Name of Artifact: PD Reflection

Date of Artifact:3/7/2023
Course #:EAD-523

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Professional development presenters are a hot commodity. I once had a

presenter come all the way from California for the day to talk about her career and sell

copies of her book. Even though it was a nice presentation, participants agreed that it

was not really helpful. She only talked about herself and her achievements instead of

giving techniques or strategies to use in the classroom. Achievements are great, but the

purpose of a professional development is to help others in your same profession.

Professional developments is a way for teachers to continually learn from each other

and improve in their craft. There is always opportunities to learn and improve one’s

craft, and learning from experience and the advice from others is how one can grow.

In my presentation, I followed the schedule and the slides as reference. The

slides helped keep me on track and stopped me from rambling or getting side tracked.

The tight schedule felt a little limiting when it came to questions and answering. I did not

want to feel rushed, but lack of flexibility was restricting and had me moving faster than

anticipated. The feedback was encouraging as well as constructive. They were very

involved in the process. They all said that more examples were needed and there needs

to be flexibility in the presentation. I added improvements to the presentation to give the

agenda more wiggle room. I merged time blocks to give variability in the content. More

examples were also added to the presentation due to the recommendations from the

feedback. I tried to be more specific with the content and give more advice for particular

situations. Since the topic was broad, I was unable to focus the presentation to a

specific grade level, but it should be geared for middle school teachers.
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Professional developments need to be full of useful strategies and the latest

technology to insure effectiveness. School data and research help guide the direction of

the professional development material to help bridge the current gaps. The school's

goals need to be in the forefront of every professional development, meeting, and

conversation. Team building always makes room for friendly competition and ice

breakers with strangers. I have made some quick friends that lasts a lifetime in

professional development days. We understand each others frustrations and the love of

teaching which makes for endless stories and common ground.

Principals need to be present in the classrooms and not just the first few weeks

of school. They need to know their staff and their students. The only way to do that is to

make time to visit the classrooms. Principals need to observe teachers in the classroom

to keep them accountable to the content of the professional developments. The best

way to see improvement it to witness it for themselves. Some experienced teachers

may dismiss certain advice that comes from the sessions, but principals that want to

see change for the good of the staff and the students need to hold teachers

accountable. I have seen this time and time again where some teachers will ignore

policy. Generally the lack of enforcement is not malicious, but it comes from a place of

habit. People get set in their ways of how to do things. “Change doesn’t happen

overnight, and this is especially true of professional development programs. This is why

job-embedded teacher professional development and the mechanisms for review and

accountability are so important—when teachers see the impact of their professional

growth on their students, they’re more eager to continue to refine their practices long-
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term.” (New Leaders, 2022) It is up to the authority of the administration to incentivize

good teaching methods and policy.

Schools need to move with the changing times. At my school, they have bells to

switch periods that no one can hear, and staff that takes ten minutes of class time to

take attendance. These things could easily be done electronically. Upgrades were

implemented at my last school and made things so much easier. Announcements were

on TVs scattered around the building. Everything from the monthly calendar to pictures

of past events were displayed on the screens. Principals need to be constantly

improving their school to keep up with the needs of the students. “If school leaders want

teachers to be learners, they must be willing to be learners as well.” (Lalor & Sperrazza,

2022) Just like teachers need to actively improve themselves, principals need to

research ways to lead their subordinates and be role models for staff and students. It is

important to practice what you teach in order to form a trusting relationship between

leader and follower.

One has to believe in what they are presenting, practiced in their pitch, and

organized with their materials. If these things are achieved with an additional fun

activities and humorous stories, then it is sure to be a memorable presentation. I made

sure to prepare what I was gonna say and do ahead of time to alleviate stress and

anxiety. Since it was a presentation to those I trust, I was very confident going into the

presentation. I received valuable feedback which boosted my confidence even more.

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References

New Leaders, Inc. (2022). PD for teachers: How principals can play a meaningful role.

New Leaders. Retrieved March 1, 2023, from

https://www.newleaders.org/blog/pd-for-teachers-how-principals-can-play-a-

meaningful-role

Lalor, A., & Sperrazza, C. (2022). How school leaders can support effective

professional development. Edutopia. Retrieved March 1, 2023, from

https://www.edutopia.org/article/how-school-leaders-can-support-effective-

professional-development/