Professional Development

Welcome to my professional development page! This page highlights my continuous efforts to develop my skills and stay current with the best practices in education. I self-selected three professional development Ted Talks related to education to better myself as an educator, enhance my instructional practices, and better support my students' diverse needs. As an educator, there is always a need for improvement, and it is important to learn from other experienced educators about the best teaching practices and how to best fit the needs of all students.

What Makes a Student Excited to Learn?

I enjoyed watching this professional development video, and I have found that students can learn to intellectually grow and develop their passion in subject areas. Teachers can build empathy to learn to teach students with diverse learning needs. The speaker, Priyam Baruah, discussed that one thing that unites every single learner is the ability to learn well in classrooms that foster an expression of thought, personal relationships ,and interactivity. A classroom that encourages open expression allows students to engage deeply with the learning and share diverse perspectives about their personal experiences.

Baruah mentioned three principles in her speech including redefining productivity in the classroom, creating a lesson that has the ability to make real-world applications, and incorporating learning based tasks into lesson plans. Barauh believes that in order to redefine productivity in the classroom, educators need to start thinking of classrooms as living and beathing entities, letting students ask good questions and connecting with students on a personal level.

Additionally creating a lesson that includes real-world applications allows students to make connections with the real-world and class. Students are more likely to explore and relate to these topics making them become more engaged with what they are learning. Baraugh then talked about learning based tasks where the goal is to master a subject through continual improvement rather than hitting perfection. Learning based tasks show that learning is a long never-ending journey that lasts our entire lives.

5 Principles of Extradorinary Math Teaching

In Dan Finkel's, "5 Principles of Extraordinary Math Teaching" Ted Talk, I learned that mathematical miseducation is common in all grade levels since educators are expecting their students to repeat and memorize disjointed math facts. When doing this educational practice, students are not using critical thinking skills to solve through a problem since they have memorized the answer or a way to solve the equation. Finkel expressed that students are unmotivated and want to avoid math for the rest of their lives. As educators, we can make a difference in how math is being instructed in our classroom, and Finkel provided five principles on how educators can change the mathematical trajectory for their students.

Finkel's Five Principles include:

Start with a question ("thinking happens only when we have time to struggle")
Give students time to struggle (give time to think and grapple with real problems)
You are not the answer key
Say yes to your own students ideas (accept wrong or right ideas)
Play (allow students to explore/play with math)

I thought this Ted Talk was extremely important to watch since most students do not enjoy math, and educators can change students perspectives by making math fun, engaging, and applicable to life experiences. As a student, I have always struggled and was frustrated with math, so I feel that it is important to give my students a positive experience with math in my classroom.

The Importance of Play in Education

My personal development benefited from watching Sir Ken Robinson's Ted Talk about, "How To Escape Education's Death Valley." Robinson mentioned three principles on which human life flourishes including that human beings are naturally different and diverse, humans are curious, and human life is creative.

I liked how Robinson mentioned that humans are naturally different from each other and possess unique talents, interests, and learning styles in the classroom. As educators, it is important to keep this in mind in our classroom, and knowing that kids will prosper best with a broad curriculum that honors their diverse talents. Recognizing students gifts and talents in the classroom gives a student purpose and allows every student to be included in the curriculum.

Robinson including that human beings are curious shows that educators need to light the spark of curiosity in a child since they will learn without any resistance. The role of a teacher is to facilitate learning, and teachers need to create lessons that spark curiosity and allow students to intellectually think about certain things. Robinson also mentioned that teachers do not have any freedom in what they teach, so it is important to find small ways where we can make learning meaningful and allow students to be engaged in the lesson.

Lastly, Robinson mentioned that human life is creative, and from this professional development, I learned that it is essential to make activities in your lesson plan creative and meaningful to the student. Students will be more engaged and excited to learn new curriculum if they are actively participating in different hands-on and minds-on activities. I learned that the role of an educator is to create and maintain a positive school environment that is conductive to learning and student well-being.

I believe that this Ted Talk was meaningful and applicable to all educators, and I will be using Robinson's three principles in my classroom. I want to provide a learning environment that best suits my students needs, and I want my students to receive an enriching and meaningful education.