Professional Development Plan Personal Professional Development Plan

Professional Development Plan

Personal Professional Development Plan

In the future, I would like to be a teacher that is known for the ability to manage classroom behaviors effectively. I would like be able to develop close relationships with the students, yet maintain a certain level of respect from them. In order to be that kind of teacher, careful classroom planning will be essential. I want to be able to encourage students using positive methods and praise. I would like my classroom to be fun and focused on the task. I want my classroom to be the one that kids love to come to because the focus is on them and what helps them to learn effectively.

My classroom will be a hands-on class where every child is encouraged to try new things and have new experiences. In order to become that type of teacher, I will have to become versed in a wide range of topics. My education will have to go beyond formal education. I will have to continually search for new things to do, try and teach. Becoming the type of teacher that I want to be will mean that I never stop learning and growing myself. Teaching will not end when I go home from work, because there will always be something new to discover.

The most important thing that I learned in this course is that the goal is not to direct the students, but to allow them to learn to direct themselves. In the special needs classroom, some students will be able to achieve this goal to a greater degree than others. However, it is important to manage the classroom in such a way that each student can develop to their greatest level of self-determination and growth potential. The ability to self-direct is important, as it carries throughout the student's life beyond the school years.

Understanding behavior in children differs in the special education setting. Students may have issues that affect their behavior to regulate their behavior. Behavior modification and teaching replacement behaviors can be challenging in the general classroom setting, but it can be even more challenging in the special education classroom. Children might not have the skills to understand modeling and other techniques to modify their behavior. Behavior management goes beyond punishment and includes classroom structure, arrangement and other elements besides teacher modeling and instruction.

Classroom management among special populations can be more challenging than in the general student population. However, even given the smaller class size and individual attention of the special education classroom, classroom management is the key to success, both for individual students and for classroom performance as a whole (Oliver & Reschly, 2007). For many children in the special education population, behavioral problems in the classroom can be symptoms of underlying conditions (NASET, n.d.). Therefore, as part of my professional development it will be important to attend seminars and to make an extra effort to understand the various symptoms and how they might express themselves in behaviors.