Professional Development Plan

As a future educator, I believe that it is necessary for me to continue to be a lifelong learner. Graduating college is a scary thought; however; I am excited about all the possibilities that await me. I am thrilled to become a teacher and have my own classroom full of students. Even though it is likely that some of my plans may change, it is important to think through what I plan on doing in the next five years in order to continue on my path of learning.

I am not exactly sure where I will be living after graduation, but I would prefer to stay in the Midwest; it is very likely that I will end up Kansas. I plan on substitute teaching for one year after graduation. Though this was not my initial plan, I know I can make the best of the situation and use this experience to help me when I have my own classroom. I know that I can use these experiences to further my knowledge as a teacher and gain a wider perspective on how different teachers run their different classrooms. This will also be a wonderful opportunity for me to network and develop professional relationships with different administrators and teachers and make myself known in many different schools. I can also use this opportunity to see which school I would fit well with and where I could possibly end up teaching full-time.

Because I am interested in teaching the younger grades (Kindergarten through second), I am interested in getting my endorsement in Early Childhood Education. Many states do not require this endorsement to teach Kindergarten; however; I feel that it will help me relate to my younger students. Additionally, I will learn how to best present material to younger students and meet their different learning styles and developmental abilities. I plan on pursuing this endorsement immediately after graduation. I will attend graduate school but not until I have been a classroom teacher for several years. I believe that the experiences I gain in being a classroom teacher will help me in countless ways once I enter a masters program. I am also very interested in getting my reading endorsement. I believe that all students must have a solid literacy base before meaningful learning can occur, and I want to learn strategies to help struggling readers.

I researched information on getting my Masters at the University of Kansas, because Kansas is a likely state for me settle in and I like the programs offered at the school. There are several programs I am interested in, but as of right now, I am not exactly sure which one I will pursue. I am interested in getting my Masters of Arts in Curriculum and Instruction (with an emphasis in Reading Literacy), because I think it will be very beneficial to me as a classroom teacher. Additionally, I am very interested in working with students with special needs. I used to volunteer at Miracles in Motion, a horse ranch for persons with disabilities, and I had wonderful experiences interacting with the individuals. This incident and the wonderful experiences I had in my exceptional learning class have pushed me to look into getting my Masters of Science in Special Education.

I have researched several different teacher organizations that I would like to join once I graduate college. I am very interested in the International Reading Association, because I believe that reading skills are essential for a student to grow as a learner. Additionally, I am interested in joining the National Education Association because it is a wonderful resource for teachers. Furthermore, in order to me to stay current in the field of education, I plan on attending conferences devoted to literacy development or instruction practices that will be available to me whenever I teach.

I love to read and I am always looking for reading materials to incorporate in my classroom or that relate to education. There are several magazines that I would like to subscribe to once I have a full-time teaching position. These include Mailbox and Instructor; both will provide me with valuable up to date information. Reading is very important to me, and because of this, I have developed two reading lists. One contains professional literature and one children’s literature. I am excited to read the books listed on the professional literature because they are very interesting to me and continually provide me with new resources and insight. I have already started reading the books on this list. I have developed the children’s literature list, because I believe that it is important to stay up to date in order to have the ability to recommend books for my future students and to be able to choose just right books that my students will find interesting.

I want to continue my personal journaling, because I feel that it serves a few very important purposes. First, it gives me a chance to reflect on the day and take note of important issues. Second, it gives me a reference to look back on as the year progresses. I can use my journals as references points to see how my students have progressed or how I have changed as a teacher. I can take note of important events that have occurred or things I would have changed during a lesson and use that to help me with my future planning.

One thing that I would really enjoy learning how to do is ballroom dance. I have always wanted to learn and I believe that this is something I can learn in my spare time. I love learning new things and am excited to try out something that I know very little about! I would also really like to pursue learning American Sign Language. This is something that I have wanted to do for a long time, but have not had the opportunity to do so. I plan on taking a beginning class this summer at a local community college and hope that I can continue this into the future. I believe that this would be a wonderful thing to include in my own classroom someday and help educate my students about accepting others.

Becoming involved in the community where I will be teaching is very important to me. By being active in the community, I will be able to develop relationships with many different people and my students will see me as an active member of the community. I am very interested in joining the Big Brothers, Big Sisters organization and plan on looking into that immediately when I find a place to live. In addition, I feel that parents are a vital part of any child’s education, giving me a desire to get involved with the school’s PTO in any way I can. When I determine where I will be living, I plan on looking into further opportunities for community involvement.

I am interested in joining Camp Adventure. Camp Adventure is a program that sends individuals to military bases all over the world. I would become a camp counselor and work at a day camp with young children on U.S. military bases all over the world. I have researched this opportunity and might be involved with it this coming summer. Not only will it give me a wonderful opportunity to work with children, but I will also have time to develop an appreciation of a different culture and travel the country I will be residing in. Furthermore, because this is a summer program, I could continue this after I have already started teaching full-time. I believe that by traveling to different countries in the world, I will have new experiences to bring to my own classroom someday.

Though I am uncertain about exactly where I want to live, I know that these are goals which can be met anywhere and am excited to begin my professional career! Plans may change but it is important to set goals for oneself and keep oneself up to date in one’s field. All of these resources combined will help me become an effective teacher and provide a nurturing environment for my students. There are many challenges that await me as I graduate and I cannot wait to begin!