Getting an IDT Position and Succeeding at It

My Background

I am currently in my ninth year of education and my sixth year in teaching. For three years I was a substitute teacher, for two years I was a fifth grade science/social studies/guided reading teacher, for three years I was a sixth grade science/guided reading teacher and I am currently a k-5 interventionist that works with small groups of students primarily in reading and math. I am currently in my second to last semester of grad school where I am obtaining my M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction. I would eventually like to obtain an instructional coach position specifically focusing on science, technology integration or intervention.

IDT

When I originally set out to obtain my M.Ed. I wanted to be a curriculum coordinator mostly because at the job I was in then, there was not much curricular support and I wanted to change that. Although, now that I am approaching graduation I am finding my self leaning more towards instructional support and helping educators in the classroom address their weaknesses and enhance their strengths. Over the years I have found the people who are most helpful to me are those who are in my classroom telling me what I need to work on and how I can make my instruction better and that is where I want to be. Right now I honestly love my job and I can't see myself wanting to do anything but intervention for the next few years but when I am ready I would like to venture into the job role of an instructional coach specifically working with science, technology integration or interventionists.

Throughout my coursework I have completed the three required classes for my degree and have focused my elective classes on  areas in which I would like to provide most support in such as science and technology. Part of the reason why I took this particular course as well as another technology course was so that I could have more background in technology. Through in particular I have obtained a lot of valuable information that I think will help me to become successful instructional coach and look forward to implementing a lot of the concepts and frameworks that we have discussed over the semester.

Professional Organizations

 Professional organizations that I think would beneficial for me to participate in are:

NSTA (National Science Teachers Association)
STAT (Science Teacher Association of Texas)
ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education)
TCEA (Texas Computer Education Association)
ACTE (Association for Career and Technical Education)
ISEA (International STEM Education Association)

I believe participating in a few if not all of these organizations would further my professional development and increase my knowledge post- graduation. The journals and articles from these organization help me greatly and could be passed along to other educators to help enhance their instruction and overall capacity to teach as well as learn.