The Presentation!

Connecting and Communicating My Idea

Our rural district is fortunate to have iPad classroom sets and a device for every single student.  We also have an amazing Instructional Technologist and a Technology Director who were classroom teachers in our district for a few years before starting their new adventures.  They make an awesome team and assist our teachers with integrating the student iPads with the lesson plans and the TEKS, Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills, in their classrooms.  They provide hands-on assistance every week and are always available to help troubleshoot or answer any questions.  As I have been reading more about professional learning trends and how to be more effective, an idea came to mind.  Our amazing technology team is in the perfect position to implement effective professional learning.  Instead of our district spending thousands of dollars on sit and get professional development sessions, we can utilize our technology team to provide the go and show professional learning that is effective and engaging.  

The goal of my professional learning plan is to equip our educators with the tools to successfully utilize interactive smartphone applications to increase student academic achievement and help create a significant learning environment.  Trending interactive smartphone applications that have proven to be effective are ClassDojo, Seesaw, and Remind.  We learned early on in the Lamar Digital Learning and Leading Program it is very important to give students choice, ownership, voice, and authentic learning (COVA).  Allowing our educators to learn about all three of these interactive smartphone applications to choose the platform that best fits their style.  

Call to Action

Last school year, 2019-2020, our district spent over $60,000 in sit and get professional development sessions.  We sent our educators to the regional educational service center for trainings and to various conferences.  Instead of sending our Title I federal funds outside of the district we can utilize these funds to provide go and show Professional Learning. We can model the best practices and provide engaging professional learning communities by utilizing our key influencers, the instructional technologist and technology director.  We have an amazing technology team to get us started in the right direction to learn how to effectively utilize interactive smartphone applications to increase student academic achievement and help create a significant learning environment.  

Professional Learning Blueprint

Phase 1 – Recruitment, Motivation, Inspiration

To grab the attention of our educators and motivate them our technology team will provide insight with quick video clips of trending interactive smartphone applications successfully being utilized in other Title I middle schools who have a high population of students and families who are economically disadvantaged.  Too often our educators have been discouraged by the simple fact that they learn what is successful in affluent school districts which have unlimited resources.  Our Title I educators need to see what is currently successful and proven as a best practice in other Title I schools.  We need to compare apples to apples to keep the educators hooked and engaged.  

Phase 2 - Implementation

Next, our educators will create accounts for each of the interactive smartphone applications and explore each platform with the help of our technology team.  They will have ample time to explore each platform hands-on and explore the possibilities both on their own and within groups.  Once they have narrowed down their choice of platform (COVA model) they will divide into groups and dig deep into their selected interactive smartphone application.  Each group will be provided with interactive activity examples that will allow them to gain skills.  When the educators feel comfortable and ready they will showcase their skills with other educators in their group as well as with their department leads and cohorts.  

Phase 3 – Assessment of Outcomes

At the end of the school year, the educational team members will share the impact made on student academic achievement and celebrate the milestones.  They will share and reflect on which activities had the most impact and which did not meet their expectations.  Team members will also discuss ideas on how to expand the plan to include the upper grade levels.  The educational team will implement a strategy for the following school year.

Audience

The audience of my professional learning plan is the principals, educators, instructional coaches, and response to interventionists of middle school grade 6.  For the professional learning plan to be successful, educators must acquire a depth of knowledge by participating in engaging, hands-on activities.  The principals have to completely understand the plan to support it.  And the instructional coaches and response to interventionists have to be equally as involved since they work more closely with the struggling and students who are at-risk of not meeting academic growth and achievement.  The technology team will need to serve as the guide and facilitate an environment for educators to feel comfortable asking questions as we have many experienced teachers who have very little experience utilizing digital components and devices.  Just as we have learned how important it is to create a significant learning environment for students, we need to provide the same opportunity for our educational team who themselves will be the students.  For professional learning to be successful, we need to provide an environment that provides opportunities for collaboration, discussion, and modeling of skills.

