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March 15, 2002
Professional Development: It's About Time
By Caroline McCullen
With high-stakes testing and accountability the focus of the day, teachers are reluctant to devote even a small portion of classroom time to professional development. Here's how three tech training programs budget those elusive hours.
North Carolina: Time Up Front
The North Carolina ENTech program is a statewide initiative that invites school-based teams of teachers and sometimes principals to participate in five days of tech training (with two days of on-site follow-ups) at one of five regional centers. Implemented by the national nonprofit ExplorNet, ENTech takes a problem-based approach, asking teams from underserved communities to work collaboratively on school improvement projects while learning integration strategies and using the scientific method to explore the ideas and concepts behind the North Carolina standards. The BEST (Blending Educational Strategies with Technology) experience is based on a flexible, hands-on design, modeling the effective use of technology for instruction and guiding educators through the process of customizing it to meet their schools' needs.
Throughout the five-day training, instruction happens in three different "voices":
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| The ENTech program encourages collaboration among educators from underserved regions. |
Voice #1: Immersion. Role-playing is the basis of this voice, with a "teacher-to-student" approach. Teacher participants change roles and become students, with the ENTech instructor the teacher. This resembles a regular classroom, and teachers gain the experience of learning about new technologies in the traditional way. Typical activities might include using Kid Pix to create a North Carolina map. Instruction consists of a simple overview with basic tips about how to use the new technology.
Voice #2: Peer-to-peer or teacher-to-teacher. In this experience, ENTech instructors take part in activities with participants and guide them through questions that will help them tailor the use of technology to their unique situations. "Would it work in your classroom? If not, how could you reshape the activities to meet the needs of your students? How would it work in difficult situations, such as with special needs children or with only one computer?"
Voice #3: The expert or "techie" to teacher. Instructors act as the experts and give step-by-step instructions about how to focus on a specific product, technology, or outcome.
Instructors use each of these voices at various times during the sessions to teach participants technology skills and strategies on a "need to know" basis. Skills are taught in the context of creating products and designing classroom activities, with no pre-programmed lessons on topics such as how to create a spreadsheet.
Assessment is woven throughout the program, with participants answering survey questions, using rubrics to review their level of technology integration, and employing other measurement tools to evaluate outcomes. Networking and sharing expertise is also a major focus. Teams from the same school work together on collaborative projects (real-life problems their schools need solved) for part of the training and then regroup with other regional teams by grade level, subject area, or interest. Teams brainstorm solutions to universal problems, such as teaching in the one-computer classroom, and often find innovation, support, and new solutions among their teammates.
Instruction also includes simple strategies that teachers can take back and use immediately with their students. For instance, a "Not Yet/Been There, Done That" chart requires participants (acting as students) to write their names on sticky notes and place them at the appropriate points on the chart so it's easy to determine when everyone has completed tasks. Participants also create a Web site about a local historic site and post it to share with the community.
Texas: Putting Time on Teachers' Sides
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| The Lubbock training model rewards teacher progress with computers, printers, and other hardware. |
At Lubbock ISD, teachers learn exactly what they need and want, when they want to learn it. They can learn at home, at school, or from commercial instructors, at times conveniently included in their busy schedules. How can a single district provide professional development on this scale? The answer is simple: they don't. Instead, teachers can take advantage of the rich variety of resources the larger off- and online communities have to offer. They can select universities, special programs, district classes, online courses, or even the independent reading of a computer manual.
But what about accountability? How does this district measure success? The emphasis is placed squarely on the outcomes, with less concern for how, when, or where teachers gain their skills and knowledge. Lubbock is keenly focused on getting every teacher to master the district technology competencies, which are arranged in beginning, intermediate, and advanced levels with skills ranging from saving to a disk to creating WebQuests and non-linear multimedia presentations. Teachers demonstrate their mastery by going to the district office and taking performance-based tests, competency assessments customized from a bank of commercially produced resources purchased from SkillCheck (www.skillcheck.com). Teachers are not asked to describe what they should do or select the correct answer from a series but to perform the skill or describe how they would use it to implement a project, WebQuest, or digital product.
Campus-based instructors are also in the technology mix, teaching academic strategies as well as techniques for using appropriate technologies to accomplish curriculum goals. Teachers like having an instructor on campus so when they have a problem, they can get help immediately.
