Running Head: Looking Forward

Week 2 Assignment: Looking Forward

Michele Condap
TED 690
National University
Professor Shepherd
May 17, 2015

Looking Forward

ABSTRACT
Domain F of the California Teaching Expectations set by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing
states that teachers are held to a high standard in Developing as a Professional Educator. Therefore,
I created this report to address my needs and plans for continual profession growth. An in-depth
look into my plan of future professional goals, accomplishments, and plans to achieve them is
presented in this report. Many different professional development opportunities are offered here in
San Diego, therefore I was able to select the most applicable and reputable opportunities to
concentrate on my personal goals as an educator in the next five years.

Looking Forward

INTRODUCTION
I believe that behind every great educator is a plan. Educators develop daily/unit/annual plans for
instruction, preparation, and classroom management; however we must also focus on our personal
growth as well. As a newly credentialed educator, I know that I want to continue to plan and focus
time on my professional growth. In addition, to adequately prepare for the changing nature of
classrooms and students in the 21st century, we must be equipped with the necessary tools.
Therefore, I have developed a Professional Development Plan to complete five important
professional growth tasks in the next five years to address my continual growth as an educator.
Each of these tasks will lead to university credit, certification, or other evidence of achievement
recognized in my projected place of employment.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN
As previously mentioned, I am a recently credentialed teacher. Although I have been
teaching for six years, I have just finished my credential program and will be completing my
Masters in Education this month; therefore I know I have much room for professional growth.
When I envision my career in education I see myself as a well-rounded elementary school
teacher teaching both upper and lower grades. Most of my experience thus far has been with
Kindergarten or younger, therefore I would like to expand my knowledge and experience in
teaching other grades. In addition, I see myself as a true 21st Century educator as which I will be
implementing more technology-based instruction, facilitating the delivery of differentiated
instruction for diverse students, and focusing on a solid foundation of reading, writing, and math
instruction.

Looking Forward

The first and currently most important professional goal of mine is to obtain a full time
teaching position in my current district (Del Mar Union) for the Fall of 2015. Although my
professional growth in the classroom can continue, it is important that I am practicing as well.
To obtain a full-time teaching job: I am currently working as a long-term substitute in a TK
classroom, I have attended (and will continue to attend) all school/district wide trainings, PLCs,
and staff meetings, and I have expressed my interest and enthusiasm to colleagues, my principle,
and other district employees. There are currently no posted job listings for DMUSD, therefore I
am also applying for teaching positions in other surrounding districts.
In addition, to my current search for a teaching position, my first task is to complete San
Diego County Office of Educations course, Advanced SDAIE. This is a 4-day professional
learning series in which educators focus on modeling and brain-based scaffolding to make all
instruction accessible to ELLs. The school that I currently teach at has one of the highest
populations of ELLs in the district, therefore it is important to me to become even more qualified
and prepared to provide adequate instruction to my future ELL students. In addition, this
knowledge may help me reach my goal of obtaining a full-time position.
Once I have obtained a teaching position, I plan enroll in UC San Diegoss SB2042 Clear
Credential Program (given the district does not offer their own Induction Program). This
program will take me through my first full two years of credentialed teaching providing me with
support along the way. I anticipate my first two years of full-time teaching to be extremely busy
and challenging at times, therefore I know enrollment in this Clear Credential program with be
beneficial. In addition, the state of California requires all newly credentialed teachers to
complete this program within their first five years of obtaining a teaching credential. Therefore,
if I would like to continue to hold my title as a credentialed educator, this is a requirement.

Looking Forward

Following the task of clearing my credential, I plan to further specialize my skills and
abilities by obtaining an Instructional Technology Certificate from San Diego State University
during the 2017-2018 school year. This certificate will also help me work towards my goal of
becoming a 21st Century teacher. In the 21st Century, we must be providing students opportunities
to learn and work in similar environments to work world they will be released into. It is my
belief that in twenty years, my students will hold jobs that rely heavily on technology. Therefore,
I would like to increase my knowledge and application of integrating technology into instruction.
Next, I would like to further my skills and knowledge in Language Arts specifically
reading. I have taken a reading instruction course, passed the RICA, and taught reading in
Kindergarten classrooms, however, I would like to learn more expand my understanding to other
grades. Therefore, I plan to obtain my Reading Instruction Certificate from UCSD. This
program consists of 5 classes (22 units) and I will allot myself the school year of 2018-2019 to
complete this. In this program I will expand on my knowledge of of reading: foundations,
assessment, research, intervention, and strategies as well as the design of effective literacy
models to produce fluent, independent readers at all grade levels.
Finally, I plan to broaden my understanding of instructional planning by completing a six
week course in the Fall of 2019 entitled The Differentiated Instruction & Response to
Intervention Connection hosted by San Diego State Universitys College of Extended Studies.
As previously mentioned, my goal of becoming a 21st Century Educator involves educating all
students by providing the most direct and individualized instruction to meet the diverse needs of
todays classrooms. With this course, I will be better prepared to assess student learning and plan
for the most beneficial differentiations based on student needs.

Looking Forward

5-YEAR PROJECTED TIMELINE

Advanced
SDAIE 4day
Course

Instruction
al
Technolog
y
Certificate

[San Deigo
County Office of
Edu.]
(Summer 2015
TBD)

Differentiated
Instruction &
Response to
Intervention
Connection
Course

[SDSU]
(Fall 2017 - Spring
2018)

2
Clear
Credenti
al
Program
[UCSD]
(Fall 2015 Spring 2017)

[SDSU]
(Fall 2019)

4
Reading
Instructi
on
Certificat
e
[UCSD]
(Fall 2018 Spring 2019)

Looking Forward

REFERENCES
Costantino, P., & Lorenzo, M. (2009). Developing a professional teaching portfolio: A guide for
success (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Allyn & Bacon/Pearson.