Professional Development Programs and Participation

Over the past two years, the primary training and education that I have participated in had been the Masters of Education program at SMU. I have been a student since the fall of 2008 and will graduate this December, 2009. Through this program I have participated in a variety of classes that focus on everything from professional writing and diverse learners to differentiated instruction and research design. In addition to those core courses, I have also been receiving training in both specialty areas of gifted and talented education and technology.

The primary purpose of my participation in the Masters program, is to further my own education and development as an effective educator. The program has really helped me by teaching me more strategies, as well as enhancing the tools and resources at my fingertips as a teacher in order to make me a better teacher in the classroom.

Also, just in the last two months I began a new job, teaching first grade at a charter school in the Dallas area. This summer, and in the weeks leading up to school, I had to attend several staff development seminars. The first one was a boot camp to go over what a day should look like in our classroom at the beginning of the year and then comparatively, what a day should look like about 100 days in to school. The second training went over classroom management, best practices, and how to implement the chosen curriculum for each grade level. Finally, during in-service week at school we discussed the important dynamics, schedules, and guidelines that help our school to run smoothly.

Overall, I have had a very positive experience in the education and professional development that I have received over the past few years. I have not yet planned any of these sessions, but have participated. I feel like both the masters program and my staff development have really prepared me to be a better teacher. If anything, I feel like I have been overwhelmed by too many good ideas. However, I would rather have that be the case than feel lost or like I did not have resources or know where to turn. I can only hope that I can successfully implement everything that I have learned, and survive my last semester in graduate school while teaching in order to graduate in December. I am also eager to teach for a few years and then pursue more educational opportunities, and also to become a master teacher that can mentor teachers and design professional development sessions of my own.