Sunday, November 24, 2013
Digital Story
I typically choose not to share much of my personal life. Perhaps it is because there has been so much trauma and sharing brings up emotions I'd rather not think about.
However, the events that occur in our lives also occur in other people's lives. Our story can serve as inspiration to others who may be experiencing challenges or similar circumstances (Lambert 2013). I chose to share a story about how I became a teacher.
Teaching is more powerful than most people realize. It impacts students, their families, and most of all, those who teach. Becoming a teacher saved me from a life of monotony. Teaching also gave me joy and taught me that love is the most powerful gift of all.
Sources:
Lambert, Joe. "Center for Digital Story Telling". http://www.youtube.com/user/CenterOfTheStory
However, the events that occur in our lives also occur in other people's lives. Our story can serve as inspiration to others who may be experiencing challenges or similar circumstances (Lambert 2013). I chose to share a story about how I became a teacher.
Teaching is more powerful than most people realize. It impacts students, their families, and most of all, those who teach. Becoming a teacher saved me from a life of monotony. Teaching also gave me joy and taught me that love is the most powerful gift of all.
Sources:
Lambert, Joe. "Center for Digital Story Telling". http://www.youtube.com/user/CenterOfTheStory
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
Possible Challenges
With change comes opposition. My action plan centers on getting all teachers to
base competency levels with technology programs that are essential for
communication, data tracking, and resources. The second piece is to challenge
all teachers to implement at least one Web 2.0 program or other student used
technology in their classroom.
Foreseeable challenges vary from teacher apathy to the need for constant assistance. Some teachers lack basic computer skills and will need more one on one time. Depending on the member and level of teacher need, time constraints may present a challenge. Recruiting additional staff to act as mentors should allow time constraint factors to decrease by sharing the load.
Another possible major challenge is teacher apathy toward trying something new in their classrooms with Web 2.0. The initial surveys will allow teachers to select programs of interest. Hopefully by allowing teachers to choose their own development and proving assistance, apathy will be avoided.
The last major concern is network and technological availability. We have had network issues which limited the number of students who could be online at one time, and there is a limited number of computers available. This summer our complete network infrastructure was upgraded which should alleviate network overload. As for computer availability, the campus IT person is reimaging, fixing, and locating all COWs so that we have a true view on availability.
Foreseeable challenges vary from teacher apathy to the need for constant assistance. Some teachers lack basic computer skills and will need more one on one time. Depending on the member and level of teacher need, time constraints may present a challenge. Recruiting additional staff to act as mentors should allow time constraint factors to decrease by sharing the load.
Another possible major challenge is teacher apathy toward trying something new in their classrooms with Web 2.0. The initial surveys will allow teachers to select programs of interest. Hopefully by allowing teachers to choose their own development and proving assistance, apathy will be avoided.
The last major concern is network and technological availability. We have had network issues which limited the number of students who could be online at one time, and there is a limited number of computers available. This summer our complete network infrastructure was upgraded which should alleviate network overload. As for computer availability, the campus IT person is reimaging, fixing, and locating all COWs so that we have a true view on availability.
Saturday, August 3, 2013
Why focus on TEACHERS?
Teachers at Lanier have a history of low
technology fluency compared to other campuses within the district. Many teachers
are unaware or claim to be unfamiliar with pulling reports, aggregation of
data, ability to post/collect documents from googledocs, and lack of ability
with many other tools which are critical for success of students. The deficiencies
are a culmination of several factors. Lack of training, newness, infrequent
use, and even unwillingness to change procedures. Therefore, the goal of my action research
plan is to provide professional development and mentoring for teachers who self
identify as being deficient in these areas. In the past, there has not been a
person or program to support technology growth of teachers.
The action research plan begins with teacher
self-assessment of proficiencies with programs and interest in Web 2.0. Focus
groups will be held to determine why teachers feel they are deficient, what
they feel would be the best method of support, and which programs they are most
interested in developing. Once data has been collected and analyzed, I will be
meeting with the administrative team to develop mentoring/ professional
development schedule. At the end of the year, focus groups and surveys will be
administered again to determine teacher felt growth. During the year, mentor
and administrative observations will be made to monitor development of teachers
who identify as the highest need.
