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Professional Growth Plan


  • ​Antoinette Pinder-Darling, Summer 2014/2015/2016

As a doctoral candidate in the Educational Technology Leadership program at New Jersey City University, I now relate my personal life so closely with my academic life that it is hard to tell where one ends and the other begins. This summer’s institute has allowed me the opportunity to reflect over my life and the direction I wish to take my career. As a librarian, I have learnt that I love teaching people research skills but now I want to become more technology proficient in the classroom and motivate students to take some kind of action (Kouzes and Posner, 1995). I also have an understanding of the use of technology in the process of gaining information literacy and in fostering higher-level thinking skills (Johnson, 2012). At present, I’ve realized that I want to combine my love of teaching with my love of technology and my passion for research and this doctoral program is the avenue to realize such a goal.

I have seen my share of change and have changed many times. The field of educational technology leadership offers diverse skills, competencies and resources which kindled a spark that began this summer. Having the opportunity to get to know a very vibrant group of teacher professionals (doctoral students) as well as engaging faculty during my visit to the campus, I’ve changed, yet again. Although, it was an orientation to my studies, it felt much like professional development. Dr. Zieger’s class got me thinking about who I want to become as an educational technology leader and about social constructivist theory (learning by doing) and mentorship (people who know something that I don’t, have been where I want to go and have done something significant that I would also like to accomplish). The first term has stuck with me since the summer and the second was even more exciting as we got to be publishers. The first year happened and it was not a disappointment. I did think that there would be a seminar on grant-writing for Summer Institute II, but I guess I'll have to do this one on my own. 

Leadership as my classmates and I learnt is the basis of change. For me, the definition of educational technology leadership is an individual who motivates other persons to learn technology, use technology and integrate technology and resources together with each subject-related area of the curriculum to enhance learning both inside and outside the classroom.  Northouse (2013) describes different types of leadership styles and approaches and the ones that I can identify with are authentic and transformational leadership. Authentic leaders “have the right stuff”; they have the right personal qualities to lead. Transformational leaders are able to learn how to be leaders (Gardner, 1990).

Educational Leadership Philosophy

My educational leadership philosophy will be to improve the knowledge and pedagogical tools and skills of less-qualified and poor-resourced teachers (Bracey & Culver, 2005). I plan to get there by obtaining the requisite knowledge and skills to train and assist with teacher training and professional development. I plan to gain additional skills in online teaching, which is a fabulous field to get into. I plan to teach online courses by investing in the right equipment and advancing my skills to be ready to participate in such classes when they become available. This means having a computer that can handle all that I ask of it, which includes downloading and uploading different materials. This will also involve investing money to ensure that I have a good amount of memory for my computer, a decent video card, and of course, software such as Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Familiarity with programs such as Adobe, Photoshop and Internet skills will be rather useful (Learning Express Organization, 2010).

My vision

Is to become a leading 21st century educational technology specialist within the Caribbean by 2017. This will be made manifest upon matriculation, through continued self discipline and commitment until I graduate from New Jersey City University. The process of becoming a technology leader in the region involves re-assessing and evaluating my personal goals continually and this professional growth plan is the starting point. Mike Murdock (2007) discusses six helpful tips that I’ve revised and plan to adopt as benchmarks and these involve:

1) Investing one hour in writing down clearly the goals that really matter to me at this point. 
2) Permitting unexciting goals to diminish by not hanging on to ideas, habits or emotions that detract from my vision. 
3) Limiting my dependence on others who do not share in my vision.
4) Not making permanent decisions based on temporary feelings – this will happen through not giving up but staying committed to the course/plan. 
5) Anticipating changes in some of my goals – prepare to embrace new relationships and experiences that lay ahead
6) Listening to one mentorship tape daily and relying on a professional colleague who can provide encouragement 

As my colleagues and I complete this journey, I hope to learn as much as I can so that I can teach, motivate, and develop to meet the needs of technology education. I am excited about the future of technology as it pertains to education, business, and libraries and have set and achieved the following goals to remain relevant in the field. 

