Participating in a Professional Community (TESS 4d) + Advocacy for

Young Adolescents and Developmentally Responsive Schooling

Practices (AMLE Standard 5, Element b)

To the left is an image of one of the certificates that I received from participating in my
professional community in college. As I went through the semester we were continually
taught that being a teacher meant that I had to continually develop myself professionally
through different programs meant to boost
my knowledge of teaching the content to
my students. This isn’t the only aspect of a
teacher that grows professionally however.
Any aspect of a school environment is
something that a teacher can participate in.
When in college, I was constantly shown
an environment where teachers are
constantly striving to achieve a higher level
of learning for themselves as well as for the
education of their students. It was through this constant administering of professional
development that I realized the importance of maintaining accurate knowledge of real
and current education practices. As a teacher, I learned that using these practices could
help to maintain a cooperative, engaging, and positive classroom.

When examining this practice, I believe that it best adheres to the 9th
characteristic of the This We Believe characteristics which states “Ongoing professional
development reflects best educational practices. When a teacher implements these
practices, they are ensuring that they adhere to the best version of themselves that their
students require to have an effective level of education. Standard 5 of the AMLE
standards defines element b as “Middle level teacher candidates serve as advocates for
all young adolescents and for developmentally responsive schooling practices. They are
informed advocates… ”. When a teacher goes to a professional development
conference, they learn about ways to implement the standards in the best methods
possible. Attending these conferences helps to establish the knowledge that the I will
then use to educate the aspiring minds of my young adolescents.