Action+Research+Report

Professional Development: Does Freedom to Choose Lead to Implementation? Kristin Bryan

Lamar University Abstract Krimmel Intermediate has gained national attention for the use of one-to-one technology. We have an outstanding culture of high achieving, highly technical staff and student body. This project promotes the positive attitude of always learning and growing. To meet the ultimate needs of the students, teachers were given the opportunity to choose the technology professional development courses that they desire. Needs assessments were given to teachers at the beginning and end of the school year. Technology classes were designed to meet specific needs that were identified by the teachers. The teachers were also allowed to pick the day and time that would best fit into their schedule. For full professional development credit the teacher had to demonstrate proficiency to the trainer in their own classroom setting.

Profession Development: Does Freedom to Choose Lead to Implementation? Many teachers sit through professional development classes looking at their watches wishing their time was being better spent learning something they really wanted to implement in their classes. There are so many professional development opportunities available today it is sometimes hard for a principal or the staff development coordinator to know what the staff will benefit from most. Technology is no different; in an up and coming school so much new technology is available it is hard to have the time to train teachers on how to use all of it. Some teachers find and master one piece of technology and stick with it because they don’t have the time to train using something else. If the teachers don’t feel comfortable with the technology they will not use it with their students, leaving wonderful technology untapped. To clearly understand the needs for professional development, I had the teachers fill out a self assessment that allowed them to identify through “I can” statements which skills they were proficient at and which ones they could use train to help them master. They were given a lengthy list which included many skills that teachers on this campus should have the knowledge to be using on a daily basis and skills that were available but not widely used. After completing the needs assessment a list was compiled of skills that many teachers sought training in. The training classes were then developed and scheduled before and after school. Classes include a 45 minute training combined with a hands-on portion of the training in which the teacher had to use the new skill and have the instructor come in to see the teacher actually use the new skill with her class if applicable. //Literature Review// Just because a school district provides computers for student use this doesn’t mean that they are being used to help students understand sophisticated concepts. Mouza, (2002) indicates that most teachers and students are using technology to automate previous instructional practices. To advance use of technology in the classroom Sparks, (2001) recommends creating more accountability for the quality of professional development by requiring integrated school-based professional development plans and making their review a central part of the planning. Hines, (2012) says, “For most educators working in schools, professional learning is the singular most accessible means they have to develop the new knowledge, skills, and practices necessary to better meet students' learning needs.” Ferriter, (2011) says that teachers resist professional development if it really doesn't align with the knowledge and skills that they know they need in order to improve. In a three year study it was found that, “professional development is effective when it focuses on specific higher-teaching strategies including the use of technology” (__Porter et. al., 2000, p. 8).__ //Action Research Design// // Subjects // The subjects for this action research were the 52 teachers at Krimmel Intermediate School in Klein ISD in Klein, Texas. The technology professional development classes were offered to the teachers of Krimmel as a portion of their designated technology training for the campus. They were told they needed to satisfy at least 6 hours of technology training which included their classroom observation time. It was set forth that this method of training would help them learn new technique which they were interested in using in their own classrooms. The type of training and the times for the training were selected by the teacher in an effort to see an increase in implementation in the classroom. // Procedures // The original strategy was co-managed by me and my mentor. We worked on a list of what skills that teachers might have, should have or wanted to have. Next, the self assessment needs survey was put together as an online assessment and was posted to the school wiki. At the beginning of the school year teachers were asked to take the needs assessment by the 2nd week of school. This would allow time for disaggregation and developing of training classes. Classes then proceeded through the first semester of the school year. This gave the teachers plenty of time to work the training classes into their schedules and well as giving the trainers time to observe performance in the classroom. The needs assessments were used to give maximum benefit to the classes. It allowed for developing exactly what the teachers wanted from the training and only covered very precise topics in each class. The idea of the project was to instruct on exactly what the teachers wanted to learn as to not waste anyone’s time. The action research project is being implemented through a series of professional development training sessions. Training classes take place before or after school for 45 minutes. The classes focus on one particular topic per class. Teachers sign up for