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Professional Development Activity

Molly Cypert

Texas Woman’s University

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Professional Development Activity Report

The professional development workshop I attended focused on adapting

instruction, classroom motivation and management, and assessment techniques. Dr. P.

Casey and Dr. K. Dunlap are TWU professors that helped organize the workshop. There

were three separate workshops that were 50 minutes a piece and were conducted by

different teachers and administrators from a variety of different school districts.

Mesquite, Plano, Fort Worth, Lewisville, Keller, Dallas, Garland, Frisco, Grand Prairie,

Carrolton-Farmers Branch, Aubrey, and Denton ISD were the school districts represented

during this seminar. The seminar was held at TWU, Saturday, April 24, 2020 in ASB

from 9 till noon. The workshop was open to anyone who was able to attend, but the

majority audience was TWU students majoring in education or social service related

career field. The students that attended the workshop were either working on their

Masters or Undergraduate degree. The audience was divided into three different groups

(RED, YELLOW, or BLUE) and each group followed a scheduled that determined which

seminar they will attend first. I was in the blue group and attended the Motivation and

Management seminar first. My group then attended an Assessment seminar, followed by

the Adaption of Instruction seminar. The purpose of the Motivation and Management

seminar was to improve classroom management skills, understand motivational

techniques, develop a strong discipline plan, and learn how to communicate with your

students. The Assessment seminar introduced future teachers to different assessment

strategies, state-mandated tests, and how to evaluate your students. The purpose of the

Adaptation of Instruction seminar provided new teachers with a variety of teaching

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strategies, knowledge on classroom differentiation and the importance of educational

reflection. I participated in this particular workshop because it offered a wide selection

of educational information and teaching strategies that are extremely important in a

teaching career. I researched other workshops, but this professional development

seminar seemed to offer the most beneficial and current information. I am EC-6

Generalist/ESL MAT student and each 50 minute seminar related education techniques to

my specific content area and professional development. The motivation and management

seminar taught me motivational techniques I could use for individual and group

motivation. I learned appropriate behavior that will help me create a stable learning

environment and encourage positive interaction among my students. One of the teachers

from Lewisville ISD taught me the importance of being overly strict with my students the

first few weeks of school. I never thought that would have been so important, but she

explained it will help create a stable and organized classroom environment for the

students. They will learn what to expect right away and it will improve my classroom

management skills. The motivation and management seminar also used the movie,

Kindergarten Cop as an example of classroom management and motivation skills. This

was of interest to me because I would like to teach the primary grades. One of the

administrators in the workshop stated that just like in Kindergarten Cop it is important to

have effective classroom motivators for your students and specific techniques to get their

attention and develop an organized routine and procedures. The movie was also used as

an example of what not do in a classroom full of students. For example, in the movie

Arnold Schwarzenegger used a whistle to call his students to attention. That would work

in gym class, but it would disrupt the surrounding classrooms if you used a whistle on
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normal school days. They also emphasized that his whistle technique was used for

getting the student’s attention, as well as for punishment. Those techniques should not be

mixed together because the student’s will feel they are in trouble when you just need their

attention. I learned it would make discipline in the classroom less effective. As an

alternative a teacher should have a specific way to call student’s attention such as, “Give

me five,” or “Show me the quiet sign.” Punishment should be separate and strictly

followed. The assessment seminar related to my content area because I will need to use

formal and informal assessments in my classroom. It will help ensure my students

improve their social, mental, and physical development. The assessment seminar

explained simple assessment strategies that could be used in lower level classrooms, such

as pinch cards, thumbs up/thumbs down, manipulatives or yes and no cards. These

informal strategies will be easy for the student’s to point to or work with when I need to

informally assess their learning. The importance of unit tests and establishing a clear

rubric for each lesson activity were also discussed during this seminar. The information

will be helpful when I need to formally assess my students. The assessment seminar

explained TAKS in relation to TEKS, as well as norm-reference criteria which will be

helpful in grades 3-5. Adapting instruction will help improve my professional

development because the workshop explained the role of the teacher and the role of the

students that will help teachers achieve strong classroom differentiation skills. For

example, the role of the teacher is to provide students with a wide variety of instructional

activities that cater to different learning needs. Students may be visual, auditory or tactile

learners and teachers should have rotating centers, 3-2-1 cards, task-boards, pre-

assessment and other instructional strategies that meet the needs of their students learning
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styles. This will help the teacher achieve classroom differentiation, support different

ways of learning, and plan for diverse learners. This is especially important in

elementary school because teachers are the building blocks for the rest of the student’s

education.

