Being a research subject in the Alternative Accountability Project has contributed to my personal professional development in several relevant and meaningful ways:

• Before September 2006 I had not scanned, cropped, captured, editted, uploaded, added or linked documents in any organized or unorganized fashion.  I am now able to do all of the above mentioned activities.  I am also able to support my students and other staff in their endeavours to do said activities.  My technological understandings and abilities have increased substantially in the past eight months. 
• Documenting the learning that transpired for my students and learning with my students in my class throughout this project is in itself professional development, (see In My School with My Students).
• Developing relationships with other teachers who were also research subjects in this project is valuable professional development.  These relationships offer me many things.  I was able to visit their classes.  Seeing outstanding teaching and learning in action always helps me develop professionally.  Being able to discuss with them what, and how and why they do what they do and see their accounts come into shape expanded my thinking, fuelled my imagination.
• My personal confidence in my teaching has been bolstered.  Knowing that I know something helps me to want to know more, it helps me see how little I know and it helps me to want to develop professionally.  Having my accounts, and the students accounts, used as valuable knowledge to be shared at conferences, in the academy and on the internet helps me to extend the possible lens I use to view my work.  I see my work as more valuable when others want to know about it, and it often surprises me when they do. 
• Being given the opportunity to present at the TESOL Conference in Seattle helped me to practice my presenting skills, to organize my thoughts into coherent messages, to talk my pedagogy with a more academic voice and to take a risk.  Taking a risk is what I ask of my students everyday, it is good for me to take risks with my learning.  Being able to attend other talks at the TESOL Conference was also beneficial for me professionally.  Through writing my accounts and participating in discussions about teaching and learning I saw patterns in my work and was able to extend the patterns even further when I heard others talk.  I made connections that I had not previously made that were right in front of my nose - just like my students.

For these reasons and many more I feel confident in saying that being able to participate in this research has helped me to develop professionally in many ways and on many levels in eight months. 

It came to my attention when I was editting video that Jodie spoke of her learning in Division 15 analogously to how I understand my learning as a teacher, and participant in this research.

Jodie opens by answering that being a member of Division 15 is, 'Great!'  I concur, being a participant in this reserch has been great!

She talks about getting to communicate; I feel like writing accounts has helped me to be able to communicate.

Jodie talks about enjoying sharing ideas in a small group; I felt like discussions amongst participating teachers were similar to this for me - enjoyable places for sharing ideas.

She talks about being nervous about talking in the large group for fear of being wrong; I feel like this on many occassions when asked to speak of my pedagogy or learning in a large group.

Jodie talks of 'being confident' because the people in her small group think she is right; the discussions I had with teachers during this research gave me similar feelings of confidence.

She talks about sharing ideas, 'wanting to know what they know', so she can learn with other people, getting to 'think together'.  I want to share what I am doing in my class, I want to hear what others are doing in their classes, just like Jodie, 'I want to know what they know,' and I agree we both benefit when we share ideas. 

Finally Jodie talks about, 'Coming up with something we didn't expect,' when she has the opportunity to share ideas.  Writing accounts, sharing conversation, growing ideas together, 'coming up with things we didn't expect' - that has been my understanding of participating in this project.