Teacher Growth and Development

Identifying Areas of Need Abstract This paper looks at three areas of need at Butler College Prep. The areas of need were identified after administering a 21-item questionnaire to 12 teachers at the school. The teachers responded to positive statements by selecting one of four responses indicating the extent to which the positive statements occurred in the school. Those that most rarely occurred were identified as the areas of need.

A discussion of why these areas should be incorporated into a Professional Development and Growth Plan at Butler College Prop is provided. Keywords: professional development, growth plan, areas of need education Introduction In order to facilitate the professional development plan for Butler College Prep, I administered the Teacher Questionnaire to Gain Baseline Data on Differentiated Practices to the teachers at the school. 12 teachers in my building were given a 21-item questionnaire (See Appendix A). From the data collected, the top three problem areas were identified as areas of need.

This paper will discuss and analyze the Teacher Questionnaire Data, identify the areas of need and provide a summary and reflection of the overall plan. Discussion and Analysis of Teacher Questionnaire Data The Teacher Questionnaire posed 21 statements to which 12 teachers at Butler College Prep responded by selecting one of four options: Rarely Occurs, Sometimes Occurs, Often Occurs, and Very Frequently Occurs. The statements ranged from the topic of learning environment to the contributions of parents to affecting policy changes.

All statements were positively phrased so that areas of need were easily identified by selecting the three statements which received the most number of “Rarely Occurs” responses. In this manner, the top three areas of need were: 1) students seek extra work so they can get good grades—10 out of 12 teachers responded that this rarely occurs; 2) the principal is friendly and approachable—7 out of 12 teachers responded that this rarely occurs; and 3) the learning environment is orderly and serious—5 out of 12 teachers responded that this rarely occurs.

Areas of Need The most commonly identified area of need, according to the data retrieved from the questionnaire, was the area of students seeking extra work in order to get good grades. The overwhelming majority of the teachers sampled felt that students do not do enough to actively pursue taking on more assignments in order to achieve better performance.

To facilitate the Professional Learning and Growth Plan, the school should promote active engagement of students and encourage teachers to offer extra credit assignments on a routine basis to students that they might have more opportunities to better their academic outlook. As Junn (1995) notes, extra credit opportunities help to empower the marginalized student and should be promoted throughout the entirety of the school system. This would help to encourage students to take advantage of doing extra work to get their grades up.

The second most important area of need is the principal’s demeanor: teachers do not find the principal to be very approachable or friendly, and this can detract from the quality of the workplace environment. Teachers want to feel supported by their principal and that they can engage him, but that is currently not the case at Butler College Prep.

Edgerson and Kritsonis (2006) show that the principal-teacher relationship is crucial for facilitating student academic success; therefore, it should be emphasized as part of the Growth Plan that the principal work on being friendlier and more approachable in interactions with teachers. Finally, the third most important area of need, as identified by the questionnaire, is the learning environment.

It is not highly regarded as being orderly or serious and this has to change: Brown (1997) has shown that learning environments should provide students with the support they require to engage with lessons in a serious and ordered manner, which facilitates student achievement in studies. The Growth Plan should provide teachers with more guidance in terms of maintaining a serious and ordered school.

Summary/Reflection The main areas of need at Butler College Prep are: a need for students to seek extra work so they can improve their grades; a need for the principal to show more friendliness and approachability towards staff and students; and a need for the learning environment to promote greater seriousness and order. These needs should be incorporated into a Professional Development and Growth Plan to foster more overall support for educators and better student academic achievement on the part of the students.

The teachers themselves identified this need in my school, so the recommendations here are based on the objective analysis of data collected via a questionnaire that was distributed to the teachers. This indicates that these areas of need are real and not imagined. Conclusion In conclusion, a sample of 12 teachers from Butler College Prep responded to a 21-item questionnaire. The data analyzed from this questionnaire indicated the top three areas of need in the school.

It is important for a school to go through an analysis process such as this so that it can provide the best support for both teachers and students. Creating a positive learning environment where serious study can take place, where the principal can be seen as someone who is approachable and supportive, and where students have the ability to improve their grades by taking on extra work is something Butler College Prep can work to do by making these areas of need part of its Growth Plan. References Brown, A.

