RATIONAL:
It is my experience that many of the teachers in our local private schools are self-taught but lack the tools and strategies that their public school peers have gained through their credential programs. Because of this, many of these teachers do not know some of the great teaching and classroom management strategies that are available and that will help make their teaching more effective.
Thus, I see a need for private school history teachers to be able to collaborate together so they can learn from one another.
As a result of this collaborative network, I believe it will highly benefit the teachers but in the long-run, it will be the students who will most benefit because their teachers will be better equipped with effective teaching strategies, more exciting and engaging lesson plans, and a wider array of classroom management strategies.
TPE DOMAINS CONSIDERED:
This professional program development goal falls under TPE Domain F: Developing as a Professional Educator and Domain C "Engaging & Supporting Students in Learning."In the description offered in TPE goal #13, it states that effective teachers “... improve their teaching practices by soliciting feedback and engaging in cycles of planning, teaching, reflecting, discerning problems, and applying new strategies. They develop appropriate plans for professional growth in subject matter knowledge and pedagogy. Candidates access resources such as feedback from professionals, professional organizations, and research describing teaching, learning, and public education.” (TPE Goal #13).
While I will be wrapping up my program after this course, I believe it will be vital to my continual growth to be able to learn from other teachers, especially those who are familiar with the private school environment, needs, and spiritual objectives. Furthermore, I would also like to be able to teach/share the strategies that I have learned from my program at National University with other private school teachers. Because this "network" would help with my professional development, I believe TPE Domain F is addressed and because I would be teaching skills to other teachers Domain C is considered as well.
IMPLEMENTING THE PLAN:
Being able to implement this professional development plan is well beyond the scope of this course. However, the outline below is how I could see such a plan being developed in the future.
- Contact local private school history teachers and administrators (4 schools in all).
- At the initial meeting, discuss the vision and purpose of the collaborative network.
- Create a “roster” of teachers along with what grades, subjects, years of experience, academic experience/training, and contact information.
- Create monthly schedule of meeting dates as well as topics of interest. Coordinate with teachers on various seminars that could be taught with different teachers' strengths and experiences.
- Meet monthly for first 3 months (then bi-monthly) and collaborate on teaching and management strategies.
MEASURING EFFECTIVENESS:
At this time, I am not sure how I would be able to measure the success of my professional development plan. The most logical way could be through surveys, attendance of teachers, input, and feedback from those who would be part of the network. I know that to develop, coordinate, and continue such a plan would require a lot of input from others as well as a considerable amount of time and planning.
ARTIFACT #1-MOTIVATING STUDENTS TO LEARN
For private school history teachers that are having a difficult time motivating their students to learn and enjoy history, I would want to do a workshop using a PowerPoint that I developed for an earlier course in my program. I envision the PowerPoint leading to some good discussions and ideas being exchanged between teachers.
MOTIVATING STUDENTS TO LEARN PPT
ARTIFACT #2-TEACHING HISTORY TO ELL STUDENTS
In my experience with private schools, we tend to have a far more less amount of English Language Learners (ELLs) than in public schools. Thus, when ELLs come into the private school, teachers could be at a loss on how to best engage them and help them learn the content. The following link takes teachers to an article by Kristina Robertson and Colorin Colorado (2010) on how to engage ELLs in the social studies. In it, the authors explain the challenges ELLs face in understanding history as well as offer practical instruction techniques. After the article is a sample lesson plan that I prepared in an earlier course using the tips and strategies suggested by Robertson and Colorado:
PREPARING ENGAGING SOCIAL STUDIES LESSONS FOR ELLS.
SAMPLE ELL LESSON PLAN
ARTIFACT #3-LITERATURE REVIEW
Stop for a moment and think about your junior high & high school history class. What do you remember? If you are like most, you likely remember the teacher standing in the front of the classroom reciting a bunch of facts, telling some stories, and you doing some sort of book work. Boring, right!? To break away from the traditional teacher-directed instructional strategies that disengage students, many history teachers are switching to active, student-directed instructional strategies. Under this method, students move from being passive recipients of knowledge to active pursuers and practitioners of knowledge. The link below takes you to a literature review of how history teachers can incorporate this strategy into their classrooms to engage and educate students in understanding and enjoying history once again.
STUDENT-CENTERED TEACHING METHODS IN THE HISTORY CLASSROOM
For private school history teachers that are having a difficult time motivating their students to learn and enjoy history, I would want to do a workshop using a PowerPoint that I developed for an earlier course in my program. I envision the PowerPoint leading to some good discussions and ideas being exchanged between teachers.
MOTIVATING STUDENTS TO LEARN PPT
ARTIFACT #2-TEACHING HISTORY TO ELL STUDENTS
In my experience with private schools, we tend to have a far more less amount of English Language Learners (ELLs) than in public schools. Thus, when ELLs come into the private school, teachers could be at a loss on how to best engage them and help them learn the content. The following link takes teachers to an article by Kristina Robertson and Colorin Colorado (2010) on how to engage ELLs in the social studies. In it, the authors explain the challenges ELLs face in understanding history as well as offer practical instruction techniques. After the article is a sample lesson plan that I prepared in an earlier course using the tips and strategies suggested by Robertson and Colorado:
PREPARING ENGAGING SOCIAL STUDIES LESSONS FOR ELLS.
SAMPLE ELL LESSON PLAN
ARTIFACT #3-LITERATURE REVIEW
Stop for a moment and think about your junior high & high school history class. What do you remember? If you are like most, you likely remember the teacher standing in the front of the classroom reciting a bunch of facts, telling some stories, and you doing some sort of book work. Boring, right!? To break away from the traditional teacher-directed instructional strategies that disengage students, many history teachers are switching to active, student-directed instructional strategies. Under this method, students move from being passive recipients of knowledge to active pursuers and practitioners of knowledge. The link below takes you to a literature review of how history teachers can incorporate this strategy into their classrooms to engage and educate students in understanding and enjoying history once again.
STUDENT-CENTERED TEACHING METHODS IN THE HISTORY CLASSROOM
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