EPC 4406 – 4909 - PDP Template – 2021

Professional Development Plan

Name: Suhaila Ahmed Alhammadi

ID:H00293154
Course: EPC4909
Instructor: Dr.Martha Banfa

Institution: Higher Colleges of Technology

Date: 5-4-2021
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Introduction to PDP

A professional development plan (PDP) is a document containing the goals, necessary

skills and competency development, and objectives students need to accomplish to understand
improvement (Janssen, 2013). PDP enhances self-awareness, increases the level of expertise in
several fields of specialization, and assisting teachers to structure their objectives in an
implementable way (Janssen, 2013). By focusing on the important areas through estimating
performance according to the PDP set goals. My professional development plan enables me to
advance my teaching skills through applying various ways to motivate students to learn and
achieve set goals, schedule my activities to ensure utilization of the available time, and evaluate
performance at every level (Rubens, 2018). PDP allows the management of students in the
classroom by applying different strategies. The included learning approaches help student's
behavior management. In conclusion, PDP enables classroom interaction through improved
communication skills as the right message is delivered to the students (Janssen, 2013).   

Goal 1 To use formative assessment to measure students' understanding.

Rationale
formative assessment help students to learn and practice throughout the courses because
they improve learning and providing feedback. (Elmahdi, Al-Hattami, & Fawzi, 2018).

Elmahdi, I., Al-Hattami, A., & Fawzi, H. (2018, April). Using Technology for Formative
Assessment to Improve Students' Learning. Retrieved January 29, 2021, from
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1176157.pdf

Teaching Assessment
Competency
MST Skills you Personal Needs of the setting
recommendation personally know development
you need to develop interest
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Students don’t have Check students' To be more mindful 1- Assessment to determine the student’s
same understanding understanding   in assessing students ability.
rate (formative 2- Teach the same concept several ways.
assessment) 3- More continuous tests.
4- Ask questions in different ways to
check students' understanding.

Desired time frame: Semester 7-8

Any support needed Support from my MST and MCT (advice) according to their experiences.
Support Colleagues in the school
Forming ability groups depending on the learner's understanding.
Come up with a formative assessment. For example: Illustrate an example of effective
formative assessments.
Action 1- Implement difference online formative assessment. Formative assessment
supports students to clear their misconceptions if they have it and provides
students with information about their successes and needs. (Rubens, 2018).
For example, Think-Pair-Share I give my students time to think quietly about
how they will answer the question. Then I put them in breaking out rooms
and let them to discuss with each other. After that I put them in main rooms
and let them to write their answer in the chatbox.(Elmahdi, Al-Hattami, &
Fawzi, 2018).
2- Exit Tickets by asking students a question after each lesson to identify if they
understood the lesson well or not and probably note areas that require further
clarification and ensure that students understand the purpose of the assignment
when I ask my student to explain after solving the question. (Elmahdi, Al-Hattami, &
Fawzi, 2018).
Data collection tools • open-ended questions
to be used to provide • Use checklists to record all students' improvements.
evidence of the • Weekly reflection that includes my observations
success of the action • MST/MCT feedback.

Evidences
o KWL charts in Paddlet App
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o Student questioning checklists

o My weekly reflections

o Formative assessment (in the chatbox)

o Exit Tickets
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Reflection Goal 1: This reflection about the strategy I used in the Al Bateen School with Grade 2.
The main aim of this goal was to develop my understanding of what the students already
knew about a topic before teaching it. During this teaching practice, I used the KWL
chart in paddlet App many times before introducing a topic so I could see what level the
students were at. The app allowed color grouping based on student's level of knowledge.
and I was able to see the ideas gathered on the teacher board. I found this strategy
effective. It helped students to learn with practice; students could think and remember
what they had learned earlier while writing. This strategy helped me know learners'
weak areas and identify strategies to address them. I chose to use the KWL chart after
reading an article from the LucidHart Content Team where they stated, ‘The simple
structure and method of KWL note-taking make KWL charts an obvious choice for
students and teachers alike.’ (LucidHart 2018) The KWL chart was a chart where the
students filled in three columns. The children were given the name of the topic and the
chart and they were asked to fill in the K section (what they already knew about the
topic) and the W part (what they would like to know about the topic). By looking at the
K column of each student's work I effectively knew where to begin when teaching the
topic as I was able to see how much information the students already had. This was also
beneficial as mentally it allowed me to divide the students into groups and I knew
whether to ask them the higher-order or the lower order questions during instruction
time. Upon completion of teaching the topic, I used the L section (what they have
learned about the topic) of the chart as my formative assessment which is linked with my
second goal. I feel this is a goal that I achieved large success in, and I will continue to
use KWL charts prior to my teaching whilst also searching for a new way to know what
the children already know pre-instruction.

