Domain 4: Professional Responsibilities
Domain 4 of the Danielson Framework is Professional Responsibilities. This includes reflecting on teaching, maintaining accurate records, communicating with families, participating in a professional community, growing and developing professionally, and showing professionalism. Overall, my greatest strength in Domain 4 is how I seek professional development opportunities and feedback; my greatest area for improvement is communicating with families, as this was not something I practiced much as a student teacher.
4a: Reflecting on Teaching
I practice reflecting on my teaching often, both through discussions with mentors and supervisors and my own personal inner discussions. I ask myself what went well and what could have gone better. The most important part of it is how I apply it in my future teaching. I consistently take notes on reflective discussions with supervisors so that I can take their suggestions and work on implementing them. Most recently, one supervisor suggested I work on being more crisp with my instructional delivery and not letting my excitement for a topic distract me from the focus of the lesson. I worked very hard on this (and still am working on it), and since the transition to online learning, I've really had to keep my instruction concise in videos. In our last discussion on a virtual "observation" of instructional materials, I was able to proudly say that I implemented that advice and improved.
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4b: Maintaining Accurate RecordsHow I maintain records depends greatly on the setting and resources available. In any setting, I would likely have a combination of paper and digital records, as the assignments are a mix of the two. I would have some form of digital gradebook, spreadsheets for progress monitoring, and digital folders to keep student work and data organized. However, I would also have a file for each student's paper assignments and assessments as well as a file for non-instructional records such as records of home-school communication, behavior reports, and interest surveys. In a special education or inclusive setting, I would also have progress monitoring binders for each student organized according to their IEP goals for detailed records of progress toward objectives. In order to plan instruction and be aware of student progress, I often conduct "quick checks" and "show what you know" quizzes in the form of exit tickets or anonymous votes. If I were using standards-based assessment, I would have progress monitoring spreadsheets for each subject area with each standard to be addressed and each student; this way, I could quickly scan the sheet to see where they were at the time and update it easily. Visit my Classroom Management page (specifically Homework & Grading and Procedures & Routines) for more details on this.
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4c: Communicating with Families
Communicating with families is especially important at the elementary level and in special education. Visit my Communication Plan for details on this section of Domain 4. Here are the highlights:
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4d: Participating in the Professional Community
Over my year of PDS, I have found multiple ways to participate in the professional community. Although I struggled with relationships with colleagues at first, I engaged in deep reflection and took advice from mentors to heart, and was able to form professional relationships that involved co-planning, sharing resources, and collaboration. Now, I feel more confident in my ability to form professional relationships. I feel comfortable asking colleagues for ideas, sharing what my mentor and I had planned, and offering my perspective as a student teacher when appropriate. I participated in my mentor's professional learning community (PLC) and started my own personalized learning journey (PLJ). As part of PDS, we had to do an "inquiry project," but mine turned into a passion project that will be ongoing beyond the school year.
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Visit my Trauma-Informed Education page for more on my research (coming soon!). In addition, I am building a personal library of professional development books on various topics including creative teaching, culturally responsive teaching, and integrating play, that I look forward to reading. Other ways I want to explore being part of the professional community include becoming a member of other professional organizations and joining online communities through platforms like Google Groups.
4e: Growing and Developing Professionally
I am continuously working to grow as a teacher and seek my own professional development. I attend conferences and workshops when possible, such as the Teacher's College Saturday Reunion last fall, I have collected a list of professional literature to read (both books and articles), and and I actively seek feedback from colleagues and mentors. Recently, I became a Level 1 Google Certified Educator and an Apple Teacher; next, I plan to complete the Level 2 GCE training. I chose these because I want to enhance my ability to integrate multiple forms of technology in my instruction, and it is particularly timely with distance learning continuing indefinitely. I also look forward to tackling my personal professional reading list after I complete the remainder of my course-assigned readings. Ultimately, my professional goals include pursuing a graduate degree in special education with a focus in autism and researching topics such as trauma-informed education, neurodiversity, and the impact of media representation on student mental health.
4f: Showing Professionalism
I am always honest and ethical as a teacher. To me, that means being honest enough to ask for help when I need it and respecting boundaries such as student confidentiality. I always put the students first, even when it's inconvenient for me. For example, it was not especially convenient to make two versions of a Nearpod during distance learning (one for 4th grade, one adapted for students in learning support). However, it was absolutely necessary to provide extra scaffolding and support within the activity for some, but providing that for everyone would not have been appropriately challenging to others. I solved this by adapting an existing Nearpod, rather than creating an entirely new one, to serve my students' needs while remaining as efficient as possible for my own sake. I am passionate about advocating for my students' rights and best interests, whether it means finding supports to make inclusion an option for a student, or explaining that inclusion might not be the best option for a certain situation. I also make sure I stay compliant with school and district regulations, even when it means asking someone more experienced for guidance.