September 2002 — Features
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Piloting, Polishing & Perfecting: Creating and Implementing a Technology Staff Development Model
Conclusions
The initial vision and plan for technology training and staff development grew and evolved into a very successful and workable model. Programs were created, piloted, refined and polished through a collaborative process across many miles. Thousands of teachers and students were positively impacted during the length of the program. All the schools involved had the opportunity to use the developed products in a way that would work best for them as a district. Participating districts realized an additional benefit - leadership.
Those who assumed the roles of Foundations Facilitators and Integra-tion Institute Faculty continued to grow professionally. In addition, each district sent representatives to bimonthly meetings to serve as members of the Leadership Team. These representatives provided input to guide the project director, coordinators and fiscal agents in making decisions for the group. They also gained information to take back to their districts.
The best parts of the project were the growth of teacher leadership and the opportunity to work with many professionals across a great distance in developing a quality product that has been beneficial to so many, including districts. Each can take the products from the consortium and fit them into their district plans however they choose. Within one of the participating districts, the Foundations modules are the standard for basic training at the district lab. All additional district technology training is created with the Foundation training modules in mind. A Technology Staff Development Committee has been formed at one district to evaluate all district modules. That committee makes sure that all Technology Applications Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TA TEKS) through grade 8 are covered by the training modules, so teachers can become competent in these TA TEKS.
The committee is also working to evaluate and modify all modules, so teachers who attend technology training gain the necessary skills, as well as provided guidance on how to implement them into their classrooms and involve students in learning these TA TEKS. The collaborative was a massive undertaking. Considering the scope of the project, facilitators were able to build on participant suggestions as well as past and present TIE training experiences in designing their fourth generation TIE program. Incorporation of participant feedback and evaluation data positively affected participants' overall views of the project.
References
Argyris, C. and D. A. Schon. 1974. Theory in Practice: Increasing Professional Effectiveness. San Francisco: Jossey -Bass.
Erlandson, D. A. et al. 1993. Doing Naturalistic Inquiry: A Guide to Methods. Newbury Park, Calif.: Sage.
Resource Links
- Apple Learning Interchange
http://ali.apple.com
- Brazos-Sabine Connection
www.brazos-sabine.org
- Texas Education Agency
www.tea.state.tx.us
- Texas A&M University Principals' Center
www.c'e.tamu.edu
