TEL 431: Learning in Workplaces

L3 Activity

Standards for Professional Learning

Construct: Professional Learning
Name: Harrison Clark
Date: March 26th, 2021
Your Assigned Facilitator: Davis

NOTE: Please bold all your responses so nothing is missed when your work is assessed.

In this activity you will determine specific professional development goal(s), then seek to engage
in conversation with other professionals who might support your development in some way.

According to the article by Linton (n.d.), a professional learning community (PLC) is “composed
of collaborative teams whose members work interdependently to achieve common goals linked
to the purpose of learning for all.”
Linton, J. (n.d.). Building and maintaining an online professional learning community. Available
at http://web.archive.org/web/20170716143104/http:/www.learnnc.org:80/lp/pages/7012?ref=search

A PLC is a structure for continual growth and development, in collaboration with colleagues. In a
PLC, educators can talk about best practices, share data, and plan for innovations surrounding
areas they believe can be improved in a practice they share.

Professionals can benefit by expanding this idea beyond face-to-face interactions, or by

spanning geographical distances, through the use of digital tools for collaboration such as social
networks, discussion boards, etc., or even email.

ESTABLISH AN AREA OF INQUIRY

During this lesson you have been learning about Professional Learning Standards. This activity
will support you learning more about those standards, through the use of a PLC.

First, determine one Professional Learning Standard you would like to explore more thoroughly
for this activity. Which standard did you select to explore in detail for this activity? What factors
did you consider when making this decision? (2 pts)

The standard that I chose to investigate more thoroughly for this activity would be the outcomes
standard. The reason I was interested in the outcomes standard was due to the fact that I want
to be able to find my own tangible evidence that the professional learning standards are
effective. While I have little doubt that I would find anything to heavily suggest otherwise, I
always feel as though the very process of learning is fueled by the act of questioning
information. Rather than just accepting that the standards exist and are assumably effective, I
want to see and be able to explain why they are.

After you review leading forward web sources, define the gist of this standard in your own
words. (2 pts)

This standard is concerned with the efficacy of the practices found within the standards. It
measures to what degree the standards align with national educational standards.

According to Learning Forward, what are the competencies of individuals who are good at this
standard? Created a bulleted list below. (3 pts)

According to Learning Forward, individuals who are good at this standards are:
- Able to meet performance standards
- Able to address learning outcomes
- Build a coherent set of opportunities for learning

Getting to more specifics, what will these behaviors look like as you use them as an educator, in
your future target profession? Paint a picture of what these behaviors look like in your future
practice. (100-150 words) (3 pts)

Ideally, I will be able to meet the competencies of an educator who adheres to the professional
learning standards. However, focusing in on the outcomes section of the standards, the
competencies seem to revolve around the concept of being able to meet both the set standards
of the professional learning standards, as well as any external standards (i.e. national
standards). In addition, it extends the outcomes to encompass the idea that any learning is
achieved with the result being that it can be further built upon. With these in mind, I’d like to
work as a speech therapist who is able to set goals for my learners that align with what would
be expected of their skill levels, as well as ensuring that with each subsequent skill learned, that
it would be consistently worked on in addition to learning any new skills.
Word Count: 142

In what way(s) will adopting the behaviors depicted in this standard help you grow as a
professional? Be specific. (100-150 words) (3 pts):

Adopting the behaviors depicted within the outcomes standard of professional learning to my
own situation would provide an interesting outlook on how to view success. While typical
success can usually be defined as just hitting certain marks in education, like getting a 100% on
tests, success as viewed through the lens of the standards of professional learning is more so
about continuous achievement. In order to stay cognizant of this, and provide a cohesive
education to my learners in a way that it can built upon, I would not only need to focus on the
outcomes part of the standards, but instead all of the standards, which would require a bit more
practice. Nothing is ever easy, though!
Word Count: 118
FIND OTHERS WHO ARE DISCUSSING YOUR AREA OF INQUIRY
When you graduate from ASU you will want to stay cutting edge. You will not want to rely on
your employer to provide professional development for you. Professionals who want to stay on
the cutting edge need to take on this responsibility themselves. One way to do that is through
internet-based collaborative tools

Your next step is to find at least three relevant online conversations that might help you learn
more about your area of inquiry, and to filter through those resources to gain some new insights
about your area of inquiry.

