Reflection of Professional Development Session

Jimena Rising
 My professional development session presentation was based on engagement strategies

that could be used in elementary school classrooms with all ages from kindergarten through fifth

grade. This professional development session was also used to explain that definition of quality

instruction, and how to be reflective to ensure that the engagement strategies used are beneficial

to students. This professional development meets professional standards for educational

administrators. The National Policy Board for Educational Administrators (NPBEA) states that

“Establish and sustain a professional culture of engagement and commitment to shared vision,

goals, and objectives pertaining to the education of the whole child; high expectations for

professional work; ethical and equitable practice; trust and open communication; collaboration,

collective efficacy, and continuous individual and organizational learning and improvement.”

(NPBEA, 2015, P.15).

When feedback was given, the biggest thing I took away was that it would have been

more beneficial if they would have been given time to share engagement strategies with each

other and applied those to different grade levels. The information provided was not sufficient for

all grades, and it would have been beneficial to provide more examples that could be used for

various grades. It would have also been beneficial to provide more time for collaboration so that

staff members could share ideas throughout the grade level and demonstrate curricular

alignment.

The professional development needs to be beneficial to the students, and aspects for it

should be observed and measured to reflect student growth. In an article by Giselle Martin-Kniep

and Rebecca Shubert, it is stated that educators need to create “authentic performance

assessments in which students engage in problems or issues for a real purpose and audience who

can benefit from their work; create student-centered portfolios that enable students to
demonstrate both their growth and achievement as learners; and design rubrics, checklists, and

other tools that result in hard-to-measure outcomes, such as collaboration, open-mindedness,

flexibility, and bias recognition” (Martin-Kniep & Shubert, 2017). Student engagement is hard to

measure, so teachers need to understand what it means to have students engaged. Just because a

student is able to complete their work does not mean that they are engaged and participating in

their learning.

The school’s mission and vision states that students need to be able to set independent

goals and experience different ways to achieve them. Student learning should be achieved

through differentiation and at the student’s individual level. The professional development

session caters to the mission and vision because it requires teachers to reflect on their students’

participation and think about ways to make it engaging for every student- no matter their level.

One way that the professional development could be improved is to ask for student input. Asking

for student interests could lead to developing ideas to create more engagement strategies and

materials to promote student participation.

As a principal, I would ask teachers during the professional development to write down

one way they could use the topics presented in their own classrooms with their students. This

would require them to think of how the topics are relevant to their daily teaching. Next, I would

conduct observations and look for the engagement strategies used in their classrooms. The

observations would show who was able to use the topics successfully. I would have

conversations with the teachers who use the strategies and ask them what was successful, how

they changed the strategies, and what they think others could take away from their experience.

Holding a staff meeting after observations would be beneficial to have teachers regroup and
share experiences. It would also allow me to ask what teachers would need and like to learn in

upcoming professional development sessions.

“Research shows that professional development should be extensive and ongoing, and

that technology may help overcome identified barriers” (Bates, Huber, & McClure, 2016). As a

principal, I would plan to incorporate more technology into classrooms and professional learning

communities. Technology allows for more engagement and allows ideas to be shared

continuously. Using technology during professional development sessions allows people to

follow along on their own platforms and allows them to also refer back to it as later times.

I have to be honest in saying that I was unsure about how to prepare for this professional

development session. After creating the documents, I kind of just had to talk myself into building

up the courage to talk. Once I started talking and introducing my topic, it kind of felt more like a

conversation. I know that this was probably the case because I only presented to a small group of

people, but in the future, I will try to remember to act as if I was just having a conversation and

allow input from others. I think that building relationships with my staff and getting to know

them and the students past surface level will allow me to create professional development

presentations that are relevant and fun to present.

 References:

National Policy Board for Educational Administration (2015). Professional Standards for

Educational Leaders 2015. Reston, VA: Author.

MARTIN-KNIEP, G. O., & SHUBERT, R. (2017). Learning That’s Made to Measure. Learning

Professional, 38(2), 38–42

Bates, C. C., Huber, R., & McClure, E. (2016). Stay Connected: Using Technology to Enhance

Professional Learning Communities. Reading Teacher, 70(1), 99–102. https://doi-

org.lopes.idm.oclc.org/10.1002/trtr.1469