District-level instructional technology specialist Carolyn Carroll admits that teachers are apprehensive about taking the performance tests. "Many teachers work in small groups to review before the test, but they can retake the tests at any time, so the intent is not to be punitive. Getting teachers to understand that is half the battle."
After three years of voluntary participation, 97 percent of teachers are beyond the first level of competencies, and technology use permeates the district. According to Carroll, incentives play a big role. "Teachers get a computer after they complete the first level successfully. They get a printer and computer projection system after completing the second level, and they can apply to be part of a pilot project as they move to level three." See Lubbock's competencies at www.lubbock.k12.tx.us/technology/competencies.htm.
The outcomes affect parents, too. One teacher claims, "When I first got my computer I started sending computer-generated handouts home. I was really proud of the way they looked when I printed them on my new printer. Then parents began to make positive comments about the handouts, and I think they actually view me as more of a professional now!"
Maryland: Distance Learning for Timely Follow-up
In 1998, the Maryland General Assembly established the Maryland Technology Academy at the State Department of Education to provide technology-focused professional development opportunities. Now entering its third year, the academy, along with its satellite and administrator programs, has served nearly 1,000 Maryland educators. As manager of the academy's Electronic Learning Community, Cam Miller conquers the barriers of time and space by using distance learning techniques during the three-week course and for follow-up activities once educators are back at their school sites.
Each summer, 120 teacher Fellows are selected to develop a unit of technology-infused instruction based on needs identified from their schoolwide test data. Institute sessions are centered around principles found in McTighe and Wiggins' Understanding By Design. They include four strands: integration of technology; leadership in effective staff development techniques; assessment and evaluation, including connections to state standards and scoring rubrics; and developing technology skills and tools to address a school's identified needs.
Educators arrive prepared for activities to help them craft a school vision, design a Change Implementation Plan, and develop a technology-infused professional development plan for their site staff. During this process, teachers interact virtually, as well as face to face, by responding to assigned readings, visiting recommended Web sites, and exchanging ideas with peers.
Fellows take the results back to their classrooms and apply what they've learned. A quick trip through the virtual learning environment at the ELC reveals a rich and powerful archive of messages, chats, and projects from academy participants of the past three years, and also gives a sense of the depth and breadth of the program's effects throughout the state. The ELC was custom designed for the MTA by the Center for Technology in Education at Johns Hopkins University. The resulting interface is user-friendly, and teachers enjoy staying in touch by sending instant messages to each other, uploading files, and sharing research.
The MTA concludes each summer with a celebration called "Gallery Walk," at which participants set up computers and display their projects to the community. Invited guests include superintendents, principals, and decision-makers, as well as leaders from the business community.
Incentives are enticing. Fellows are paid a stipend of $1,200: $800 for the summer work, and $400 for collaborative online follow-ups. In addition, they receive other benefits, such as Pack-N-Roll crates, T-shirts, ImageBlender and Inspiration software, and other random giveaways during the academy. Room and board are also free to anyone who stays on campus.
One participant described her MTA experience in this way: "Before I came to the academy, I thought technology was the icing on the cake, but now I know it's the eggs!" You can see the "cakes" rising MTA Web site.
Caroline McCullen is the instructional technologist for SAS inSchool in Cary, N.C.
Common Threads for Success
The following features are key elements to each of the timely staff development programs profiled here.
Sustained Learning. Instruction lasts for several days or weeks, or sessions take place at regular, predictable intervals in a convenient place. In-depth instruction takes more time, but the results are lasting, and retention rates are higher. Teachers often have the confidence to apply new techniques in the classroom. There are no "commando-style," hit-and-run classes.
Follow-up. There is some form of follow-up, either through electronic means or site visits, to support technology infusion. Teachers know they are expected to use the new skills in the classroom and they feel accountable for doing so.
Incentives. Districts gain buy-in from teachers and motivate them by rewarding their efforts with continuing education credits, software, hardware, dinner certificates, gift certificates, public recognition, and other motivators.
Teamwork. Participants work in teams at some point in the instruction and are concerned with the performance level of their group or school, as well as their individual performance.
Assessment/Accountability. Evaluations may be part of the follow-up activities, and methods may involve classroom observations or a more formal evaluation of an outcome: a product or project.
Appropriate Resources. Teachers have the appropriate hardware, software, and connectivity at their base school. They return to their classroom equipped with the tools to put their learning into practice.
Community Connection. Outcomes affect the community in a positive way, through enriching local culture via a Web site, facilitating communication with parents, or inviting leaders to participate in the learning process. |
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