Action Plan for Professional Development

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ACTION PLAN

"School improvement happens when a school develops a professional learning community that focuses on student work and changes teaching…In order to do that, you need certain kinds of skills, capacities, and relationships. Those are what professional development can contribute to…Any school that is trying to improve has to think of professional development as a cornerstone strategy." Fullan, Michael (1999)

     As called for in the National Education Technology Standards for Students (2007), an integrated program prepares students to learn effectively and live productively. According to the NETS*S, a complete program focuses on six areas: Source: National Educational Technology Standards Project of the International Society for Technology in Education. http://cnets.iste.org/index.html.

1. Creativity and Innovation
   
2. Communication & Collaboration
   
3. Research & Informational Fluency
   
4. Critical Thinking, Problem Solving & Decision-Making
   
5. Digital Citizenship
   
6. Technology Operations & Concepts.
   

    As we attempt to evaluate our professional development training, I believe educators must have a larger plan or idea of what we want our students to remember. To this end, our campus professional development agendas should exemplify true learning. These plans or ideas or known to me as "Enduring Understanding" or, in other words, "what are the big ideas that I want my students to remember after they have forgotten many of the details we have introduced into the classroom"? 
     
     Generally speaking, there should be at least one or two big ideas about each facet of the development. Otherwise, they aren't big ideas anymore. Teachers attending professional development at my campus will understand that… above all curriculum specific design, collegial mentoring and leadership can create and strengthen standards-based proficiencies in the classroom and technology could lead the way to the overall literacy and resulting higher test scores for the students and henceforth, the campus. Since the professional development results of the TEXAS STaR Chart highlighted the technological improvement required by the staff, I will endeavor to incorporate the learner-centered staff development criteria as it pertains to Microsoft Office 2007 into my staff training session by ensuring that the following points are addressed.


What are the "Big Ideas" or questions that will frame the instruction and learning that occur in our professional development agenda? 

• Will we ensure that the "Big Ideas" or questions are of a higher level than a regular teaching question that routinely asks for a display of knowledge?
  
• 
  
  
  
  We will want teachers to think about student friendly language; for example, "To what extent, or in what ways……."
  
  
  • Might teachers purposefully design compelling learning environments, experiences, and materials that involve the integration of technology?
    
  • Might teachers apply successful technology pedagogy to their work of classroom leadership?
    
  • Might mentoring differ from other forms of teaching and learning?
    
  • Will or should these new revelations in learning cause a paradigm shift in the way I approach learning in my classroom and will I embrace or refuse the shift? If so, will it meet the different needs of my students? "DECISION POINT"!
    
  • Might mentoring be used as a tool for initiating, implementing, and sustaining change?
    
  • Might effective mentors build shared campus cultures of learning?
    
  • Might emerging technologies be used to facilitate mentoring, leadership, change, and the development of technology-based curricular proficiencies as they apply to literacy in all areas of our curriculum?
    
  
  
  
  
• The content of professional development focuses on what students are to learn in the classroom and how to address the different problems they may have in learning the new technology concepts.
  
• I will ensure through the use of approved guidelines and TEKS that the Professional development is based on analyses of the differences between (a) the expectations of actual student performance and the (b) goals and standards for student learning.
  
• During this staff training I will involve teachers in identifying what they need to learn and in developing the learning experiences and lesson plans in which they will be involved in building for the first week of class.
  
• I will ensure that the staff training is school-based and built into the day-to-day work of teaching.
  
• The professional development will be organized around collaborative problem solving as it pertains to Microsoft Office 2007.
  
• I will endeavor to design the Professional development session in a manner that will be continuous and ongoing, involving follow-up and support from the Superintendent through the faculty and staff to promote further learning – including support from sources external (Microsoft.com) to the school that can provide necessary resources and new perspectives.
  
• The scheduled Professional development training will incorporate evaluation of multiple sources of information on (a) outcomes for students and (b) the instruction and other processes involved in implementing lessons learned through professional development.
  
• The Professional development will provide opportunities to understand the theory underlying the knowledge and skills being learned as well as integrating the new software technology within the classroom of each staff member's specific curriculum requirements as aligned with the TEKS.
  
• The Professional development will be connected to a comprehensive change process focused on improving student learning and a productive and efficient use of new software.
  

