To create a self-improvement plan and to evaluate your plan.

Assignment incomplete without the self reflection

Scenario:
You  are a first-year teacher who is dreading an upcoming conference with  the parents of one of your children, William. The last time you met with  his parents, you brought up the fact that William needed to improve his  social skills. You mentioned that he often teased and occasionally hit  his classmates during playtime. The parents responded with raised voices  and said that he is well-behaved at home and you should do a better job  of disciplining him in the classroom—that was your job. You became  defensive, and then the parents became defensive in turn, with everyone  leaving the meeting in a huff. Your center director, having seen the  parents storm out of the room, called you aside and asked you to reflect  on how you might have handled the situation differently. She also  suggested that you reflect on the idea of “hostility as a mask.” Next,  she asked you to develop strategies for remaining calm and in control at  your next meeting. She concluded by recommending that you make a  self-improvement plan to address all three issues.

Focus Assignment

1.  Create a plan for self-improvement in which you address behaving  defensively with parents. Identify three questions that will help you  reflect on your reaction and how you can handle similar situations  better next time. Second, think deeply about the various dimensions of  hostility, and write a paragraph in which you examine hostility from a  psychological perspective. Last, write three strategies for remaining  calm and professional when you are involved in potentially difficult  conversations with parents in the future.

2. Be sure to read the  SELF-EVALUATION section below to guide your thinking. Write your  self-evaluation after you have completed your self-improvement plan.

Self-Evaluation

1. For each item in your self-improvement plan:
     a. Explain how this item addresses the issues in the scenario.

2. Describe and justify how your self-improvement plan would improve teaching and learning in the scenario.