References:
LucidHart Content Team, (2018, February 1) Harnessing the Power of KWL Charts in
Education. Retrieved from https://www.lucidchart.com/blog/what-is-a-kwl-chart
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Goal 2 Provide feedback during the learning process. Not just one time, but several times.
Use visual, verbal and written methods to give students feedback.
Rationale 1- Help students to develop their learning and its important part of their learning
experience
2- Effective feedback motivates students and help sign post their next learning steps.

Teaching Implementing learning

Competency
Skills you Personal
MST
personally know development Needs of the setting
recommendation
you need to develop interest
1- Search how to provide students
comfortably give feedback in a good way.
-Use different Use a variety
students appropriate 2- Students receive a clear point.
feedback methods feedback strategy  
and timely feedback

Desired time Semester 7-8

frame:

Any support Support from my MST and MCT (advice) according to their experiences. For example,
needed demonstrate examples of effective feedback tools.
Support from my colleagues who have the experience.
Support using the internet to converse with learners.
Action 1- Use motivating words when giving feedback. For example, I used good
communication skills such as greetings, putting smiley faces in the chat box, positive
comments, and engaging all students without any discrimination. example (1): you
have worked so hard on that- I think you will be the star of the week to support
students in moving forward with their goals in mind.
2- give feedback immediately, so that they have an opportunity to improve their work.
Use educational technology tools that provide students with feedback in real time.
For example (2): by using Class Dojo This is an app and site that allows parents access
and monitor the behavior of their children and discuss with them personally, this could
make students to improve their behavior and build character strengths. Husain, M., &
Khan, S. (2016). (Guido, 20).

3- Teachers offer praise as a way to provide a supporting and friendly environment for students.

For example (3): When I can see a difference in their work compared to yesterday and is
achieved if I see student effort in problem-solving or in practice is correct.

Data collection 1- Create visual methods for the visual feedback for example: put sticky note in the chatbox –
tools to be used to Class Dojo because it improves learner confidence
provide evidence of
the success of the 2- Tell the students to get an overall picture of how their lesson went (take notes during
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action the lesson), because it reflects on what worked well and why, and what I could have
done differently next class.
Evidences o Graded formative assessments.

o Exit tickets

o Student checklists

The checklist contains strategies that I implemented,

criteria that helped me evaluate if I have effectively
delivered the lesson, and if I engaged the students.
The tool helped me organize my teachings.
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o Class Dojo

I used class dojo for positive and negative

reinforcement. I want students, who are behaving
well, to be recognized and be followed by their
classmates. At the same time, I utilized class dojo as a
tool for the misbehaving students to reflect on their
actions and behave accordingly.

o thumbs up

Reflection One of the best practices I observed during my time in school is the use of a feedback well-
organized to ensure an effective learning classroom environment. This strategy was a very
important one and it was a goal I saw significant improvements in during this teaching
practice. For example, when I ask my students to solve for me some question, I always give
them feedback about their work because it helps them to see their answer if its correct or
wrong. Before this teaching practice, my use of formative assessment during the lesson was
limited. However, this improved during this block through different methods. I used
differentiated questioning techniques throughout the lesson. A mixture of higher-order and
lower questions allowed me to see whether the children have grasped the concepts or not.
Another method I developed during this block was my use of exit tickets. On these tickets,
there were 3 differentiated questions. One for each lower ability, one for middle, and one for
higher. Each student was encouraged to answer all of them if they could in paddlet App. My
biggest problem with exit tickets was ‘what do I do with them when they are filled in?’
Throughout my research I found an extremely helpful hint ‘A quick way to see the big picture
if you use paper exit tickets is to sort the papers into three piles: Students got the point; they
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sort of got it, and they didn’t get it. The size of the stacks is your clue about what to do next
(Thomas, 2019). This benefitted me enormously as it meant I could spend more of my time
planning the following lesson based on these results as opposed to spending all of my time
analyzing and studying each one individually. One technique that did not work so well was
the thumbs up thumbs down technique in the chatbox as I felt the students were not
listening to the questions being asked but they were just looking at what their classmates
were doing and copying them. For example, when I asked my students if they understand the
task to put thumbs up and I notice that all of the students are putting the same but when I
ask some of them, I saw that they have misconceptions. This is a goal that can never fully be
accomplished as ways of conducting effective formative assessments are evolving and
developing all the time and I will continue to evolve and develop with it.

