Running Head: LOOKING FORWARD, SHEEDY 1

Looking Forward My Professional Development Plan

Mekala Sheedy-Atkinson

TED 690

National University
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Abstract

This paper is going to go through a five year plan regarding my professional development.

According to the California Teaching Performance Expectations Domain F I will need to

continue to develop as a professional educator. I will go through year by year and explain my

goals. Having a plan is beneficial and this paper outlines my objectives for the next five years as

a professional.
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Overall Plan

As an educator it is important to continue to learn and progress with the times. There are

new strategies, technology, and studies that are always coming out so it is important to continue

to learn. As we teach our students to be learners we also need to hold ourselves to the same

degree. I like to pride myself in the fact that I’m a life long learner. In order to achieve that to

develop as an educator I need to make a plan for myself. As stated in the California Teacher

Performance Expectations Domain F I need to continue to Develop as a Professional Educator

(Commission on Teaching Credentialing, 2013).. To accomplish this domain here is my five-

year plan based on professional goals that I would like to achieve as an educator.

Years Goal
2018 - 2019  Finish my first year of my clear credential program through my
district.
Year 1  Receive my master’s degree from National University.
 Attend summer SLED training sponsored by my district.
 Continue my PDQP

2019 - 2020  Finish my second year of my clear credential program and

obtain my clear credential in multiple subject.
Year 2  Collaborate and work closely with my mentor, grade level, and
department teachers.
 Continue my PDQP

2020 - 2021  Attend conferences such as the Cue Conference in Northern

California.
Year 3  Continue to take classes to further my education and teaching
skills.
 Continue my PDQP
2021 – 2022  Obtain a single subject credential in History.
 Be a leading figure in my department at my school.
Year 4  Continue my PDQP

2022 - 2023  Join my school’s site leadership team.

 Help mentor intern/new teachers.
Year 5  Continue my PDQP
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Year 1

In my first year of this five year plan I would like to complete my first year of an

induction program and receive my masters degree. Although I’m fully credentialed I have yet to

clear my credential. I’m almost finished with my first year of my induction program which my

district offers though a third party called CTI in Riverside. At the beginning of my May will be

done with my master program from National University. I also plan to attend the three day SLED

training that my district is offering over summer. Finally, I will continue to work on my PDQP.

Year 2

In my second year of this five year plan I would like to finish my induction program and

obtain my clear credential. I would also like to be working closely with my mentor, grade level,

and department teachers. It is nice to be able to collaborate with those in my grade level and

department to gain new ideas and strategies for teaching. Having a mentor is very valuable and

I’m hoping to find a new mentor teacher because my current one is retiring after this year. “If

you are without a mentor at this time, seek to find one,” (Wolpert-Gawron, 2018). Again, I want

to continue to add to my PDQP.

Year 3

In my third year of this five year plan I would like to attend conferences and take classes

that help me in my profession. One conference that I think would be beneficial to attend is the

Cue Conference in northern California. The Cue Conference is about integrating technology into

the classroom, which I really enjoy. I would also like to take other academic classes such as a

history, English, classroom management, or etc. It is important to always continue to learn, so by

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taking other classes for fun and professional development I can do that. I will still be

contributing new information to PDQP.

Year 4

In my fourth year of this five year plan I would like to obtain my single subject credential

in history. I have already passed the CSET for history. I will also have a cleared multiple subject

credential, so it is easier to add a supplementary credential such as a single subject credential in

history. This will allow me to have options if I ever choose to change grades, subjects, or

schools. Plus currently I teach 7th grade ELA core and there have been talks about middle school

going more towards a single subject classes and I want to be prepared if requirements do change.

Furthermore, I would like to be a leading figure in my department. This means that I could do

things like become department chair or be on the textbook committee for new adoptions. As

always, I will continue to update my PDQP.

Year 5

In the last year of this five year plan I would like to join my school’s site leadership team

and help mentor new teachers. Being on the school’s site leadership team I will be able to get a

look at other aspects of how a school is run. This will beneficial because I will be able to gain

experiences that I that would not get to inside the classroom by working with my administrators,

colleagues, and parents. When the time is right I would also like to help mentor new teachers. I

know how valuable mentor teachers can be so I would really like to be able to give back and help

new teachers. Although I will be well into my teaching career by this time I hope to still be

adding to my PDQP. Keeping up to date with this digital portfolio will be allow me to be ready if

new prospects arise and also reflect on how far I have come as an educator. I’m looking forward

to seeing what the next five years have in store for me.
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References

California Teaching Performance Expectations. (2013, March). Retrieved April 21, 2019, from

https://www.ctc.ca.gov/docs/default-source/educator-prep/standards/adopted-tpes-

2013.pdf.

Wolpert-Gawron, H. (2018). Every Teacher Needs a Mentor. Retrieved April 21, 2019 from,

https://www.edutopia.org/article/every-teacher-needs-mentor.