PDQP Review 1

PDQP Review

Kimberlie Ramirez

National University
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Abstract

In the following essay I will be providing and update on the implementation of my Professional

Development Quest Portfolio (PDQP). I will also provide a discussion of goal achievements,

frustrations, questions, and the next steps for myself and our community around the PDQP. The

essay will be centered around experience, opinion and want to improve as an educator.
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PDQP Review

In the California Teacher Expectations, Domain F, TPE 13: Professional Growth, it is stated that

teachers “improve their teaching practices by soliciting feedback and engaging in cycles of

planning, teaching, reflecting, discerning problems, and applying new strategies” (Cal TPE). Our

Professional Development Quest Portfolio is designed to meet this teacher expectation and help

us evaluate ourselves. While we are asked to discuss and show artifacts of each TPE, the project

over all is designed to help us educators reflect and improve our craft.

Implementation

Personally, I have decided to approach this PDQP as a growing tool. I have decided to include

artifacts that demonstrated how I was as an educator before and some that showcase how I am as

an educator now. This has helped me develop and really evaluate the areas where I have grown

through my career in the last two years. One of the artifacts I included was an observation made

by a school administrator. In this observation he states how I create an environment in the class

where students from different levels help each other. As I reviewed other artifacts in the PDQP I

learned that a major focus of my teaching is revolved around creating “a positive climate for

learning” (Cal TPE). I learned that an area where I have grown is creating community with my

students and helping them feel like they are in a “safe classroom environment” while also

maintaining the fun (Cal TPE).

Goal Achievements

While looking through my classmates PDQPs and my own, I have learned that I have achieved a

lot of my professional goals, but I have also created new goals. I have found areas in which I felt

like I was really hitting the mark and some where I feel I need to better improve. For example, in

TPE 11: Social Environment, it talks about maintain a fun and safe environment for students
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which I feel I have successfully completed. However, TPE 3: Interpretation and Use of

Assessments I learned that I can improve on. When looking for an artifact for this particular TPE

I had difficulty finding one from my own curriculum because I learned that I struggle with

assessing students thoroughly. While I do formally and informally assess them, I feel like the

ones I do are vague and may not often really get from the students what I am looking for. Thanks

to the PDQP I was able to identify this, and I was able to bring it up to my site instructional

coach. I showed her what I have, what the TPE expects, my content standards and we were able

to improve some of the assessments for the next semester. While this goal has not been

completely met yet and it is a work in progress, I believe this was brought to my attention thanks

to the self-evaluation encouraged by the PDQP.

Frustrations

The PDQD has been nothing but an amazing, fun, and self-evaluating rollercoaster. The project

has asked us to be vulnerable with our work and be honest about our craft. At the beginning the

biggest frustration I had was constructing the Weebly website itself. While we were given the

opportunity to do a Power Point presentation, I really felt a website would really showcase what

I wanted to do. This choice came after seeing my students in 2016 complete a similar task. When

I immersed myself in this activity, I quickly learned it was no walk at the park. I found myself

facing difficulties with inserting items, aligning the site to look aesthetically pleasing and my

artifacts showing correctly. This caused some frustrations because I did not have hours to sit

there to edit the site. However, as the weeks came by, I fell in love with the project more and

more. I learned how to run the site, how to insert things and make it look more fun. The

frustration decreased and I was able to construct a good site.

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Questions

The PDQP has brought up tons and tons of questions for me. Not about the project, the approach

or the requirements, but about my teaching. Every single week I read a new TPE, look for new

artifacts and write new literary reviews which lead me to question everything I have done and

seek improvement. Again, that self-evaluation and seeking of feedback that TPE 13 encourages.

This PDQP has made me look at the smaller details and really look for places to improve.

Another question that has come up often during this process is “why don’t I plan with the TPEs

in mind?” While yes, we already have state and school standards to meet, we also need to ensure

our craft is carefully designed so we help students develop successfully. The TPEs are all

centered around student and teacher improvement. I have discovered that when I plan and work I

do it for my students only. I only evaluate myself when the assignment calls for not often. I have

learned that while I do it sometimes, I need to do it often. I need to grow with the students.

Concerns

The biggest concern I have with my PQDP is, is it really showing who I am and am I really

putting the best I can forward. Often it has been said it our course that this can be a potential tool

that we can show our employers, future employers or colleagues. When I think of this, I find

myself with the concern of if this is really the best I can do. I know I am putting one hundred

percent effort into my project and the artifacts I have included do resemble me at this specific

moment, but does it represent me overall. If I was a stranger looking at this PDQP, would I hire

me. I have a concern that my work and craft are not really being showcased how I want it to and

thus is leading me to want to seek feedback and insight from others. I want to present this to

coworkers and ask them how they feel. Is it me? Is it really what I stand for? Or is it who I am at

this specific moment in time.

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Next steps for myself

The next steps for myself all center around improving my craft. I want to better my PQDP with

artifacts as the years come and really evaluate my work and see where I can improve as an

educator. I want to get involved in those professional developments from my five-year plan to

really shape my teaching. I also want to focus on student engagement and instructional time. I

want to be more intentional with my teaching and really use my time the best way possible. I

want to ensure I assess my students as effective as possible and that I am doing everything I can

to help them succeed. For the learning community, I hope everyone also focuses on improving

themselves for the benefit of their students. If we are at one hundred percent, our students will

achieve one hundred percent.

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Resources

Commission on Teacher Credentialing (2013, March). California Teaching Performance

Expectations. Retrieved from https://www.ctc.ca.gov/docs/default-source/educator-

prep/standards/adopted-tpes-

2013.pdf?TSPD_101_R0=084e6f7cb6ab20004be28235b693a6b7c6bbd6d051d9426ddd1

5fe954e869283ca7e03a9a1c19b3208fc1a12ed143000f48f50c5ae5245aa2997ed6a6b5711

457b9277e57cdb8f3e51c8a626ef13894cec8dee816e9fce686f089cc20e0ca77e