L. (1997). Transforming schools into communities of thinking and learning about serious matters. American psychologist, 52(4), 399. Edgerson, D. E., & Kritsonis, W. A. (2006). Analysis of the influence of principal- teacher relationships on student academic achievement: A national focus. National Journal for Publishing and Mentoring Doctoral Student Research, 1(1), 1-5. Junn, E. N. (1995). Empowering the marginal student: A skills-based extra-credit assignment. Teaching of Psychology, 22(3), 189-192. Appendix Teacher Questionnaire Results: 1.?The?principal?explores?all?sides?of?topics?and?admits?that?other?opinionsexist.

RarelyOccurs: 1/12 Sometimes Occurs:1/12 OftenOccurs: 9/12 VeryFrequently Occurs: 1/12 2.A?few?vocal?parents?can?change?school?policy. Rarely?Occurs:0/12 Sometimes Occurs:4/12 Often?Occurs:6/12 Very?Frequently Occurs: 2/12 3.?The?principal?treats?all?faculty?members?as?his?or?her?equal. Rarely?Occurs: 1/ 12 Sometimes Occurs:5/12 Often?Occurs: 5/12 Very?Frequently Occurs: 2/12 4.?The?learning?environment?is?orderly?and?serious. Rarely?Occurs:5/ 12 Sometimes Occurs:2/12 Often?Occurs:2/12 Very?Frequently Occurs: 2/12 5.?The?principal?is?friendly?and?approachable. Rarely?Occurs:7/12 Sometimes Occurs:2/12 Often?Occurs:2/12 Very?Frequently Occurs: 1/12 6.?Select?citizens?groups?are?influential?with?the?board.

RarelyOccurs: 3/ 12 Sometimes Occurs:2/12 OftenOccurs: 5/12 VeryFrequently Occurs: 4/12 7.?The?school?sets?high?standards?for?academic?performance. RarelyOccurs: 1/12 Sometimes Occurs:1/12 OftenOccurs: 9/12 VeryFrequently Occurs: 1/12 8.?Teachers?help?and?support?each?other. Rarely?Occurs:0/12 Sometimes Occurs:4/12 Often?Occurs:6/12 Very?Frequently Occurs: 2/12 9.?The?principal?responds?to?pressure?from?parents. RarelyOccurs: 3/12 Sometimes Occurs:2/12 OftenOccurs: 5/12 VeryFrequently Occurs: 4/12 10. The?principal?lets?faculty?know?what?is?expected?of?them. Rarely?Occurs:0/12 Sometimes Occurs:4/12 Often?Occurs:6/12 Very?Frequently Occurs: 2/12 11.?Students?respect?others?who?get?good?grades. RarelyOccurs: 0/12 Sometimes Occurs:0/12 OftenOccurs: 6/12 VeryFrequently Occurs: 6/12 12.?Teachers?feel?pressure?from?the?community.

RarelyOccurs: 3/12 Sometimes Occurs:2/12 OftenOccurs: 5/12 VeryFrequently Occurs: 4/12 13.?The?principal?maintains?definite?standards?of?performance. RarelyOccurs: 0/12 Sometimes Occurs:0/12 OftenOccurs: 10/12 VeryFrequently Occurs: 2/12 14.?Teachers?in?this?school?believe?that?their?students?have?the?ability?to?achieve?academically. RarelyOccurs: 1/12 Sometimes Occurs:1/12 OftenOccurs: 9/12 VeryFrequently Occurs: 1/12 15.?Students?seek?extra?work?so?they?can?get?good?grades. Rarely?Occurs:10/ 12 Sometimes Occurs:2/12 Often?Occurs:0/12 Very?Frequently Occurs: 0/12 16.?Parents?exert?pressure?to?maintain?high?standards. RarelyOccurs: 3/ 12 Sometimes Occurs:2/12 OftenOccurs: 5/12 VeryFrequently Occurs: 4/12 17.?Students?try?hard?to?improve?on?previous?work.

RarelyOccurs: 1/ 12 Sometimes Occurs:2/12 OftenOccurs: 7/12 VeryFrequently Occurs: 2/12 18.?Teachers?accomplish?their?jobs?with?enthusiasm. RarelyOccurs: 1/ 12 Sometimes Occurs:1/12 OftenOccurs: 9/12 VeryFrequently Occurs: 1/12 19.?Academic?achievement?is?recognized?and?acknowledged?by?the?school. Rarely?Occurs:.