I hope to learn methods of supporting and
preparing teachers for success in utilizing technology and database programs so
that they can effectively use data available to address student needs, as well
as encourage use of technology to make learning more engaging. I want to increase
student achievement by increasing achievement of teachers.
Based on findings of this research project, I hope to establish a campus which feels more supported and confident in their ability to use technology for student learning. Success of the project may also lead to recommendations that will better prepare new teachers to use necessary programs at the beginning of their career. They are typically left to learn technology programs on their own while facing an already challenging learning curve of being a teacher.
Action Research Plan
SCHOOL VISION:
The school vision is to have all teachers meet base
competency levels with technological programs needed for instruction,
communication, and compilation/dissemination of data to improve effectiveness
and efficiency of teachers.
Action Steps
|
Person(s) Responsible
|
Timeline:
Start/End
|
Needed Resources
|
Desired outcomes
|
1. Initial survey
of teacher competencies
|
Medina Willis
Campus teachers
|
Start: 8/19/2013
End: 8/30/2013
|
·
google survey
·
Teacher compliance
|
Collate results
of proficiency and need
|
2. Focus group
sessions
|
Medina Willis
|
Start: 8/19/2013
End: 9/13/2013
|
·
Survey analysis
·
Teacher volunteers
|
Determination of
support needed by teachers
|
3. Survey
analysis and results meeting
|
Medina Willis
|
Start: 8/23/2013
End: 9/20/2013
|
·
Administrative team
·
Proficiency and needs analysis
|
Determination of
which needs to focus
|
4. Implementation
of Professional Development and Mentoring
|
Medina Willis
Administrative team
|
Start: 9/16/2013
End: 05/2/2014
|
·
Teachers
·
Administration team
·
Schedule
|
-Increased proficiency
in required technology
-Increased use of
Web 2.0 tools in classroom for student learning
|
5. Peer
Observation and Walk Throughs
|
Medina Willis
|
Start: 9/16/2013
End: 05/2/2014
|
·
Teachers
·
Schedule
|
-Increased proficiency
in required technology
-Increased use of
Web 2.0 tools in classroom for student learning
|
6. Final
Evaluation surveys and Focus groups
|
Medina Willis
Campus teachers
|
Start: 5/5/2014
End: 5/30/2014
|
·
Google survey
·
Teacher compliance
|
Analyze teacher
viewed outcomes of additional supportand PD
|
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Revised Idea for Action Research
After speaking with my campus site supervisor, head principal, and assistant
principal over technology initiative, we have determined that Flipped Classroom
implementation poses major challenges with action research on my campus due to
socioeconomic background of many students. We are still going to implement it
within the freshman science classrooms, but to a lower degree to account for
issues of technology available outside of the classroom and because implementing
Flipped classrooms throughout campus would not be best for the entire
campus.
On the other hand, there is a real lack of support and
training for teachers to develop technological confidence. As a result, most
technology usage on campus is by the teacher via PowerPoint, document cameras,
and projectors.
I will be targeting all teachers on campus, but primarily
focusing on core subject area teachers. All teachers are expected to be
proficient in basic technological usages which are critical to data tracking,
communication, and resource banks. Each teacher will also be required to select
at least one program of which will be utilized to enhance learning through
student use. Examples for student use are StudyIsland, Evernote, Twitter, or
Glogster.
All teachers will be included due to the campus-wide
initiative to drive student used technology for learning. Teachers will be
surveyed at the beginning of the year using a Likert scale system regarding
proficiency and comfort level with 8 software programs which are considered to
be base competency, support for technology, comfort level for implementing
student used technology, and access to hardware. They will also be given a menu
of student utilized programs, including a brief description of each, to choose
the top 2 which they have interest. The choices will be used to set up
professional development and mentoring schedule.
At the end of the school year, we will survey teachers again
regarding core competency programs, comfort level of student used technology,
access to hardware, and support for technology. The goal is to have more
teachers being fluent with technology programs and confident in implementing
technology usage for students.
1st Idea for Action Research
The purpose is to determine if technology will increase
student engagement and learning.
After meeting the campus principal I’m interested in using
the Study Island program as possibly a method of Flipped classroom. She described
Flipped classroom as where students take notes and get basic instruction on their
own before units to introduce themselves to topics. Then during instructional
time, teachers are able to spend more time on clarifying, discussing, and
applying concepts. Study island provides a summary and information where
students can take notes and quiz themselves on understanding. Then in class we
can spend more time doing labs or practicing STAAR questions.
