Contribution to Your Learning and the Learning Community

Self-Assessment Score: 98/100

As the course “EDLD 5389 - Developing Effective Professional Leadership” concludes, I have synthesized my learning by placing Gulamhussein’s (2013) five principles of effective professional learning into action. Composing the Learning Experience was developed using the background knowledge I have acquired by making mixed media to engage my student learners since 2020. Creating a BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) came naturally to me as my target reflected recent conversations I have had with other music educators turned content creators across the country. Since I began the journey of creating video to supplement my lessons, I have discovered ways to streamline my workflow and build templates for others to follow as well. Before entering EDLD 5389, I held meaningful discussions with talented creators such as Tyler Swick and Dr. Sarah Gulish.  Swick’s (2021) article describes what I seek to create with a team of teachers engaged in effective professional learning. By modeling for my coworkers, providing support over an extended duration of three years, and empowering teachers to engage in outcomes-based learning of specific content, I believe that we can be successful in building a library of resources that connects and engages our students (Gulamhussein, 2013).

I have fully immersed myself in the EDLD 5389 learning experience and prioritized communication with my group as I design effective PL. As a leader, I took the responsibility, organizing a GroupMe, Padlet, and multiple Zoom meetings. Together, Jennie Noonan, Sarah McDavid, Tamie Land, Kennedy Tarbutton, Ashley Rose, and I established a community within our course’s cohort. We shared ideas and provided feedback in all three locations, as well as the EDLD 5389 Blackboard discussion boards. Implementing Fink’s (2013) taxonomy requires collaboration to realize a relational and interactive experience. The human dimension became an important part of my learning process, as frequent communication through online messages and video chats with my group led to a realization of the significance of effective professional learning (Fink, 2013). Using my time wisely, I spent hours each day reading, researching and creating, and crafting thoughtful communication ahead of due dates for others to be able to respond. By sharing references and including citations, I was able to provide a source for my thoughts so others could refer to the shared materials. Additionally, I shared other thoughts on our Padlet and GroupMe to contribute to our experience and engage others in my ideas. An example would be the YouTube video I created of our first class, showing others how Dr. Harapnuik is presenting a Call to Action in the meeting.

Observations of the Padlet and Blackboard discussions will show how I have engaged and responded to my classmates’ posts by sharing advice, ideas, answers, or affirming that they were on the right track. Electing to Zoom (video chat) between classes, we were also able to share our thoughts on the information shared in course meetings and resources. Quotes from the Blackboard discussion by my classmate share an insight to my interactions: "Your willingness to share ideas, offer feedback, and model high-quality work has made our small group stronger, and it's been motivating for me personally as I worked on my own PL strategy ... Thank you for all your hard work in creating our Padlets and truly raising the bar for our small group!" 

Revisions were made to both the Call to Action and Planning the Alternative PL assignments after receiving feedback from classmates and my instructional associate. Intending to present with clarity, I defined my Call to Action as a charge to the school district’s professional development council. In Planning the Alternative PL, I revised the top of the page, stating the purpose of my blueprint for effective professional learning. I also separated the sketch of the instructional design, Gagne's Nine Events of Instruction, and the Five Principles of Effective Professional Learning into separate sections. To improve the usability, I utilized some of the available web hosting features to allow viewers to click and enlarge images.

Over the eight weeks, I also completed all course readings, watched the provided videos and resources, and attended and rewatched the class meetings. Despite hurdles presented in my personal life (loss of power for several days), I met all deadlines for the course assignments, presenting what I believe to be my best work. Concluding with the page, Connecting and Communicating Your Ideas, I have organized the professional learning in a format that can be easily shared, which includes links to all previous resources as well as references to support my plan.

As I prepare to present to my coworkers in the fall, I hope to share how my self-motivated journey of learning how to create mixed media will engage the teachers of RTMSD to engage in a similar experience (Toikkanen, 2016). Contributions to my learning community have enhanced my efforts, as the feedback from others has helped me to build a comprehensive instructional design that will serve me when presenting to my administration, colleagues, and other stakeholders.

Supporting Images of Contribution to Learning Community

Blackboard Analytics (Retrieved Wednesday, July 23, 2025)

Screenshots from Zoom conferences with members of my professional learning community

Blackboard Discussion Participation