5.2 Professional Learning
Candidates develop and implement technology-based professional learning that aligns to state and national professional learning standards, integrates technology to support face-to-face and online components, models principles of adult learning, and promotes best practices in teaching, learning, and assessment. (PSC 5.2/ISTE 4b)
Artifact: ITEC 7460 Technology Workshop
Reflection:
The artifact I've chosen for this standard is my technology workshop. This was an assignment in ITEC 7460. In this assignment I designed and delivered professional development to my colleagues in my building. The content of this professional development addressed the new Georgia Department of Education teacher accountability electronic platform. The content of this professional learning was created to support the following ISTE technology standards for teachers:
-Demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies and situations (I demonstrated fluency in the TKES electronic platform and transferred this knowledge to my colleagues)
-Collaborate with students, peers, parents, and community members using digital tools and resources to support student success and innovation. (Through my surveys, face to face delivery of professional learning, and the accompanying website that I created, I collaborated with peers using web based digital tools. (Weebly, www.tle.gadoe.edu, Microsoft One Drive etc.)
-Communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital age media and formats. (Through this creation and delivery of professional learning I used the following digital age media - Weebly, Microsoft OneDrive, Google Docs, Microsoft Power Point, Youtube, and Screencast.)
-Model and facilitate effective use of current and emerging digital tools to locate, analyze, evaluate, and use information resources to support research and learning. ((I was able to locate and evaluate what types of artifacts may be considered appropriate to document each TAPS standard. These were included on my website)
This professional learning and website contains numerous supporting documents, slides, links, and video. The process began with a survey given to the staff at my school. The results of the survey indicated that most teachers (and some in administration) needed assistance with basic site navigation first, then more specific information about how to upload artifacts for each TAPS standard. Interestingly, and frustrating for each of the core content teachers in my building, was the fact that our principal made an arbitrary demand that teachers upload artifacts for each standard. I reviewed the TKES process thoroughly and discovered that the uploading of artifacts was to be used only after evaluation - to offset a negative review. In other words, teachers in my building had to do a lot more work to show that they meet the TAPS standards than what was required by the state DOE.
This workshop aligns directly to ISTE standards for technology coaches. Coaches must develop and implement technology-based professional learning that aligns to state and national professional learning standards, integrates technology to support face-to-face and online components, models principles of adult learning. The workshop was a combination of face-to-face professional learning and the use of web 2.0 technologies that were used both during the actual learning, prior to the workshop, and as a resource after the workshop.
The workshop and website modeled the principles of adult learning in multiple ways. First, attendance was optional. Teachers got to choose whether or not they wanted to participate. 2nd, accommodation for different learning styles is embedded in the process. Students could learn by watching me model the process, working side by side with a colleague to complete the process, watching a video with accompanying audio describing the process, or viewing a slide presentation and notes describing the process. By having teachers bring their laptops to the professional learning session, they were able to experience the learning first hand, and receive feedback and assistance if they had difficulties. By offering information in different modalities, providing teachers a choice of when and how they received the information, making attendence optional, using survey data in the creation of content, and post survey data for evaluation, the creation and delivery of the TKES workshop to my colleagues is an example of best practices in teaching, learning and assessment.
Reflection Part 2
During my enrollment in ITEC 7460 - Professional Learning and Technology Innovation- I was tasked with developing and implementing technology based professional learning with my fellow teachers in my school. The website I created as part of this workshop is my artifact for this standard. I created the website and delivered the workshop independently. No other persons assisted me in the development and delivery of this learning experience.
The creation of the artifact and the work experience involved in the delivery of the workshop demonstrate my ability to integrate technology in the development and implementation of a professional learning activity. I was able to deliver this workshop to the entire faculty in my grade level at my school. The workshop was designed to assist teachers in learning about the new teacher evaluation system in Georgia - called the Teacher Keys Effectiveness System. The workshop was delivered in a face to face setting, and had an online component. The 2014-15 school year was the first year our faculty would be evaluated under the new system. Many, if not most, of the faculty were unfamiliar with how to use the electronic platform. This lack of awareness my faculty among my colleagues was the impetus for the creation of the website and delivery of the workshop. The website was designed as a standalone tutorial for those preferring to participate whenever their schedule permitted. This asynchronous component adheres to a primary principal of adult learning - allowing for choice and making attendance optional. Adult learning is optimized when individual learners can assess their own skills and discover their own limitations. The ability to receive the professional learning in an asynchronous setting also allows participants to participate in professional learning in a non-threatening, supportive atmosphere - thereby modeling another principal of adult learning.