KNOWLEDGE (What faculty needs to know)
Category of Training	Topics To Be Addressed	Objectives
Approaches & Methods	The National Standards provide us with guidance to ensure that students receive a "balanced" diet of instruction" that will lead to healthy language use. Just as a steady diet of only one food leads to malnutrition, reliance on a single approach or method is likely to result in a menu of technology education that does not provide sufficient "nourishment" for students. The "Highly Qualified" teachers of our district will draw upon a wide repertoire of pedagogical approaches and instructional strategies to support student learning, including: Communicative approach Cooperative Learning Problem/project-based learning Technology-based activities Thematic and curricular-specific planning Effective teachers adjust their instruction based on the needs, interests, and proficiency levels of their students.	Teachers will be able to identify approaches used by our instructors in modeling the lessons during professional development activities. Teachers will be able to develop instructional materials congruent with the National Standards and the TEXAS Essential Knowledge and Skills. Teachers will be able to identify a variety of instructional approaches that are differentiated and designed to meet the diverse learner needs of their classrooms.
Curriculum & Lesson Design	Creating standards-based, articulated lesson-plans integrating technology and specifically Microsoft Office 2007 in addition to new and emerging technology tools. Effectively communicating our Campus Technology Plan with all campus stakeholders.	Teachers should be able to use technology to develop instructional materials congruent with State and National Standards. Teachers should be able to align classroom instruction utilizing differentiated instruction. Teaches will be able to assess student proficiency using a variety of assessment tools and techniques.
Instructional Planning and Strategies	Instructional Strategies Classroom Techniques Mentoring strategies Interaction with interdepartmental staff and technology personnel. Learning Styles How learning styles can inform instructors and affect instruction delivery. Diverse Learners Meeting the needs of all learners in the appropriate manner. Using IEP's to assist differentiated instruction. Lesson Planning Developing planning templates and processes specific to each curricular area using new and emerging technologies. Classroom Management Strategies to create an interactive classroom, including grouping and pairing students, creating learning centers.	Teachers will be able to engage in professional conversation with colleagues about core-specific instructional strategies. Teachers will be able to identify a menu of instructional approaches to differentiate learning requirements and be able to justify chosen approaches based on learner/situational needs utilizing technology as necessary.
Assessment	Purpose and perspectives of assessments. Assessing students, Assessing ourselves as teachers. Assessing the assessment process and the product used for assessment.	Through the use of existing technology as referred to in the most recent results of our campus TEXAS STaR Chart; Teachers will be able to identify and select a variety of assessment tools and strategies that will allow teachers to…. Create instructional materials that will contextualize grammar concepts and …. Connect structure and proficiency, using effective strategies for teaching grammar (pedagogical grammar) including general comprehension techniques.
Technology	Technology used for personal and professional productivity. Specifically, Microsoft Office Professional 2007 as well as other identified new and emerging technologies. Technology used for/addressing curriculum specific classroom needs. Technology used for faculty and staff networking.	Teachers will use various technology applications while creating and implementing curriculum specific instructional materials. Teachers will use required available technology applications and software in order to network with their colleagues.
Reflective Practice and Leadership	Self-reflection and standards-based (TEKS) checklists to prompt thinking about teaching and learning with technology in particular.	Teachers will complete self-evaluations and checklists about their instructional practices. Teachers will use technology to reflect and share with other teachers.
Pathways to Certification	Certification requirements addressing state and national requirements for appropriate technology certifications.	Teachers will use existing technology to locate certification requirements and information specific to technology applications. Teachers will obtain a better understanding of the instructional technologist's qualifications to assist in their classrooms as well as become more proficient at using existing technologies in their own classrooms. Opportunities for teachers to obtain MCAS, ICS, and/or MOS certifications to enhance technological and experiential expertise.

 

Introduction

     Using the template above, the identified professional development instructors will develop and use online surveys through our district and campus website to address the above listed points as a beginning for developing a professional development program that addresses and supports on-going campus requirements for our administration, faculty and students. These surveys will attempt to gather data from all personnel and specifically, teachers concerning teachers perceptions, educational philosophy and change averseness (propensity to apply technology in an innovative and creative manner) to name a few. At any rate, the process of forward thinking and vision for our students will be highlighted and held in very high regard as we embody the technological change that is coming whether we as a campus embrace it or not.

Our professional development program should be designed to take advantage of our the current program that emphasizes a "High Yield Performance Program". Specifically, Plan, Do, Study, Act. In using a pre-existing program, opportunity exists for teachers to utilize and build upon an existing knowledge base without expectations for learning new technology that may or may not be relevant for their curricula. 

Professional Development – Stage 1

Convocation area: One half day of In-Service Training prior to beginning of new school year

Campus wide – Principal (Instructional leader)

1. • Addresses current AEIS, AYP, and TEXAS STaR Chart results, purpose, and campus implications.
     
   • Explains the agenda for the training day.
     
   • Asst. Principals address specific areas of training and designate areas of learning based on teaching area (departmental teachers remain together as a group as they travel to the various training areas).

