This week has been a difficult one. Not just because of the weather but also in the attempt to narrow down and finalize my action research plan. Where it started is not really where it ended up. I guess this is a part of the process but not sure I like where it ended. I first began wondering about technology staff development trainings being effective enough to enable teachers to actually implement the newly acquired ideas into their lessons which would result in an increase of technology use in the classroom. This all came about because of our campus not meeting a district requirement involving technology as I discussed in discussion board this week. When first posting my wondering I had the question stated as “Does technology staff development help teachers become more comfortable and increase the use of technology in the classroom?” After reading and reviewing the questions I realized I did not have an open ended question taking me to another revision. My question then became, “How can we ensure technology staff development assist teachers in implementing and increasing the use of technology in the classroom?” Well, that one didn’t really work either because we can’t ensure anything when it involves the actions of another. After several discussions with my mentor and others my wondering took a sharp turn. In trying to achieve a deeper understanding I realized that it may be more about what teachers do with the information and their own perceptions of effectiveness. Where one teacher may find something effective another may not. So I had to re-think and came up with a new inquiry. “How can we assist teachers in effectively implementing the newly acquired ideas from trainings attended and increase the use of technology in their classrooms?” Below is my latest revision of my action plan. I would love some feedback from you. Oh and did I mention, research is really not my thing so finding this really difficult. J
Cool! This is so similar to my action research. You are gathering your data from interviews with the admin and surveys from the teachers, correct? Do you feel confident in the administration's observations (in what you are looking for)? Are the technology department created training geared toward curriculum integration or general operations of the tool? Look forward to working with you. Cheers!
ReplyDeleteThanks Vickie for your comments. Yes I am going to gather data from interviews with admin and surveys from teachers. I am interviewing admin as to find out their specific expectations when they go in to do an observation. What I may need to think about or try to discover is if the teachers actually know what is expected in terms of technology use. As to the question of technology trainings. The faciliators of those trainings are always giving suggestions on how to integrate and are actually imputting actual plans on our curriculum site. Hope that answers your questions. Look forward to hearing more from you.
ReplyDeleteHas your principal signed off on this? I ask because my "wondering" changed pretty dramatically once I talked to my principal (my site mentor has administrative certifications but is not a principal). What seemed like a good idea to us wasn't the first thing on my principal's mind. Just wanted to through that out there before you get too far down the road. It would've been smarter of me to ask a lot sooner than I did...
ReplyDeleteHi Blaine, I have been working mostly with my mentor on this. My vice principal (my immediate supervisor) is aware of the topics I was thinking about. I made my lastest decision with my mentor. Due to school being closed last week and other responsibilities my VP has had this week I have not been able to show her the latest. I do know my administrators want to see more integration and use of technology. My plan has already changed from what I initially started with and still may change again. I appreciate your comments am and always open to hear others thoughts.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a terrific topic but I feel it misses an important aspect: using technology in lessons. The way I see it, teachers can feel comfortable using certain technologies but whether or not they actually integrate them into their lessons is a whole different story! If technology integration into curriculum instruction is the overall goal, I think this is the first step and would encourage you to look further. Great job and good luck!!
ReplyDeleteThanks Jeff for your thoughts. Integration and use is the goal. So help me understand what exactly did I leave out?? Our teachers have access to integrated lessons already......but they are not using them......I want to know why and what they think or feel they need to enable them to use them. Does my plan not say this exactly?
ReplyDeleteThe recurring theme I see is interviews. I know this is a way to collect data and it SHOULD tell you why they may not be using available technology and what you can do to enable them but it seems to me that if integration and effective use is the goal, there should be a "lesson planning and practice" aspect. I know this may involve several extra steps and that can be overwhelming but if all you focus on is how they feel about using the available technology or whether or not they're even using it, I don't think true progress or change is occurring.
ReplyDeleteThanks, I see your point. The lesson planning and practice would come under the action I stated in "Provide Wheeler Teachers group or one on one trainings..." which would come from what their surveys of what they felt they needed. So perhaps I need to work on the wording of that. What do you think?
ReplyDeleteI think that sounds great. It's difficult for me to wrap my head around things that may be implied or seem obvious to others. I need them spelled out. The group or one-on-one trainings could "plan lessons which incorporate available technologies that are within teacher reported comfort levels" or something to that effect...
ReplyDeleteThanks Jeff. I like that, will definitely get that changed. Now waiting to hear from my mentor and her suggestions. Looks like I won't get my assignment in until tomorrow night. Thanks for all your comments and assistance. Big help! :)
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