​

Fostering Collaboration

To foster meaningful collaboration among our educational team properly, they will be encouraged from the very beginning of the professional learning to post and submit questions online utilizing google forms which allows users to submit questions in a comfortable environment. Every question is equally as important and this application allows users to post privately.  Our educational team will also share their personal ideas on how they would personally like to integrate interactive smartphone applications in their classrooms.  To further foster collaboration, educators will be divided into their core content and elective areas to plan specific classroom activities that can be shared via interactive smartphone applications.  Throughout the professional learning, the educational team will participate in engaging discussions. Upon the educators planning their classroom activities they would like to share, teams will divide into groups based on their professional learning needs.  Each group will have at least one educator or team member who has proficient skills that can be shared with others who are not as experienced or as proficient.  Meaningful collaboration is the key for success when implementing a new plan.

Fostering Self-Directed Learning

To foster self-directed learning, we will follow the COVA model of choice, ownership, voice, and authentic learning opportunities.  The educational team will have choices to select which interactive smartphone application best fits their needs and learning style.  By having a choice they will feel more empowered to learn.  The educational team will also have many opportunities to engage in meaningful discussions and reflections.  Upon making their very own choice, the educational team will be divided into groups based on their choice and their professional learning need.  Each group will have an educator who has proficient skills for the selected application that can be shared with others who are less familiar and who can provide hands-on assistance for educators who have very little experience with technology.  The educational teams will also have the choice of selecting which classroom activities they would like to integrate with the interactive smartphone application which models both ownership and voice.  

Throughout the school year, the educational team will meet weekly to discuss and reflect as well as be able to share tips of which activities worked more well than others, discuss issues or concerns, and help others troubleshoot with devices or applications.  The educational team will also share research and information on new trends as technology swiftly advances.

Professional Learning Instructors

The professional learning instructors in the early phase of the plan will be the instructional technologist and technology director.  They are an excellent team who are trusted throughout the campus and they are key influencers which will be extremely beneficial for the recruitment part of the plan as well as the implementation and its success.  

As we get into the implementation phase of the plan, the more experienced members of the educational team will lead within their groups and provide hands-on engaging opportunities for others to gain skills and build knowledge for the interactive smartphone applications.  Having a proficient leader within each group will ensure the effective go and show model of learning is being implemented during each weekly professional learning community (PLC).  The weekly PLCs will be key for the longevity of this plan and its success.

5 Key Principles of Effective Professional Learning

Duration:  Professional learning should take a significant amount of time and be ongoing over a period of time.  This professional learning plan provides over 32 overs of full days without students or distractions during the initial phase of recruitment, engagement, and inspiration.  Professional learning will continue throughout the school year during the weekly professional learning communities. 

Support:  Teachers must be supported while implementing what they learn and be able to work through both frustrations and practice.  During the implementation phase of the plan, all educational team members will be able to work within small groups with at least one team member who has proficient skills and is able to model, engage, and trouble shoot.  We have many experienced teachers who have little technological experience.  Having at least one proficient person within each group will help create a significant learning environment for all members while they learn and fail forward through trial and error.  When we are allowed to make mistakes in a comfortable environment, we learn.  The key influencers of the plan, the instructional technologist and technology director will be the leaders for both the recruitment and implementation phases.  

Engage:  Professional learning needs to put teachers in the driver’s seat and be active, not passive, participants to their own learning.  During the recruitment, motivation, and inspiration phase 1 of the plan and implementation phase 2 all educational team members will be actively engaged with hands-on activities.  Meaningful collaboration will take place during each phase with team members exploring each platform and learning what each has to offer.  

Model:  An expert demonstrating the skill to the teachers leads them to success because they can see it being utilized successfully.  Phase 1 of the plan will be led by 2 of the most key influencers of the campus, the instructional technologist and technology director.  This team are skilled experts of the classroom as they themselves served as teachers on other campuses before starting their new adventures.  The educational team will see exactly how the interactive smartphone applications can successfully be utilized to positively impact student academic achievement.  

