Professional Path – Action Plan

Goals and Gap Analysis

Xavier Williams

Unit 4 Assignment 1

Professional Path: Goals and Gap Analysis

Overview

Education Support Professionals (ESPs) are important members of the education fraternity and the society in general. This is because they ensure learners have successfully gone through their education process all the way from pre-school to college. Basically, these professionals have a wealth of knowledge, experience, and commitment and play fundamental roles in the school community as they prepare students to become better members of the society (Osewalt, 2018). Personally, I am an ESP professional who has worked in different learning institutions in different positions. For instance, as a Para-educator, I have previously worked as a non-instructional teacher and library aide in an educational complex that had an elementary school for the special needs students and a high school for general education students. As a teacher, I dealt with both special needs students and high school students. Also, I doubled up as a library assistant for the high school students. I have also worked in the position of a policy coordinator for a paraprofessionals’ resource center. Currently, I am working as an ESP teacher.

Goals

My professional goal as an ESP specialist is to help children with learning and attention problems in the classroom. As a matter of fact, there is nothing that gives me contentment than working one-on-one with children particularly those with special needs. As a one-on-one ESP teacher I envisage to work in an institution for the children with special needs. In such a position, I will be able to attend to children who require extra support in their learning processes. Other than helping them out in learning, I can also work with or go out with such children to occupational therapy and speech therapy among other therapies (Osewalt, 2018).

Moreover, in the next two three years, I also envision to continue working with students in general education classrooms. So far, I have work with general education students as well as special need students separately, in a support position. In the near future, I would like to work in an institution whereby general education students and special needs are taught together in the same classrooms. Generally, this is for the purpose of utilizing my competencies in ESP responsibilities and to observe the differences in learning between the two categories of students. However, in instances whereby learners cannot be put together, I would like to attend to students with learning and attention problems in autonomous classrooms. The need to see maximum outcomes in such students motivates me to work with them in small groups with the general students at least to reinforce what they have learned from their ordinary teachers.

Besides working as an ESP teacher, I also want to work as an online instructor for online criminal justice classes at the university level. Already, I have studied and graduated with a Master’s Degree in criminal justice from an internationally recognized university. The university is also accredited by the agency acknowledged by US Department of Education. Currently, I have been working on part time basis as legal tutor at a legal school in my state. Indeed, this makes me to be highly qualified for the job. However, my intention to venture into online criminal justice teaching is informed by the need to provide quality instruction to students through well prepared classes, appropriate lessons, and fair assessments of learning. In addition, in such a position, I will be able to support academic success for at-risk learners and offer clear certification of students’ progress. Bearing in mind that online learning is the next academic frontier, I look forward to reaching as many criminal justice students as possible, in line with my professional goal. Understandably, online classes in any field can be attended by students not only from the US but anywhere and anytime from across the globe.

Gap Analysis

Accordingly, I have the relevant knowledge and skills needed to work as a paraprofessional teacher. Having worked as a Para-educator and library aide, I have developed the essential skills that one need to work with children. In other words, I have learnt most of my skills and experience on the job. Specifically, I enjoy working with children and I have a positive attitude towards children (Osewalt, 2018). Academically, I have completed a two year course from a community college and passed a formal test on the ability to help in writing, reading and math instruction. The National Resource Center for Paraprofessionals is a professional organization that I can use to achieve my professional objectives. The body endeavors to improve the recruitment, deployment and career development of paraprofessional teachers (National Education Association, 2017).

On criminal justice online instructor’s position, I have a wealth of knowledge on the subject field. Specifically, I can teach the relevant courses, prepare course material and lessons, also provide interesting and suitable assignments for students to demonstrate learning results in a real life environment and ensure program learning outcomes are given and delivered as required in the syllabus. The National Criminal Justice Association (NCJA) is one of the professional organizations in the criminal justice field that I intend to leverage so as I can achieve my professional goals. In this respect, there is much I can learn from this body so as to succeed as an online criminal justice instructor at a college level.

Conclusions

Overall, my professional goals are to assist learners both in their early learning stages as well as in the higher institutions of education. As usual, my qualifications align well with my professional goal of becoming an ESP teacher as well as an online criminal justice instructor. With relevant skills and knowledge on these subject fields, I have no doubt that I will excel in my career as a teacher.

References

National Criminal Justice Association. (No date). Retrieved from https://www.ncja.org/home

National Education Association (2017). Educational support professionals. Retrieved from www.nea.org/home/education-support-professionals-esp-resources.html

Osewalt, G. (2018). Paraprofessional: Who they are and what they do. Retrieved from https://www.understood.org/en/school-learning/partnering-with-childs-school/working- with-childs-teacher/paraprofessionals-who-they-are-and-what-they-do