Professional Growth Plan

1. Develop a growth and writer's identity mindset in students through intentional goal setting, reflection on writing/reading interests, and a classroom community of learning (New Ga ELA Standards P.EICC.1 and P.CP.1).

2. Cultivate a process-focused approach to learning, that emphasizes the value of the steps to foster knowledge and understanding, as opposed to the final product (New Ga ELA Standard P.EICC.4).

3. Promote the materiality of literature and composition by fostering understanding of multi-sensory learning and literature's global and cultural contexts (New Ga ELA Standards P.EICC.2. and P.ST.1).

Writer's Identity and Multi-Sensory Learning (Goals 1 and 3):

• Participate in the Red Clay Writers Project through the University of Georgia in 2026.

• In 2027 or 2028, apply as a member of the National Humanities Center’s Teaching Advisory Council.

• Share about collaborations with the Media Specialist and the ways it has transformed student sense of identity in their writing.

Process-Focused Approach to Learning (Goals 1 and 2):

• Engage with the Folger Shakespeare Method for teaching literary texts by attending a seminar or workshop about their methods.

Increase Global and Cultural Awareness (Goal 3):

• In 2027 or 2028, complete the DePaul University IB Certification: Teaching and Learning in a Global Context.

• Participate in Reacting to the Past seminars, especially any that focus on adapting the program for high school students.

Writer's Identity and Multi-Sensory Learning (Goals 1 and 3):

• Implement and further structure student notebooks in the 2026–2027 school year to create more embodied connections to ELA learning.

• Create more space for the Writing Process, scaffolding written assignments as part of the reading process to help students explore the structure of their writing.

• Incorporate a "Questioning" Protocol into my classroom to encourage student identity as a writer and thinker, allowing space for them to question our texts and their purposes.

• Create further focus to pre-unit skill assessments and goal planning and a post-unit reflection on student success in reaching those goals.

Process-Focused Approach to Learning (Goals 1 and 2):

• Utilize the annotation and reading process developed last year as part of the regular reading/writing process. This should become part of the procedures taught in the first weeks of school to guide our learning. Emphasize the importance of annotations as like "showing their work" in a Math class and them a common protocol in the classroom.

• Create more space for the Writing Process, scaffolding written assignments as part of the reading process to help students explore the structure of their writing.

• Create further focus to pre-unit skill assessments and goal planning and a post-unit reflection on student success in reaching those goals.

Increase Global and Cultural Awareness (Goal 3):

• Include more opportunities for background knowledge builds that include multi-sensory or immersive elements. For AP Literature, this looks like emphasizing the literary eras as means of understanding a text (perhaps learning about those through concept attainment) and implementing a Russian Literary Journal immersive learning experience.

• Lean into HMH Essential Questions to emphasize the relevance of literature and composition for understanding and meeting real world issues, such as change, power, and identity. Each text should be interrogated for how the author answers the questions and whether students agree or disagree with their approach. This will involve drawing on experience teaching religion and philosophy and creating moments where students can reflect upon and present solutions to real world problems based on knowledge from their readings.