Well, 2013 has arrived and my first post of the new year is all about my professional growth plan (PGP).
“As a new administrator, there are many areas for growth. However, in the past few months, I believe my strengths lie in my relationship building and connections that I make within the school community. I have a strong technology-focussed understanding (including the use of social media, computer programmes and systems that are used daily in the school). I also believe that I have a strong sense of assessment, as I have worked for several years in developing my own understanding of AFL, Differentiated Instruction, and Formative and Summative Assessments. I have been focussing on assessment and curriculum development for the past eight years as a teacher and as a programme consultant to improve classroom assessment practices across the disciplines. The biggest area that I see as an area of growth would be a stronger development and understanding of Response to Intervention (RTI), social justice and restitution as alternate forms of student discipline (including suspensions). This is an area that I would like to develop a greater understanding.”This is from my introduction to my growth plan. I have gone through an assessment of my strengths and areas for growth. I have asked those teachers I work closely with to complete an Self Assessment Tool, that I also completed. From this, and discussions with my principal, assistant superintendent and my vice-principal team, I have decided to address the issues of discipline, social justice and restitution through the lens of developing community, culture and connectedness in the school. I am part of a working group that is looking at these areas to improve student learning as we move into the new school that is slated to be built this year, which will allow me to connect the two processes and use the wisdom of our staff, students and parents to move forward.
I will be using the working group, conversations within the #ptchat (and other twitter chats), workshops and conferences (particularly the ASCD 2013 conference in Chicago and the ASCD’s WholeChild) and other resources to develop a starting point from which to develop my own concepts around community and culture within a school.
I will continue to post on my growth on my PGP. I am hoping that my PLN will have some great ideas and suggestions, as well as criticisms, to allow me to become a better administrator. All comments are welcome!
This is really interesting! I like that you’re using a blog to track your own professional progress.
As it’s over a decade since I was in high school, and since you have a background in math/science, I’m wondering if there’s any mentoring being placed in linking student training and trends in job availability. For example; in STEMs we’re experiencing an unbelievable glut in skilled individual training/supply, when compared to workforce demand in North America. This glut existed before the present recession, which has only magnified the problem. The life science field is particularly hard hit.
This problem is compounded by the fact that once students enter university there is very little information on how to transition from the academe to non-academic employment. In fact, I’ve been forced to engage industrial, government, non-profit etc. employers to get any accurate real-time information. This isn’t terrible. I chose to do this, and it’s not easy, but because I did this I’m much more prepared than those I’m competing with for jobs. Having said that, I figure if undergraduate students entering university start asking questions about job trends, and how to gain employment outside of academia then universities will start actually supplying that information, and students wont slog out multiple degrees without any sort of professional direction. You would not believe how many graduate students in STEMs applied to their programs because they believed it would improve their job prospects. Almost none appreciate the fact that academic qualifications don’t count as work experience. And that’s the most shocking aspect of all.
I think this is a problem throughout all post-secondary. We have been pushing students into areas of study through incentives without a full understanding of what is actually needed job-wise.
Here in my district (in BC, Canada), we do a great job for students looking for trades, but we still don’t work closely enough with post-secondaries around careers, especially in the STEM categories.
Good luck!
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