This workshop contributed to my professional growth and development because

it provided me with a variety of tools that will enable me to become a more effective

teacher. I learned the importance of classroom management, the value of motivation and

useful strategies to implement these elements into my classroom. The classroom

motivation and management workshop emphasized the importance of communicating

high expectations of your students, which will be important when beginning my first year

of teaching. The professional development workshop motivated me to do my best work

and continue in my education career. The assessment workshop provided me with a

strong knowledge of test-taking and assessment strategy skills, which will be helpful in

future, job interviews. Adapting instruction increased my classroom differentiation

knowledge and improved my competency as a teacher. This was my first teacher

workshop and I feel that my professional growth and development improve tremendously

compared to my knowledge before the seminar. I was given strong working knowledge

of classroom techniques by experienced professionals in my teaching career-field. I

learned new information that I will be able to take with me and apply to my personal

goals as a teacher. For example, motivating your students is not just about having a

positive attitude. It is about using effective role-playing strategies, cooperative learning,

independent work, promoting student engagement, having specific expectations and

creating a classroom environment where students feel respected. Motivating your

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students will increase your classroom communication. Your positive attitude will rub off

on your students and teachers words will stand out in young student’s minds. For

example, if students have been working really hard for TAKS testing it is extremely

important for the teacher to stay positive so the student’s will continue to do their best

work and not be discouraged. A motivating teacher could have an after TAKS party after

the testing is over and give her students other incentives, such as extra recess or stickers

that will encourage them to work harder. It is important to speak directly to your

students, be clear and concise, and appreciate all of your students. For example, writing

lesson objectives down on the board is a clear way to communicate with your students.

As a teacher, I will be sure to write main objectives and homework assignments clearly

on the board so my students will understand their school assignments. I learned that

motivating your students also involves communicating with parents/guardians, and other

team members. I will be sure to send parent newsletters home monthly or weekly to

communicate effectively. I learned during the adapting instruction seminar that

classroom differentiation is about creating a positive learning environment that makes all

students’ feel they can succeed, socially and academically. I will apply this new

information in my classroom by striving to always be positive and upbeat towards my

student’s and colleagues. I will take an interest in my student’s lives outside of school,

be familiar with their hobbies and relate it to my lesson plans. Classroom differentiation

is about different learning styles and diversity. As a teacher, I will have students with

different learning abilities and this workshop taught me to establish appropriate

guidelines for my students. For example, I may need to modify my lesson plans for an

ESL student or special education students. At the same time I may have a gifted and
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talented student that needs to be challenged. I learned classroom differentiation is also

about adapting to different circumstances and being flexible with all students and

situations. Task boards are a good tool to utilize that will allow flexibility in the

classroom because students can choose their own work and feel comfortable completing

tasks. It will also be a good challenge activity for students who finish their work early.

The assessment workshop taught me different assessment strategies that I can implement

in my classroom. I learned norm-reference criteria and TAKS tests are based on state

samples of a specific number of students. I thought it was interesting that TAKS testing

is sampled from the state and not from specific school districts. I can apply the different

assessment strategies such as, questioning individual students, whole class discussion, or

working in groups in my future classroom. I will use dry erase boards, manipulatives,

flip cards, student directed discussions, as well as other activities that will enable me to

assess my students informally and formally. The professional development workshop

provided important information and strategies that I will implement in my career and

personal goals.

This seminar was extremely beneficial for current and future teachers. All of the

administrators and teachers who participated in this professional development workshop

were experienced and provided accurate information to the audience. The workshop was

organized and emphasized key information for teachers. I would recommend this

workshop to all teachers and administrators. It was a positive environment and organized

in a timely fashion. The information was easy to follow and appropriate outlines were

provided to the audience. The workshop encouraged active participation and involved

whole-class room discussion. The teachers and administrators were open to all questions
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and offered incentives for participating in class discussions. Gift cards and other teacher

related prizes were provided to participants who responded to classroom discussions.

The classroom motivation and management seminar was my favorite workshop. It was

very inspiring and motivating. The adapting instruction workshop was a great seminar to

attend too. The assessment work shop was the only seminar that was a little

disorganized, but it was only because they were having technical difficulties with

computers. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this professional development workshop and

will apply the information in teaching career.

I have completed the Professional Development Activity course requirement by

attending the professional activity described about.