Professional Development Reading Plan by Amy Garver

Importance of Continuing Education

adh1230 — 2023-12-24 19:50:42 UTC

Continuing education in all fields but especially education is crucial to staying knowledgeable and up to date with current information. The world of teaching is always evolving and continuing education provides opportunities to enhance skills and helps to ensure educators are effective teachers. It also helps contribute to potential career advancement and allows for networking within the field. As a first year teacher next school year, I know that I will need to learn so much and professional development will allow me to continue to grow and learn outside of my daily classroom teaching environment. "Taking part in professional development courses will expand your skill set and build up your 'teacher toolkit' so you have [essential research-based resources] you need to start your career off strong"(Robinson, 2019).

Podcasts

adh1230 — 2023-12-24 20:04:58 UTC

Podcasts are a nice way to continue to learn at one's own pace. "Incorporating podcasts into professional learning experiences for teachers maximizes time, personalizes learning, and empowers educators to learn at any time and place that works best for their busy schedules" (Botswick & Kaufman, 2023). I plan on listening to podcasts monthly on reading and also on other applicable topics to support my instructional practice. These podcasts will provide me up to date ideas that I can use when carrying out my instructional practice with regards to literacy.

The Science of Reading:Podcast

adh1230 — 2023-12-24 20:12:29 UTC

This began in 2019 and is hosted by Amplify’s Chief Academic Officer Susan Lambert. Each episode explores a topic within the science of reading, is spoken by a renowned leader in the literacy community and offers instructional advice to educators. Listening to this podcast would be a way to continue my learning of literacy told by different experts and covering different specific areas of the field. Taken a step further, this could be a training or staff development activity of listening to an episode as a team and then discussing as a "podcast" club type setting.

Consultations/Collaborations with Reading Specialist

adh1230 — 2023-12-25 16:21:14 UTC

One of the best parts about working in a school setting is the number of qualified and experienced colleagues that educators can consult with on a daily basis. I would work closely with the reading specialist at my school to learn and grow my knowledge of teaching reading. I would love to have opportunities to co-teach lessons so that I could model strategies that the reading specialist uses. I would also encourage feedback and criticism of my strategies used to improve my instructional practice.

Expand Knowledge of Current Reading Curriculum

adh1230 — 2023-12-25 16:40:04 UTC

The current reading curriculum in MCPS in grades k-5 is Really Great Reading (RGR). I would delve further into this curriculum. The initial training in how to implement the curriculum is essential for teachers but there are extended seminars, workshops webinars and e-learning courses I would do to supplement my knowledge. Virtual professional development in the current curriculum would allow me to learn a wealth of knowledge on the science of reading and on how the RGR program follows that philosophy. Truly understanding the philosophy and the why's and how's will contribute to me being a successful reading teacher and to my students being proficient readers.

https://www.reallygreatreading.com/workshops

MCPS Continuing Education

adh1230 — 2023-12-25 18:42:27 UTC

Montgomery County Public Schools is a well known district known for being academically strong. It's a diverse district serving over 160,000 students. I'm looking forward to being a classroom teacher in such a well known and well respected district. With such a large district and a large teaching staff, there are many opportunities for continuing education in all areas of the field. I'd like to find trainings and workshops pertinent to literacy to continue to grow my pedagogy. Continuing Ed credits are required but I'd like to go above and beyond so that I can learn as much as I can aside from the requirements. In MCPS PDO, the SOR course is one class I'd take. "The SOR course is a comprehensive introduction to the body of research known as the Science of Reading. This body of research has conclusively proven how the brain reads, and learns to read, and has identified the causes for reading failure and deficits that exist in people who struggle with reading. Participants will learn teaching practices that support the development of fluent reading skills, as well as practices that hinder reading development. Participants will learn about dyslexia, what it is, and what it is not, and approaches to teaching students with dyslexia. Participants will learn how to identify students who display characteristics of dyslexia in the early years, when intervention instruction is most effective"

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/personnel/about/cpd/

Other Podcasts

adh1230 — 2023-12-26 23:52:10 UTC

adh1230 — 2023-12-26 23:55:40 UTC

Experts

adh1230 — 2023-12-27 00:12:20 UTC

I will strive to follow educational experts like Dr. Louisa Moats , a widely acclaimed researcher, speaker, consultant, and trainer in the field of literacy and Dr Jan Hasbrouck, a leading researcher, educational consultant, and author. I especially enjoyed the article linked above and will continue to read articles by Moats and other experts.

References

adh1230 — 2024-01-01 18:09:53 UTC

Botswick, Elizabeth, and Lauren Kaufman. “Making Podcasts Part of Professional Learning.” Edutopia, 27 Oct. 2023, www.edutopia.org/article/bringing-podcasts-into-professional-learning/. Accessed 12 Dec. 2023.

“Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Courses - Montgomery County Public Schools, Rockville, MD | Montgomery County Public Schools | Rockville, MD.” Www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org, www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/personnel/about/cpd/. Accessed 1 Jan. 2024.

Hanford, Emily. “How a Flawed Idea Is Teaching Millions of Kids to Be Poor Readers.” Www.apmreports.org, 22 Aug. 2019, www.apmreports.org/episode/2019/08/22/whats-wrong-how-schools-teach-reading.

Harnly, Aaron. “Top 10 Science of Reading Podcasts to Get You Started %.” Amplify, 30 July 2021, amplify.com/blog/science-of-reading/top-10-science-of-reading-podcasts-to-get-you-started/. Accessed 1 Jan. 2024.

“Listen.” Glean Education, www.gleaneducation.com/listen. Accessed 1 Jan. 2024.

Moats, Louisa. “Teaching Reading Is Rocket Science.” American Federation of Teachers, 3 June 2020, www.aft.org/ae/summer2020/moats.

Professional Development. “Professional Development | Really Great Reading.” Reallygreatreading.com, 2022, www.reallygreatreading.com/workshops.

Robinson, Java. “Why Professional Development Matters.” Www.nea.org, 11 Feb. 2019, www.nea.org/professional-excellence/student-engagement/tools-tips/why-professional-development-matters.

SMARTIE

adh1230 — 2024-01-05 01:47:11 UTC

My Professional Development Plan was created with the SMARTIE goals in mind. My development in the area of literacy should be strategic, measurable, achievable, relevant, time bound, inclusive and equitable. These components in my Professional Development plan will allow me to continue my growth in reading.

Conclusion

adh1230 — 2024-01-05 02:06:00 UTC

Since the field of education is always changing and evolving, my Professional Development will be essential in becoming the most effective educator I can be. I will strive to continue to grow and learn in as many ways as possible.