EDLD 5389 – Developing Effective Professional Leadership

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As I look back on my journey through EDLD 5389, I’m proud of the work I’ve done and the growth I’ve experienced. This course pushed me to think more intentionally about professional development, not just as something educators go through, but something we help shape. I’ve worked hard to stay engaged, meet all deadlines, revise based on feedback, and support others through collaboration. I’ve grown in how I view leadership, the design of professional learning, and how to make space for teachers to have ownership in their growth.

 

What Is Working

One thing that worked really well for me in this course was the alignment between the projects and my innovation plan. Every assignment directly built on my real-world context, which helped me apply the concepts in a meaningful way. In Week 3, my Alternate PL - Call to Action assignment gave me a chance to advocate for professional learning that respects teachers' time and encourages application. I built on that in Week 5 with my Planning the Alternative PL assignment where I developed a detailed roadmap that shifted from “sit and get” to “go and show.” For the final Connecting and communicating your ideas assignment, I compiled everything into a clear, accessible ePortfolio page that could realistically be used in my district. These assignments helped me bring together what I value, authentic, collaborative learning, with a strong foundation to support it.

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Collaborating with my group throughout the course was another major strength. I consistently worked with Angela, Ann, Kelsie, and Leslie. We used GroupMe to check in, share progress, and help each other stay on track. They were the first people I went to when I wanted feedback or felt stuck. We helped each other grow, and that support system made a huge difference in my confidence. While those were the main people I worked with, we also had a full class GroupMe where everyone could post and interact. It was very helpful for those who may have missed a class, or was confused on what to do.

 

Areas for Improvement

While I’ve grown a lot in this course, I feel like there’s still room to improve. Like many working parents, time management is always a challenge. I turned everything in on time, but I didn’t always give myself extra space for the best revisions until the last minute. In future courses, I’d like to start drafts earlier and give myself more time for reflection before finalizing my work.

Another area I’d like to work on is participating earlier in discussions. I was active and contributed thoughtful responses, but I want to get better about posting earlier in the week so my replies are more timely for others to engage with. I also want to challenge myself to go deeper with research, pulling in case studies or examples from outside the provided texts to strengthen my arguments.

 

Contributions to the Learning Community

Throughout EDLD 5389, I’ve made it a priority to not just focus on my own work, but to contribute to the group. I regularly responded to peers in discussions, offered feedback, and cheered others on when they shared wins. I revised all of my major assignments based on both instructor and peer input, which helped me improve the clarity and organization of my ideas.

One example of this was during the PL Outline week, when several of us were struggling to format our ideas in a way that made sense. I shared a visual organizer that helped me, and a few others ended up using it too. I also encouraged my group members to think about how to “package” their content visually for admin, not just conceptually. Those little moments of collaboration reminded me that we’re all better when we help each other do our best.

 

Justification of Score

Based on my level of participation, timely submissions, engagement in collaboration, and ongoing revision of my work, I believe my contributions align with a score of 90/100. I met all key contributions and participated actively in the learning community. My work was grounded in course readings and personal application, and I consistently cited sources using APA style. I helped build my group community, responded thoughtfully to discussions, and demonstrated growth from beginning to end. While I still have areas to improve, my overall performance reflects the dedication, leadership, and self-directed learning this course asked of me.