Running head: Professional Organization and Association

Participating in Professional Organizations and Associations
Walden University
Quintina W. McKnight
Dr. Joann Susko
EDUC 6610: Teacher as Professional
July 19, 2015
Abstract
Collaborating with group of people that shares the same vision is an essential component in a profession. These groups of professional’s are called professional organizations and associations. Having an affiliation with a professional organization and association in one’s specific area of expertise would be beneficial to a successful career.

Participating in Professional Organizations and Associations Professional education organizations and associations, provides a unity for educators to network. It is important as educators to participate in an organization that offers professional relationships with others who are supportive, helpful and can be trusted. Connecting with peers who shares the same common career goals can be rewarding. “A framework for teaching provides a structure for discussions among teachers and also serves to sharpen the focus for professional development” (Danielson 2007). Domain 4: Professional Responsibilities (Danielson 2007), has identified me as a professional because I welcome a cooperative and respectful relationship with all stakeholders.
It’s a routine to maintain regular communication with parents, rather it through parent-teacher conferences, emails, phone contacts, written correspondence in the mail or with teacher webpage from school. It is also most imperative as professional educators to appropriately work as a team when attending staff meetings and in service activities to develop curriculums and effective assessments within a class setting. Attending seminars and workshop for professional growth is an essential element to the success of student learning. Joining the Business Education Association and utilizing all the professional developments that was offered, I became more knowledgeable in my content area. “Content knowledge of the structure of the disciplines” (Garmston 1998). This area has become my strongest area for several reasons. I was able to participate in numerous amounts of professional developments throughout the years that allowed me to connect with other business teachers to share and learn new idea to enhance students learning. For the past several years, I have been a dedicated member of several professional associations such as the NTA, which stand for National Teachers Associates, which provides supplemental life and accidental insurance. I am also affiliated with the NEA. National Education Association is the largest organization that offers support to teachers that are in a public school setting. I have decided to “look for emerging trends and issues in education and email them colleagues at my school”. The emerging trends and issues that I found to be most relevant to my educational setting was the use of technology and the internet. It is a known fact that diversified learning impacts students’ success. Across the globe students just about everywhere knows how to use a computer, and utilizing technology and the internet is crucial to students learning and teachers teaching inside the classroom. The best practice approach for the use of technology is far more detailed than using basic software and we as educators must be familiar with the these types of learning tool that makes a difference in students learning. I have shared several websites to my fellow teachers that matchers their areas of expertise to use within their classroom. Being Business and Technology certified I am at an advantage with working with several types of resources to help engage students learning. Just recently I prepared a review lesson with my students using the online resource call Kahoots. Kahoots is a free and easy to use internet resource for any subject area.
I visited Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) website and learned that CEC is requiring evidence-base practice inside special education classrooms. Evidence-base practice is a type of evaluation tool to measure the effectiveness of daily instruction for special needs students. “Data collection must be evident, as well as follow-up data that measures generalization and maintenance of skills over time”(Perry and Weiss, 2007).

References
Danielson, C. (2007). Enhancing professional practice: A framework for teaching. (2nd ed.). Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Bates, A.W., & Poole, G (2003). Effective teaching with technology in higher education: Foundations for success. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Kottler, J. A., Zehm, S. J., & Kottler, E. (2005). On being a teacher: The human dimension (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Perry, A., & Weiss, J. A. (2007). Evidence-based practice in developmental disabilities: What is it and why does it matter? Journal on Developmental Disabilities, 12, 167-171.

Nieto, S. (2003). What keeps teachers going? New York: Teachers College Press.

Laureate Education, Inc. (2010). Teacher as professional: The teaching profession. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Council for Exceptional Children (2009). What every special educator should know: Ethics, standards, and guidelines (6th Edition). Arlington, VA: Author. Retrieved from http://www.cec.sped.org

