Initial Professional Growth Goal:
The ultimate professional growth goal is to foster engagement for all students by building student confidence and creating a positive learning environment.
After a year of job-embedded support, I have seen my students flourish and their confidence in Math and Science really has been impacted since they first came into my classroom. I do feel that I was able to achieve this goal and I cannot wait to set more personal goals as I enter my 3rd year of teaching.
I have surprised myself by seeing how much information students have been able to retain since beginning our 7th grade year. I also have realized how important project based learning is for students and the way it can shape our students and their own personalized learning.
A professional goal that I have beyond induction is to lead extracurricular activities to help build relationships with students as well as my community.
This is a personal interest of mine because it is important that students are able to express their hobies and explore new activites to help them grow into a citizen that also serves their community. Parents and families are also a crucial stakeholder within our classrooms to help the achievement of all students.
I can begin to achieve this goal by providing students with a survey of options for clubs or groups that they may be interested in participating or leading.
To remain a connected educator, I am in the process of attaining my supplemental in Mathematics to apply to my current teaching credential.
After this, I plan to continue being open minded to learning new concepts to apply to my current education and philosophy.
To avoid burnout and sustain the energy it takes to be passionate about teaching, I have embraced the little joys in teaching. Two strategies have helped this year to practice positive ways to avoid stress. I began not taking behaviors from students personally and bouncing back from a negative situation by making a positive phone call home for students who may frequently go under the radar.
Advice for New Teachers Entering the Profession
Don't be afraid to take risks!
There are going to be times where lessons do not come off as you thought they would or students do not quite grasp what was intended. Of course these are all learning experiences for you as well as your students!