Outlining Personal Growth Plans
As we move forward in our discussion of Personal Growth Plans we need to outline our strategy. We want to focus first on the five essential elements of successful professional learning.
Duration
We know from our discussions in our last post that one hour sit and get workshops alone are ineffective. Therefore this plan will be a job-embedded, year-long journey where we will utilize teacher in-service days, monthly meetings as well as Last Fridays to work on our accomplishing our goals. Last Fridays are our professional development afternoons when students only come to school in the morning the last Friday of each month (unless superseded by other events such as Homecoming).
Implementation Support
Throughout this process support will be available synchronously and asynchronously. Teachers will serve as support to each other through their Critical Friends as well as two campus unconferences. The Innovation Team will also post videos and hold workshops on the skill that is being discussed that month. For example when teachers are working on their audio recordings, resources will be posted to the faculty portal as well as weekly face-to-face workshops on audio recording tools. Finally integration support will always be available for the teachers simply by scheduling time with our team.
Active Learning
All synchronous workshops, as described above, will involve teachers actually performing the skill needed not simply listening to a lecture about how to perform the task. For example, teachers will bring their device to the audio recording class and walk through creating their own mini recording to understand the process.
Modeling
During the synchronous meetings, our team will demonstrate what an active learning environment looks like through the session. Also teachers will be invited to stop in to their Critical Friends and Tech Mentors classrooms to see active lessons in action. Finally Tech Mentors or our Innovation Team will happily co-teach a lesson anytime we are invited into a teacher’s classroom to help with a new technique or pedagogy.
Content Specific
The goal of Personal Growth Plans is to turn ownership of the teacher’s professional learning over to them so they can make it authentic to their needs. Therefore, all the challenges will be personalized by each teacher to their own content. The sharing of learning during grade level and department meetings will also help teachers apply skills to their content areas.
Backwards Design
Once we have laid out these parameters, we need to move forward developing a plan. As we discussed when forming courses and lessons, we need to think backwards and define our ultimate goal. I believe Fink’s 3-column table makes the most sense as a medium for designing this plan.
BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) – Overarching Goal
Learners will …capitalize on two of their strengths and share with others while improving upon two or three of their weaknesses through a year-long growth plan they develop and own with guidance from their supervisor.
Learning Goals |
Learning Activities |
Assessment Activities |
| Foundational
Learners will reflect on their strengths and weaknesses associated with the goals of our school with a critical friend and then their supervisor. |
Learners will fill out a personal growth Google Form to begin to create their personal growth plan for the year. This will center on our Classroom Environment and Portrait of a Teacher. | Self Reflection Critical Friend (CF) Reflection Supervisor Reflection |
| Application
Learners will use the reflections to create a plan for areas of improvement and complete the integration challenges in ways that will help them personally. |
Mentors will present challenges throughout the year that each individual will address in a way that shares their strengths or improves upon their weaknesses. | Development of Personal Growth Plans (PGP) that will give guidance to how they will complete the integration challenges. |
| Integration 1
October Challenge Use the written word to improve on a weakness and share a strength. |
Improvement: Read an article and share a reflection with your CF and supervisor.
Strength: Share with your department and grade level a lesson plan that capitalizes on one of your strengths and add to your PGP (for extra growth share publicly). |
Reflection with CF and add to your PGP
Share Lesson Plan and add to your PGP |
| Integration 2
November-December Challenge Use audio recordings to improve on a weakness and share a strength. |
Improvement: Listen to a podcast and share a reflection with your CF and add to your PGP. Strength: Create an audio reflection of a student highlighting a lesson that capitalizes on one of your strengths to share with your grade level and department and add to your PGP (for extra growth share publicly). |
Reflection with your CF and add to your PGP
Share Audio Recording and add to your PGP |
| Integration 4
January Challenge Learn through networking and sharing. |
Improvement: Find a conference to attend that would improve upon a weakness.
Strength: Work with your CF to work on a conference proposal to demonstrate one of your strengths. |
Conference attendance proposal to supervisor Create a conference presentation proposal and add to your PGP. |
| Integration 3
February Challenge Use video recordings to improve on a weakness and share a strength. |
Improvement: Watch a video and share a reflection with your CF and add to your PGP.
Strength: Create an video or screencast highlighting a skill or lesson that capitalizes on one of your strengths to share with your grade level and department and add to your PGP (for extra growth share publicly). |
Reflection with your CF and add to your PGP.
Share Video Recording or Screencast and add to your PGP |
| Integration 4
March Challenge Use lesson collaboration to share your strengths and improve upon a weakness. |
Improvement and Strength: Find a colleague who has a strength and weakness you do not possess. Then help each other plan, implement and observe a lesson that improves a weakness area. | Lesson Plan Implementation Observation of Lesson Reflection of Experience added to your PGP. |
| Integration 5
Flex Challenge Lead or attend unconference sessions at school (twice a year). |
Improvement: Attend an unconference session that builds on a weakness and reflect.
Strength: Lead an unconference session on one of your strengths. |
Reflection of Session added to PGP Resources from the session you led share on your PGP |
| Integration 6
May Challenge Learners will reflect on learning and prepare for future growth. |
Improvement and Strength: Reflect on growth throughout the year and complete reflection to create next year’s personal growth plan. | Write summary reflection and add to PGP Self Reflection for next year Critical Friend (CF) Reflection for next year Supervisor Reflection for next year |
| Human Dimension and Caring
Learners will act as a critical friend with a colleague to help each other grow in a safe environment throughout the year. |
Learners will have a colleague to bounce ideas off of and share frustrations throughout the integration challenges. | Monthly Critical Friends meetings |
| Learning How To Learn
Learners will reflect upon their growth throughout the year sharing their strengths and reflecting upon their growth areas. |
Learners will create and maintain their own Personal Growth Plan throughout the course. | Learners will reflect on their individual growth plans monthly through the implementation challenges. |
Date |
Event |
Implementation |
| Monthly beginning in September | Department/Grade Level Meetings
Critical Friends Meetings |
These will be good times to share successes and setbacks in each monthly challenge |
| August 17,18,21,22 | Faculty/Staff Pre-Planning | Foundational Step Begun |
| August 25 | Last Friday | Foundational Step Completed |
| September | Individual Meeting with Supervisor | Personal Growth Plan finalized for the year |
| November 27 | Faculty/Staff In-Service Day | Divisional Meetings (a few people share their October challenge and discuss November/December challenge) |
| January 26 | Last Friday | Campus Unconference (Flex Challenge) |
| February 23 | Last Friday | Evaluate any missing piece of overall plan and fill in gaps here |
| March 19 | Faculty/Staff In-Service Day | Divisional Meetings (a few people share previous month(s) challenge and discuss upcoming challenges) |
| April 27 | Last Friday | Campus Unconference (Flex Challenge) |
| May 29-31 | Post-Planning | May Challenge |
I think this is a good start to the plan but would love any feedback as I start to build the actual pieces to this puzzle.
