Professional Development in Teacher's Career

Professional development is critical to success in a teacher’s career. Teachers need to be opened to continuing their education and consistently reflecting on lessons and interactions with students. At the expert stage of teaching, “the teacher’s practice is characterized by fluency, automaticity, and efficiency” (Garmston,1998). In order to achieve this level of teaching practice, the educator must continue to learn new teaching strategies, understand the curriculum, recognize students and their differences, and conduct self-reflections. A teacher who is dedicated to professional development and wanting to improve their teaching, will make a stronger impact on students. I believe that I am in the Proficient level of performance according to the Framework for Professional Teaching Practices (Danielson, 1996).

For Doman 1, planning and preparation, I believe that I demonstrate adequate skills. I work hard to make connections to my content knowledge with other subject areas through discussions with general education teachers for social studies and science curriculums (Danielson, 1996). As a special education teacher, I must have a full understanding of my students (Danielson, 1996). I design lessons that are the instructional match for my students, modify grade level curriculum, and accommodate for different learning styles. I also try to choose books that would be interesting to my students and create math story problems around the activities that students participate in. Assessing student learning is critical to monitor instruction and to report student progress accurately (Danielson, 1996). The development of this component was a goal of mine during the first semester of this school year. I feel that now, I have acc...

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...s and participating in educational associations will lead to a positive impact on students.

Professional development is a component of being a highly effective teacher. Danielson and Garmston expressed the need for teachers to continue to learn new skills, show professionalism, and complete self-reflections. The teacher, as a role model, must demonstrate a love for learning by continuing to grow and develop. The students will learn to be life-long learners when their teacher demonstrates the same skill.

References

Danielson, C. (1996). The framework for professional teaching practitices. Retrieved from http://www.people.vcu.edu/~rmreardon/601/Danielson/index.htm

Garmston, R. J. (1998). Becoming expert teachers (Part one). Journal of Staff Development, 19(1).

Kramer, P. A. (2003, Fall). The ABCs of professionalism. Kappa Delta Pi Record.