LEARNER AGENCY
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Life-Long Professional development
As an educator, we should strive to continue learning and developing in our craft of teaching and learning. Being a life-long learner considers that a person is learning new ideas and remaining up to date on the latest research. Dhaliwal (2015) states “Lifelong learning crosses sectors, promoting learning beyond traditional schooling and throughout adult life (ie post-compulsory education).” I believe this statement to hold true to effective teaching that is relevant to a changing world and demands. Determining how to teach students that meets the needs of all students should be a priority by teachers. To ensure all student needs are met, teachers must participate in professional development that continues to train teachers on implementing successful strategies for all students. According to Edmentum (2017), “Professional development in its purest form will focus on deepening teacher’s knowledge and pedagogical skills.” Meaningful professional development will encourage the lifelong learning in teachers when implemented with fidelity.
Kimmons (2018) states, “As a teacher, one of your primary goals is to model lifelong learning for your students to show them that learning is not contained within a diploma or limited to a classroom.” Showing students that as educators we are still learning opens models and motivates students to continue their learning. A way to model this learning is by establishing a Professional Learning Community (PLC), where educators learn from other educators. A PLC is a community of teachers building and providing knowledge about the field of education to one another. PLC’s support teacher innovation and risk-taking which prove to show evident for authentic/meaningful lessons for students. Miller (2020) supports this in his statement, “PLCs are the lifeblood of innovation and risk taking in school. When structured well, they can be teams that constantly learn together and work to discover what is best for students.”
Kimmons (2018) states, “As a teacher, one of your primary goals is to model lifelong learning for your students to show them that learning is not contained within a diploma or limited to a classroom.” Showing students that as educators we are still learning opens models and motivates students to continue their learning. A way to model this learning is by establishing a Professional Learning Community (PLC), where educators learn from other educators. A PLC is a community of teachers building and providing knowledge about the field of education to one another. PLC’s support teacher innovation and risk-taking which prove to show evident for authentic/meaningful lessons for students. Miller (2020) supports this in his statement, “PLCs are the lifeblood of innovation and risk taking in school. When structured well, they can be teams that constantly learn together and work to discover what is best for students.”
Participation in Professional Learning Communities
MIE: Microsoft Innovative Learning Communities
I work in a Microsoft District School which means that we primarily use Microsoft software for productivity, teaching, and learning in the district. A team of teachers were asked to complete a variety of modules throughout a school year. I was able to begin professional development on Microsoft tools using this Microsoft Innovative Educators program. This program has proven to be beneficial in providing me with tools that enhance technology integration and personalized learning opportunities for my students by providing self-paced courses that I could complete when I wanted to. Once a month we met and discussed what we learned how we could incorporate our new learnings into our instructional practices.
Tech Tools For Putnam Teachers
At the beginning of pandemic in the spring of 2020, the media specialist for my school provided teachers with an ongoing professional development model where every Tuesday she provided professional development on new technology tools that can be integrated within instruction. With distance learning being very new to all teachers and causing educators and educational leaders to reevaluate how we deliver instruction was at the forefront many of the professional development sessions.
Creating a professional twitter to establish an online Professional Learning Network was one of the best things I did back in May 2019. Primarily, I created this account for a district-wide professional training, however I really found it beneficial once I began following and interacting with educators worldwide, I was introduced to new tools and strategies that I could implement into my instructional practices. I have been able to create personalized learning opportunities for my students by examining how other teachers have adapted programs and strategies to enhance the personalized learning setting.
Creating Opportunities
Learning Pathways
During week planning, I have been discussing with the eighth grade Science team about establishing learning pathways for their students. My teammates were very weary of this idea because they thought that it would increase the workload of that they already have. During planning, I modeled to my team how to integrate learning pathways effectively into their classroom instruction.
District Wide Professional Development
In January 2022, I was given the opportunity to provide professional development on technology tools that can be integrated within my district. During this professional training, I was able to discuss and model how each of the technology tools within the presentation could support personalized learning in grades K-12. This artifact is super meaningful to me because I was able to provide this professional training with my sister who teaches kindergarten in the same district. She provided great feedback and insight on early childhood and how teachers can adapt the tools I provided to give K-2 teachers personalized learning models to use.
IXL
I integrate IXL as an adaptive assessment within my class to monitor and assess student learning. IXL is a great resource that has personalized learning element built within it. This tool allows students to answer questions pertaining to a skill or standard to show their understanding of the content. The assessment modifies and adapts to the student based on the feedback and answering that the student provides. This provides students with a personalized learning opportunity because it adapts based on student needs.
References
Dhaliwal, M. K. (2015). Teachers Becoming Lifelong Learners. Berlin College for Arts, Commerce and Science, Kaylan, India.
Edmentum (2017, February 23). 5 Best Practices for Personalized Professional Development. Edmentum. https://blog.edmentum.com/5-best-practices-personalized-professional-development
Kimmons, R. (2018). Lifelong Learning. In A. Ottenbreit-Leftwich & R. Kimmons, The K-12 Educational Technology Handbook. EdTech Books. Retrieved from https://edtechbooks.org/k12handbook/lifelong_learning
Miller, A. (2020) Creating Effective Professional Learning Communities. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/article/creating-effective-professional-learning-communities
Edmentum (2017, February 23). 5 Best Practices for Personalized Professional Development. Edmentum. https://blog.edmentum.com/5-best-practices-personalized-professional-development
Kimmons, R. (2018). Lifelong Learning. In A. Ottenbreit-Leftwich & R. Kimmons, The K-12 Educational Technology Handbook. EdTech Books. Retrieved from https://edtechbooks.org/k12handbook/lifelong_learning
Miller, A. (2020) Creating Effective Professional Learning Communities. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/article/creating-effective-professional-learning-communities