Jenny Messina-Throop developed a professional development plan to improve support for English learners in her school district. The plan included a rationale for change, an agenda of research-based training topics, keynote presentations, and an evaluation. Training sessions were provided to all teachers and administrators on assessments, language acquisition, needs of newcomers, and valuing culture. According to evaluations, teachers felt more capable of supporting English learners and connecting with them as a result of the improved program. For next year, Jenny plans to modify the presentation format to be more engaging by dividing teachers into groups that will rotate through stations on each topic.

1. Original Contribution 1
Original Contribution
Jenny Messina-Throop
American College of Education

2. Original Contribution 2
Throughout the duration of my masters’ experience, I have employed inquiry
methods to develop my strengths as a teacher and to improve my instructional
program. I have often pondered the components of my program that are promoting
excellence and those that need attention. Reflection is a major component of
learning, and through reflection I was able to gain insight into how to improve
learning in my district for English learners.
My original contribution component is comprised of four components: A
rational; an agenda for professional development; a keynote presentation; and an
evaluation form. Through these components, I will share my reasoning for
developing and implementing a plan for change, the methods to achieving that task,
and feedback from those it has impacted.
Early on in my masters’ journey, I noticed a gap in achievement for English
learners. I began closely observing this population and having deep conversations
with stakeholders, including teachers, administrators, parents, students, and
community members. I soon discovered that there was a distinct lack of
professional development and training for teachers and other school members on
how to meet the needs of this diverse group. I decided that this must change.
I began meeting with my colleagues who are specialists in English language
learning. We had tough discussions about our program, and what we were doing to
provide support to teachers, administrators, students, and parents to promote high
achievement. We soon discovered what we already knew: We simply weren’t doing
enough.

3. Original Contribution 3
Together, as a team, we developed training sessions for teachers to provide
them with the tools they need to better meet the needs of these students, and set up
meetings to provide direct support for classroom teachers on a scheduled basis. The
training sessions were all research based and topics were chosen that have been
proven to support this subgroup. The topics included assessments for English
learners, stages of language acquisition, characteristics and needs of newcomers,
and valuing culture. They were presented in the form of keynote presentations
accompanied by engaging activities. Every teacher and administrator in the district
attended the sessions.
In this original contribution, the keynote slideshows will be shared as the
next piece. Following that component, I will present the evaluation form used by
teachers and administrators to evaluate the value of the changes in program. It has
been highly reported by all teachers that they feel more capable of meeting the
needs of this population, that they feel that have effective strategies that will benefit
learners, and that they feel more connected to the English learner students and
teachers in the district. This project has promoted change and benefitted teaching
and learning tremendously.
I intend to implement some small changes to improve the value of learning
for next year. The format of presentation is going to change. I will be dividing the
teachers into five groups, and will share one topic with each group. I will then have
the teachers rotate so that they hear the information on each topic, keeping a chart
paper at each station for them to add new learning, questions, and suggests. I feel
that this format will be more engaging and more meaningful to the teachers.