The advocacy group "Learning Forward" provide a list of standards that address best practices in teaching, learning and assessment. As the professional learning workshop was delivered by me using a free online platform, Learning Forward's Resources standards were adhered to. My workshop provided technology and material resources at no cost that created opportunities for faculty to access information and enrich practice. Also, Learning Forward's Leadership standard was incorporated given that my workshop developed capacity and created support for professional learning. Specifically, the workshop created capacity among my faculty to learn to use the TKES platform. My tutorial equitably distributed resources to accomplish school and system goals.
The completion of this artifact was eye opening. As Georgia is making a move toward more rigorous teacher accountability, it is becoming more and more evident that being a good teacher is not good enough. We should also be able to explain why we are good teachers, and have evidence to back it these claims. The TKES platform contains 10 standards under which teachers are evaluated, and this evaluation comes from both administrators and from the students. I sense that this new process of holding teachers accountable will need to go under some revision if it is to be effective. I was surprised at how many professionals in my building did not know how to use it. This includes both teachers and administrators. My work also revealed, not surprisingly, that the older teachers were the least receptive to learning how to use the new platform. I am aware of at least one teacher in particular never bothered to upload artifacts to support her teaching methods, even though our administrators required us to do so. Due to the time constrains under which this artifact and work experience was created I only had time to address two activities related to the TKES platform – 1) access and 2) uploading artifacts. If I had more time to do the project over again I would include more information about using the platform such as interpreting and signing off on walkthroughs, surveys, and formative assessments. I may expand on this in the future.
The work that went into the creation of this artifact impacted faculty development. The staff development I delivered enabled most of the teachers to better understand their requirements. This is easily measurable by administrators when they ask teachers to log onto the platform and upload artifacts. Prior to my workshop, the number of teachers who had not done this was low. After the workshop, almost all teachers in my grade level had completed their requirements. Long term impact of improved teacher accountability should result in improved student learning.
The artifact I've chosen for this standard is my technology workshop. This was an assignment in ITEC 7460. In this assignment I designed and delivered professional development to my colleagues in my building. The content of this professional development addressed the new Georgia Department of Education teacher accountability electronic platform. The content of this professional learning was created to support the following ISTE technology standards for teachers:
-Demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies and situations (I demonstrated fluency in the TKES electronic platform and transferred this knowledge to my colleagues)
-Collaborate with students, peers, parents, and community members using digital tools and resources to support student success and innovation. (Through my surveys, face to face delivery of professional learning, and the accompanying website that I created, I collaborated with peers using web based digital tools. (Weebly, www.tle.gadoe.edu, Microsoft One Drive etc.)
-Communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital age media and formats. (Through this creation and delivery of professional learning I used the following digital age media - Weebly, Microsoft OneDrive, Google Docs, Microsoft Power Point, Youtube, and Screencast.)
-Model and facilitate effective use of current and emerging digital tools to locate, analyze, evaluate, and use information resources to support research and learning. ((I was able to locate and evaluate what types of artifacts may be considered appropriate to document each TAPS standard. These were included on my website)
This professional learning and website contains numerous supporting documents, slides, links, and video. The process began with a survey given to the staff at my school. The results of the survey indicated that most teachers (and some in administration) needed assistance with basic site navigation first, then more specific information about how to upload artifacts for each TAPS standard. Interestingly, and frustrating for each of the core content teachers in my building, was the fact that our principal made an arbitrary demand that teachers upload artifacts for each standard. I reviewed the TKES process thoroughly and discovered that the uploading of artifacts was to be used only after evaluation - to offset a negative review. In other words, teachers in my building had to do a lot more work to show that they meet the TAPS standards than what was required by the state DOE.
