5.1 Needs Assessment
Candidates conduct needs assessments to determine school-wide, faculty, grade-level, and subject area strengths and weaknesses to inform the content and delivery of technology-based professional learning programs. (PSC 5.1/ISTE 4a)
Artifact: GAPSS Analysis Part B from ITEC 7460. Professional Learning & Technology Innovation
Reflection: In standard 5.1, the teacher-candidate is asked to conduct a
needs assessment on the school to determine strengths and weaknesses of the
entire school as well as separate grade levels and subject areas. While several
of the projects that I have completed over the course of my specialist program
have examined the strengths and weaknesses of various aspects of the school,
the one that I chose for my artifact for this standard is the GAPSS Analysis that
I completed in my first semester of the program for ITEC 7460, Professional
Learning and Technology Innovation. Although it took place as part of one of
the first classes of the program, the GAPSS analysis allowed me to examine
almost every aspect of my school to find the strengths and weaknesses and to
assign rankings to particular areas. I worked on the analysis over the course
of that first semester, and in the course of compiling my ratings, I discussed
the school with my principal and assistant administrators as well as several
teachers in each of the three grade levels at each of the grade levels in my
school.
Throughout the creation of the artifact, I tried to put myself into the shoes of a member of a GAPSS panel who would be completing such an analysis. In the process I was able to provide a lot of insight based on having taught at the school for three years previous to completing the analysis, but I also talked to several other teachers, particularly those who had taught at the school for much longer than me. I also discussed parts of the analysis with my principal and other administrators. The creation of the GAPSS analysis and my conversations with my peers and administrators revealed many of the strengths of our school. However, it also revealed some of the weaknesses in our programming that needed to be corrected.
Perhaps the most useful part of my creation of the GAPSS analysis was working with the professional learning team at my school to strengthen some of our weak areas. I also worked in the remainder of my ITEC 7460 course to create professional learning opportunities for teachers at my school to improve. One main area of weakness that I found was the meaningful and appropriate use and integration of technology in our school. I found that while all teachers have access to technology in their classrooms, and many use that technology on the surface, there are quite a few instances in which teachers do not use technology to meaningfully improve lessons. I also found that often the teachers are the main users of the technology while students would benefit more from utilizing the technology themselves. To that end, I have devoted much time in the remainder of my specialist program to planning and delivering professional learning opportunities to help the other teachers at my school use technology more meaningfully.
I learned a lot from the creation of this artifact, and I believe that what I learned from the creation has colored the rest of my experience in the specialist program. The learning that I gained from the artifact also inspired me to crusade for the meaningful integration of technology throughout my school. In the future, I would be more careful to spend more time with the teachers that I interviewed in the creation of the analysis. While I got the answers that I was looking for from them, I think that I could have used my interviewing skills to delve deeper and discover more weaknesses.
The impact of this artifact is mainly on the professional learning of the teachers at my school. After I completed the GAPSS analysis, I begin planning professional learning activities for my classes as well as for the professional learning team at my school to address the weaknesses that I uncovered. Through my delivery of that professional learning, I have hoped that my colleagues have changed their classroom practices to include a more meaningful use of technology. In addition to the impact on the practice of my colleagues, my development of the professional learning has also impacted my own classroom practice. In order to set a good example for my colleagues, and because my tips are typically rooted in best practices, I have internalized the learning. This has hopefully had an impact on my students by my allowing them to use technology in my classroom at every turn. These impacts can be assessed through self-reporting from other teachers and myself as well as from improved experiences from students. Additionally, the impact may be assessed through the student surveys that are part of the new Teacher Keys Effectiveness System being used to evaluate teachers.
Throughout the creation of the artifact, I tried to put myself into the shoes of a member of a GAPSS panel who would be completing such an analysis. In the process I was able to provide a lot of insight based on having taught at the school for three years previous to completing the analysis, but I also talked to several other teachers, particularly those who had taught at the school for much longer than me. I also discussed parts of the analysis with my principal and other administrators. The creation of the GAPSS analysis and my conversations with my peers and administrators revealed many of the strengths of our school. However, it also revealed some of the weaknesses in our programming that needed to be corrected.
Perhaps the most useful part of my creation of the GAPSS analysis was working with the professional learning team at my school to strengthen some of our weak areas. I also worked in the remainder of my ITEC 7460 course to create professional learning opportunities for teachers at my school to improve. One main area of weakness that I found was the meaningful and appropriate use and integration of technology in our school. I found that while all teachers have access to technology in their classrooms, and many use that technology on the surface, there are quite a few instances in which teachers do not use technology to meaningfully improve lessons. I also found that often the teachers are the main users of the technology while students would benefit more from utilizing the technology themselves. To that end, I have devoted much time in the remainder of my specialist program to planning and delivering professional learning opportunities to help the other teachers at my school use technology more meaningfully.
I learned a lot from the creation of this artifact, and I believe that what I learned from the creation has colored the rest of my experience in the specialist program. The learning that I gained from the artifact also inspired me to crusade for the meaningful integration of technology throughout my school. In the future, I would be more careful to spend more time with the teachers that I interviewed in the creation of the analysis. While I got the answers that I was looking for from them, I think that I could have used my interviewing skills to delve deeper and discover more weaknesses.
The impact of this artifact is mainly on the professional learning of the teachers at my school. After I completed the GAPSS analysis, I begin planning professional learning activities for my classes as well as for the professional learning team at my school to address the weaknesses that I uncovered. Through my delivery of that professional learning, I have hoped that my colleagues have changed their classroom practices to include a more meaningful use of technology. In addition to the impact on the practice of my colleagues, my development of the professional learning has also impacted my own classroom practice. In order to set a good example for my colleagues, and because my tips are typically rooted in best practices, I have internalized the learning. This has hopefully had an impact on my students by my allowing them to use technology in my classroom at every turn. These impacts can be assessed through self-reporting from other teachers and myself as well as from improved experiences from students. Additionally, the impact may be assessed through the student surveys that are part of the new Teacher Keys Effectiveness System being used to evaluate teachers.