Both students and teachers will benefit from the action
research study. I plan first to teach students how to process information using
Mind Map to take notes. Many students are only accustomed to copying information
from PowerPoint and not having to decipher information on their own. The note
passages in Study Island are more rigorous than copying from PowerPoint. So
students will also benefit from having to process the more advanced reading.
STAAR requires them to be able to decipher information from more difficult
readings than they have been exposed to in class. Students also will benefit
from the ability to know their weaknesses from the beginning of the topic,
have time and ability to go over the information again. Instead of only quizzing
students after all learning has occurred, Study Island allows students to retake
quizzes with different questions over the same standards.
Teachers benefit from the action research study by allowing
them to use technology to track student success. Having Flipped classroom allows
more time to revisit and concepts that majority of students missed. Also for my
campus, teaching students how to process information using Mind Maps will
increase student autonomy. Many students feel that they cannot do if the teacher
does not explain everything. Giving them the skills to process on their own from
the beginning of the year should promote accountability on their own.
Sunday, July 21, 2013
Blogs for Leaders
Blogs are a great tool for expressing ideas and getting feedback from others. People blog about their everyday lives, travel experiences, relationships, and families. Why not blog for education?
Educational leaders can use blogs in a number of ways. Blogs can connect leaders around the globe. International networking allows for leaders to use each other as a sounding board for ideas. Often bouncing ideas off others gives us more clarity and insight.
Blogs can also be used to track research and learning experiences. I will be using this blog frequently during my journey to achieve a Master's degree. As I implement my action research and embark on an 18 month internship, I plan to share my experiences and would like you to give me feedback.
Reflection is key to development. Often we reflect silently. Blogging is a way to share reflections with others and to get feedback on ideas. I welcome your responses and ask that you help me with my leadership journey.
Leadership blogging is a great way to share ideas, reflect on experiences, and track learning.
Educational leaders can use blogs in a number of ways. Blogs can connect leaders around the globe. International networking allows for leaders to use each other as a sounding board for ideas. Often bouncing ideas off others gives us more clarity and insight.
Blogs can also be used to track research and learning experiences. I will be using this blog frequently during my journey to achieve a Master's degree. As I implement my action research and embark on an 18 month internship, I plan to share my experiences and would like you to give me feedback.
Reflection is key to development. Often we reflect silently. Blogging is a way to share reflections with others and to get feedback on ideas. I welcome your responses and ask that you help me with my leadership journey.
Leadership blogging is a great way to share ideas, reflect on experiences, and track learning.
Action WHAT?
The educational world is full of new
buzz words and phrases. Often it is just a new look on an old practice. The new
buzz…. ACTION RESEARCH. My first
response was “Action WHAT?”
After a little practical research about
action research, I’ve come to the realization that action research is a process
done to improve practices of teachers and leaders. Action research isn’t just
limited to the educational world. It is a practice that all professionals could
use as a method of reflection and development of best practices.
So what is action research? According
to Dana (2009), action research is the process of reflecting on your own
practices, posing questions based on reflection, researching and implementing change,
then collecting data and analyzing effects of change. True action research
would continue this process over and over.
In reality, action research is a
process that we often do without being told to do so. For instance, in college
I struggled to understand Calculus 2. After doing poorly on the first quiz, I
quickly realized that my current method of note-taking and sparse practicing of
concepts was not successful. I then decided to actively seek help and joined a
study group to practice problems and use as a sounding board to clarify my
thought process. The next quiz grade improved drastically. As a result, I
sought out study groups in more classes.
What does Calculus have to do with
action research? I followed the same steps as Elliot describes (as cited in
Dana, 2009)
(1)
Identified an area of growth – my study habits.
(2)
Formulated strategy or action to resolve problem – maybe join a study group, take
better notes, and practice more.
(3)
Implement strategy and evaluate effectiveness – joined group and evaluated next
quiz grades.
(4)
Clarify situation and identify new areas of improvement- realized that study
groups could be applied in other classes for increased learning.
Action research is a tool to enhance
growth of educational leaders and even students. It follows a natural flow of analysis
and reflection of what we do in our classrooms and schools. The more we reflect
and act, the more likely we are to have continued growth.
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