Development of Professional Learning Plan-S00152962

Assessment task one: Professional Learning Plan Essay

The desire to continually improve is a crucial need whilst being an educator as new
knowledge is continually developing within society. Improvement in an education setting can
be focused on the educators themselves improving, but most importantly, the educators
improving the students academic abilities. Development of skills and confidence can be
achieved through a range of avenues. Professional development is beneficial as it allows for
new knowledge to be learnt, and then implemented, particularly if this is done as a
professional learning team or community as all members have the same understanding.
Mentoring and collaboration also allow for educators to improve as the people involved can
learn from one another whether it be regarding strategies or sharing resources which will help
create beneficial opportunities for the students. Within an educational setting it is essential to
ensure every lesson or every resource serves a purpose to make a difference is students lives,
and this is achieved through ensuring evidence is gathered in order to guide future plans
which caters for all students. One of the most important elements needed in order to develop
and improve as en educator is reflection, however it is important to focus on positives and not
always just the negatives.

Professional development is the process through which new or difference skills and
knowledge are gained, resulting in an improved work performance (Bubb, 2007; WestBurnham, 1998). Professional development is ongoing and systematic, it not only benefits the
educator, but also the students as well as the school as a whole (Bubb, 2007). Individually it
is beneficial as children, classrooms, families and culture are continually growing and
changing, and professional development ensures educators are effective in their teaching as
they are up to date with new knowledge or findings as a result of research (Bubb, 2007; Tilla,
Ferkins & Handcock, 2011).
Professional development is beneficial to students as effective teaching is a result of study,
reflection, practice and hard work, and this is achieved to full potential as a result of
developing new knowledge (Bubb, 2007; West-Burnham, 1998).
The school as a whole benefits from teams attending professional development together as
the educators will be provided with an opportunity to learn and problem solve together. When
a learning team attends professional development together, all educators are provided with an

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opportunity to perform at a high level through all having an equal understanding, which can
lead to students achieving success as a result of effective teaching (Bubb, 2007).

Mentoring is a relationship between multiple people based on mutual desire for

development, and in an educational setting the goal is to make a difference in students lives
(Ballinger & Bishop, 2011; Brindley, Fleege & Graves, 2000). Through mentoring, a
graduate teacher will work with an experienced educator or educators for a range of purposes
(Ballinger & Bishop, 2011). Working with another educator serves a purpose, and within
mentoring this is for a whole school improvement, as it builds competency and capability of
teachers (Brindley, Fleege & Graves, 2000; Mccann, 2008). When graduate educators partake
in working with experienced educators in their professional learning team, they will be
benefiting immensely as the experienced educators will be able to guide them through the
many challenges they will face, as well as encouraging them to meet new challenges and
supporting them through this process (Mccann, 2008). Working with experienced educators
allows for new educators to be introduced to new, successful strategies, therefore working
towards improving their teaching quality, which is essential for students to succeed (Brindley,
Fleege & Graves, 2000). Mentoring and collaboration provide a powerful opportunity to
improve students learning outcomes through teachers learning with and from each other
(Mccann, 2008). Sachs, Fisher and Cannon (2011) believe that faculties that work towards a
collaborative spirit and mentor each other, are more likely to be successful in improving
students learning, however in order for this to be successful, sessions should occur on a
regular basis, whether its as a professional learning community, or a professional learning
team. Working in a professional learning community is important and crucial as it ensures all
educators have the same understanding and are striving to achieve the same goals (Brindley,
Fleege & Grave, 2000).

The Teacher Inquiry and Knowledge Building Cycle which was developed by Helen
Timperley serves a purpose to promote valued student outcome (Timperley, 2011) as student
learning needs are the focus and reference point for the cycle. The cycle relies on evidence in
order to start the cycle, whether it be identifying students needs based on evidence, or
teachers needs based on evidence (Victoria State Government, 2016). An inquiry cycle may
operate on a whole school team (macro) or on an individual level (micro), for either a short

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term period or long term. The effectiveness of the cycle differs based on leaders adopting an
inquiry approach, and supporting teachers in the conduct of their inquiries, to ensure all
educators have the same understanding (Victoria State Government, 2016). When the inquiry
cycle is being implemented it is essential to understand that learning takes time, therefore
time for developing understanding, risk taking, as well as trial and error and refinement are
vital. Timperley (2011) believes that the inquiry cycle is beneficial as through educators
having to identify their learning needs, based on the needs of their students, and then using
this knowledge to set goals and work towards them, educators become more motivated which
leads to improvements in not only their students learning, but also their own learning.

