As teachers, we do have a responsibility to be the best for our students, and this goes beyond attending conferences. For us, professionalism means being a good teacher who is trustworthy and careful, and there are so many essential ways to practice this. Neglecting our professional responsibilities will impact our students the wrong way because they depend on us to be the best for them. Practice the sub-domains below carefully and often!
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Explore some examples:
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4a: reflecting on teaching
Planning reflection questions is included in Madeline Hunter's lesson plan style, and this is exactly why. Teachers are learners, too; we are always learning how best to reach our students and present our content, so we need to evaluate how our lessons go. Reflection should be accurate, and we can ensure this by setting goals for ourselves with reflection questions and seeing how well the students meet their learning goals. Reflection should also be used for the future of our teaching - more than just an exercise. Some good options include keeping records and journaling, asking for feedback and keeping accountablility with a colleague, or using student performance to inform our teaching. If we hear students complaining, we need to address and assess that in our reflection and be flexible to how our students need to learn. Excellent teachers in this sub-domain reflect after every lesson (when we can) and keep track of how well adjustments affect our teaching.
4b: maintaining accurate records
It is essential to be organized, though it can be difficult. Maintaining accurate records will allow teachers to keep track of students' performance, absences, missing work, and other useful data. It also allows us to journal our reflections and our plans for adjustment. Staying on top of student completion of assignments is crucial - it needs to be infallible - because if a teacher loses a student's assignment and claim they never completed it, then it will reflect horribly on the teacher. It is also important to maintain non-instructional records such as permission slips, picture day information, and any payments the students have to submit through their teachers. By being intentional about maintaining accurate records, we establish ourselves as figures our students can trust. In this way, we also model responsibility for our students, so they can learn from us how to be organized themselves. Excellent teachers in this sub-domain have established systems and processes to maintain student completion of work, student progress, and non-instructional records.
4c: communicating with families
Families are a child's first teachers, so we are always sharing that role with them. It is important to stay in frequent contact with those families because both they and we can provide insight into the student's educational success. This should begin early in a new year, possibly before school or at a parents' night. When we do contact families, it should never only be because of concerns; we should also contact over great successes and in the spirit of receiving feedback. Sometimes it is useful to use a technology tool such as Remind or Google Groups to facilitate communicating with families. Communication should also be culturally relevant and in families' native languages. Danielson encourages communicating information about both the individual students and the instructional programs, for it is useful for the families to know how we teach their children because otherwise they may have no clue. The ultimate goal is for families to be included in the instruction of their children, so we all can share the role of teacher. Excellence in this sub-domain is characterized by frequent two-way communication about successes and concerns that invites families to be involved in their children's instruction.
4d: participating in a professional community
Teachers can participate in a professional community even before certification as pre-service teachers! We can start with digital professional learning networks such as twitter communities and build to tangible networks of colleagues. It is important to interact with coworker teachers within the school because we can collaborate in our departments and teams to create fun and meaningful opportunities for our students. Teachers can also get involved with the school by participating in school and district projects or advising a student club. The goal of participating in a professional community is to grow in our practice and develop a support system for improving pedagogy all around. An excellent teacher in this sub-domain is regularly involved with colleagues, courses and communities, school initiatives, and support of community initiatives.
4e: growing and developing professionally
As mentioned, teachers need to be learners so we can always be the best for our students. By growing and developing professionally, we make sure we stay up to date on best practices and seek ways to improve our impact. Danielson emphasizes the following ways to do this:
An excellent teacher in this sub-domain frequently participates in workshops and professional development, regularly reads about educational practice, and contributes feedback via learning networks.
- Enhance our knowledge of content and pedagogy - we can take courses and research recent developments in the field
- Seek feedback from colleagues - we should take advantage of our professional communities to learn from each other
- Serve the profession - we should get involved in organizations and go to conferences to increase our reach and provide our leadership and support to the community
An excellent teacher in this sub-domain frequently participates in workshops and professional development, regularly reads about educational practice, and contributes feedback via learning networks.
4f: showing professionalism
This sub-domain is simple but no less important. As in any profession, acting appropriately is essential to keeping our credibility. Here are a few tips to showing professionalism:
An excellent teacher in this sub-domain has a trustworthy reputation, advocates for students as the highest priority, supports students even in difficult times, and complies with school and district policies in the profession.
- Dress professionally, appropriately, and abide by the dress code
- Smile! Doing this tells others we are warm and welcoming.
- Show respect to our colleagues, superiors, and students
- Communicate and collaborate with other teachers
- Interact with students' families
- Be a good employee by staying organized and up to date
- Always act in integrity, service, and advocacy for our students
An excellent teacher in this sub-domain has a trustworthy reputation, advocates for students as the highest priority, supports students even in difficult times, and complies with school and district policies in the profession.