The Last AWFUL Professional Development I Facilitated

This last blog posting for TIE575 connects to the first - which was about the last awful professional development that I attended. I believe I broke every PD rule there is. Most specifically, I was not fully prepared, I did not have a strong activity for participants to practice with, and I did not have a need or interest analysis to determine if the technology presented would have value to teachers.

So let's pick this apart... Two of my classmates (Nicole and Shane) did a presentation in which they used the web 2.0 application "Wordle" (try it at world.net). I was so impressed I thought I would try it with the staff at Spencer. Well, I got the opportunity when, a couple of days later,our principal informed my colleague Tracey Howse, and I that we had 30 minutes during a PD day to present to teachers. (Disclaimer: I am only referring to my portion of the PD session, Ms. Howse did a fabulous job, as always!!!) Unfortunately, I did not adequately prepare. I did practice a little but when teachers asked me how to put the image in other applications I could not answer. And as I think back, I did not follow up with that teacher - I need to put that on my "to do" list. Also, our art teacher had used the application before and had valuable information to add to my presentation, much of which I was not aware of. I should have opened the presentation by asking if anyone was familiar with the application or even contacted my colleagues through e-mail to see about working with one of them to present or to at least pick their brain while I was preparing. Had I prepared more, by meeting with Nicole or "google-ing" it, the presentation would have been much better and I could have developed a good activity for practice. For practice I just asked teachers to come up with 10 - 15 words related to Finally, without a needs analysis or interest inventory that indicated who may be interested I had several people who were not listening or paying attention, as a matter of fact one teacher actually said, "Oh, I wasn't listening." when I asked him a question. ANYWAY... the uninterested people were a little distracting to those few who wanted to learn about the application. In the future, I would put out an e-mail or in some way contact teachers to ask for those who would be interested in the PD I am facilitating, especially when it comes to web 2.0 applications. I think a smaller group would be better and allow all participants, including myself to experiment and learn.

Creating and Implementing the Problem-Based Lesson

The problem-based lesson that I collaborated with my colleague Tracey Howse to create was another valuable experience in my quest to become a more effective Lead Technology Teacher. In reflection, I found it interesting that after 15 years of creating lessons and writing lesson plans, including problem-based lessons, I was "trippin'" (the only way to describe my feelings) on how difficult it was to decide on the concept and problem. Perhaps it was because I haven't had to do lesson planning on my own for over a year and it was hard for me to narrow down the scope. Also I find that I, and I believe a lot of teachers do this, make a bigger deal out of lessons when I know that I am going to be using technology. I'm trying to get over it, practice what I preach, and look at technology integration more "naturally" and not approach it like I have to have this huge grand lesson. But this has proven to be a challenge.

Tracey brought in the Scholastic Keys software that we used (we have a license at school) and we decided on the spreadsheet application. I love using and teaching Excel. Okay...so we used a scholastic key template about cookie dough which has students determine how many ingredients they would need to make a certain number of rice crispy cookies. Therein lies the problem. Users are able to type in information and the spreadsheet figures out the solution to the problem. In order to make the learning activity more relevant we augmented the template to require students to estimate how many cookies it would take to have one for each 3rd grader in our school. We used the names of the teachers in 3rd grade and provided actual numbers of students in the classroom. This is meeting math standards for third grade, requiring students to use the math operations of addition, and multiplication. It would be appropriate for teachers to use as students are learning that multiplication is repeated addition. Students would work as partners to first estimate, do the math, then enter the data and see how close they were in estimating and whether their math was correct. This is a strong introduction to spreadsheets and formulas.

To improve the learning experience I would add actual rice krispie treats to the mix, and also use examples of the actual ingredients (boxes of cereal, bags of marshmallows, boxes of butter) so the students have real-life references. To extend or differentiate the experience I would have students complete an extended response explaining how they solved the problem using their own minds and using the spreadsheet and how they see the connection between the two.

My Opinion of the National Staff Development Council definition of Professional Development

The National Staff Development Council has created a definition for Professional Development for use in the redevelopment of No Child Left Behind. It states that professional development is:

"comprehensive, sustained and intensive approach to improving teachers' and principals' effectiveness in raising student achievement."