Reflective practice refers to assessing our own thoughts and actions, for the purpose
of personal learning and development (Ewens, 2012; Ghaye, 2012). However, reflection can
also involve a colleagues opinion through observation and then providing feedback, then you
using this feedback to reflect on the lesson yourself. Critical reflection can occur in two
possible ways; reflection on learning and reflection in action. Reflection on learning refers to
reflecting at the end of a lesson or activity, pin pointing the positives and negatives, and
looking into how the lesson could be improved for future reference. Whereas reflection in
action, refers to reflecting whilst teaching, such as adapting an activity during a lesson to
provide a greater learning opportunity. Zwozdiak-Myers (2012) believes in order to be an
effective teacher you need to engage in reflective practice, as it should be an integral part of
all teachers professional growth and development irrespective of career stage. Critical
reflection involves analysing your teaching practices as well as your own learning that may
contribute to effective pedagogies (Ewens, 2014; Ghaye, 2012). There are many benefits as a
result of critical reflection for both educators, as well as students. Reflecting critically can
help educators delve further into what happened and why and has the capacity to promote
deep learning about your professional practice (Ewens, 2012). Reflecting critically also
impacts students learning as it maximises their learning, as you are able to identify the
teaching strategies that did not work, as well as identifying alternative teaching strategies that
may be beneficial to incorporate in future lessons (Ewens, 2012).

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In conclusion ongoing learning and development is a necessity when being an
educator in order to make a difference in students lives, and this can be achieved in many
ways. Working towards improvement needs to be worked on in more than one way, as each
avenue will provide something different. Information you learn in one avenue, may add to
what you have already learnt from another avenue, however all the information will be
beneficial, as they will promote an educators knowledge which flows on to help students
learning improve. Essentially ongoing development allows for a teacher to be effective, and
in order for students to continually develop and improve, they need to be provided with
effective teaching. Without educators developing and learning, students will not be provided
with greater learning opportunities (Bubb, 2007).

References

Development of Professional Learning Plan-S00152962

Ballinger, D., & Bishop, J. (2011). Mentoring student teachers: Collaboration with physical
education. Teacher Education strategies, 24(4), 30-34. Retrieved from http://wwwtandfonlinecom.ezproxy1.acu.edu.au/doi/abs/10.1080/08924562.2011.10590941#.VwulA8eO4d
U
Brindley, R., Fleege, P., & Graves, S. (2000). A friend in need: Mentorship and community.
Childhood Education, 76(5), 312-316. doi: 10.1080/00094056.2000.10522120
Bubb, S. (2007). Leading and managing continuing professional development developing
people, developing schools (2nd ed.). London, UK: SAGE publications.
Ewens, T. (2014). Reflective primary teaching. Retrieved from
http://acu.eblib.com.ezproxy1.acu.edu.au/patron/FullRecord.aspx?p=1712659
Ghaye, T. (2012). Teaching and Learning through Reflective practice: A practical guide for
positive action. Retrieved from
http://acu.eblib.com.ezproxy1.acu.edu.au/patron/FullRecord.aspx?p=667912
McCann, T. (2008). Mentoring matters: Helping new teachers. English Journal, 98(1), 90-93.
Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy1.acu.edu.au/docview/237302402?
OpenUrlRefId=info:xri/sid:primo&accountid=8194
Sachs, G., Fisher, T., & Cannon, J. (2011). Collaboration, Mentoring and Co-Teaching in
Teacher Education. Journal of Teacher Education for Sustainability, 13(2), 70-86. doi:
10.2478/v10099-011-0015-zp
Tilla, J., Ferkins, L., & Handcock, P. (2011). The importance of whole school involvement.
Physical activity based professional development for teachers, 70(2), 225-235. doi:
10.1177/0017896910396218

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Timperley, H. (2011). Using student assessment for professional learning; focusing on
students outcomes to identify teachers needs. Retrieved from
http://www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/about/research/timperleyassessment.pdf
Victoria State Government. (2016). Evidence based professional learning cycle. Retrieved
from http://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/profdev/Pages/cycle.aspx
West-Burnham, J. (1998). Leadership and professional development in schools: how to
promote techniques for effective professional learning. London, UK: Financial
Times/Pitman.
Zwozdiak-Myers, P. (2012). The Teachers reflective practice handbook: Becoming an
extended professional through capturing evidence-informed practice. Retrieved from
http://acu.eblib.com.ezproxy1.acu.edu.au/patron/FullRecord.aspx?p=958823

Critical reflection

Development of Professional Learning Plan-S00152962

After completing the Professional learning plan based on the AITSL Australian Professional
Standards for Teachers, it is evident that development can occur to improve my teaching
effectiveness, in direction to improving student outcomes.
An important aspect to which I think will help me develop as an educator is through seeking
feedback from colleagues, whether it be positive or constructive. With this, I need to ensure I
continually seek reassurance, before during and after implementation, and ask as many
questions as I need in order to completely understand the feedback being given. Along with
this, I need to ensure I also provide colleagues with feedback and ideas, as it enables
opportunities to learn from one another.
Another area which I would like to focus on is using the inquiry cycle through using students
assessment outcomes to guide future planning. I would like to focus on this as it is an aspect
which is essential and critical when planning learning opportunities for students, because
without knowing their current abilities, you are unable to successfully and effectively move
them forward within their development. This is able to be achieved through continually
collecting and analysing data, as well as through collaboration with colleagues, to ensure I
have the correct understanding of the data.
As an educator reflection is crucial in order to continually improve teaching effectiveness. It
is an aspect which I currently incorporate into my teaching, however I feel that I do not utilise
this as much as I should be. Reflection is important as it enables you to identify activities or
instructions which may need adapting, if implemented in future lessons. From reflection you
are able to collaborate, as you are able to share your findings with colleagues, in relation to
aspects that did or did not work.

Development of Professional Learning Plan-S00152962