Professional Development Plan Template
Goal #1: Build a support team Goal #2: Improve classroom
Rationale: This goal is important because
teaching can be exhausting and
emotionally draining. Whether it’s a
particularly challenging student or
balancing work and home life, stress
is a part of the job, and other teachers
are invaluable sources of support. I
heard the first year of teaching can be
the most difficult, as you are building
your lessons and materials. It can also
be challenging to navigate a school,
district, and state policies and
procedures. The support of veteran
teachers can help me to understand
the policies and procedures on a local
and state level. When I feel
supported, I can better extend the
same support to my students.
End Date: I expect to accomplish this goal by
the end of my first year of teaching.
My support team will consist of
teachers I have networked with
throughout student teaching, new
team members, and professionals
from conferences.
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Goal #3: Join and participate in
management strategies and
techniques
Classroom management is crucial in
every classroom. Effective teaching
and learning can’t take place in a
poorly managed classroom. Without
effective classroom management
chaos becomes the norms. I choose
classroom management as a goal
because I know how important it is to
have a classroom run smoothly. All
students deserve the best opportunity
to learn. Students will benefit from
limited distractions and interruptions.
Once students know the schedule and
expectations, they will be able to
focus on learning. Classroom
management strategies also assist
students to monitor and take
ownership of their behavior.
I plan to accomplish this goal by the
end of my third year of teaching.
However, each group of students vary
from year to year. This goal can take
time to achieve and can change
depending on the overall behavior of
the classroom.
a professional organization/club
The strength of teachers often comes
from their connections with other
educational professionals. I choose
the goal to join and participate in a
professional organization because it
puts me in contact with other
educators, educational administrators,
and legislators that advocate for
children’s right to education. These
organizations also offer professional
resources that support teachers within
the classroom. This will allow me to
exploit my skills and knowledge for
the benefit of the students and the
institution which I teach. The support
and benefit of advocacy will benefit
the future of my student’s education.
I plan to achieve this goal by the
middle of second year of teaching.
By the end of my first year of
teaching, I will have researched and
interviewed three professional
organizations to consider joining.

Action Timeline: I will begin to build relationships
with my team, once I am hired and
had the opportunity to meet the team
members.
Most school districts provide a
mentor teacher for new teachers.
Once I have my placement, I will
reach out to my mentor teacher and
communicate regularly.
Over the course of the next school
year, I plan to attend 2-3 trainings
and/or conferences on topics of
interest.
Resources: What Most districts have same grade level
resources are teachers work together to plan
available to assist you curriculum and assessments. I will
in accomplishing your use this as a resource to build my
goal? support team and use their knowledge
to enhance my teaching skills.
Networking and attending
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My goal is to have 4 classroom
management strategies that proven to
be effective by the end of my second
year of teaching.
I will spend the last two weeks of my
student teaching interviewing veteran
teachers. I will seek knowledge and
information regarding classroom
management strategies they use
within their classroom.
Once hired, I will work alongside my
cooperating teacher to brainstorm a
list of classroom management
strategies.
As I teach each year, I will use trial
and error for a variety of classroom
techniques. I will take note of the
effectiveness of each technique and
the best situations that it was useful.
When a method proves to be effective
to the student or the class, I will use
that method throughout my teaching
career.
There are a variety of online courses
as well as in person classes to assist
me with new ideas on classroom
management. I will also use my
support team and other professionals
around me to find new ideas
regarding classroom management.
I will spend the last several weeks of
my student teaching and my first year
of teaching interviewing teachers to
gain knowledge of different
professional organizations.
During my first year of teaching, I
will research, interview, and
participate in three different
professional organizations.
At the beginning of my second year
of teaching, I will commit to joining
one professional organization that I
am interested in.
I will use networking and
professional conferences to interview
veteran teachers on professional
organizations. Most professional
organizations have online sites and
information related to their
organization. I will use their websites
conferences will help obtain my goal and any reviews made against their
of building a support team. organization.

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