DIY Professional Development Recap

 This semester I was challenged to design my own professional development activity. Something that would best serve my student teaching internship and help me to become a stronger educator. Since I was tasked with teaching Ag Mechanics and Small Gas Engines this semester, two content area that I was not very confident in, I felt it would be a great idea to focus my PD on obtaining some certifications from Briggs and Stratton and spending time practicing my skills in plumbing, electrical wiring and welding. 

Through Briggs and Stratton PowerPortal I was able to take two of their Master Service Technician exams (Theory & General Knowledge and Engine Systems). To prepare for these exams I studied the self paced material fro Briggs and Stratton including watching educational videos on their site and reading from their textbook. Additionally, while I was working through theses exams I was also developing engine system curriculum in the form of digital notebooks for my small engines class. All of this exposure to the material helped to obtain both of these certifications with flying colors. 

I am thankful for the "push" to seek out the Briggs and Stratton certification because they helped me greatly when it came to teaching the content. I had a better understanding on how all the parts worked and functioned together as a system, which helped me to answer student questions and make connections for them.

The second PD activity I took on was to spend some time after school with my CT to discuss different Ag mechanic theory. We practiced plumbing skills such as soldering, CPVC cementing and using PEX which is becoming very popular in the plumbing industry. 

As the semester went on we investigated residential electrical wiring and I brushed up on my skills. My biggest growth in this area was learning how to teach these skills to students. Walking through the 3 step demonstrations and how to best help students understand wiring code. I now feel very confident in my abilities to teach residential electrical wiring!

We wrapped up our after school PD with welding. This is the area where I felt the weakest, however after running through parts of a welding and doing my own research on welding theory I was ready to test my skills. After a few days of practice I felt much more confident my abilities, and this was my favorite unit to teach. 

I even took some time to investigate different welding variables and their affects on weld quality. I used these plates for my interest approach the next day! 

As educators, we have a responsibility to be life long learners and model the growth mindset to our students. While these small PD activities may not seem very substantial, I gained so much from the time and effort I put into improving myself. I choose this placement because I knew the Mechanics and Small Gas courses would challenge my abilities, and I wanted to have an opportunity to learn how to teach this type of course. Now, after 14 weeks working on myself and teaching students in these content areas I feel confident that I can be effective leading my own class one day.