EDUC 798: Professional Development Plan

Part One: Identifying the Goal

Intern: MacGyver Biniak Mentor: Matthew Gresick School: Reservoir High School Grade: 11
I. Statement of the Goal
I want to identify the strengths and needs of my students and differentiate instruction with a variety of activities
and strategies, ensuring each learner achieves at a high standard.
(This goal is aligned with InTASC 3: Learning Environments)

II. Rationale
I have learned that students have different preferences when it comes to learning activities. Some students are
auditory learners, while others prefer kinesthetic or visual learning activities. Based on the contextual factors
that are present in my classroom and the results of formative and summative assessments, I know that my
students are culturally and academically diverse. This professional goal will help me to better understand the
strengths and needs of all learners while also promoting a safe and nurturing classroom environment.

III. Procedures/Strategies
I will build relationships with students and teachers, starting on the first day of school. Personal
relationships will continue to develop throughout the school year.
I will carefully observe and informally interact with my students at the beginning of my placement to
identify their unique needs, learning styles and interests. I will maintain a log of my observations.
I will collaborate with teachers and other staff members to recognize the needs and interests of students.
Collaborating with a variety of staff members will help me to better understand the needs of all learners.
I will increase the number of activities and strategies in my academic toolbox through professional
development opportunities, personal research and observations of other teachers lessons. Attending
staff meetings will help introduce me to effective strategies Reservoir High School is utilizing.
I will include auditory, kinesthetic and visual activities in my lessons to help meet student needs.
I will design and implement academically appropriate lesson plans that challenge students but are not
overbearing. These lesson plans will be aligned with HCPSS Learning Outcomes.
I will utilize technology as a tool to instruct and engage students in the classroom.
I will reflect on my lessons, determining if strategies and activities were successful or unsuccessful.
Reflecting upon each lesson and using that data will help me design more effective lessons in the future.

IV. Indicators of Progress

I will maintain a log that contains information on my students. Learning preferences, personal strengths,
and individual needs will be recorded to better understand all students. Information will be gathered
through conversations during and after class. Information will also be collected during meetings with
other teachers and school staff. This information will be utilized to plan effective lessons.
Lesson plans will include a variety of learning activities, helping to excite and engage all students in the
classroom. This includes activities that appeal to auditory, kinesthetic and visual learners.
Personal reflection will occur after each lesson. This will help to recap the lesson, grade its effectiveness
and adjust future planning to meet the needs of a diverse set of students.

V. Resources
Mentor teacher, Paraeducators, Guidance Counselors, School teachers & other support staff

Intern Signature: __________________________________ Date: _____________

Supervisor Signature: ______________________________ Date: _____________

Part Two: Reflecting on the Goal

VI. Descriptive Review
One of the strategies that had a direct impact towards meeting my goal was my ability to build and
maintain positive relationships with my students. This strategy allowed me to better understand my
students and helped me to become more comfortable in the classroom. By the end of my internship, I
had built relationships with a diverse set of students from both my Modern World History and
Leadership classes. Without implementing this strategy, my experience at Reservoir would not have
been nearly as effective.
Another strategy that helped to engage students in the learning process was my ability to use videos in
my lessons. A brief, three to five-minute clip, was often shown after the daily drill was completed and
the lessons Big Idea was introduced. Keeping the videos short was the key to maximizing the
effectiveness. Studies show that millennials have an attention span around 8 minutes. After that,
students often lose interest. A routine was established during my Spring internship; this routine helped
to streamline the online video process.
Simulations and gallery walks were utilized several times in my teaching experience. These activities
had a direct impact on kinesthetic learners because students were out of their seats and were engaged in
the learning process. Simulations were especially impactful because they gave students a hands-on
experience that could captivate student attention. Simulations were effective for all learners.

VII. Indicators of Progress

Reaching my learning goals can be rated as In Progress. While students were academically successful during
the lessons, the internship structure limited my ability to fully reach my goal. Attending school several times a
week in the Fall helped me build relationships with students. My Intensive Teaching Experiences allowed me to
incorporate the findings and observations from the beginning of the year into direct and impactful lessons that
meet the needs of all learners. By the time I was teaching full-time, I was able to seamlessly transfer my
knowledge on student strengths and needs into detailed lesson plans with a variety of activities.

