strides in becoming a more effective teacher.  The next area that I plan to focus on is the difficult task of reaching a higher order of thinking from students.  Once completing my masters program, I plan to read "How to Assess Higher-Order Thinking Skills in Your Classroom" by Susan M. Brookhart.  I will also start a new thread on the education forum discussing this topic and soliciting ideas from colleagues.  I will then modify my lesson plans to adopt some of Susan's ideas as well as those of the forum community.