Planning the Alternative PL Assignment

QTalk Workshop for Elementary
Spanish Teachers

In my previous assignment, A Call to Action, I discussed the limitations of professional development courses offered at my school, particularly their failure to address the specific needs of Spanish language teachers for grades K-8. I highlighted the inadequacy of the traditional “sit and get” model of professional learning and advocated for a shift towards a more dynamic “go and show” approach, where participants engage actively with the material through hands-on and interactive methods.

Dr. Harapnuik emphasized the importance of identifying problems and designing solutions in the form of Alternative Professional Learning courses. In my case, I observed that Spanish teachers across the diocese teach varying curricula, which impedes collaboration and the creation of unified lesson plans. This lack of consistency is a significant barrier, particularly because many of us teach multiple grade levels, each with different goals. The need to develop lesson plans independently for each grade further complicates the workload. However, if all Spanish teachers within the diocese followed a standardized curriculum, we could collaborate more effectively. Regular coordination—through weekly or monthly meetings—would enable us to share the planning load, divide grade-specific responsibilities, and collectively design lessons aligned to a shared curriculum.

To address this, I designed a professional development course using Fink's 3 column table and then created an outline based on a curriculum I currently use for elementary Spanish students. This curriculum aligns with my Innovation Proposal as it leverages an online platform that integrates with classroom technology, and offers interactive content. The resources needed for this course correlate to the overall goal of integrating technology in the classroom to create a blended learning environment.

5 Steps to Successful Business Growth Infographic Graph.png

The primary goal of this professional development course is to encourage other elementary Spanish teachers to adopt the curriculum I am presenting. By doing so, we can create a more collaborative teaching environment that reduces the individual burden of lesson planning. By dividing responsibilities, we foster a community within the Catholic School system that is dedicated to supporting the unique needs of elementary Spanish teachers. While I will facilitate the learning, the course will also provide opportunities for participants to engage in peer teaching, especially in working with chapters from the QTalk workbooks. The intended audience for this course consists of elementary Spanish teachers, many of whom teach across multiple grade levels and are seeking opportunities for collaboration and workload-sharing with their peers.

Through this professional development initiative, my aim is to create a sustainable and collaborative learning environment that not only addresses the needs of elementary Spanish teachers but also fosters the use of a unified curriculum across the diocese which allows teachers to collaborate and share the workload.

In designing this professional development course, I applied Allison Gulamhussein’s 5 Key Principles of Effective Professional Development: