Portfolio Reflection

Standard 6: Candidate Professional Growth and Development

Darius J. Williams
January 2019

Standard 6: Professional Growth and Development

Candidates demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to engage in continuous
learning, reflect on professional practice, and engage in appropriate field experiences.

Artifact and Short Description

- Professional Development Plan​ - In EDIT 7200, I was able to identify Professional
Learning Network (PLN) as a tool that could connect all of the teachers of each of the
schools I coach. This became a two-fold development plan because it challenged me to
develop my practices as a coach, and resulted in teachers being developed in their
practices as teachers. The details of this plan can be viewed by accessing this artifact.

Reflection
In evaluating Standard 6, I am clear that there are integral pieces of knowledge,
skills, and dispositions that one must possess in order to engage in continuous
learning, reflect on professional practice, and engage in field experiences. To
me, this is where we truly hone in on the craft of educating not only students, but
also ourselves. This is essential because as an educator, I have committed to
being a lifelong learner. The artifact I have chosen to share is a Professional
Development Plan completed in fulfillment of the course requirements for EDIT
7200.

Last year, my attitude towards technology coaching was to play on the strengths
of people in the building who actually wanted to be better at technology
integration. This year, I wanted to ensure that I also invested in my own
continual growth with current and emerging technologies as well as the
knowledge and skills​ I gained in my coursework.

I began this work by piloting a Professional Learning Network over the summer. The biggest
challenge with piloting activities such as these during the summer is that many times, you don’t
have the opportunity to dive as deeply into the process as you’d like before trying it with the
whole group. ​As evidenced by the shared artifact,​ I was able to work with a small group of
teachers over a very short period of time to begin piloting my plan for using Professional
Learning Networks to empower teachers to collaboratively move along the SAMR matrix. That
resulted in me having a small group of highflyers and a large group of people who still did not
feel comfortable with integrating technology.

After implementation, I was able to see the Technology Challenge and start of our PLN prompt
almost all of the teachers to make an attempt to gear up their technology usage in preparation
for the return of the students. This goes back to Trust’s article which stated, “Teachers are
motivated to participate in PLNs because they can learn from other members while also offering
their own expertise to help other members” (Trust,
2012). When the teachers realized this was not a
journey meant for them to take alone, they quickly
began to buy-in.

Once the PLNs were created, teachers would have

a place to share with other colleagues the great
work that was happening. Using the survey
information collected, I was able to use teacher
weaknesses and expressed interests to ​facilitate
technology-enhanced learning experiences
based upon their needs, breaking them into
several categories for an online professional development experience, and housing this landing
page in Google Classroom.

As the artifact demonstrates, the needs varied from grade level to grade level, and from teacher
to teacher, but the categories which were decided on were as follows: An Introduction to
Classroom Technology, Classroom Technology for Differentiation,
Classroom Technology for Assessments, Classroom Technology for
Communication, and Technology for Production. Allowing the
teachers to develop in this way gives adults choice, which is
important when considering the locus of control. This also gives
them a chance to regulate the pace at which they complete
activities, which supports learning theory associated with teaching
adults.

Upon evaluating our experience, I concluded that teachers enjoyed

their learning experiences and they also enjoyed sharing their work
with their colleagues. My personal goal was to transition teachers
from sit-and-get PD and make it more personalized, and that is a
goal that was accomplished through a one-to-one coaching cycle,
personalized online professional development, and the creation of a
robust Professional Learning Network.

Now, when I consider my own professional development, I am thinking about ways to sustain
continual growth with current and emerging technologies and application of the rich knowledge
and skills that I will gain along the way. Additionally, I will always remain committed to facilitating
technology-enhanced learning experiences. I am better able to be more critical and intentional
efforts to remain teachable and to develop myself as a practitioner. The best educators are not
the ones who are only knowledgeable, but the ones who are both knowledgeable and reflective.
My ability to evaluate my own needs as a professional and try new strategies to engage
teachers while developing a Professional Development Plan and design a self-paced online PD
shows my dedication to developing my practices as well as the practices of the educators I
serve.