Alyson McDonald

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
ARA CONFERENCE
It was such an amazing opportunity to be able to attend the ARA conference as a preservice teacher. Each day of the conference and each speaker gave me a lot of information and
great perspective into the professional world of education. After the conference I feel like I
learned not only a lot of positive information but I learned the need for a community of
educators. I love how the conference was an collection of educators sharing their findings to
better each individual teacher with the purpose of bettering a students education. This
conference really stressed the necessity of collaboration among teachers and the impact these
conference can have on students all around the state.
The first session Ive never written so much from Jeff Anderson was so engaging and a
great way to start off the conference. Out of all the sessions over both days this one was my
favorite. I feel like in class we havent talked a lot about writing yet and so I really enjoyed
hearing what Dr. Anderson had to say about it. He talked a lot about feedback and how important
that is when teaching students to write to give meaningful feedback. Anderson said the child is
more important than the writing. This challenged me to uplift a childs effort not just in writing,
but in all content areas. Its important to remember that in elementary education we are not just
teaching them content, but we are teaching them their attitude towards learning.
Dr. Tommy Bices session was another one of my favorite sessions. This session really
inspired me to be a better teacher and gave me encouragement about the education system as a
whole. It was such a cool experience to be able hear from the Alabama super intendant and listen

to him share his plans and vision for our education system. He stated he wanted to raise the
expectations, up the standards, and increase graduation. This really motivated me and
encouraged me to do my best and think out of the box for each of my future students.
Overall, I enjoyed the ARA conference and I feel like each day I grew more as a future
educator. Attending this conference was an amazing opportunity and I look forward to other
opportunities like this to better myself to better my future students.

PLP GROUP
The PLP group with the family studies leader was a very effective and from those
sessions I gained valuable information that will help me in my future classroom when dealing
with students and their parents. Our groups leader, Sarah, walked us through information about
personality types, how to handle conflict with parents, and strategies on how to hold an effective
parent teacher conference. We met and discussed the information the family studies majors put
together for us in group settings and over google hangout. It was very helpful to have this group
to look at our students and their parents from a different, more educated perspective.
The group started by assessing our own personalities. We took Myers Briggs personality
tests and discussed our results. I was an ESFJ and from this Sarah told me many of my qualities
and other information like how I handle conflict and the students in the class. That transitioned
into our second session we had on google hangout about communication. We discussed how to
convey bad news to parents, the different kinds of communication skills and how they connect
with personality type, and how to listen to parents and students. In the third session we discussed
the different kinds of parenting and discipline. It was important to go over this to help understand

what the child is used to at home and understand the effects the parenting style has on a students
behavior in the classroom. Then lesson 4 we looked at what kind of teacher we are. Sarah went
over the different kinds of teachers there are and how that effects our students and our classroom.
We found that I am The Idealist. This means that my classroom will thrive on praise and
feedback. I am enthusiastic about learning and extracurricular actives. Creativity will be
encouraged in my classroom. The Idealist teacher is the kind of teacher I will strive to be.
I think that the PLP was very effective and modeled a real life school setting. This taught
me how important it will be as a teacher to collaborate with support staff, like guidance
counselors, at a school. As teachers it is so important to understand the students and the parents
in the class. It is important to first determine the teachers personality and teaching style. Then it
is necessary to learn how to fit that with the parents and the students personalities. As a teacher
we must truly understand our students to provide them with the best classroom experience
possible. The PLP group highlighted the importance of being aware of the different personalities,
the effect a parent has on a students behavior, having strong communication skills, as well as
being self-aware.

ELL WORKSHOP
The ELL workshop had a lot of information packed into 7 hours over 2 days. Overall I
found the conference very informative and comforting. Prior to the conference I was very
overwhelmed with the idea of having an ELL student in my classroom. I took 3 years of Spanish
in high school and I dont remember very much of it honestly. I also have a difficult time
connecting with the students in my clinical placement that are ELL. It just overwhelms me

