Reflect

V. Reflect

I have not yet completed my project. I will be presenting to my colleagues on August 21, 2019 during our annual Professional Development opportunity before the school year starts. Even though I do not have my project complete, I feel I have grown immensely! I have grown from emerging in the Adult Learning competency to developing/performing. I feel this way because in the though I have not fully implemented my project, I feel ready to lead the professional learning activities to enhance the practice of others (my colleagues). I plan on implementing adult-learning strategies while utilizing colleagues diverse areas of expertise when presenting to the group, which I learned from my research on Adult Learning. I prepared to do this by sharing objectives for the day and explaining why this topic is so important. I also embedded opportunities for my colleagues to work with each other during the presentation to reflect on current practice and share how it could improve for the betterment of our students (Artifact Brainstorm) . I have grown in the Technological Facility competency from emerging to developing and slightly into performing. I believe I have shown this in my project by using technology to collaborate and facilitate a shared vision and a meaningful purpose and by modeling the use of current technology to further student learning. I will be using PowerPoint and a SmartBoard to present the information to my colleagues. I also used Google Docs to send a Needs Assessment survey to the group. I feel I have grown in the Coaching and Mentoring competency from emerging to performing during this process. I believe I have shown this by engaging in formal roles of coaching and mentoring. I provided formal coaching when I taught the PowerPoint and I will continue to coach and mentor this year as we proceed in the process. We, as a group, will also be collecting evidence and providing meaningful feedback to each other as we work to facilitate student-led IEP meetings in our own caseloads. In the Collaborate Purposefully competency I have grown from emerging to developing. Ways I grew included creating and supporting opportunities for stakeholders of all cultures (and abilities) to contribute their knowledge, skills, and perspectives in a variety of ways. At the professional development opportunity, we identified shared goals of getting the student-led IEP meetings started, shared perspectives as to why they are so important, and our shared interpretations of success- increased student self-worth, increased student achievement, increased student awareness, and increased parental/ general education teacher involvement. (Artifacts from presentation- work from colleagues)

The TLI experience, both the curriculum and the Capstone project, has impacted me and my growth as a teacher leader, evident in each of my four chosen competencies. Adult Learning- Without TLI, I never would have had the confidence and drive to present information to my colleagues. I learned how to teach/reach them successfully during presentations by researching ways they learn best. I now have the opportunity to lead professional learning activities to enhance the practice of others. Technological Facility- Before TLI, I really was content with my technology abilities and knew just enough to get around and complete tasks needed for my day to day job. Now, I have been excited to learn and try new things on the completer. I played around with PowerPoint before my presentation and added "extras" to make it more interesting and visually appealing. Collaborating Purposefully- In my day to day job, I collaborate with my colleagues often. It wasn't until TLI and this process that I tried to make these interactions more purposeful and meaningful. Now, when I work collaboratively with colleagues and groups I try to ensure all members recognize the differences among the group and understand strengths and limitations. When we met for PLC group in the last few months of school, we have a much more purposeful meeting and strive to make decisions by identifying and explaining shared visions, shared goals, shared perspectives, shared work habits, and shared interpretations of success. Coaching and Mentoring- Without TLI I think I would still feel somewhat frustrated at my colleagues for needing help with tasks I have helped them with many times before (finding something "lost" on Infinite Campus, or helping to save a document to a certain drive). Now, I feel blessed that my colleagues look to me for help and consider me a mentor. This year I have been more open to allowing colleagues observe me and help with peer assistance.

My next steps to continue my growth as a teacher leader includes continuing to educate my follow Special Education colleagues about student-led IEP meetings. I would like to make this district wide. If all goes well this year, I plan to talk with the district Special Education Administrator and ask to present a professional development for the rest of the district. I would also like to get the colleagues at my high school to be involved with me in this at the district level.

The most valuable part of the TLI process for me was finally having the self motivation and push to get more involved and become the teacher leader that I thought I always was but didn't really show to others. It took finding a project in a topic I am passionate about to see that I could break through my own insecurities to become the leader I have wanted to be for some time now. The benefits that I know this project will bring are also a big and valuable part of the process for me too, but in a very different way. I am also grateful for the experience, I think it has given my a new joy to help my colleagues, even if they just need help with a simple computer task.