How to Act Professionally

Lesson Content

• Lesson Plan Template:

  CTE Lesson Plan

• CTE Course Info and Benchmark Notes

  
  

  Career Cluster: Education & Training

  Course Number & Title: Introduction to the Teaching Profession- 8909010

  Course Type: CAR-PREP - High School Career Preparatory Program

  Program Name: Principles of Teaching

• Unit Outline

  
  

  This lesson is designed to be used with the case study, "Is that what it means to be professional?" CPALMS Resource ID# 219306.

• Career Connection

  
  

  The lesson plan is designed to introduce students to a real life career scenario and improve education industry knowledge by integrating practical activities and reflection opportunities. In the domain of character, students will gain a deeper understanding of the skills surrounding tactfulness and personal integrity. Students will present and demonstrate an understanding of both these skills throughout the lesson.

• Learning Objectives

  
  

  Students will be able to:

  • Evaluate professional and non-professional behaviors in the educational system.
  • Discuss professionalism in the field of education.
  • Demonstrate examples of professional and non-professional behaviors within a school/ classroom setting.
  • Reflect on how an individual can plan on being a professional educational leader.

• Prior Knowledge

  
  

  Students should have a basic understanding of...

  • Professional behavior an educator is expected to have inside and outside the classroom.
  • What professionalism means in education.

• Guiding Questions

  
  
  • How does an educators professionalism affect school culture?
  • How can an educators professional behavior affect student success?

• Procedure

  
  

  Introduction:

  Using the attachment, Professionalism Definition and Examples T-Chart, have students independently write their answers to the prompt below.

  • List 2 words that come to your mind when you hear the word ‘Professionalism’. Write word one on the first line of the attachment and word two on the second line.

  Randomly pair students and have them respond to following prompt.

  • Using at least 2 of you and your partner's words, create a definition of professionalism. Write the final definition on attached document.

  Have students share their definitions looking for similarities and differences among responses.

  Activity:

  1. Give each student a copy of the Case Study: Is that what it means to be professional? CPALMS Resource ID# 219306.
  2. After allowing students time to read the case study, pose the following questions:
  • In what ways was Ms. Booth acting professionally?
  • In what ways was Ms. Booth’s professionalism in question?
  • How would you assess her overall professionalism?
  • What alternate ways could Ms. Booth have acted in the case study for situations that question her professionalism?
  • What steps could Remy have taken to address her concerns with Ms. Booth?
  3. Allow students time to think critically and discuss the topic of professionalism in schools with their peers through the guided questions. Have students fill out the T-Chart on the attached document with examples and nonexamples of professionalism from the scenario within the case study.
  4. Challenge students to develop alternative approaches for addressing potentially unprofessional or unethical situations.
  5. Once these scenarios of appropriate professionalism have been discussed, students will partner up to role-play the professionalism scenarios. They can either correct one of the scenarios in the case study or create a new one related to a classroom setting.
  6. With a partner, students will create a scenario script for the situation they chose. Teachers can provide the scenarios below for students to choose from or allow them to create their own.
  • Appropriate verbal communication: A parent is upset about their child's grade. They call you frustrated. What is a professional and unprofessional example of how a teacher should respond?
  • Appropriate written communication: The principal at your school is looking to start a new task force team for career planning and has asked you to lead it, but you have so much on your plate already and simply cannot handle doing something else. What is a professional and unprofessional example of how a teacher should respond?
  • Punctuality: You are assigned morning duty at the student entrance, and you need to have the doors open at 6:45 AM every day. What is a professional and unprofessional example of how a teacher should arrive?
  • Body language: A student comes in late, clearly upset, not concerned about hygiene, and looks like he rushed to get here with few options for clothing. This is not the first time he has arrived late and caused a significant distraction. What is a professional and unprofessional example of how a teacher should respond?
  • Electronic devices: In the middle of your lesson, your personal cell phone starts to ring. What is a professional and unprofessional example of how a teacher should respond?
  7. Students will take turns acting out their role-play and then receive feedback and/or participate in discussions on how professionalism was or was not demonstrated in the scenario.

  Conclusion:

  Students will conclude the lesson by reflecting on their discussions and alternative endings in their journals, answering the questions below. Additionally, the teacher will pose both standards on the board for students to reflect on and rate their understanding of each standard in their journals. The teacher will evaluate student journal entries to check their understanding.

  • What are some key takeaways regarding professionalism and ethics in the classroom?
  • What are some simple guidelines you plan to adhere to ensure you are always professional?
  • How do you think you would handle a situation in which a coworker was unprofessional or doing something unethical?

• Teacher Notes

  
  

  Allow students time to discuss what professionalism looks like and how the teacher did not act correctly. If students disagree have them work through defending why they feel that way.

  Give students the option of how they want to role play. They can use a recreated solution that aligns with the case study or create a new one.

• Optional