The Linton article you read provides an initial list of collaborative tools including wikispaces,
Twitter, Ning, Etherpad, and Google Drive. LinkedIn has groups, searchable posts, and articles
that also generate collaboration among professionals. Additionally, web sites for organizations
associated with your future target job may have discussion boards or social networks that relate
to your area of inquiry. For example, if your future target job is to be a professional developer,
Learning Forward, the association that promotes the Professional Learning Standards, has
discussions taking place on their web site that might be helpful to you. See
http://community.learningforward.org/Home/

As related to your area of inquiry, explore 3 or more conversations about your area of inquiry
from 3 separate resources, each authored by professionals (e.g., LinkedIn conversations,
Medium.com, Edutopia, etc.).

Here are a few starting points:

https://www.commonsense.org/education/top-picks/social-networks-for-students-and-teachers
http://www.techlearning.com/default.aspx?tabid=100&entryid=2974
http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2012/12/social-networking-sites-teachers.html

List them here. (Add more rows to the table if needed)

(6 pts):
Originator or URL By lurking, what new information did you
Sponsoring attain, and/or what insights did you gain,
Association about your standard?
(from 3 separate
originators)

The Grad Cafe https://forum.thegradc This source seems to have an all-

afe.com/forum/95- encompassing master thread dedicated to
speech-language- any and all discussion material related to
pathology-forum/ being a speech language pathologist. The
website is similar to reddit, so users are
able to create and respond to user-
generated threads. No new information
 was gained, yet this site has become
bookmarked on my computer for future
reference.

Reddit https://www.reddit.co Reddit is the popular discussion board

m/r/slp/ website that has a thread for nearly any
topic, including speech language
pathology. Interestingly enough, there
was a thread specifically for venting,
which may prove to be (cautiously) useful
in the future…

Speech News Room https://thespeechroom The speech news room offers various
news.com/slp-chat different questions that an SLP can
navigate and receive professional advice
from. I learned that there’s various
different screening tests for all types of
students through this website.

PARTICIPATE IN ONLINE CONVERSATIONS WITH PROFESSIONALS OUTSIDE THE

COURSE
As related to your area of inquiry, make 3 attempts to initiate new conversations, and/or extend
existing conversations, surrounding your area of inquiry (e.g., professional blogs, LinkedIn
conversations, Medium.com, Edutopia, etc.). List them here. (Add more rows to the table if
needed)

(9 pts):
Date & Paste the text from your post. If you received a URL to this
time of response, what did conversation
your initial Below that, paste a screenshot you learn, as related
post of your post. to your area of
inquiry?

March 28, “Does anyone have any advice

2021 for someone who is starting their https://www.reddit.co
2:39PM SLP master's program this fall, m/r/slp/comments/lfl
EST but graduated with a completely w5b/slp2be_thread/g
unrelated degree? TIA!” slsvq7?
utm_source=share&
utm_medium=web2x
&context=3
 March 28, “Would anyone recommend
2021 taking ASL classes? Would that https://www.reddit.co
2:55PM give a prospective SLP an edge m/r/slp/comments/lfl
EST over the competition in the job w5b/slp2be_thread/g
market?” sluw8x?
utm_source=share&
utm_medium=web2x
&context=3

March 28, “Applying to SCSU… any

2021 advice for the https://forum.thegrad
2:59PM application/interview process cafe.com/topic/1272
EST there?” 73-fall-2021-slp-
applicants-
thread/page/6/?
tab=comments#com
ment-1058843581

REFLECTION AND PLAN FOR ANOTHER AREA OF INQUIRY

Describe the process of using the Web to engage in collegial conversations with other
professionals? Reflect about any successes and/or struggles. How did you overcome the
struggles? (150-200 words) (4 pts):

Truthfully, I never really use the web to try and initiate discussion with other people. Here and
there, I’ll have discussion with people on Facebook about random topics that I follow, like Kylie
Minogue and other non-serious things, but never really about education or prospective careers.
The reason behind this is due to the fact that I don’t always trust what others post, especially in
discussion boards that are not always moderated. I try to find information needed for education
on official websites, or rather, through conversation with people I trust have accurate
knowledge. Due to the fact that I completed this assignment near the end of the week, I did not
receive any interaction with others on the boards. However, I can see the benefit that being able
to interact with others in a discussion board may bring. Perhaps as I progress further into the
career field I am hoping to go into, online discussion boards and chat rooms may prove to be
more useful than originally thought.

