Module 4 - Swiger

What are your thoughts about effective professional development strategies?  What is the PD strategy or strategies you plan to use in your TI?  Please also share any literature or resources you are using to refine your focus and develop your plan.

Effective professional development will focus on increasing the teacher’s knowledge, skills and confidence in implementing technology tools and focusing on teacher and learner outcomes.  For technology integration to be successful, the professional development strategy used must build teacher confidence in relation to student achievement. As teachers embark upon implementing a new pedagogical approach through technology integration, support will be critical to success. Researching pd strategies allows you to review the various models, but professional development strategies should align to your context and be modified based upon your specific situation.  I've participated in a variety of professional development opportunities, and the most successful seem to be built around effective organization, common goals, and follow-up guidance and support. 

I plan to use a Learning Circle model with an On-site Coordinator (OSC).  The OSC is vital to the learning circle community and must facilitate, mentor and advocate for the learning circle members.  Members of the circle not only include teachers, but also may include administrators, parents, and community members.  Shared beliefs and decision-making based on school goals and teacher interest will provide the foundation for the learning circle model. A goal of this model is to develop future facilitators, provide a venue for sharing and each year possibly develop a learning circle with new members that are guided by previous members.

I've administered a technology integration needs assessment to the faculty at my school.  I used a Google form and sent the link via the school email program. We have eight core teachers and one special education teacher. Spanish and Band are halftime, and four specialists that we share with the local elementary school (art, music. media and phys.ed). So far, I have nine completed surveys. A brief summary for three of the six questions:  
What kind of support or professional development should be offered to help you achieve your technology goals? The data collected reveals a request for workshops, learning circle community (monthly meetings), and a technology facilitator or coach as part of the staff.  
What technology would you like to have available for instruction?  Out of nine responses, seven would like to have ipads, one would like to have a projector for classroom, and one prefers to receive nothing new. (I will probably consider the purchase of ipads when choosing a grant)  
Which of the following Technology Initiatives would you consider implementing in your classroom?  Respondents were given choices of one or more of the following: 
(word processing) for writing across the curriculum, creating electronic portfolios for students using Google, and creating digital stories as a school-wide project.  The top two choices were creating digital stories and using word processing for writing across the curriculum. 

Literature Resources: 

Borthwick, A. & Pierson, M. (Eds.). (2008). Transforming classroom practice. Eugene, OR: International Society for Technology in Education

Czarnecki, K.  (2009). How digital storytelling builds 21st century skills. Library Technology Reports, 45(7), 15.

DuFour, R.,DuFour R., Eaker, R., & Many, T. (2006). Learning by doing. Bloomington, IN: Solution 

Tree Press

Lerman, J. (2006). 101 best websites for teacher tools and professional development. Eugene, OR: International Society for Technology in Education

Linder, R. A., Post, G., & Calabrese, K. (2012). Professional learning communities: Practices for successful implementation. Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin, 78(3), 13-22.

Pitler, H., Hubble E.R., Kuhn, M. & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Denver, CO: Mid-Continent Research for Education and Learning