thinking that not only do I need to teach them the class content, but English as well. But now, I
honestly feel much more prepared and much more at ease.
The speaker Lori Valtierra highlighted the importance of being prepared and the necessity
of ELL training. In her presentation we examined how students acquire a second language, WDA
sources, the components of academic language, and practical strategies to help EL students
master content. There are 49 different languages in Jefferson county alone and Arabic is the
fastest growing in the area. This statement alone grasped my attention. I started to get more and
more concerned and more and more aware of the need to prepare myself for an ELL student in
the classroom. Valtierra began by explaining the general fundamentals of language acquisition.
She explained in general students acquire language through their parents talking to them. Voltaire
shared with us how it is so important to work with all four of the language domains listening,
speaking, reading, and writing when working with an ELL student.
The speaker stressed that language acquisition is a process rather than an event. The
process starts with the preproduction or silent period, the early production, speech emergence,
intermediate fluency, and then advanced fluency. The process starts with students just actively
listening and participating with little speech to students engaging in non-cued conversations and
gaining vocabulary and grammar skills. Valtierra explained that is is very important to remember
that all students go through this process at different paces and all begin at the same point in the
process regardless of age. While working with students in this process the speaker explained that
the most effective way to teach is through modeling. Constantly correcting the student is a

mistake because it will cause the student to shut down and the language acquisition process to
shut down as well.
Something that Valtierra explained that really stood out to me and helped me understand
a students language was the iceberg model. The iceberg model states that a students language is
made up of two components: BICS and CALP. BICS stands for basic interpersonal
communication skills. This is a students surface level language. This type of language is often
referred to as play ground language. This type of language develops socially through TV and
movies, peers, retelling events, and context. It takes 1-2 two years for this kind of language to
develop. The second component of language according to the iceberg model is CALP. CALP
stands for cognitive academic language proficiency. CALP is not the academic language, but the
academic practices embedded in the language. This type of language is what makes a child
successful in school. Students are exposed to this kind of language through lectures, written text,
and higher level humor. This type of language puts more pressure on a student. This language
component takes 5 years or more to develop depending on a persons exposure.
Valtierra also shared with us the WIDA English proficiency levels. These levels are very
important when assessing an ELL student because these can be used to help a teacher indicate
how to teach the child. Level 1 and 2 are known as the entering and emerging levels. These two
levels are when a child is just beginning to be exposed to english. Level 3 is the developing level
followed by level 4 explaining and level 5 bridging. The last WIDA level of English proficiency
is level 6 reaching. This level is for when students have a firm grasp on English and are then able
to push themselves further connecting subject areas and other aspects of language.

Both days of the ELL conference were helpful and made me feel a lot more confident
about teaching ELL students. Before this workshop I didn't have knowledge or understanding of
language acquisition or ELL students in general. Valterri shared so much valuable information
with us over the two days. Through this workshop I now feel much more prepared and equipped
to truly help and make a difference in an ELL students academic path.
MOST LIKELY TO SUCCEED MOVIE AND PANEL
I am so glad I had the opportunity to attend the Most Likely to Succeed movie and
panel. The movie explored the past history of the American Education System, the present, and
where our schools are heading in the future. The movie and panel addressed many topics of
discussion in education like technology in the classroom, innovation, and curriculum. I left this
event inspired, optimistic for the future, and encouraged to go beyond expectations. The movie
takes a hard look at the current education system and assess if we need to take a step back and
reinvent out school system and how we can do that in a way that benefits students and prepares
them for careers in the 21st century.
This movie highlighted the fact that since our society has changed and our need as
educators and a school system to change with it. The movie took a look at a high tech high
school that focused on teaching students skills rather than knowledge. In High Tech High there
are no bells, no class periods, and there is no set curriculum. In this school they are doing things
like reinventing Athens in modern pakistathn. The teacher creates the curriculum and is
evaluated on their results. These type of schools work on making students more marketable in
the 21st century. The movie interviewed CEOs from google and other top performing
companies and they explained that they aren't looking to higher the people with the highest test

scores. They want to higher people who know how to think, how to innovate, and how
collaborate.
This movie inspired me to think about education in a way I hadn't before. I think as a preservice teacher I sometimes limit myself to my own elementary experiences. This movie inspired
me to think outside the box. It also highlighted to me the necessity for teachers to innovate in the
classroom. Rather than replicating what my past teachers did this movie highlighted the necessity
for me to be an innovator. This movie and the lecture at the ARA conference from Alabamas
supernatant earlier that day really made me excited about the potential for change in our
education system. It made me excited to think that as a teacher I am not limited by a certain way
to do things. In my classroom I want to grow students to be successful adults. I want to teach my
students how to think rather than hand them knowledge. The movie said right now we teach our
students to memorize, we need to begin to teach students how to learn. This skill is so important
in our world today. I think that a balance between traditional educational settings and new
innovative methods are where I will fall as a teacher. I do not feel like the school featured in the
film is the perfect model for our new education system, but I think it is a step in the right
direction. From this movie and panel I feel excited and encouraged about the future, I also feel
excited that there is potential for change.