Specific:  Professional learning should be specific to the subject and grade level of the teacher and suited for the students they teach.  During both the implementation phase 1 and 2 of this plan the educational team members will divide into groups by their core content and elective areas to specifically plan activities that can be shared via interactive smartphone applications.  This plan is specifically for teachers and support staff who work with students in grade 6.  The classroom activities that will be planned will be specifically aligned with the TEKS for grade 6.

Timeline

Phase 1:  Recruitment, Motivation, Inspiration

June 2021 – Email blast to Educators and Support Staff; Call to Action with iMovie Presentation; Video Clips of Interactive Smartphone Applications Successful in other Title I classrooms; Introduction for Anonymous Questions or Feedback

Phase 2:  Implementation

August 2021 – Educators and Support Staff will Login and Explore each Interactive Smartphone Application of ClassDoJo, Seesaw, and Remind;  Members will Divide Into Groups by Content  and Electives to Target Their Specific Areas; Educational Team Member of each Group will Showcase Their Skills to Demonstrate Ease and User Friendliness of Each Smartphone Application; Groups will Determine which Classroom Activities will be Shared Online

September 2021 – May 2022 Each Group will Develop a Google Docs FAQs for Tips, Reporting of Issues, and Troubleshooting; Weekly Wednesday Collaboration, Discussion, and Reflections; During each Weekly Professional Learning Community (PLC) Groups will Update Google Docs FAQs and Share Successes and Celebrations

Phase 3:  Assessment of Outcomes

June 2021 – Educational Team Members will Compare and Share Impact made on Student Academic Achievement and Discuss How To Expand into other Upper Grade Levels; Reflection of What Worked and What Didn’t;  Celebrate Successes

Resources and Media

The Why, How, and What? – This will explain why innovation in the classroom is important and necessary.  By talking to the heart I can help educators relate and understand more why it is important to engage support for student academic achievement.

The Research and Literature for Engagement Via Interactive Smartphone Applications – This will provide proven research and literature on the successes that have been documented on utilizing smartphone applications and how it impacts student academic achievement.

Professional Learning Call To Action – This resource will demonstrate the need to move from sit and get professional development to go and show professional learning.  This resource is important as it will focus on how our Technology Team of Instructional Technologist and Technology Director will implement effective strategies to achieve the desired outcomes of student academic achievement and creating a significant learning environment.

Summary

The overall goals for this Professional Learning is for our educators and support staff to be equipped with the tools and resources they need to successfully implement interactive smartphone applications into their classroom activities with parents and family members.  Additional goals are to increase student academic achievement and help create a significant learning environment for all students.  In addition, this professional learning plan will empower our educators to own their learning and help the district invest in effective strategies to implement positive change.

References

Beatty, Brenda. (2000). Teachers leading their own professional growth: Self-directed reflection and collaboration and changes in perception of self and work in secondary school teachers. Journal of In-service Education. 26. 73-97. 10.1080/13674580000200102.

Gilgore, S., Peele, H., & Riser-Kositsky, M. (2015). Parent-teacher digital exchanges studied. Education Week, 35(4), 1–16. 

Horn, M. B., Staker, H., & Christensen, C. M. (2015). Blended: Using disruptive innovation to improve schools. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. 

Maddison, S., & Lorincz, G. (2003). Bridging the Digital Divide. Computing & Control Engineering, 14(1), 26. 

Martin, E. J., & Hagan-Burke, S. (2002). Establishing a home-school connection: Strengthening the partnership between families and schools. Preventing School Failure, 46(2), 62. 

Minero, E. (2017). Parent engagement in the digital age. Retrieved June 26, 2019, from https://www.edutopia.org/article/parent-engagement-digital-age