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Professionalism Statement

The Professionalism Statement is as follows: A teacher participates in and contributes to

the teaching profession. The project selected to represent this goal a Classroom Research Paper

and the summative Classroom Research Info-graphic. This project was constructed through the

Master’s of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program in the Classroom Research course. This course

allowed pre-service educators to investigate, conduct and analyze the affects of an intervention

on a classroom issue. “Professional development of teachers is critical to improved classroom

teaching and learning to achieve quality education” (Ayodele & Samantha, 2018).

An educator’s professionalism increases with time and continual development of skills

and practices. Professional Development is one pathway for educators to influence their practices

in the classroom. “Darling-Hammond, Hyler, and Gardner (2017) “define effective [Professional

Development] PD as structured professional learning that results in changes to teacher

knowledge and practices, and improvements in student learning outcomes” (p. 2)” (State,

Simonsen, Hirn & Wills, 2019). Through programs like the MAT, pre-service educators are

learning and working together through courses, gaining experience for working with other

educators in the future. “Teachers are groomed to work together and be actively involved, these

acts make them to reposition themselves for positive changes that can promote their professional

functions” (Ayodele & Samantha, 2018).

Educator professionalism increases with participation in school district Professional

Development and In-Service activities, as well as the educators’ abilities to recognize areas of

improvement in individual classrooms. “Although courses are the most popular formula, teachers

who undertake professional development activities that involve individual and collective

research, peer observation and participation in professional networks tend to implement active
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teaching practices involving projects, group work and the use of new technologies (OECD,

2014)” (Macià & García, 2016). The research project selected to represent this goal scrutinized

the issue of student behavior and disruptiveness in the classroom. After working in this particular

classroom for most of the school year, it was crucial for student learning to find a resolution so

that students had a way to refocus their attention on schoolwork, rather than disruptive behaviors.

“It is not uncommon for teachers in search of new ideas or willing to try new methodologies to

look for collaboration opportunities and support outside the school” (Macià & García, 2016).

The classroom research began through observation of the students with the classroom

teacher. The disruptive behaviors of the students prohibited the classroom teacher to complete a

lesson in the associated timeframe. At this point, I knew that this would be a prime example to

facilitate an intervention and document the results. “Teacher research enables teachers to be

involved in designing and implementing researches serving as productive professional

development experiences” (Yigit & Bagceci, 2017). The results of this intervention would not

only be applicable to this classroom, but potentially a reasonable solution for other classrooms as

well. Throughout the time of the implementation, the students demonstrated that the increased

physical activity in the classroom decreased the frequency of the disruptions.

Educators have many opportunities to increase their professionalism; some of those

include organized Professional Development days, or classroom research. “Teachers themselves

are also influenced by the changes and improvements they make. It is seen that participants

involved in an action research consider themselves as more effective teachers and have a more

positive attitude towards their profession” (Atay, 2003; as cited in Kuzu, 2009)” (Yigit &

Bagceci, 2017). The realm of education is continually evolving and it is imperative that

educators learn and grow through their professional development community.

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References

Ayodele, A. O., & Samantha, G. (2018). Using Clusters System as an Effective Teachers’

Professional Development for Improved Instructional Development. Gender &

Behaviour, 16(3), 11963–11969. Retrieved from

http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.uas.alaska.edu/login.aspx?

direct=true&db=ofm&AN=134055086&site=eds-live

Darling-Hammond, L., Hyler, M. E., & Gardner, M. (2017). Effective teacher professional

development. Palo Alto, CA: Learning Policy Institute

Kuzu, A. (2009). Action research in teacher education and professional development. The

Journal of International Social Research, 2(6), 425-433.

Macià, M., & García, I. (2016). Review: Informal online communities and networks as a source

of teacher professional development: A review. Teaching and Teacher Education, 55,

291–307. https://doi-org.ezproxy.uas.alaska.edu/10.1016/j.tate.2016.01.021

State, T. M. 1.., Simonsen, B., Hirn, R. G. ., & Wills, H. (2019). Bridging the Research-to

Practice Gap Through Effective Professional Development for Teachers Working With

Students With Emotional and Behavioral Disorders. Behavioral Disorders, 44(2), 107–

116. https://doi-org.ezproxy.uas.alaska.edu/10.1177/0198742918816447

Yigit, C., & Bagceci, B. (2017). Teachers’ Opinions Regarding the Usage of Action Research in

Professional Development. Journal of Education and Training Studies, 5(2), 243–252.

Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.uas.alaska.edu/login.aspx?

direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ1133840&site=eds-live