As I organized my recertification materials today, I thought about my five-year plan, the plan I'll put into place to prepare for the next recertification round. What will I focus on that will meet recertification requirements as well as uplift my professional practice.
As I read over the many opportunities to earn PDPs and develop your professional repertoire, I thought about where I'd like to take my teaching and learning in the next five years--what matters?
First, I have one more course to take for recertification and I've elected to take the state's online special ed course. I've signed on to take this course before, but didn't get started due to a busy schedule. I think the winter months may be a perfect time to complete this no cost course.
After that, I am going to focus my attention initially on research related to the math curriculum. I'm going to read about this and spend some time organizing the work to date to see where the next steps will take me and the program. I also hope to engage in efforts related to science education and the new social studies standards. As I write, I recognize it's not so easy to create a five-year plan, but nevertheless, it's good to give it some time upfront so that you are always headed in a good direction professionally, a direction that matches your skills and interests with the best interests of the students and schools you serve and lead.