Clinical Field Experience B: Professional Development Needs Interview

Which of the following literacy related professional development topics interests you the most? Why?

· Utilizing schoolwide and grade-level literacy assessment data

· Individual student growth in literacy skills

· Accommodations/considerations for students who are English language learners, students with gifted abilities, students with attendance or truancy concerns, etc. during literacy development

· Additional diagnostic assessments and progress monitoring assessments for literacy

· How to create intervention goals and next steps for students who are struggling with literacy skills

· Integrating literacy across content areas

The literacy related professional development topic that interests me the most is, “individual student growth in literacy skills”. Most teachers dream of a classroom that consists of students who are all on the same level. Unfortunately, this only exits in our dreams because a real classroom has students with various learning styles and abilities. An effective teacher should promote the multiple competencies their learners need: functional literacy for phonics, spelling, and reading; content-area literacy for vocabulary, concept attainment, and comprehension; technological literacy for information searching, evaluation, and synthesis; and innovative literacy for creativity, growth, and life-long learning. Therefore, I am always striving for resources and knowledge from various PDs to help me reach the individual needs of each of my students.

What other literacy related professional development topics not listed here would be beneficial to you and your students? Why

A professional development that would be beneficial to me and my students would be, “How to create an effective reading and writing workshop”. I believe this would be beneficial to me and my students because a PD such as this would explore the skills and knowledge it takes to teach students to become fluent, highly capable, decoders, and writers.. It would provide me with the opportunity to teach a practical, efficient, evidence-based, foundational skill approach in a small group setting. The ultimate goal is once again to reach the individual needs of my students.