5.1 Professional Learning & Program Evaluation
Candidates demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to conduct needs assessments, develop technology-based professional learning programs, and design and implement regular and rigorous program evaluations to assess effectiveness and impact on student learning.
Artifact: Needs Assessment Survey, Analysis, and Write-Up
Reflection:
The Needs Assessment project was completed during ITEC 7460. The purpose of this project was to determine an area where we could develop and teach a professional learning session that would be of benefit to teachers at our school. This artifact demonstrates mastery of Standard 4.3 because I demonstrated the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to conduct needs assessments, develop technology-based professional learning programs, and design and implement regular and rigorous program evaluations to assess effectiveness and impact on student learning.
Within this project, I created a survey for teachers to complete through Google Docs that determined their area of most needed professional development based on the School Improvement Plan and goals. I served on the Professional Learning Committee Key Team this year and had an integral part in the designing of some of our professional development days. As a team, we decided that it would be more beneficial to provide some tiered trainings to meet the more direct needs of our staff. For our first tiered professional development day, we focused on technology and Writer’s Workshop. There were two different technology courses offered: Technology for Beginning Integration Using Smartboards and Technology for Intermediate/Advanced Learners using Smartboards; and two different Writer’s Workshop courses: Writer’s Workshop Purpose/Mini Lessons and Writer’s Workshop Organization/Conferencing. Teacher leaders within the school taught the courses. I taught the Technology for Beginning Integration (more information is provided in Standard 3.1). These same courses were to be offered again a few months later so teachers would have the opportunity to go to a different session.
The courses were successful, based on teacher feedback questionnaires. I created the questionnaires for each session based on an idea that was shared in class. It was divided into 30 minute reflection segments where you could jot down things that stood out in the first 30 minutes and then again in the second 30 minutes of the professional development session rather than having to try to think back over the whole session at the end to provide feedback. All the presenters had positive responses that seemed genuine. The thing that I would have changed, but did not really have the ability to change was that the courses we offered never actually got the chance to be taught again. There were other professional development days scheduled by administration that were of a larger priority. I plan to serve on this key committee again in the upcoming school year, and hope to offer a chance to do this type of needs assessment piece again that will proceed as planned. The teachers really liked that they did not have to sit through a session that did not pertain to them and instead was beneficial learning to them and their students.
The Needs Assessment project was completed during ITEC 7460. The purpose of this project was to determine an area where we could develop and teach a professional learning session that would be of benefit to teachers at our school. This artifact demonstrates mastery of Standard 4.3 because I demonstrated the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to conduct needs assessments, develop technology-based professional learning programs, and design and implement regular and rigorous program evaluations to assess effectiveness and impact on student learning.
Within this project, I created a survey for teachers to complete through Google Docs that determined their area of most needed professional development based on the School Improvement Plan and goals. I served on the Professional Learning Committee Key Team this year and had an integral part in the designing of some of our professional development days. As a team, we decided that it would be more beneficial to provide some tiered trainings to meet the more direct needs of our staff. For our first tiered professional development day, we focused on technology and Writer’s Workshop. There were two different technology courses offered: Technology for Beginning Integration Using Smartboards and Technology for Intermediate/Advanced Learners using Smartboards; and two different Writer’s Workshop courses: Writer’s Workshop Purpose/Mini Lessons and Writer’s Workshop Organization/Conferencing. Teacher leaders within the school taught the courses. I taught the Technology for Beginning Integration (more information is provided in Standard 3.1). These same courses were to be offered again a few months later so teachers would have the opportunity to go to a different session.
The courses were successful, based on teacher feedback questionnaires. I created the questionnaires for each session based on an idea that was shared in class. It was divided into 30 minute reflection segments where you could jot down things that stood out in the first 30 minutes and then again in the second 30 minutes of the professional development session rather than having to try to think back over the whole session at the end to provide feedback. All the presenters had positive responses that seemed genuine. The thing that I would have changed, but did not really have the ability to change was that the courses we offered never actually got the chance to be taught again. There were other professional development days scheduled by administration that were of a larger priority. I plan to serve on this key committee again in the upcoming school year, and hope to offer a chance to do this type of needs assessment piece again that will proceed as planned. The teachers really liked that they did not have to sit through a session that did not pertain to them and instead was beneficial learning to them and their students.