the individual training class that they want to focus training on. Topics include Outlook calendar, email, LMS assessments, DyKnow Vision, Photo Story, animations, to name a few. The topics are brief, concise and focused to allow teachers to really focus on what they need or want to know. It then allows them to use the new techniques without being overwhelmed. Many of the resources, such as computers, training rooms and technical support are readily available at my campus. The technology leader scheduled many of the classes and arranged for training staff to instruct the lessons. The teachers were give professional development hours for the classes they attended. Teachers were required by the site based committee to earn 6 hours of technology campus based training. These classes fulfilled this requirement. No funding was needed for this action research project. All of the technology used was already available to the teachers. The classes were taught by staff already employed at the school so no additional staffing was needed. // Data Collection // The final step for my action research project was to conduct a feedback survey to determine if teachers felt like they got the exact training that they wanted and did it have a positive impact on the student achievement in their classrooms as a result of their implementation of their new found knowledge. If teachers feel like they are learning what they need to know then they will be more apt to use what they have learned and this will ultimately benefit the students. The survey paralleled the original needs assessment the teachers took at the beginning of the school year. They assessed what skills they now have and to what extent they now are implementing that new technology. //Findings// Data indicated that 75% of the teachers were satisfied with the process indicating that they were happy to have a choice in what they received training. 65% of the teachers expressed a positive attitude about the times offered for taking classes. 80% of teachers indicated that they benefited from the technology training and now use their new skills with their students in their classroom. All of this 80% indicated that their students benefited from the implementation of the new technology skills. Teachers who were not happy with the process indicated that they had already taken their required courses and did not want to participate in the program. Some teachers had rather take the courses during the summer and did not want to take classes before or after school. Only 20% indicate that despite the option to choose what they wanted to learn they still did not use the technology in their class. //Conclusion and Recommendations// In conclusion giving teachers a choice as to what they want to learn for their technology professional development hours seems to lead to greater implementation of technology in the classroom in turn benefiting the students. The results of this research were presented to the administrators and professional development coordinators on my campus. I showed the data also to the site based committee and I recommend that they use this type of professional development in the future. I will extend the result to other schools in the district so that technology professional development can better serve the teachers who will be using and implement the technology. A professional growth plan would include needs assessments for teachers at the beginning of each school year followed by an individual technology improvement plan to fit the needs of each teacher. Teachers will then be given options for training classes then they will have the opportunity to exhibit their new skills. This type of training will benefit teachers much better than a general one size fits all training class. It allows the teacher to decide exactly what she wants and/or needs to learn. If a teacher has a student with special needs in her class and she want specialize training to accommodate that child then she would be able to enroll in a class to meet that need. In the future professional development classes could be taught in this “as needed” way so that a teacher could go online and take prepared online courses that meets her needs and fulfills her professional development obligation. Communication with community members really did not take place in the action research project at this point. However, anything that increases the abilities of the teacher is a service to the community as a whole. In the future if support for this type of training is needed and the community could help with financial support I am sure it would not be hard to communicate these needs to the community. It was not hard to build a share commitment for this project with the administrators in the building. They wanted each teacher to be trained on the technology so that they were more apt to use as many tools as possible. Over the past 5 years teacher had settled into using what they most felt comfortable with and this was different for each teacher. This project allows teachers the opportunity to grow where they need it the most. An individual growth plan for teachers is just as important as it is for our students.

References

Ferriter, B. (2011) Why do Teachers Resist Professional Development? //The Tempered// //Radical.// Retrieved from []

Hines, S. (2012) Standards for Professional Learning. //Looking Forward//. Retrieved from [].

Mouza, C. (2002) Learning to Teach with New Technology, Implications for Professional Development. Columbia University, 35(2), p. 272.

Porter, A. & Garet, M. & Desimone, L. & Yoon, K. & Birman, B. (2000). Does professional development change teaching practice? Results from a three-year study. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education. p. 8.

Sparks, D. (2001) Designing Powerful Professional Development for Teachers and Principals. //National Staff Development Council//. Oxford, OH. p. 97.