This workshop aligns directly to ISTE standards for technology coaches. Coaches must develop and implement technology-based professional learning that aligns to state and national professional learning standards, integrates technology to support face-to-face and online components, models principles of adult learning. The workshop was a combination of face-to-face professional learning and the use of web 2.0 technologies that were used both during the actual learning, prior to the workshop, and as a resource after the workshop.
The workshop and website modeled the principles of adult learning in multiple ways. First, attendance was optional. Teachers got to choose whether or not they wanted to participate. 2nd, accommodation for different learning styles is embedded in the process. Students could learn by watching me model the process, working side by side with a colleague to complete the process, watching a video with accompanying audio describing the process, or viewing a slide presentation and notes describing the process. By having teachers bring their laptops to the professional learning session, they were able to experience the learning first hand, and receive feedback and assistance if they had difficulties. By offering information in different modalities, providing teachers a choice of when and how they received the information, making attendence optional, using survey data in the creation of content, and post survey data for evaluation, the creation and delivery of the TKES workshop to my colleagues is an example of best practices in teaching, learning and assessment.
Reflection Part 2
During my enrollment in ITEC 7460 - Professional Learning and Technology Innovation- I was tasked with developing and implementing technology based professional learning with my fellow teachers in my school. The website I created as part of this workshop is my artifact for this standard. I created the website and delivered the workshop independently. No other persons assisted me in the development and delivery of this learning experience.
The creation of the artifact and the work experience involved in the delivery of the workshop demonstrate my ability to integrate technology in the development and implementation of a professional learning activity. I was able to deliver this workshop to the entire faculty in my grade level at my school. The workshop was designed to assist teachers in learning about the new teacher evaluation system in Georgia - called the Teacher Keys Effectiveness System. The workshop was delivered in a face to face setting, and had an online component. The 2014-15 school year was the first year our faculty would be evaluated under the new system. Many, if not most, of the faculty were unfamiliar with how to use the electronic platform. This lack of awareness my faculty among my colleagues was the impetus for the creation of the website and delivery of the workshop. The website was designed as a standalone tutorial for those preferring to participate whenever their schedule permitted. This asynchronous component adheres to a primary principal of adult learning - allowing for choice and making attendance optional. Adult learning is optimized when individual learners can assess their own skills and discover their own limitations. The ability to receive the professional learning in an asynchronous setting also allows participants to participate in professional learning in a non-threatening, supportive atmosphere - thereby modeling another principal of adult learning.
The advocacy group "Learning Forward" provide a list of standards that address best practices in teaching, learning and assessment. As the professional learning workshop was delivered by me using a free online platform, Learning Forward's Resources standards were adhered to. My workshop provided technology and material resources at no cost that created opportunities for faculty to access information and enrich practice. Also, Learning Forward's Leadership standard was incorporated given that my workshop developed capacity and created support for professional learning. Specifically, the workshop created capacity among my faculty to learn to use the TKES platform. My tutorial equitably distributed resources to accomplish school and system goals.
The completion of this artifact was eye opening. As Georgia is making a move toward more rigorous teacher accountability, it is becoming more and more evident that being a good teacher is not good enough. We should also be able to explain why we are good teachers, and have evidence to back it these claims. The TKES platform contains 10 standards under which teachers are evaluated, and this evaluation comes from both administrators and from the students. I sense that this new process of holding teachers accountable will need to go under some revision if it is to be effective. I was surprised at how many professionals in my building did not know how to use it. This includes both teachers and administrators. My work also revealed, not surprisingly, that the older teachers were the least receptive to learning how to use the new platform. I am aware of at least one teacher in particular never bothered to upload artifacts to support her teaching methods, even though our administrators required us to do so. Due to the time constrains under which this artifact and work experience was created I only had time to address two activities related to the TKES platform – 1) access and 2) uploading artifacts. If I had more time to do the project over again I would include more information about using the platform such as interpreting and signing off on walkthroughs, surveys, and formative assessments. I may expand on this in the future.
The work that went into the creation of this artifact impacted faculty development. The staff development I delivered enabled most of the teachers to better understand their requirements. This is easily measurable by administrators when they ask teachers to log onto the platform and upload artifacts. Prior to my workshop, the number of teachers who had not done this was low. After the workshop, almost all teachers in my grade level had completed their requirements. Long term impact of improved teacher accountability should result in improved student learning.