Meeting previous Indicators of Progress help to show my ability to advance towards achieving my professional
development goal. These indicators include growing and developing with students, understanding learners
strengths and needs, collaborating with teachers and other support staff, planning lessons with a variety of
activities to meet the need of my students, and reflecting on previous lessons. Being able to develop and enhance
these skills helped me become a better teacher and educator.

While these skills helped with my professional development goal, I do not believe that I fully met my goal. While
I was able to accommodate the needs of all students with varied and differentiated instruction, relationships and
observations could have been stronger. While I had a very positive relationship with many students, I did not
have a strong connection with every student; this is especially apparent in the Leadership courses. I was not
required to teach these classes during my Intensive Teaching Experiences in the Fall. Even without a strong
relationship with each student, I was able to design and deliver a two-week unit on social justice and diversity.
My ability to meet the need of all students, including auditory, kinesthetic, and visual learners, can be seen in
the rationales and artifacts for InTASC Standards 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8.

VIII. Goal Outcomes

I learned quite a bit during my internship experience at Reservoir High School. One of the most important
lessons I learned was the importance of building relationships with students. Starting from day one of the school
year, my goal was to build and develop relationships with students. The ability to build relationships helped with
instruction and classroom management. Since students trusted me and felt a sense of security, they were more
likely to stay engaged and active in my lessons. Without these developed relationships, I am not sure how
effective I would have been. Building personal relationships with students is something I am hoping to continue
throughout my teaching career.

Another lesson that I learned is that effective communication in the classroom involves all students. During one
of my lessons, I was formally observed by my mentor teacher. For 20 minutes, Mr. Gresick tallied the positive
and negative interactions that I had with each student. After the lesson was over, I was given a copy of the
observation map. The map showed the seating chart for the class as well as plus and minus marks to show
positive and negative interactions with students. While I interacted with a majority of the class, I did not
communicate with each student. The map also showed that I focused on a few students for the majority of the
observation. This observation helped me to realize that I need to involve all students in the lesson. For the best
results in future teaching experiences, it is vital that I involve all students in the discussion rather than focusing
on a few students that raise their hand.

The need to effectively plan lessons was another lesson that I learned during my internship at Reservoir High
School. Without a detailed plan, a teacher is setting them up for failure. Each of my lessons was carefully
created to align with an HCPSS Learning Outcome. Several activities were often planned for each lesson. This
helped me have an idea of how the class would be conducted. While I may have over prepared for my first few
ITE lessons, I had a better understanding of the pacing and transitioning that goes with teaching. Even though I
was not able to get every activity I had originally planned on implementing, quality preparation helped lead me
towards successful lessons. This practice will continue to be emphasized in the future.

My experience at Reservoir also taught me that students are very capable of utilizing technology (including
smartphones) in the classroom. For multiple lessons in my internship, I decided to post readings to the CANVAS
learning management system. Students were to download this document onto their smartphones during the daily
drill. Having students download it while doing their drill showed me that they can multitask. I was pleasantly
surprised how focused students were to read the document from their smartphone. Phones are usually a
distraction in the classroom but when utilized as a tool, students are often on task. Through informal
observation, I was able to assess if students were on task and how well students were completing the activity.
Students were engaged during these lessons, with students utilizing their smartphone as a tool rather than a
distraction. This was apparent in both the standard and honors classes. Smartphones and other devices can
have extraordinary benefits in the classroom. I would like to continue to include smartphones in my future
lesson plans.

The final lesson that I learned was that adjusting classroom management to meet the needs of different classes
may be necessary for a successful lesson. Classes throughout the day have different learning styles and energy
levels. This could be seen in my 4B and 6th period honors classes. While both classes have a similar number of
eleventh-grade students, the two classes are very different when it comes to how they prefer to interact. 4B is
relaxed and focused on learning while the 6th period is very energetic and constantly looking to interact with
one another. I realized that classroom management needs to be adjusted for each individual class during my
first day of lessons. While my 4th-period class was focused and creative during simulations, the 6th period was
not as successful. 6th-period students were often talkative and disruptive during simulations. This made it more
difficult for students to hear instructions during simulations. While 4th period benefitted greatly from
simulations, I am not as certain about the 6th-period class. This led me to realize that I need to consider the
different personalities and styles of my classes when planning activities. Different amount of structure and rules
can lead to a successful learning environment for all classes.

Intern Signature: __________________________________ Date: ______________

Supervisor Signature: ______________________________ Date: ______________