Professional Development Reflections

ARA Professional Development Reflection

On November 12, 2015, I attended two sessions in the afternoon
of the ARA Conference that were both so interesting to listen to and be
a part of. The first session I attended during this time was one about
dyslexia. This hindrance to learning is something that has interested
me for a while this semester. While working with students at Trace
Crossings this semester, I started to wonder if one of the students had
dyslexia. Because I did not have much background knowledge on this
learning disability, I did not have any foundational and research based
knowledge to make an educated decision. The session I attended
helped me to understand a little more about what dyslexia is and what
I can do to help students that have to battle it. The session I attended
this afternoon was a simulation of how dyslexic students feel when
reading in class. We were given a reading passage; some of the people
in the room had a page written normally, while others had a page with
several words spelled very incorrectly. I was one of the people that had
the letters in the words mixed up. Reading through this passage
opened my eyes to the sheer difficulty students with dyslexia have
while trying to read. I now understand that they are doing all they can
to be able to read the words correctly. They are seeing the letters
incorrectly, which makes it much more difficult to interpret. These
students are prone to frustration. While I was trying to make out the
words on the page, I began to get discouraged and exhausted. It is a
difficult task and takes so much brainpower to think through. If I was a
student trying to keep up with the rest of the class, I would become
very frustrated and want to quit. Now that I have had the experience
knowing what it feels like to read with dyslexia, I will strive to
understand how those students feel and encourage them that much
more.

The second session I attended this afternoon was Ann Marie

Corgills session. Before she began speaking, I did not expect so many
emotions to flow through me. She was very inspiring to listen to,
because she is a teacher who cares deeply about her students.
Everything she did in the classroom was focused on her students and
what would improve their learning. She desires for all teachers to
follow in these steps and impact student learning. Corgill wants all
teachers to swear to keep students at the center of learning. She says
that what we do every day matters more than what we do every once
in a while. By being consistent in our teaching, students will benefit in
many ways. Corgill always wants teachers to drink from the fountain of
friendship. She encouraged us to be aware of things that are
happening outside our profession while also committing to professional
growth. Not only did she encourage us to swear and drink, but she also
told us to steal moments every day for ourselves. I had been asking
myself in days previous if I could handle being a teacher. This
profession takes so much of your personal life and time and requires
you to be selfless. Hearing Ann Marie Corgill tell us to make sure we
take moments for ourselves was very encouraging. The fourth thing
she told us to do was fight. She told us to take courage and fight for
what is right for children. Too many times teachers do not let childrens
voices be heard, and that is what is hurting our education system
today. The final thing Corgill told us teachers to do is lie. Lie down in
bed at night knowing we are making a difference. Some days can be
discouraging, but we must remind ourselves that we are impacting
students lives whether we currently see the difference or not. All of
that to say, Ann Marie Corgill was a very inspiring educator to listen to
and was one of my highlights from attending the ARA Conference.
PLP Family Studies Reflection

The first session we had as a PLP group on October 16 discussed

different personality types. During this session we discussed our
different personality types and how that will affect us as teachers
during our conference meetings. Knowing our personality type helps us
understand the way we work. When I understand why I function the
way I do, I begin to have a better understanding of why I may respond
to certain situations better than others. After taking the Meyer Briggs
test, I discovered that I am an ISFJ. This personality type makes
complete sense to me. The results say that I am compassionate,
caring, and want stability in my relationships. These facts plus many
more are extremely true when it comes to my personality. It also says
that I am supportive, patient, practical, and observant. All of these
characteristics are things that I find to be true in myself. Knowing this
about myself helps me to realize that not everyone else has these
characteristics. It is not a bad thing that others do not respond to
things in the same way as me; it is simply something that I must
understand and remember when dealing with people. The parents and
students that I will work with are all going to have different
personalities, and I need to be sensitive to that in my classroom and
meetings.
October 23 was our second meeting as a group, and we
discussed communication. During this session we talked about how to
communicate with the parents during conferences. Having practical
tips is very important to possess, because it gives me something to go
by instead of walking into a meeting blindly. One thing that I want to
challenge myself to do each year is to get to know the student at the
beginning of the year. The best way to do this is for the parent to
inform me of the childs passions, goals, cultural practices, traditions,
and interests. I could do several different things to give me this
background knowledge at the beginning of the year. I could send a
welcome back to school newsletter that asked the parents several