The subtext states that it "fosters collective responsibility for improved student performance." It is "conducted among educators facilitated by well prepared school principals, and/or school based professional development coaches, mentors, master teachers, or other teacher leaders." Takes place "several times per week among established teams" of educators. Organized as a continuous cycle of improvement that evaluates needs and establishes goals based on data and student performance. The identified learning goals include "implementing coherent, sustained, and evidence-based learning strategies; provides job embedded coaching; regularly assesses effectiveness; informs on-going improvements; and is supported by courses, workshops, institutes, networks, and conferences.

Interesting definition. The words that stand out to me are "comprehensive, sustained, and intensive approach." Comprehensive means complete, sustained means continued, and intensive means concentrated 0n a single subject or topic for a short time. First of all, comprehensive and intensive are not really compatible for me. It is really difficult for me as a learner to have an intense course and consider it to be comprehensive. Based on my own experiences (excluding the Nurturing Teacher Leadership program which I mentioned in a previous post) something is lost, either the comprehension or the intensity. I am the kind of learner who needs to have time to practice a skill over again - and I can't be the only one. The "hit-it-and-quit-it" format does not work for me because I don't often have time to go home and play and teach myself in order to master a new skill or strategy, especially related to technology.

Another phrase that sticks out to me is "fosters collective responsibility for improved student performance". This lets me know that a lot of people are selling "snake oil" and the administrators or districts buying it will be breathing down teachers' necks with "intensive training" to see if they can make the next miracle cure for low student achievement work after hours of comprehensive, intensive PD training.

After those words it all started sounding like Charlie Brown's teacher, waa, wamp, wamp...several times a week... waa...several times per week...established teams...waaaaa. In a nutshell it seems like some nice words that look good on paper but not really realistic or feasible to me.

On Getting Others at Spencer Tech Academy to Use More Technology In Their Teaching and Student Learning

At the ICE (Illinios Computing Educators) conference there was a session entitled "Getting Teachers to Adopt Technology" by Rushton Hurley. He gave a list of "do's and don'ts" which I won't go into because, I can't remember them all. What I do remember, was a point that he made that summed it all up: Teachers are interested in technology that will save them time or help kids learn better. Teachers at Spencer Tech use technology pretty regularly. The next step is for students to get more hands-on and more rich experiences with the technology. Through these experiences they should be able to connect or utilize the technology with content in such a way that it deepens their understanding or shows evidence of learning. Helping kids learn better.

Often it seems that the "technology unit" has to be something huge or extra that the teachers and students do and definitely not something that saves them time. These units seem to be better suited for after the ISAT because then there is more time to do the extra stuff if takes to pull these projects off. Getting teachers and students to use more technology B.I. (before ISAT) means getting away from the notion (I can't believe I used the word "notion" the Obamas are rubbing off on me.) of a "technology project". The "project" or "unit" mindset can also make the work disconnected from the basic curriculum so students and teachers may not see what basic and concrete skills are being developed; unless one is talking about skills based software programs. Those programs are valuable uses of technology but, we need to get more students using applications (word processing, spreadsheets, etc), blogging, creating digital artifacts, using web 2.0 and using peripherals such as digital cameras more often. These are some strategies that I plan to or will continue to use:

1. Continue to make myself available as a resource and leader and offer ideas and encouragement to my colleagues regarding their use of technology with and by their students.

2. Discuss with colleagues where they are in regard to technology use and comfort and suggest ways that they can build on the strengths they already have in technology and their content area and how those two can connect to each other.

3. Assist colleagues in showcasing and displaying the artifacts that they and their students create.

4. Commit to follow-up and follow-through with colleagues who ask for assistance or with whom I am collaborating.

5. Encouraging colleagues to reflect on challenges and creating a "bank" of technology based activities that they can use.

6. Help identify students who have strong technology skills and who can assist teachers.

7. Work with colleagues using technology that will help their students learn and not be a lot of extra work for them.

I am very proud of the teachers at Spencer Tech. The level at which they do use technology continues to increase as time passes. As we get into A.I. (after ISAT) time I look forward to more opportunities to support relevant and rich use of technology by students and teachers at our school. Those that do not require much more work for teachers, and that help students learn better. If you have any other suggestions for strategies I can adopt, please comment.

