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they do for fun; what do they like to read about; what sport do they play; what do they like
to eat; and so on. This supports the caring theory and affective domain of learning. Do some
research on how the caring theory and affective domain improve learning. Share what you
have learned with the PD team.
9. Learning is a lifetime goal. Continue to polish your teaching repertoires. Pick an activity above
and do it again with another topic of your choice. This could include using different learning
strategies, teaching guided reading well using the before/during/after format, creating center
work for other students, revisiting how to grade students’ work, assigning students classroom
jobs, using class dojo for classroom management, using music and singing to build fluency,
doing an interactive whole class well, and so on. What idea is causing you concern in your
classroom?

Stage 2 – Professional Teacher
1. Participate in peer/coaching monthly activities. This will help you look at your teaching
practices systematically. If the PD coordinator, coach, or mentor teacher cannot come to your
room at specific time, video record your lesson. Use reflective journaling, practical argument,
and/or action research to determine if the new monthly learning strategy is helping the
students learn better. With the PD coordinator, coach, or mentor teachers, watch and discuss
your teaching. Reflect on how your teaching went and what can be changed to make it better.
2. With your grade-level team, observe a teaching YouTube provided by your PD coordinator/
team. List strengths and weaknesses of the teaching observed, noting instructional approaches
and learning strategies included. Share your thoughts with both the team and the PD
coordinator in a group meeting. Implement one new idea into your classroom. Share results
with your PD team.
3. Attend one problem-solving workshop that will be beneficial to your teaching. Use the
information in your classroom. Share what you learned and obstacles and/or victories to
using the information in your classroom. Topics could include but are not limited to the
benefits of providing a variety of visuals on topics being taught, emotional intelligence and
activities to help you and your students to be more emotionally aware, using learning styles to
promote differentiation, the importance of including Tier 2 reading and math groups in your
classroom, and so on. What do you need help with improving? What problem-areas are you
experiencing?
4. Organize and lead one problem-solving workshop such as using class dojo to help with
classroom management, how to use Gardner’s intelligences to plan for differentiation, how
to build emotional intelligence and why it is important, and so on. Lead both part 1, where
information on the topic is shared by you, and part 2, where participants share how the
application in their classrooms went. Part 2 contains 3–5 meetings with the group to discuss
application results.
5. Attend one in-state educational conference (such as that of your state’s reading association,
math association, and so on). Share what you learned with your content- and/or grade-level
team. Share your learning at a monthly faculty meeting. This could lead to an idea for a
workshop that you could lead.
6. Take a university course. Share what you are learning with content- or grade-level team and/
or at a monthly faculty meeting. Implement what you are learning into your classroom. This
could lead to an idea for a workshop that you could lead.
7. Organize and lead one professional book study group. Work with the PD coordinator to poll
teachers for a topic and get needed materials such as books or articles on the topic
8. Volunteer to become a mentor for a preservice teacher or a new teacher; offer onsite mentoring.
9. Organize and lead new-teacher orientation in your building. Collaborate with the PD
coordinator and/or principal.
10. Develop and implement a plan to work collaboratively with parents of students in your
classroom. This could include activities like Donuts with Dad or Rocking and Reading with
Mom or Grandma. After implementing the program for a month, share results at a faculty
meeting to determine if the program had positive benefits and should be considered for all
teachers to implement. Share positive and negative impacts and modifications you would
make.
11. Pick an activity above and do it again with another topic of your choice. This could include

34 The Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin: International Journal for Professional Educators