   •   1 hour training segments addressing technology integration:
   • Implementing appropriate components of Microsoft Office 2007 into content specific models of lessons for each specific department.
     
   • Introducing the teacher tutorials for the specific software areas of interest for the teachers.
     
   • Blogging – using school-wires as tool for reflection, advocacy, and community building.
     
   • RSS - as a tool for aggregating information across a variety of sources.
     
   • Introduce Podcasting and its' educational usage in general.
     
   • Skype - as a tool for developing oral proficiency in both the interpersonal and interpretive modes to address the literacy and comprehension issues noted in the campus AEIS results.
     
   • Web 2.0 applications - as tools for developing activities.
     
   • Wikis – tools for collaborative learning.
     
   • Areas of training are designed to introduce through lesson models, the technology available through the technology infrastructure of our district and campus.
     

2. 
   
   LUNCH
   
   
   • Return to Convocation area for follow-up on day-1 training to this point and set expectations for the remainder of the day's training, field follow-up questions concerning the day's training activities, and break out and begin exploring in collaborative work groups (probably departmental, as this would allow specific areas of exploration to occur) the learning and new technology introduced in today's training.
   
   Professional Development Stage 2
   
   
   Day 2 will begin exactly as did Day 1 with the exception of the training agenda for the day.
   
   
   

• Today we must ask the teachers what evidence will show that teacher participants understand and can perform? Especially, after a half-day of dedicated practice time the previous day.
• Have the teachers been able to design quizzes, reflective or learning journals for their classrooms (hopefully digital), work samples of lesson plans, curriculum guides, etc. If not why?
  
  
  • Have the teachers experimented with blogs and commenting on one another's blogs?
  
  

1. Assessment of Training using "CAN DO" statements.
   
   
   • I can design instructional activities that address interpersonal, interpretive and presentational modes of communication. (Word, Excel, PowerPoint in no specific order)
     
   • I can incorporate authentic materials into standards-based instructional lessons for students.
     
   • I can implement differentiated learning through the use of technology.
     
   • I can assess my student's learning in a variety of ways.
     
   • I can use technology for personal and professional productivity.
     
   • I can use mentoring strategies to ass and discuss professional practice with my fellow-teachers.
     
   • I can be an advocate of integrating technology across the curriculum.
     
   • After break-out sessions have been afforded to all departments each area must then address the above mentioned "CAN DO" points and collaborate on deficient areas and report back to the responsible administrator with a "deficiency plan" and a plan of corrective action with expected results. This activity should be given the full day of attention with this plan due in rough-draft form the following and last day of professional development. 
    
   Professional Development Stage 3  
   Day 3 begins with Convocation by the Principal and focus is placed upon the necessity of the previous two days of training and its infusion into the classroom. In accordance with the Campus Improvement Plan and the District Technology Plan, teachers will utilize available technology to the fullest extent possible. 
   

• Monitoring of the professional development training will be assessed using the current PDAS, and CIP processes and plan in addition to relevant TAKS scores as delineated by the AEIS and AYP reports. All data will be analyzed to determine the benefits, effectiveness, and adjustments to training that will be required for continued professional development training.

• The Principal will address the relevance in comparability of data and training as being extremely crucial as we ramp-up the training in the areas of technology to address deficient areas of student learning. As important to address with training is funding and results. As funding flattens and learning issues and requirements increase, ROI (return on investment) of a dollar spent per student will mandate whether or not a campus continues to embrace change or retreat into the old shell of "status quo".
  
  CONCLUSION 
  
  
  
  
  • The Principal will emphasize the use of technology and the expectations from each area of the campus.
  • The Principal will emphasize the ongoing support for technology training through peer-mentoring and the district's one instructional technologist.
  • The Principal will maximize this support through effective policy, teacher input into policy and usage, along with student input and support for a total collaborative campus.  
   
  
  

     Let us not be fooled into believing that all teacher or administrators for that matter has bought in to technology as a learning tool but those that don't will see their days numbered in education. The kids are just too important for traditional strongholds of learning to exist in a fast-paced society. The attainment of the above mentioned training rubric and goals will require the efforts of the students, teachers, campus administration, district administration along with the support of the community. This professional development action plan will strive to build on the successes that our district has experienced during the past five years. This plan will strive to build upon the strengths of the campus in a way that facilitates preparing today's students for tomorrow's technology.
     Hopefully, we are preparing our students to enter the workplace of the 21^st century with higher order thinking skills which will be essential for their success. Technology in accordance with our campus improvement plan and district technology plan will not be a curriculum but an integrated part of the learning environment. This plan in concurrence with staff and faculty training will serve as a roadmap that will enable our campus to continue to travel towards the overall goal of creating an educational environment in which technology is an integral part of both learning and teaching.