Julie K.

Marsh
Experimental Design for Personal Professional Development
April 30, 2015
History as an Educator
I started in education as an Instructional Aide for a 6th grade student with Autism. It was
an amazing experience to learn firsthand how to run a successful classroom and develop working
relationships with students. My experiences as an aide led me to pursue my teaching license at
the University of Richmond, where I had the opportunity to take Instructional Technology
Integration and found my passion for educational technology. Through this coursework I
realized I could successfully infuse my class curricula with technology tools. At the same time I
began researching Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) as a framework for
best teaching practices in a technologically enhanced classroom. Understanding the balance of
content knowledge, pedagogy, and use of technology assisted me in creating an interactive
learning environment for my students. After I was promoted from Instructional Aide to full-time
8th grade English teacher, I continued my research of TPACK and technological ways of teaching
content knowledge. I became the Promethean Leader and Trainer at my school, and I established
a staff development team that created, taught, and guided technology lessons for my schools
staff. I enjoyed working with and training my colleagues, and this not only led to an interest in
administration but also an interest in more research on how to work within an educational
environment.
From Educator to Doctoral Student and Researcher
As part of the William & Mary community and the Curriculum and Educational Technology
program, I have the opportunity to continue my pursuit of research and application of technology
in the classroom. My research on TPACK led to my exploration on the affordances and
constraints of using social media for educational purposes in K-12 and higher education

environments. My research on higher education environments led to my exploration of Massive

Open Online Courses (MOOCs).
I proposed, designed, and implemented a research study into the student perspective on
MOOCs. I was interested in how a MOOC using an early Program of Study coursein this
case, a required intermediate statistics coursecould be used to substitute a brick-and-mortar
learning environment in order to reach more non-traditional students. Through my research, I
became interested in how meaning emerges collectively and collaboratively in a new media
environment and how creativity operates differently in an open-source culture. This exploration
led to my interest in Design Thinking (DT) in the classroom.
I am interested in how teachers integrate DT in their classrooms, teachers perceptions of DT,
teachers perceptions of their shifting role as teacher when implementing DT, and if teachers
believe DT helps students become better problem solvers. While I plan to focus on the
secondary education environment, the findings of the study could potentially have implications
for future studies in both K12 and higher education. Throughout my studies and research,
though I was focusing on teachers and students, I found a pull toward the administrative side.
Early on in my program of study, I decided one of my cognates would be in K-12 Administration
and Supervision. I started the coursework for that cognate, and ideas from my research and own
experiences started to gel. I think I could make a positive impact as an educational leader,
though there are a few areas I need to work on more to become a quality educational leader.
Goals for Moving Forward
I have four main goals as I move forward in my learning as an educational leader,
including understanding more about school safety and security as well as operational procedures,
learning more about public school fiscal operations, learning more about school resources and

funds to support my school context, and working in collaboration with community stakeholders
in creating partnerships and focusing on community-based research.
School safety, security, and operational procedures. I want to learn more about school
safety and security as well as develop an understanding of operational procedures as referenced
in ISLLC Standard 3 by shadowing a successful principal and a successful central office leader.
This goal is directly relevant to my professional aspirations and standards. I want to be the best
possible educational leader, and to do so requires an understanding of how to keep my faculty,
staff, and students safe as well as any community stakeholders visiting the building. I need to
not only understand all of the safety drills, but I must have an understanding of operational
procedures to know how, why, and when each drill will work.
I will interview and shadow a principal within a school context as well as a central office
leader who has a high level of knowledge on school safety and security. I plan to interview and
shadow both leaders between September and November 2015. I will take field notes as I shadow
both, and I will record and transcribe both interviews for further review. I will read over my
transcriptions and field notes and follow-up with both leaders as needed in order to support my
understanding of school safety, security, and operational procedures.
School fiscal operations. I want to learn more about public school fiscal operations as
referenced in ISLLC Standard 3 by interviewing a superintendent, principal, and bookkeeper.
This goal is directly relevant to my professional aspirations and standards, and to do so requires
an understanding of all fiscal operations and how they impact and support my school context. I
will interview a superintendent, principal within a school context, and school bookkeeper. I will
interview the bookkeeper in April 2015, and I will interview both the superintendent and
principal between September and October, 2015. I will record and transcribe all interviews for

further review. I will read over my transcriptions and follow-up with all leaders as needed in
order to support my understanding of fiscal operations in the public school setting.
School partnerships and community-based research. I want to learn more about
public school resources and funds as referenced in ISLLC Standard 4 to help support my school
context by interviewing educational entrepreneurs and consultants. I also want to learn more
about how to model community collaboration for my staff as referenced in ISLLC Standard 4 by
interviewing and working with Dr. Anne Charity Hudley on community-based research areas.
School partnerships. This goal is directly relevant to my professional aspirations and
standards, and to do so requires an understanding of how to develop outside partnerships with
entrepreneurs working within education as well as consultants who can support my schools
mission and vision with resources and funding. I will interview an educational entrepreneur,
preferably one directly tied to my community, in order to explore different ways to partner and
work with others and share ideas and resources. I will also interview an educational consultant
whose company has direct ties to my schools mission and vision. Both interviews will take
place between January and February 2016. I will record and transcribe all interviews for further
review. I will read over my transcriptions and follow-up with both participants as needed in
order to support my understanding of how to best develop outside partnerships with both
entrepreneurs and consultants in education.
Community collaboration. This goal is directly relevant to my professional aspirations
and standards, and to do so requires an understanding of how to make deeper and more fulfilling
connections to the stakeholders within my schools community. By working with a professional,
Dr. Anne Charity Hudley, I will be able to tap into her years of experience working with
community-based research and various projects. I will interview Dr. Charity Hudley in order to

better understand my communitys needs. I will also interview community stakeholders and
create a mock-up of a community plan. My interviews will take place between September and
December 2016 with a follow-up with community stakeholders in January 2016 to share the
community plan and receive more feedback. I will record and transcribe all interviews for
further review. I will read over my transcriptions and follow-up with all participants as needed
in order to support my ability to create community partnerships that will extend beyond my
school and continue for years to come.
Conclusion
Reflecting on my own educational and professional journey highlighted areas for me
where I could pinpoint shifts in my own personal philosophy of professional development and
supervision. My journey is based on research and learning as well as my own values and beliefs
about educational practice. I have definite areas of expertise, but I recognize areas where I need
more and better development. This process has rejuvenated me and given me a focus as I move
forward. The two ISLLC standards, Standard 3 and 4, are areas of needed growth, and now I
have a game plan for moving forward and finding support for those areas of learning.