questions about their child. I would hope the parent would in return
respond to my questions and inform me about the little details that
would be helpful to know about the student. If I could have this
knowledge at the beginning of the year, I would not have to spend all
year trying to figure it out on my own. Asking parents these questions
would also show how much I care about their child and want the best
for them as well. Another tip that was given for meeting with parents is
to send a question or two in advance to our meeting for the parent to
go ahead and think about. This gives them time to think and makes the
conference seem less intimidating and interrogative. Overall, I know
that I need to reinforce my care and love for the student. While a
concern may have to be addressed, I do not need to begin or end the
meeting with that information. The parents need to leave hopeful and
not overwhelmingly upset.
On October 30, we discussed different parenting styles and discipline.
This session opened my eyes to the fact that there are four different
styles of discipline a parent may have. The four different styles are
authoritative, authoritarian, permissive, and neglectful. The
authoritative style is all about mutual trust and respect. This type of
parenting is the healthiest and the one I strive to be. This parent is
going to honor both their own and their childs perspective and is going
to fully and clearly communicate between family members. This
student may have a high level of competence and self-esteem. They
may also have internalized moral standards and good academic
performance. The authoritarian discipline style is a very controlling
relationship where only the parents perspective is considered. These
children may be withdrawn and unhappy while also having low selfesteem. They may be dependent but lack motivation or angry and
defiant. I believe these parents may be very intimidating to work with,
but can be approached when considered in the right way. The third
parenting style is the permissive style. This parent is going to indulge

the child and have little control. This child may lack independence and
be selfish because he or she has not been taught how his actions will
affect others. These children may be aggressive and lack responsibility.
I would need to be aware of this parenting style for my students so that
I could be more effective when trying to teach these life skills to my
students. The final parenting style is the uninvolved or neglectful
parenting. These parents are not going to have a relationship or
communication with their children. These children may be aggressive
and have low self-esteem or angry towards others. These students are
ones that may have antisocial behavior and found to be criminals. I
hope that I can influence all of these students in the ways they need to
be taught.
Our final session was on November 6 and focused on the
different types of teachers there are in the world. This final session was
describing what type of teacher we are. There are four different
teacher types that can be associated with each individual teacher. The
Guardian is the first teacher. This teacher will model traditional
techniques that emphasize routine. She likes step-by-step procedures
and will prefer planned teaching methods rather than spontaneity.
These teachers will be dependable and clearly communicate
expectations to students. The second teacher type is the Artisan. This
teacher will bring excitement, energy, and variety to the classroom.
She is going to alternate between fast and slow pace styles of learning.
She will be flexible from changing between energy to relaxation.
Rather than doing every thing in the classroom step-by-step, she will
adapt her lessons to what kind of discussion is happening among the
students. This teacher will be more flexible on test dates and like to
keep students on their toes. The third teacher type is the Idealist. This
teacher will strive to help her students improve and achieve their best
and fullest potential. She will be skillful at determining what each
student needs emotionally and intellectually to achieve success and

meet individual needs. This classroom will be very democratic, allowing

students to be involved in decision-making. She is going to encourage
creativity and allow a lot of student-to-student interaction. The final
type of teacher to be described is the Rationalist. This teacher will
encourage individualism, autonomy, intellectual curiosity and
achievement in her students. This teacher is an expert in her field and
will typically love her subject area. This teacher will encourage
individual study and provide challenging assignments for the students
to complete. This classroom will also encourage debates and provide
intellectually stimulating discussion. After looking at the different types
of teachers, I could not quite decide what type of teacher I am going to
be. I believe I have a lot fo growing that must be done, and a lot of that
will be experimenting and seeing what techniques fit me best as a
teacher. I think it is very important for me to remember that there are
different types of teachers who are all effective. Each teacher type has
its own effective qualities that are beneficial to student learning.
ARA Conference Reflection
On November 12 and 13, 2015, the Samford Education students
attended the ARA Conference. This was a conference I did not expect
to get as much out of as I did. While on the first day I was planning on
leaving at lunchtime, I decided to stay until the last session that day.
The speaker were very inspiring to listen to and provided a lot of
additional knowledge that I would not be able to receive in the normal
curriculum I am going through during this semester. Jeff Anderson was
the opening keynote speaker, and he was one to keep the audience
fully engaged. He had several writing tips that I had never considered
beforehand. While I knew it was important for students to write during
class, I never fully thought about the impact it makes on students
lives. In order for anyone to become a good writer, he or she must first
begin the process of writing. Writing is an action that is many times

