5.3 Program Evaluation
Candidates design and implement program evaluations to determine the overall effectiveness of professional learning on deepening teacher content knowledge, improving teacher pedagogical skills and/or increasing student learning. (PSC 5.3/ISTE 4c)
Artifact: Action and Evaluation Plan from ITEC 7305, Data Analysis and School Improvement
Reflection: The final part of standard 5 deals with implementing and
evaluating the effectiveness of programs designed to improve student learning.
For standard 5.3, I chose to use the Action/Evalution plan that I created for
ITEC 7305, Data Analysis and School Improvement. The action/evaluation plan was
an independent assignment in which I examined the data available regarding my
school’s performance, identified a student learning problem, proposed
professional development activities to address that student learning problem,
and outlined methods for implementing that professional learning and assessing
its effectiveness. The Action/Evaluation plan was created as an independent
product with input from the administration and other teachers at my school. My
personal contributions were to conduct research and interviews with teachers
and administrators at my school and use the results of prior work to create a
plan for improvement and evaluation of that plan.
In the process of creating the Action/Evaluation plan, I
used the information that had been previously gathered and included in the SWOT
analysis and technology vision statement. In those previous artifacts, I had
interviewed teachers and administrators about the use of technology in the
school by teachers and students. For the Action/Evaluation plan, I reviewed
those interviews and examined the results of prior research into the state of
the school. Before I began researching solutions, I turned my attention towards
identifying and articulating a problem or shortcoming at the school that would
require attention for improvement. The problem that I noticed was that teachers
were unaware of the levels of technology integration in their own lessons and
often unaware of how to use technology in their lessons in a meaningful and
engaging manner.
Once the problem was stated, I began to research the levels of technology integration and meaningful use of technology as well as methods for disseminating information about LOTI and meaningful use to teachers. The strategies I chose included using the flipped classroom method, using instructional videos that could be viewed outside of professional learning time paired with activities during professional learning times, as well as the use of monthly faculty meetings and weekly grade level meetings to conduct those activities and to monitor progress through surveys and self-reporting. One specific strategy that I chose to incorporate into the plan was an increase in the use of creative and critical thinking in the classroom through the implementation of a newly purchased iPad cart for the school. That implementation required training in critical and creative thinking in conjunction with training in the use and oversight of the iPads.
In the real world implementation of the plan, I was met with some resistance as many teachers, members of the SSP team, and members of the professional development team chose to devote time to increasing rigor in the classroom rather than on increasing the levels of technology integration. While I was able to work with the professional development team to design videos and trainings on identifying the levels of technology integration in their classrooms and increasing those levels, I was not able to fully implement the trainings described in the Action/Evaluation plan. On a positive note, I was able to work with a colleague to create a professional learning lesson on implementing more creative and critical thinking lessons in the classroom through the use of iPads. I also created instructional videos for viewing by teachers concerning the LOTI levels and meaningful use of technology.
The lesson that I learned from this artifact was that oftentimes teachers and administrators will choose to prioritize time and resources for professional learning activities that they deem to be more closely related to their more pressing concerns. Specifically, in this case, teachers and administrators were less concerned with the overall Levels of Technology Integration and meaningful use of technology in the school than with the newly implemented Georgia Milestones standardized testing. With the new testing considerations in mind, the SSP team and the professional learning team chose to spend time learning ways to increase rigor in the classroom in order to succeed on the tests. In the future development of a similar plan, I would take into account major changes in educational policy on the horizon and include those in the plans.
Once the problem was stated, I began to research the levels of technology integration and meaningful use of technology as well as methods for disseminating information about LOTI and meaningful use to teachers. The strategies I chose included using the flipped classroom method, using instructional videos that could be viewed outside of professional learning time paired with activities during professional learning times, as well as the use of monthly faculty meetings and weekly grade level meetings to conduct those activities and to monitor progress through surveys and self-reporting. One specific strategy that I chose to incorporate into the plan was an increase in the use of creative and critical thinking in the classroom through the implementation of a newly purchased iPad cart for the school. That implementation required training in critical and creative thinking in conjunction with training in the use and oversight of the iPads.
In the real world implementation of the plan, I was met with some resistance as many teachers, members of the SSP team, and members of the professional development team chose to devote time to increasing rigor in the classroom rather than on increasing the levels of technology integration. While I was able to work with the professional development team to design videos and trainings on identifying the levels of technology integration in their classrooms and increasing those levels, I was not able to fully implement the trainings described in the Action/Evaluation plan. On a positive note, I was able to work with a colleague to create a professional learning lesson on implementing more creative and critical thinking lessons in the classroom through the use of iPads. I also created instructional videos for viewing by teachers concerning the LOTI levels and meaningful use of technology.
The lesson that I learned from this artifact was that oftentimes teachers and administrators will choose to prioritize time and resources for professional learning activities that they deem to be more closely related to their more pressing concerns. Specifically, in this case, teachers and administrators were less concerned with the overall Levels of Technology Integration and meaningful use of technology in the school than with the newly implemented Georgia Milestones standardized testing. With the new testing considerations in mind, the SSP team and the professional learning team chose to spend time learning ways to increase rigor in the classroom in order to succeed on the tests. In the future development of a similar plan, I would take into account major changes in educational policy on the horizon and include those in the plans.