Walden University M.S. in Education Program
Formative Evaluative Criteria for Applications and Reflective Essays Quality of Work Submitted | A: Target(Exemplary Work)(Value: 0.4 point possible per box) | B: Acceptable (Graduate Level)(Value: 0.3 point possible per box) | C: Developing(Minimal Work)(Value: 0.2 point possible per box) | F: Unacceptable(Work Submitted but Unacceptable) (Value: 0.1 point possible per box) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Candidate adheres to assignment expectation by meeting the assigned criteria. Degree to which the candidate presents reliable and relevant information. | Candidate addresses 100% of the requirements in the assignment’s criteria. (0.4 point) | Candidate addresses 90% of the requirements in the assignment’s criteria.(0.3 point) | Candidate completed 80% or more of the requirements in the assignment’s criteria.(0.2 point) | Candidate completes less than 80% of the requirements in the assignment’s criteria.(0.1 point) | | | | | | | | | | | | 100% of information presented is clearly reliable and relevant to the assignment.(0.4 point) | 90% of information presented is clearly reliable and relevant.(0.3 point) | 80% of information presented is clearly reliable and relevant. (0.2 point) | Less than 80% of supporting information or examples is present. Analysis is missing.(0.1 point) | | | | | | The degree to which the candidate provides a synthesis and analysis. The candidate demonstrates breadth and depth of understanding. | Candidate synthesizes and /or draws conclusions by combining multiple examples, facts, and theories to demonstrate depth and breadth of understanding of all topic concepts through the creation of a single, encompassing document. (0.4 point) | Candidate connects examples, facts, and theories to demonstrate depth and breadth of understanding of the topic concepts. (0.3 point) | Candidate presents examples, facts, or theories to demonstrate depth and breadth of understanding of the topic concepts. (0.2 point) | Candidate does not present examples, facts, or theories, thus does not demonstrate depth and breadth of understanding of the topic concepts.(0.1 point) | | Candidate demonstrates breadth and depth of understanding by generating abstractions from course content. (0.4 point) | Candidate demonstrates breadth and depth of understanding by putting learning into a broader context.(0.3 point) | Candidate demonstrates breadth and depth by showing how course content relates to P – 12 students both laterally and vertically.(0.2 point) | Assignment lacks breadth and depth.(0.1 point) | | | | | | The candidate assimilates and synthesizes ideas by supporting his/her writing with references. The candidate reflects an 1. Understanding and analysis of material in videos, readings, and discussions; 2. Applies presented strategies **May include, but are not limited to, scholarly articles, collegial discussions; information from conferences, in service, faculty development, and/or meetings. Also, seminal research can be included and does not count in the 5 year requirement. | .Candidate demonstrates inclusion of major points, using two or more scholarly resources from outside the course current to within 5 years** in addition to course videos and course (required and optional) readings(0.4 point). | Candidate includes specific scholarly information from both course videos and course (required and optional) readings to support major points. May use scholarly resources that are outside 5 years.(0.3 point) | Candidate includes specific information from required course videos or required readings.(0.2 point) | Candidate does not include information from course videos or required readings. (0.1 point) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Candidate integrates at least two exemplars (e.g., details, ideas) from professional practice as examples of incorporating content from the course objectives.(0.4 point) | Candidate integrates one exemplar (e.g., details, ideas) from professional practice as example of incorporating content from the course objectives.(0.3 point) | Candidate includes exemplars (e.g., details, ideas) from professional practice but does not use them as examples of incorporating content from the course objectives.(0.2 point) | Candidate does not include exemplars (e.g., details, ideas) from professional practice specific to the assignment.(0.1 point) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Candidate assimilates and synthesizes 1. Understand the assignment’s purpose by making connections to professional practice; and 2. Includes deepening awareness of Walden’s definition of Social Change put Walden’s definition here | Candidate demonstrates the ability to explore and/or implement all key instructional concepts by providing connections among two or more scholarly resources from outside the course current to within 5 years, course learning, and details from professional practice(0.4 point) | Using course materials, candidate demonstrates an understanding of the assignment’s purpose by showing connections between course learning and details from professional practice.(0.3 point) | Candidate answers the prompt without including details from professional practice or course content.(0.2 point) | Candidate does not demonstrate assignment’s purpose. Lacks applying theories, concepts, and/or strategies for thinking and underrepresented details from professional practice(0.1 point) | | As assignment parameters allow, the candidate includes specific information with at least 2 examples that illustrates how course learning has contributed to the candidate’s professional learning and growth and/or deepening awareness and learning of Walden’s definition of Social Change.(0.4 point) | As assignment parameters allow, the candidate includes specific information with at least 1 example that illustrates how course learning has contributed to the candidate’s professional learning and growth and deepening awareness and/or learning of Walden’s definition of Social Change.(0.3 point) | As assignment parameters allow, the information provided to illustrate how course learning contributed to the candidate’s professional learning and growth and deepening awareness and/or learning of Walden’s definition of Social Change is not specific (lacking detail). (0.2 point) | The information provided to illustrate how course learning contributed to the candidate’s professional learning and growth and deepening awareness and/or learning of Walden’s definition of Social Change is missing.(0.1 point) | | | | | | | | | | | Written Expression and Formatting The extent to which candidate completes assignment using scholarly, critical, and analytical writing that is presented in APA format; Standard Edited English (i.e. correct grammar, mechanics). | The candidate's document is concisely written using correct APA style according to the current MSED template with all previous formatting requests included Work is written in Standard Edited English. No prominent errors interfere with reading.(0.4 point) | The candidate’s work is consistently written using correct APA style according to the current MSED template with previous formatting requests included. There are few to no errors in grammar, punctuation, or spelling. (0.3 point) | The candidate's document is written using somewhat correct APA style according to the current MSED template with minimal inclusion of previous requests. There is inconsistency in grammar, punctuation, and spelling in some areas. (0.2 point) | The quality of writing and/or APA formatting according to the current MSED template is not acceptable for graduate-level work and/or previous requests for revision were ignored. There are persistent problems with improper sentence structure, grammar, punctuation, and spelling. (0.1 point) | | Writing style includes an introduction, supporting details, meaningful/valid connections between and across paragraphs, all leading to a powerful conclusion with ties to current/future practice. Candidate differentiates his/her own ideas/beliefs from cited references using effective graduate-level scholarly voice, logical flow, and organization that is exceptionally clear, succinct, and consistent throughout the document. Supports all assertions by appropriate cited references to sources (emphasis on paraphrasing).(0.4 point) | Writing style includes an introduction, supporting details and conclusion with ties to current/future practice. Candidate states his/her ideas/beliefs with supporting cited references using graduate-level scholarly voice, logical flow, and organization that is clear, concise, and consistent throughout the document. Supports 90% of assertions by appropriate citations.(0.3 point) | Writing style inconsistently includes introduction, supporting details and conclusion with ties to current/future practice.
Candidate does not differentiate own ideas/beliefs from cited references. Graduate-level scholarly voice, logical flow, and organization, is not clear and consistent throughout the document. Supports 80% of assertions by appropriate citations.(0.2 point) | Writing style does not include introduction, supporting details, conclusion, or ties to current/future practice. Candidate does not include his/her own ideas/beliefs. Graduate-level scholarly voice, logical flow, and organization, is not clear or consistent throughout the document. Supports less than 80% of assertions by appropriate citations.(0.1 point) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |