Professional Growth Plan – Part 1

1a. What data are you using to guide the development of your professional learning goal (e.g.
reflections on teaching, teaching observations, mid-program evaluations, student feedback)?

● Throughout my internships in the Spring of 2023 and Fall of 2023 semesters, there are tons of
sources of data I could pull from to guide the direction of my professional development so I can
strengthen my pedagogy. One of the pieces I am pulling from is my Danielson C Assessment from
Dr. Tichenor for my Social Studies lesson. The other source of data I will be using is my other
Danielson C Assessment from my cooperating teacher this semester, Mrs. Koplas at McInnis. I will
also be using additional feedback provided to me by my other professors and students in my field
placement as well as self-reflections.

1b. What does the data tell you? Describe your areas of strengths and weaknesses based on the data
collected above.

● Based on the data I have reviewed I have identified my strengths in my teaching. According to my
data in both of my Danielson C Assessments is my communication with my students. The
instructional purpose of my lesson is clearly stated, and I use appropriate words and vocabulary for
the levels of my students. It is also noted from other feedback that my relationship-building with my
students and my rapport is impactful and can see the connection being built.
● Based on the data I have reviewed I have identified my weaknesses in my teaching. According to
data in both of my Danielson C Assessments is my questioning and discussion techniques. My
questions for my students are on the lower levels and not pushing my students to think about them as
often as they should. In my discussion, it did not include everyone or even if I tried to call on
different students, I normally would stick to the ones who typically would raise their hands. My other
weakness would be classroom management. There were times in my lesson when I would speak to
the students and not have constant attention or feel like I kept being negative and not praising my
students enough for what they were doing that was complying with my lesson.

2. Using the information from question 1, what is your focus area (write both the Danielson domain and
the component that you have identified as having the greatest potential for increasing student learning
below)? Remember to choose from Domains 2 and 3.

Domain: 3

Component: 3b Using Questioning and Discussion Techniques

● quality of questions
● discussion techniques
● student participation
3. What goal will enable you to strengthen your practice (write your goal statement using the Danielson
Framework language)?

• My goal is to ask questions that encourage higher–level thinking and engage students in genuine
discussions.

4. Describe what will you do to build professional background knowledge related to the domain and
component that you have selected in order for you to achieve your goal (e.g. what articles/books will you
read, what Internet resources will you use, what workshops will you attend, will you interview or observe
teachers)? Describe four specific professional development activities.

● The first activity I will use to help build my background on my Domain 3 component b, I will take
action by reading books and reviewing articles online to keep working on my questions. The article I
will be reading and reviewing is “Using Effective Questions” by Cornell University. I will also be
reading the book, “Better Questioning for Better Learning - Strategies for Engaged Thinking” by
Benjamin Stewart Johnson.
● The second activity I will use to help build my background in Domain 3 component b, will strive to
attend professional developments hosted, either online or in person, through Volusia County. My
cooperating teacher this semester would always say there were options for reaching out for help with
your craft and one of those was professional learning.
● The third activity I will use to help build my background in Domain 3 component b, I will volunteer
to monitor and observe other types of teachers who are veterans who are masters in discussion and
techniques in the classroom where they facilitate and ask their students. Observing other teachers in
action would allow me to see practical strategies being implemented in those question techniques. I
will also be using my professors for tips as well.
● The fourth activity I will use to help build my background in Domain 3 component b, will continue
my self-reflection to work on my questioning and discussion with my students while learning. I can
do this by using the bottom of my post-reflection questions as well as keeping my journal.

5. What activities/actions will you implement to help attain your goal (e.g. administer a student interest
inventory, develop lessons that include multiple project options for students, include the use of formative
assessments during instruction, videotape and critique one’s practice, establish procedures for the
distribution and collection of materials and supplies)? How will these help you attain your goal?
Describe three specific activities based on current professional background knowledge related to your
goal (this section will be updated during student teaching as you continue to build your professional
background knowledge described in question 4).
● The first activity I could try in my teaching to work on my questioning and discussion is focusing on
and honing in on the type of questions I am asking and the trail I am wanting my students to take.
This means the lesson can vary questions at any level of Bloom's taxonomy and have the activities
match the questions in the lesson as well.
● The second activity I could try to go along with the first activity is being clear and concise with my
prompting and what is expected from my students. My communication needs to be top-notch, so my
students are aware of what is being asked of them and this extends to the activities in my lesson as
well.
● The third activity I could use is recording, reflecting, and critiquing myself when I am teaching a
lesson. It does not have to be every lesson but to see what I am doing on the spot for my students as
far as questioning goes and what I have planned for them.
6. How will you collaborate with other professionals to meet your goal?

● To continue to work on and meet my goal, I will need to collaborate with my future cooperating
teacher as well as keep in contact with cooperating teachers in the past. By collaborating with my
cooperating teacher, I will get strategies to utilize to see how I can improve my questioning in the
classroom for my internship and future use. I will also keep collaborating with my other professors
now like Dr. Oslick, Dr. Ankeny, Dr. Smith, Dr. Parks, and Dr. Heins. All these professors together,
if not all, will be helpful for small meetings or email chains to improve in my area of struggle. I will
also use my peers in my cohort and grade level team at my placement to help meet my goal.

7. What evidence/artifacts will you collect to demonstrate that your goal is being met? List three
specific evidence/artifacts you will collect.

● The first piece of evidence I will collect to demonstrate I am working on my goal is the video
evidence of my teaching. By analyzing the footage, I can see how the tips I have gathered from
different perspectives are helpful and can be used in my lesson.
● The second piece of evidence I will collect to demonstrate I am working on my goal is feedback from
my students and any clarifications or comments they have for me as a teacher. I will also be asking
for feedback from the cooperating teacher. This will help me gauge where I am going with my
teaching and what needs to be fixed.
● The third piece of evidence I will collect to demonstrate I am working on my goal is feedback from
my Assessment C throughout my senior internship from my professor and my cooperating teacher.
This type of evidence will be good as a guide in determining my strengths and weaknesses and how
to improve.