Running head: PROGRESS REPORT 1

Progress Report

Bailey Austerman

TED 690- Professor Weintraub

National University
Progress Report 2

Abstract

The Professional Development Quest Portfolio has provided me with learning

experiences that have challenged the way that I view myself as a teacher. This progress

report delineates the challenges and success that I had while constructing this digital

compilation of work. It will also include professional long term and short term goals that I

have created as a result of this compilation process.

Progress Report 3

Progress Report

The Professional Development Quest Portfolio is a digital compilation of teaching

strategies, artifacts from the classroom, commentary on certain teaching practices, and a living

and evolving resume. This course has tasked us with creating a summative report of our time

spent in the Master’s program. This reflection is not only a tool of gathering pieces of our past

learning but a place that we can continue to add and amendment to as we continue our journey

through the field of education. As a form of professional development, this tool can be an aid to

individuals and whole learning communities. No matter the philosophy or requirement for the

PDQP, “the purpose is the same—to improve learning for educators and students” (Mizell,

2010).

The PDQP has provided me a place to express my goals and plans for the future. Going

through the process of dictating ideas and plans has allowed me the time to reflect on my

journey. It is amazing how much I have grown in the last two years and I am excited to see what

the next five have in store for me. The goals that I have for my career are expressed on my

PDQP and allow me the chance to visually catalog my progress towards accomplishing my

goals. Using the tools and instruction that I have been provided at National University will help

me to be successful in accomplishing what I have designed in the Teacher Performance

Expectations, Domain F.

As beneficial as the process of forming a digital portfolio has been, it is not without its

frustrations. One thing that I would like to focus on in the next few years is increasing the

number of artifacts that I have of student growth and my development as an educator. At the end

of the year, I allow my students to take all their work home. This is a process that I want to
Progress Report 4

maintain, however, I would like to save work that demonstrated growth and progress of my

students. Another practice that I would like to begin is having the ability to record lessons so

that I can critique my instruction more frequently. I found this very beneficial with the video

that I posted under TPE Domain C. Having the ability to watch yourself after the fact provides

you with a plethora of information on your practices and instruction. Watching these videos

allows me to question how well I implemented best practices and see it in action.

After creating the digital portfolio, I questioned if an assignment of this nature could be

given to my middle school students. Would they be able to create a compilation of their growth

at the end of the school year? Would they be able to critically analyze their development within

the school year? Is this grade level too early to be developing higher-level products such as a

portfolio? I recognize that my students are young and this is their first year in a classroom

environment that is preparing them for high school style learning. This can be a hard change to

adjust to. However, I have seen my students develop research projects and create websites that

astonished high school teachers. If that is possible, then I strongly feel that my students are

capable of analyzing their growth as a student over the course of the school year.

The creation and implementation of the digital portfolio has influenced my Professional

Learning Community (PLC). My department head, who is also my BTSA induction mentor, has

seen the steps that I have taken to implement the learning that I have gathered throughout my

time at National University. He has challenged me to increase the incorporation of these

techniques that support all types of students in the classroom. In our area, a large majority of

students are English learners or low level readers that struggle with the complex nature of

Medieval History. However, through his support and the support of my instructors, I have

worked to establish a classroom that engages in academic conversation and scholarly research to
Progress Report 5

discuss ideas like the impact of the Protestant Reformation or the benefits of a Civil Service

Exam in Medieval China. Some of these ideas and concepts are difficult for the average adult to

process and I recognize that the inclusion of teaching techniques that I have outlined in my

PDQP is the factor of change in the classroom.

In the twenty-first century, there is a link or video for almost anything that you can think

of. There is no end to the amount of information that we have access to. However, this can

lessen the value of that information and make it difficult to find extraordinary tools to apply to

the classroom. The PDQP allows my peers and I to exchange ideas, techniques, and commentary

on the various Best Practices tools. These artifacts are tried and true. Tested and adapted by

other instructors allows the audience to know what is beneficial and can be applied with only

minor changes. This is a time saving convenience for educators. Hundley and Brock in their

compilation of growth mindset coaching declare, “teaching is a practice, not a perfection” (11).

This philosophy is supported with the concept behind the Professional Development Quest

Portfolio.

To continue the plans that I have to improve instruction practices to benefit the learning

of my students, I will continue to use the PDQP as a resource to improve my teaching. I will use

the tool as an inspector on strategies that work and enhance those that do not produce growth

within the learning environment. It is my goal to create within my students a passion for

learning. As passionate as I am about history and teaching it to my two hundred twelve year

olds, that will not produce a functioning learning environment if I am not using effective

strategies. The PDQP will be a database that I (and any other willing participant) can reference

to as a collection of useful sources. In the long term, the desired outcome is that the
Progress Report 6

incorporation of these teaching practices will create local and globally minded citizens that

participate in their communities and work to leave it in a better state for the next generation.
Progress Report 7

References

Brock, A., & Hundley, H. (2017). The Growth Mindset Playbook: A Teacher’s Guide

to Promoting Student Success. Berkley, CA: Ulysses Press.

Mizell, Hayes “Why Professional Development Matters,” Learning Forward, 2010.