The Most Important Aspects of 21st Century Literacy

One important aspect of 21st century literacy is whether the idea of "literacy" needs to be redefined. The most basic and outdated definition of literacy is the ability to read and write. This definition first came about in the late 1800s. Now, over a century later with many educational, technological and social advances behind us the idea of literacy must be expanded. I found an interesting definition on the site of "Information Age Inquiry" (http://virtualinquiry.com/inquiry/literacy.htm). The expanded meaning of literacy is "the ability to locate, evaluate, use, and communicate using a wide range of resources including text, visual, audio, and video sources." I believe that 21st century educators and students should adopt this type of definition of literacy as a first step in preparation for more relevant, rigorous, and related learning.

Another important aspect of 21st Century Literacy is having 21st century literate teachers in front of students. I watched a recommended video that features the topic and this is what came to my mind. Through no real fault of their own, just simple evolution, many teachers find themselves "digitally illiterate". The challenge is helping those teachers understand the need to become digitally literate, receive training in integrating various types of technology into learning activities, and bring that increased literacy into the classroom. We have new teachers who are digitally literate but not experienced with teaching so we have to meet the needs of both of these populations in order to meet the educational needs of our 21st century students. One strategy may include teaming rookie and veteran teachers for collaboration or two-way mentoring.

Not only must teachers be willing to learn from each other, whether rookie or veteran, but teachers must also be willing to learn from students. This exchange will not only help teachers learn the latest new technology tricks, it will provide insight into students' abilities, ideas, personalities, and understanding. It can also strengthen as opposed to diminishing the student - teacher relationship. Especially at the upper grade and high school level, the role of teacher must evolve to be more collaborative, coaching, and guiding. It has been a long time since teachers could claim to have all of the answers. In the 21st century we have to be willing to guide students to find answers to questions that we have too.

Using Computer Games as Educational Tools

When I was in school way back in the 80's video the video games I was exposed to didn't focus on much more than accumulating points in order to acquire more play pieces or advance levels. I remember Pong - and was only any good at "Centipede". I suppose these could help reinforce counting and place value skills, perhaps a little critical thinking for simple strategy. But soon after high resolution sports and multi-level fantasy games evolved and after watching them played (I can't even begin to do it myself) I support the notion that computer games are educational tools, not only the ones that are specifically designed for education but the mainstream games as well. Computer/video games are engaging and especially those that have several levels require all forms of higher order thinking. I'm thinking of a games that have a hero or heroine going through many levels, acquiring various items that are required to complete tasks, having to return or go back and start again to try different approaches. These games promote analysis, synthesis, evaluation, and the affective domain throughout. These types of games have been developed for all age groups, and most interests in addition to the basics of reading and mathematics.

Some criticize that these games are not viable or engaging for all students; but which learning approaches are engaging for ALL students. As a student I would do well with them because I don't have an aptitude for playing video games. But, I believe that video games can be used to benefit many students that we are losing in education, especially the groups of students who are bored by or don't see the relevance of or feel a connection to what is generally taught in the classroom. Video and computer games touch all categories of interest, sports, adventure, militarism, geography, fantasy, etc. and are another tool that should be used (with all the others) in the 21st century classroom.

http://www.edutopia.org/are-computer-and-video-games-effective-teaching-tools

My Last GREAT Professional Development Experience

When I think of great professional development I go back three years to my experience with the Nurturing Teacher Leadership program through the Chicago Teachers Union when I was working on National Board Certification. This was not a one or two session program but 600 hours of PD and reflection of my teaching practice over a nine month period. It was set up as one large cohort of 75 with several smaller ones with 4 or 5 members. We received whole group presentations about various teaching philosophies and techniques that utilized different presentation formats including multimedia, lecture, and breakout activity-based. The most valuable aspect was being able to go back into the smaller cohort groups and discuss and reflect on whether or how the different techniques and strategies could improve our teaching practice. We also had time to implement some strategies and techniques and come back to share how they did or did not work. Being required to reflect on one's teaching practice is the best way to improve it. Thus making the professional development relevant, rigorous and related to me as a teacher, which is what PD is supposed to be about. I realize that this was a unique opportunity, (believe me it was a difficult process and it took my reflection on it to make me truly appreciate it) and not everyone can commit the time to this type of professional development. Still the components that made it so "great" to me were the TIME to take in and dissect the information, reflecting on it, discussing it, and determining how it could fit into my practice. Then being able to implement strategies, techniques and lessons - videotaping some and sharing out - and seeing how they work in real life, having the time to share and receive critique as well. The key is TIME, something that there is rarely enough of.