Module 10: Improving My Professional Development Skills

I enjoyed creating this professional development presentation this week. I had to create my first professional development presentation last semester for a different class and I definitely struggled with it. I knew it was just an assignment and that I wouldn't have to present it, but I constantly worried about how I could keep the presentation engaging for my intended audience. I ended up getting a good grade, but I wasn't entirely happy with it.

This week, however, I really put a lot of time and effort in this presentation. When I was stumped about who I should make the presentation for and what it should focus on, I talked with my boss. She gave me the idea of creating a presentation for the parents of incoming freshmen who might be unaware of all the tools and resources that the library has to offer. I thought it was a great idea because our libguide and tools could definitely seem overwhelming at first for students. I think it's also important for parents to know about these resource as well because they should be involved in their child's education. I don't believe they have to be the "helicopter parents" that are often complained about, but I do think there should be some involvement on the parent's part. My parents are not technologically savvy. Every time my dad wants to make a post on Facebook I have to show him the steps for how to do this. So when I was in school I couldn't ask him or my mom for help on the different web tools we were using in class and this was frustrating. Yes, I could ask my sisters and friends in my classes but  it would have been helpful for my parents to be a little more involved as well.

I believe that everyone should be encouraged to continue learning and expanding and their knowledge as much as they can. I think we focus so much on professional development with teachers that we forget about the other people in the lives of students. Parents also need keep learning and growing as well so they can keep up with their children. They also need to see what is going in the school and what is available for their children. I am at a school now where parents are actively apart of their child's education so they want to see what we are doing to help their children succeed. I think this presentation would help them better understand what we have to offer students and the steps students can take to be better students.

I hope that in the future I will be able to do technology training and help with the professional development at my school. I remember when I first graduated from college, I applied to work in a school library. I was surprised I got an interview because I had very little experience and didn't really know how school libraries functioned. The interview wasn't going particularly well and then one of the principals hit me with a series of questions like "Would you be comfortable teaching professional development sessions to your colleagues? If so, how would you go about doing this? Do you have any experience doing this?" For some reason this set of questions have always stood out to me because I really didn't know how to answer them. I had just graduated college, had never worked in a school, and I just really wanted a job in a library. I didn't know anything about professional development so I think I just responded that "Yes, I'd be comfortable with teaching professional development" and that was probably when they definitely knew I was too inexperienced for the job. Now I wish I could go back because I definitely have a better idea of how I'd go about teaching my colleagues about new technologies and tools. I have learned a lot and I want to keep learning, which I want to other teachers, administrators, staff members, and parents, to feel as well.