Professional Development Transcript
Listed below, you will find the names, dates, locations, and descriptions of various professional development opportunities that I have attended. Some were offered through the district, while others I sought out on my own. Part of being a lifelong learner is continuing to learn more about the craft of teaching, and I used various professional development sessions to do just that.
**Session titles that are underlined contain links to more information.
As our school district works to ensure curriculum is aligned with the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), a new math curriculum called Bridges in Mathematics was adopted. The week after school ended, I was back in the classroom as a student, attending two days’ worth of publisher trainings for our new curriculum. The days were spent engaging in authentic math tasks, watching videos of lessons, and discussing ideas for organization. We also explored and became more familiar with the online resources through the program’s educator website. We also thought about how to plan out our first units of study.
This was a professional development that I was very eager to attend. Having heard many great things about Bridges, I knew this was a step in the right direction for our district in best meeting the needs of our students. This training will be extremely useful to my practice; I feel much more equipped to teach math to my students and am looking forward to getting into my classroom and setting up for math. This training also helped me shift my focus in mathematics and how my students may approach problems. I feel that I will approach math instruction differently from now on, with the idea that my students will have real-world problems to solve rather than equations on a page.
This was a more informal introduction to our district’s new math curriculum, Bridges in Mathematics, that will begin in the 2016-2017 school year. It was run by our math department coordinator. We were introduced to the basics of the curriculum. We also had the chance to explore an educator site and resources within it.
This session helped me to wrap my head around our incoming math curriculum for the next school year. I am appreciative that the session was offered before I was actually teaching the curriculum, and that ideas were based off pilot teachers’ experiences. The session helped me to see that the district wanted every opportunity for its teachers to be successful with this big change. I was able to think about how I could best incorporate smaller aspects of the curriculum while teaching with our previous curriculum program.
For this professional development session, I presented on different ways I use social media to communicate with families in my classroom. Topics discussed included use of a classroom instagram account, blog via Wordpress, and educators to follow. I also discussed the steps to getting started. I included screencasts to demonstrate how to search using hashtags on instagram and how to setup a Wordpress blog.
I really enjoyed the opportunity to lead a professional development session. I found myself more reflective on why I use social media and how it can be beneficial. I found that staff were eager to learn and supportive of my ideas. I also e-mailed a copy of my presentation to those who could not attend. I was eager to teach my peers, and they were equally as eager to learn from me.
This session was offered to parents and educators in Oakland County, MI. The focus was on helping adults understand their children’s emotions, and how to help them handle how they are feeling. Emphasis was placed on the knowledge that students’ emotions influence their education. We learned many strategies for helping students cope with emotional issues.
At first I felt out of place attending this session, but I quickly saw how applicable it was to the students in my classroom. After attending the session, I found myself really thinking about the student, their situation, and all possible factors that could influence how they were feeling. I feel that this session made me an even better listener and advocate for my students. I now feel more equipped to help to them understand their emotions, and get back on track to feeling better.
Math Fact Fluency Chapter Study, Teaching Student-Centered Mathematics
January 13, 2016
West Bloomfield, MI
The first part of this session involved reading a chapter from Teaching Student-Centered Mathematics and reflecting using given questions. At the in-person session, teachers discussed the chapter and implications for math fact fluency. Teachers were exposed to different ways of solving math facts. We also learned strategies for supporting math fact fluency within current math instruction.
With math fact fluency as part of our district’s report card, the emphasis on math fact fluency is huge in my classroom. I was questioning how to best help my students become fluent with their facts when this professional development opportunity was offered through my district. I walked away with a more clear understanding of how to help my students with their fact fluency, while learning ways to promote practice that are fun and engaging for all.
A Deeper Look Into the Comprehension Conversation
January 6, 2016
West Bloomfield, MI
This session offered guidance on how to score the “Comprehension Conversation” that accompanies the running records from the Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System. Expectations for how to score each section for comprehension (“within”, “about”, and “beyond” the text) were discussed, as well as particular books. Teachers also discussed how the sections differed and special issues to consider.
This session showed me the importance of conversation with students about the texts they are reading. It also showed me the importance of using prompts to guide discussions. I found myself thinking more deeply about students’ answers to comprehension questions from the Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System, and using their responses to guide future instruction.
Exploring the Writing Process Learning Progressions
December 7, 2015
West Bloomfield, MI
This session explored the district’s current writing process learning progressions. Teachers brought writing samples of current students to share. We thought about where we expected our students to be at the beginning of the year, and where we expected them to be at the end of the school year. We also thought about how the requirements within the progressions shift from one grade level to the next.
This session was helpful because I was able to see across grade levels, in regards to writing development rather than focusing just on second grade. I was able to learn more about where my students’ writing skills came from, and where they needed to be by the end of the school year. When scoring my students’ writing prompts after attending this session, I found myself thinking on a larger scale about where they began and how far they had come with their skills.
Cool, Loud, and Everywhere: Being A Book Advocate
October 24, 2015
Waterford Township, MI
Put together by the Oakland County Reading Council, this day consisted of a visit with school librarians John Schumacher and Travis Jonker. They shared many quality examples of children’s literature as well as lesson ideas for the books. They also discussed award-winning literature. The presenters also shared their personal experiences of creating a culture of readers and how to promote a passion for reading.
This session was so informative! The positive, encouraging atmosphere was contagious and I truly feel I carried the love of read alouds from the session into my classroom. After attending, I found myself being more deliberate with the choice of literature I used for read alouds, and really allowed my students multiple chances to share their thoughts and feelings on the texts they were reading in class.
A school I previously taught in was designated as a Leader in Me building. This training took place in the summer after I taught there. This training built on previous trainings the rest of the staff had completed. It touched on the 7 Habits and gave examples for how to incorporate the program into classroom and school communities.
Even though the school I currently teach in is not a Leader in Me building, I make it a point to introduce my students to each of the 7 habits. We discuss what they mean and examples of them in our classroom environment. I reference the habits a lot when it comes to classroom management and enjoy helping my students to develop a deeper sense of personal responsibility.
Samsung Tablets and Google Play
June 17, 2015
West Bloomfield, MI
This training was put together by my school district the summer after we became a 1:2 building at the elementary level. With a tablet and chromebook in hand, staff explored various apps and opportunities for using them. We also spent some time exploring our tablets and all they had to offer.
I felt that this session was helpful. I also have found out a lot about the tablets and their affordances in my own personal exploration and use of them. I thought it was a great starting point and a step in the right direction for the district, and I wish it was offered more regularly.
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