References:
Thomas, L (2019, April 26) 7 Smart, Fast Ways to Do Formative Assessment. Retrieved from
https://www.edutopia.org/article/7-smart-fast-ways-do-formative-assessment

Wesselby, C (2020, September 1) What is Differentiated Instruction? Examples of How to

Differentiate Instruction in the Classroom? Retrieved from
https://resilienteducator.com/classroom-resources/examples-of-differentiated-instruction/

Goal 3  Improve my classroom management

Rationale Classroom management is the important factor because is building nurturing community
(Conrad, 2018).

Conrad, J. (2018). Teaching Time Management in the Proficiency Based Classroom.

Retrieved January 28, 2021, from
https://scholarworks.umf.maine.edu/ed_leadership_projects/8/

Teaching Managing learning

Competency
Skills you Personal
MCT
personally know development Needs of the setting
recommendation
you need to develop interest
Lesson was noisy and Classroom create my own 1- Search about physical activities.
students struggled to management routines and 2- Explain the lesson by using body
comprehend the strategies to manage
language.
content. students
3- Involve students with a lot of
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work so ensure they are busy

especially the gifted.

Desired time frame: Semester 7-8

Any support needed 1- Support from my MST and MCT (advice) according to their experiences. For
example, show me examples of effective classroom management tools.
2- MST support to help in categorizing students according to their level
Action 1- Effectively manage the students and the lesson. For example (1): I will place the learners
into different groups where I could comfortably manage and control their behavior by
using a timer and I make sure that I can finish my lesson plan on time. Also, I will
instruct the students to pair up and personally ensure differentiation by using breaking
out rooms and let them have enough time for discussing.
2- Dividing students into groups” by different level” because creates opportunities for
student success and allows me to manage with students in a realistic way.

Data collection tools ● Use checklists to record all students' improvements.

to be used to provide ● Weekly reflection that includes my observations.
evidence of the
● MST/MCT feedback.
success of the action
Evidences o Children divided into groups

o KWL charts in Paddlet App

o My weekly reflections
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o Breaking out room

Reflection Goal 3: I would use a timer to ensure that I transition well, but still, it was challenging
since I was sometimes caught up as I had to answer all the questions asked and
accomplish the planned lesson. The students were noisy sometimes, but I calmed them.
This goal is once again linked with goals number one and two. In order to improve my
classroom management, I felt it was extremely important to keep the children engaged
and interested at all times. As Chris Zook said in his article ‘preparation is key, if you are
not prepared, the children will not be prepared’ (Zook, 2020). As there are many
different abilities in my class, I felt it was important to be prepared and group students
when assigning tasks of group works. The teacher instructed the students to pair up
and personally ensured differentiated and orderly pairing of the students. Also, the
teacher instructed the students to quietly and quickly move out of group discussions
with minimal noise and interruptions. Effectively manage the students and the lesson.
moreover, this practice ensured that student behavior is modeled properly to
encourage organization, coordination, teamwork, and time management among
students. Thirdly, I observed the raising of hand when asking or answering questions by
the students was very effective in my classes. The techniques I will hope to develop
during my next block are ‘modeling ideal behavior, letting students establish the
guidelines, and encouraging initiative’ During this process, I used a checklist to monitor
students' management either in the main room or in their differentiation group. My
decision to place students into smaller differentiation groups was influenced by Piaget's
theory, which asserts that putting learners into small groups helps them develop their
learning more effectively. This also helped in having them work at a level that is
appropriate for them, ultimately encouraging them to engage in the learning activities
actively. (Guido, 2018).
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References:
Guido, M. (2018, April 10). 20 Classroom Management Strategies and Techniques.
Retrieved from https://www.prodigygame.com/main-en/blog/classroom-
management-strategies/
Zook, C. (2020, January 1). 8 Wildly Successful Classroom Management Strategies for
2020. Retrieved from https://www.aeseducation.com/blog/wildly-successful-
classroom-management-strategies

Goal 4  Maintains accurate records

Rationale 1- Records inform interactions and enable teachers to respond to individual needs.
2- Register and keep track of student work.
Teaching Planning for learning
Competency
Skills you Personal
MST
personally know development Needs of the setting
recommendation
you need to develop interest
Teacher’s record 1.Set a system for learner’s tests
keeping does not and class work
Record keeping Accurate record
adequately track 2.Get the areas of weaknesses of
keeping
student progress my learners.
Desired time frame: Semester 7-8
Any support needed Model, coach and mentor colleagues and/or pre-service teachers.
Previous performance of the student’s reports.
Action 1- Keep a complete and consistent record-keeping system and track the progress of
all students because it protects the rights of my students and ensures that they
have what they are entitled to. For example, Students' results may be inaccurate
or not well tracked or maybe have errors. Some records may be missing exam
marks for some students, also recording marks wrongly maybe 36 while it's 63.