Your word count: 169

Describe the insights you gained about your assigned standard through this investigation. (100-
125 words) (5 pts):

It was interesting to see how education changes as time progresses. I am a major fan of both
history and science, so to combine these two in some sort to result in the history and theory of
the standards of professional learning was a bit of an informative deep dive. I researched a bit
more into the standards of professional learning and discovered a bit more about the standards,
which enabled me to form a stronger opinion on the matter. I wholly believe that the outcomes
as aligned by the standards are important, especially due in fact to the belief that learning needs
to be continuous and coherent.
Your word count: 108

Now that this inquiry process is complete, what new question(s) do you have related to this
particular standard? (4 pts):

I want to understand how not just the outcomes, but rather the entirety of the standards can be
incorporated into a much simpler framework. As stated on the learning forward website, the
standards were already condensed, yet even now, some of it seems to be a bit repetitive,
considering that data and outcomes can most likely be merged together.

List 3 activities that will help you address this new area of inquiry. Explain your plan with
detail, including resources you wish to explore, individuals who might serve as mentors, or
organizations that might provide insight. (9 pts):

Detailed explanation of Resources that will help you Helpful mentors or

Activity (write in APA format) organizations

My mother is a teacher and N/A My mother could be a helpful

has been for twenty plus mentor.
years, so I have always gone
to her regarding any
information needed about
education or education
classes. I have been talking
to her throughout the last
year or so regarding all of the
 education classes I have
been taking, and listening to
her feedback, as well as what
she feels were her most
valuable classes taken while
she was in school.

I plan on joining a Facebook Medical SLP Forum. (n.d.). My godmother is an SLP at a

group dedicated to Speech Facebook. local hospital.
Language Pathologists that https://www.facebook.com/un
requires evidence that supportedbrowser
members are either practicing
SLPs or are SLP students.

Actively looking for My grad school’s

conferences and other events Communication Disorders
designed specifically for department often sends
students of SLP. emails with links to these
events.

Based on your list of 3 activities, take one action step now toward this new area of inquiry.
Provide evidence as proof that you took this action (e.g., document, url, photo,
screenshot, etc.). What did you do? Explain why you selected this particular action. What was
the outcome? What are your next steps going to be? (200-300 words) (10 pts; no points issued
without evidence):
Of the three activities I listed above, I decided to...

I decided to attempt to join the Facebook group designed for people who are practicing
SLPs, or SLP students. After more thought regarding online discussion boards and chat
rooms, I decided that it’s “better late than never” to start trying to find more useful
information within these sources. I have a bit more faith in this online community, as it
requires the moderators to verify that all potential members are part of the SLP
community, either as a practicing SLP or SLP student.
The best type of information about the entire topic would most likely be from those who
are actively practicing it every day, which is what really pushed me to further consider
joining a more selective discussion board/chat room. Furthermore, the potential to
network with fellow SLPs or SLP students via this group is high. All it would realistically
take to connect with these individuals would just be a message. From there, skills,
programs, lessons, etc. could all be shared, which could prove to be extremely useful to
someone just starting out in the field. This is also what I subsequently plan on doing
over the next few years, while I am getting my master’s degree and entering the field.

Your word count: 202

 References (10 pts)

Note: no credit will be given unless your references are formatted per APA. See Owl at Purdue
as a guide.

Johnson-Svedvik, M. (2014, March 11). SLP Chat. Speech Room News.

https://thespeechroomnews.com/slp-chat

Learning Forward. (n.d.). Outcomes. https://learningforward.org/standards/learning-outcomes/

Medical SLP Forum. (n.d.). Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/unsupportedbrowser

Speech-Language Pathology • r/slp. (n.d.). Reddit. https://www.reddit.com/r/slp/

The GradCafe Forums. (n.d.). Speech-Language Pathology Forum.

https://forum.thegradcafe.com/forum/95-speech-language-pathology-forum/

Professional presentation (professional language, grammar, spelling, word count) (10

pts).
Please proofread your work to be sure it meets university level writing standards. Note that if
your written work does not meet this standard, you will be asked to revise and resubmit within 3
days, and these points will be lost. The Writing Center can provide support. See
https://tutoring.asu.edu/writing-centers for details.