What does it mean to be a professional?

To be a professional is a combination of characteristics including a commitment to learners, decision making, reflective practice and professional knowledge.
Kramer said a professional doesn't view their profession as a job, but rather a calling (2003 pg.23). This is demonstrated when Keith chooses to focus on why Kelly is a disruptive student and strives to regain her attention rather than writing Kelly off as incorrigible and ignoring her attempts to distract his class. Jan shows a commitment to learners by finding more ways to keep her class involved.
Professionals have the ability to make decisions in ill-defined and complex situations. When Jan's class wasn't focusing, she thought of a way to get them involved. She recognized her objectives and the strategy and examples she would use to achieve this. She also knew how she would involve the students and the order in which she would call on them. Historical research suggests that teachers make a staggering 800 decisions per day (Jackson 1968). As teachers gain knowledge and experience they make effective decisions on their own.
Reflective practice is the ability for a professional to perform a task and them look back on it to see whether it was effective and efficient and if it wasn't then make changes to it so it will be in the future. This may be difficult for a teacher as they receive little to no feedback on their teaching practices. Having a critical self examination