Module Two

The International Society for Technology in Education

 

            The implication of the NETS-T and NETS-S for teachers and other professionals assuming leadership roles to support the kind of teaching and learning described by the standards is that it will improve higher-order thinking skills, prepare students for their future in a competitive job market, guiding systemic change in our schools to create digital places of learning, and inspiring digital age professional models for working, collaborating, and decision making. The NETS-T and NETS-S are there as guiding standards to help teachers and other professionals encourage student learning that will make them appealing in the job market. The whole idea behind NETS is to get teachers and students adapted into the new digital age of multimedia tools.

 

National Board for Professional Teaching Standards

 

            They are now developing standards for Teacher Leaders, which is an initiative that will improve the way education is presented in schools. By improving our teachers, we will be able to improve our classrooms in return. Developing teacher leaders will allow classes to be more student-centered. Thus, creating an educational reform that will take the focus off standardize tests and more on student-learning. The vision of teacher leadership that the initiative promotes is the idea of effective teachers and effective principals, who can prompt change and reform within the schools. These standards will allow schools to develop, recognize, and retain teacher leaders.

 

The West Virginia Professional Teaching Standards

 

            There is a focus on teacher leadership in the West Virginia Professional Teaching Standard 3: Teaching. Under this standard, teachers must show the ability to communicate with students in a variety of ways, engage and motivate students in a way to promote a deep understanding of content, and adjust instruction based on the needs of the students and in response to “teachable moments”. Teachable moments are the times when students ask clarifying questions or bring up unique perspectives on the topic being taught or discussed. The teacher then can use that scenario to dive deeper into the topic and expound.  Moreover, Standard 5: Professional Responsibilities for School and Community is all about bettering the school and educational system through teacher leadership. These standards show the responsibility of the teacher to his/her community and school, which are the abilities of a teacher leader. It takes teaching above and beyond the classroom, and this philosophy is the essence of teacher leadership.

            The focus on technology in the West Virginia Professional Teaching Standards can be found under Standard 1: Curriculum and Planning. This standard promotes teachers designing instruction that engages students in meaningful instructional activities that support the WV CSOs and results in intentional student learning. Moreover, this standard states that teachers should use a balanced approach to ensure assessment of learning and assessment for learning to provide feedback for teachers and students in order to improve future learning.

 

Interview with Gayle Moller

 

            Based on my experiences, I have observed teacher leaders improving and implementing initiatives, and principals supporting them in it. I’ve seen this more so in the school that I’m at now. However, when it comes to sharing the responsibility for providing leadership to initiatives in the school with teachers, I have yet to see principals insert themselves into the change. Mainly, I have seen principals approve initiatives and then let their teacher leaders take over and work out the details. The principals don’t go to the conferences or training that the teacher leaders go through, which causes major conflicts when implementing the initiative.

            Three things that Moller thinks need to occur in the future to promote teacher leadership is that (1) teachers must be praised for taking on additional roles and the additional work they are willing to do for the educational system, (2) teachers put forth more effort and time—therefore they should be compensated for their time and effort, and finally, (3) improving the educational environment, in order to promote teacher leadership is crucial to the increasing of leaders in the school system. I have experienced the effect of principals piling on more work for teachers who try to do more for the school. Often, teachers get “volunteered” to do pet-projects, because they wanted to do ONE activity that was not in the normal teacher responsibilities, such as a club/activity. Also, some teachers are praised for the extra activities they do, while others aren’t recognized for the loads of responsibilities they take on within the school.

            I agree with Moller that those three things need to change for promoting future teacher leaders. If it doesn’t change, then I’m not sure who will want to do anything other than instruct their students during the normal work day. I do believe that those three standards will encourage teachers to step-up and be motivators of change. If nothing else, Gayle’s standards will promote a positive school culture among teachers and administrators.

 

Technology Integration (TI) Initiative:

           

Based on the Marion County’s Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) and West Virginia Board of Education Policy 2460, I have learned that the educator stands in the place of a parent or guardian during school hours, and thus, is responsible for all acceptable/appropriate uses of online resources, technologies and the Internet. Students are responsible for proper and ethical behavior when using technology, and must adhere to school policy.

According to the Marion County Public Schools Technology Plan (2012-2014), the District has established a recommended minimum level for the 21^st Century Classroom. Some minimum levels for the high schools are:

·         Access to video and voice conferencing

·         Access to school wireless network

As well as, Wide Area Network (WAN) between schools with access to the World Wide Web. Content filtering is provided by the District to all schools and departments.

            Thus with the state and county policies, as well as the MCPS Technology Plan, it is essential for teachers to be able to hold students accountable while maintaining classroom management. Therefore, I propose the installment and integration of the InterClass software. This program will allow teachers to privately re-focus students towards staying on task, as well as managing and controlling the screens of the other students in the classroom.