2- Involve students in the participation and interpretation of progress in knowledge

and skill development. Harrison, J., Lawson, T., & Wortley, A. (2005). For
example, keeping records of a number of students who sat for an exam so that
students who didn’t sit for the exam won't come asking for results later.
Data collection tools ● Students feedback
to be used to provide ● System feedback
evidence of the
● Self-reflection
success of the action
● MST/MCT feedback
Evidences o Questioning checklists
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o Lists of grouped ability students

o My weekly reflections

o Nearpod
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Reflection Goal 4: Maintaining accurate records is the most important duty and
responsibility of the teacher in teaching, where he is preparing, educationally and
psychologically, for the education of pupils. This was the goal that I found the
hardest to accomplish. Maintaining accurate records whilst teaching is quite
difficult. Even though I have a checklist that I use I find it very difficult to check
or tick student’s names during the lesson as they answer questions because of the
time sometimes I felt confused to teach the students and at the same time record
students' work. But I came up with a couple of different techniques to help me
achieve this goal. For example, Nearpod App help me a lot to save students'
work. I grouped the children for some lessons. As the lower and middle ability
groups were working on their level-specific tasks, I was able to question the
higher ability group and I did this the other way around also. I found it much
easier to keep and maintain a checklist when working with a smaller group. This
is definitely a goal I haven’t fully mastered, and I am still searching for the
perfect system to suit me. As Jon Konen said, ‘The systems may look different in
each classroom, but exemplary teachers understand that without a system, papers
are lost, and that disorganization creates chaos in their classroom’ (Konen 2018).

Konen, J (2018, January 28). 5 Questions to Tackle When Maintaining Accurate

Records. Retrieved from https://www.teacher.org/blog/maintaining-accurate-
records/
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References
Elmahdi, I., Al-Hattami, A., & Fawzi, H. (2018, April). Using Technology for Formative
Assessment to Improve Students' Learning. Retrieved January 29, 2021, from
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1176157.pdf

Husain, M., & Khan, S. (2016). Students' feedback: An effective tool in teachers' evaluation
system. International Journal of Applied and Basic Medical Research, 6(3), 178. (visual, verbal
and written).

Harrison, J., Lawson, T., & Wortley, A. (2005). Facilitating the professional learning of new
teachers through critical reflection on practice during mentoring meetings. European Journal of
teacher education, 28(3), 267-292.
Janssen, S., Kreijns, K., Bastiaens, T. J., Stijnen, S., & Vermeulen, M. (2013). Teachers' beliefs
about using a professional development plan. International Journal of Training and
Development, 17(4), 260-278.
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Konen, J (2018, January 28). 5 Questions to Tackle When Maintaining Accurate Records.
Retrieved from https://www.teacher.org/blog/maintaining-accurate-records/

LucidHart Content Team, (2018, February 1) Harnessing the Power of KWL Charts in
Education. Retrieved from https://www.lucidchart.com/blog/what-is-a-kwl-chart

McLeod, S. (2019). The Zone of Proximal Development and Scaffolding.

Rubens, A., Schoenfeld, G. A., Schaffer, B. S., & Leah, J. S. (2018). Self-awareness and
leadership: Developing an individual strategic professional development plan in an MBA
leadership course. The International Journal of Management Education, 16(1), 1-13.
Guido, M. (2018, April 10). 20 Classroom Management Strategies and Techniques.
Retrieved from https://www.prodigygame.com/main-en/blog/classroom-management-
strategies/

Wesselby, C (2020, September 1) What is Differentiated Instruction? Examples of How to

Differentiate Instruction in the Classroom? Retrieved from
https://resilienteducator.com/classroom-resources/examples-of-differentiated-instruction/

Zook, C. (2020, January 1). 8 Wildly Successful Classroom Management Strategies for 2020.
Retrieved from https://www.aeseducation.com/blog/wildly-successful-classroom-management-
strategies Thomas, L (2019, April 26) 7 Smart, Fast Ways to Do Formative Assessment.
Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/article/7-smart-fast-ways-do-formative-assessment