Publications (2014-2021):
​
Pinder-Darling, A., & Welsh, K. (2021). Water availability and access. In Encyclopedia of U.N. Sustainable Development Goals. 

Pinder-Darling, A. (2020, July 28). Partnerships of the philosophy of eating. In Encyclopedia of U.N. Sustainable Development Goals.

Darling, A. (2019). Medicinal and health reflections [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://medicalwriterblog.home.blog/2019/05/09/the-journey-begins/

Pinder-Darling, A. (2018). Advice for the early-career electronic resources librarian. Journal of Electronic Resources Librarianship, 30:2, 108-111, DOI:10.1080/1941126X.2018.1465583

Darling, A., Sheehy, N., & Sosa, M. (2015). European challenges in technology and its influences on education and training. Journal of Applied Learning Technology, 5(2), 22-29.
 
Nicholls, D., Russell-Smith, C., Dean-Patterson, S., Deveaux-Stuart, L. D., Gibson-Mobley, I., Williams, E. J, Pinder-Darling, A., & Fielding, W. J. (2014). Attitudes of high school students regarding intimate relationships and gender norms in New Providence, The Bahamas. The International Journal of Bahamian Studies, 20(1), 38-51. Retrieved from http://journals.sfu.ca/cob/index.php/files/article/view/225/268

Pinder-Darling, A. (2016, February 25). Strong local libraries, stronger Bahamian societies. Nassau Guardian, p. B10. 

Presentations:

Pinder-Darling, A., Nagler, D., Sosa, M. & Safanova, A. (2016, March). 2016 Girls in Technology Workshop. Presented at The Hudson County Community College. 

Pinder-Darling, A. (2016, February). Creating an online portfolio. In Berthamae Walker (Chair), Library Symposium 4.0. Symposium conducted at the Harry C. Moore Library & Information Center at The College of The Bahamas.

Pinder-Darling, A., Nagler, D., & Healy, M. (2015, March). Get Your Game On! MMORPGs in K-12 Education. Paper presented at NJEDge Conference at New Jersey City University.

Pinder-Darling, A. (2016, March). How to avoid plagiarism in academia: A librarian’s perspective. Presented at Business Week 2016: Building a stronger economy through Entrepreneurship, Creativity and Innovation at The College of The Bahamas.  

 Accomplishments  2014-2016
<<<Leadership and Service Activities

Short-term goals for 2015/2016:
  • To present at conferences related to my current coursework such as Girls in Technology  (Proposals to be submitted by March 2016). 
  • Attend the American Library Association (ALA) conference  (Summer 2016)  
  • To prepare an article on libraries for COB's Annual Library Symposium (Spring 2016).
  • To take a MOOC course (subject: virtual education)

Long-term goals for 2017 and beyond:
  • To write and finish the dissertation and prepare to graduate by Spring 2017.
  • To serve on a Technology Committee (post-doctoral goal). 
  • To teach an online course (post-doctoral goal). 
  • To work as a consultant for the government to train information technology teachers (post-doctoral goal).

References

Bracey, B., & Culver, T. (2005). Harnessing the potential of ICT for education: A multi-stakeholder approach. New York, NY: United Nations ICT Task Force.

Gardner, J. W. (1990). Gardner on leadership. New York, NY: Free Press.

Johnson, D. (2012). The classroom teacher’s technology survival guide (1st ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Kouzes, J. M., & Posner, B. Z. (1995). The leadership challenge: How to keep getting extraordinary things done in organizations. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Learning Express Organization. (2010).  Best careers for teachers: Discover alternative options to make the most of your teaching degree. New York, NY: Author. 

Murdock, M. (2007).  31 secrets for career success. Ft. Worth, TX: The Wisdom Center.

Northouse, P. G. (2013). Leadership: Theory and practice (6th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.