considered but not executed. People tend to talk themselves out of

writing the stories they have within. There are a couple of different
methods Jeff Anderson uses in his classroom that encourage the idea
of writing in a students mind. The first method is power writing. I think
this strategy is very important for a student to do. The class is given
two options of a one word prompt, and they have one minute to write
as many words as they can in one minute. By giving students this
opportunity to write, they will be exploring their interests and learning
how to produce words.
Attending the ARA Conference opened my eyes to many things
pertaining to education. Listening to Dr. Bice speak to us about what
the State Board of Education did over the past few years and what they
are now implementing. I was inspired to hear how much our
Superintendent cares for our children and wants our school system to
improve. Hearing testimonies of schools in Alabama that are already
making changes gives me hope for the future of our education system.
While I may not completely understand all of the changes or be able to
fully envision differences actually taking place, I know that there are
people fully invested that believe in what should be done. By the end
of the conference, I realized I cared about attending professional
development opportunities, because they are developing me as a
professional teacher. These opportunities help increase my knowledge
and bring new ideas to my teaching schema.
ELL Training Speaker Reflection
On the days of November 10 and November 11, 2015, Lari
Valtierra presented all kinds of information regarding ELL students.
Knowing how to teach these students can be a challenge for teachers
who are not informed with understanding of what these students are
experiencing and how to move them past the level they are currently
at. After listening to these two sessions of information pertaining to ELL

students, I now feel so much more informed of everything this area of

teaching consists of and what methods should be used to educate
students to further levels. Knowing that ELL students grow in their
language acquisition is a process is a key component to remember.
Students are not going to immediately learn the second language. Just
like it took me a long time to understand my French class in high
school, it is going to take these non-English speaking students an
extended amount of time to be proficient English speakers, readers,
writers, and listeners. Because this language learning is a process,
there are several different levels or learning that each learner must go
through. The first level is the silent period. I think this is a period I took
for granted and wanted students to move through quickly, but a quick
process may not always being the case. On average, an ELL is going to
spend around three to six months in this phase. I think that I could get
frustrated when working with students during this phase, but
frustration does not need to be the response I have. Instead, I need to
have patience with these students and assist them in every way that I
can. I need to use a lot of facial and hand gestures that accompany the
words I am saying, I need to keep them involved in the learning
process with the class and not seclude them to work on simply
assignments on their own. They are going to learn the most by
listening and observing, not by being asked to match or color pictures.
Each phase of this process goes a little deeper each time in the
speaking of the English language. They will begin saying one-word
phrases, and then they will begin clustering those words together in
the next phase. As a teacher, I need to know what phase my students
are currently in so that I can know what I need to do to assist but also
push them appropriately. WIDA has created different rubrics and
descriptors of where these students typically are performing during
each phase. These rubrics and descriptors help me as a teacher to
know what is appropriate content and assignments for them to do. If

they seem to be doing very well in everything I give them, then I need
to step up to the next level of descriptors and challenge the students.
If I begin to challenge them and they start to struggle and not be able
to accomplish any of the tasks successfully, I will know to step back a
level and assist them a little further. I as a teacher have realized that I
do not need to worry about teaching my students everyday words. The
students will acquire these words by listening to their peers. Because
they will learn these words from their peers, I need to focus on
academic words.
After listening to this speaker over this two-day training session, I
continue to have an interest in teaching ELL students. I never thought I
would want to be someone that is responsible for teaching students
how to communicate through the English language, but this has been a
desire that continues to grow and not leave me. Over the past years in
the United States, educators have left behind these students to
struggle. This is something that is not fair to these students and no
longer needs to be overlooked. These students are a part of the United
States, and they matter. They do not need to be overlooked; rather,
they need to be invested in and encouraged to continue to challenge
themselves in their learning. They can acquire just as much knowledge
as a native speaking student; they simply need a little more assistance
to reach that goal. I hope that through whatever type of teacher I am, I
can make a difference in these students lives who are coming from so
many different parts of the world.