Self-Reflection

Know thyself.

-Socrates

This assignment correlated with Educational Leadership Core Curriculum (ELCC) Standards. The standard that most directly linked to this project was standard six, which states…

Candidates who complete the program are educational leaders who   have the knowledge and ability to promote the success of all students by understanding, responding to, and influencing the larger political, social, economic, legal, and cultural context.

In order to provide under-achieving students with an effective instructional program, I was able to create a yearlong professional development plan that addressed and fully accommodated the learners’ diverse academic and social needs.  This project helped me recognize the values and cultures that exist in schools today and the importance of administrators engaging in activities that ensure the learning environments in which schools function and operate is influenced on behalf of the students AND their families.  For example, the new program plan identified the cultural needs of English Language Learners and as a result, I researched best practices for student learning to create professional development sessions to help meet those needs. 

While working on this professional development plan, one of the most useful things I learned was the importance of using and developing strategies that would help me successfully implement the plan in a school setting.  For example, I incorporated adult learning strategies such as, goal-oriented and the experiential learner to make sure I have accommodate the learning style needs of the adults involved in the PD.  Prior to taking this course, I did not realize the importance of addressing adult learning styles.

One aspect of this assignment that was necessary, but initially challenging, was the collection and analyzing of data.  I found this task to be cumbersome and complex; however, while taking the Data course simultaneously with this course, I was able to utilize and apply many of the tools and strategies I learned in Professor Tornifolio’s to this project.  As a future administrator, I realize the importance of data and will continue to hone in on my data collection and application skills.

I thoroughly enjoyed creating a PD that applied best practices to student achievement.  I have a passion to conduct research and I used it as one of my strengths and advantages while trying to develop a professional development plan. Yet more importantly, I learned that school administrators must promote the success of all students by understanding and responding to social and cultural contexts.   There is an abundance of research that addressed the improvement of reading comprehension for English Language Learner’s.  I was fortunate enough to have access to many professional articles and journals that supported my PD rationale, design and implementation.