Staff Development Thesis

Staff Development

Technology

15+ Years– How to Talk to Your Apple– Teaching Teachers Computers, Not

Programming Doing a great job!? Years with 20% to 60% participation Just add money!

– Thesis topic!

Teaching Teachers Technology

$132,000 TTT Grant for 98/99 District Staff Development Lab $13/hour stipend Around 80 different topics Graduate Credit October - March After school, evenings, weekends

Results?

44% participation

44% Participation

Why?

New Thesis topic.

Duh!

I found the reason,

and it is I

Research exists

Early/Late Adopters– Crossing the Chasm - Moore, 1991

TeachingAdult Learners

Early and late adopters

Innovators are the first 2.5% of adopters and are venturesome

Early adopters are the next 13.5% and are respectable– They purchase right away

Late adopters are the next 68%– Early majority are deliberate – Late majority are skeptical

Laggards (resisters)– last 16% and are characterized as being traditional.

Crossing the Chasm

A gap exists between early adopters and late adopters when it comes to purchasing new technologies.

The assumption that late adopters follow the lead of early adopters has proven to be wrong.

Reaching the late adopters requires special attention to vastly different needs, perspectives and demands

Late adopters

Evidence suggests that more than 70% of teachers fall into the reluctant or late adopter categories when it comes to technology.

Early Adopters

Willing to try new technologies Willing to live with bugs

– Beta testers Self learners

Inventors– Modify and tinker

Late Adopters

70+ Percent of adults– Early and late majority, resisters

Want a finished product That works And has value

Research on late adopters

1930s and earlier Farmers Hybrid corn

Selling to late adopters

Home demonstrations Peer persuasion

– Beachheads Show value Complete package that works

Strategies needed to reach the late technology adopters

Showing gains in student performance Providing a complete package that works No risks and no surprises Information in a language they can

understand Continual support Small groups

Strategies - Late adopters

Finding what turns them on – What’s in it for me?

Rewards and incentives Requirements

– Business


In a survey reported in 1993, 96% of teachers who were familiar with computers were self taught– Early adopters


Do not let the early adopters plan for the late adopters.– They have more tolerance for frustration

than the late adopters and have a difficult time designing training that works for the reluctants


Teachers should be allowed to choose the skills they want to build on, and design a unit or lesson around that new skill.

They should be drawn into discussions about what they want their classroom to become

Staff development is most effective when it is individualized

Let teachers choose what they need (or want) to know

how they want to learn and the timeframe for the learning.

This is the just-in-time training model

Provide Adult Learninginstead of staff development!

Adults want choice They will learn more energetically when

they have options that match their interests, styles and preferences.

Design the learning with an emphasis on comfort

Provide time - do not rush

Provide Adult Learning

Understand that adults do not want to look foolish in front of other teachers or students

The optimal training session is eight teachers.


People using technology want to know what they want to know.– Not what we think they should know– Toss away another topic idea :-(

They have a low tolerance for listening to needs that are not their own.– Keep them grouped by interest


They need to see a reason for learning– Intrinsic, Extrinsic or mandated

They want a safe learning environment


Adults are more concerned about time.– They have more time commitments, and need

to feel the time they spend is an investment They need unstructured opportunities to

play around with new ideas and skills. They need to be able to use the new idea or

skill to produce something practical


Teachers learn best by – studying, doing, and reflecting;

– collaborating with other teachers– sharing what they see


They need “talk time”– They need time to be able to reflect on what

they have learned, and carry on discussions with others.

– They prefer to engage in social learning from peers as well as instructors.

– Adults can learn well - and much - from dialogue with respected peers


Teachers should be engaged in ongoing conversation and reflection about what they are doing there, about their students, theories of learning, and how it will affect their classrooms

Staff meetings!


If adults are going to keep and use the new information, they need to be able to integrate it with what they already know.

Adults have a larger base of knowledge and more unlearning to do.

If the information conflicts with what they already believe is true, or has little conceptual overlap it is acquired more slowly


Teachers need support once the workshops are over.

Follow up courses A support partner in the school Support via e-mail Handouts they can refer back to Face-to-face visits


Adults are bothered by errors– therefore they take fewer risks – They are more apt to apply tried-and-true

solutions. Self-esteem and ego are on the line when

they are asked to risk trying a new behavior in front of peers and cohorts.


Training location should be convenient. – The learning environment must be physically and

psychologically comfortable.– Staff development needs to take place on the

teacher’s turf, with the equipment and software they have available.

Teachers need to have the equipment and software they are being trained on available for their use.

Once we get themThe late adopters, that is

We need to provide what they want– Not what they need…

Once we get them

Hook the passions of the teachers by showing them how they can use technology for something they really enjoy or that is real useful to them.

During these sessions it will be up to the instructor to introduce ideas on how to integrate that particular skill into their curriculum.

What are we going to do?

Myself Tech Staff Key Tech people Administrators

– We need you! Teachers

Get the Teachers Involved in Planning

Stipends distributed to school sites. The guidelines specify that the funds can be

spent on stipends, technology conferences, support materials, and substitute teachers.

During this year our district policy discouraging release time will be set aside.– (Spring, 1999)

District level workshops

Our traditional after school and evening workshops that are held in the district staff development lab and open to the entire district will be drastically reduced.– Why? Benefits?

The graduate level workshops which require 15 contact hours offered at the district level will require at least two participants from any building.

Get the Teachers Involved in Planning

We will involve the teacher in the planning of their training.

They will be involved in choosing – the location

their building or the district staff development lab

– the time (time of day and time of year)– the topic to be covered.

Building Level Support Structure

Late adopters have a lower frustration level when things do not work and need more immediate support.

Each building will develop a support structure by promoting peer coaching, mentoring, and buddy systems.

Building Level Support Structure

Peer coaching!– Joyce and Showers– 10% and 90%

A Train the Trainer program will be implemented, with the objective of having “go to” people in each building to help with software and curriculum support.

“Go To” people

These “go to” people will be asked to become the expert on one or more areas of technology integration such as ClarisWorks, Internet search engines, HyperStudio or WebQuests.

The trainer will be one of the exceptions to our buddy rule for district wide staff development offerings.

“Go To” people

They will also be asked to provide short training sessions in their building or to work with teachers individually or in small groups on technology skills and projects.– Stipends? District policy?

Building principals will be encouraged to provide time for teachers to work on their new skills.

Market the Product by Conducting Home Demonstrations

One way of reaching late adopters in the marketing world is by conducting home demonstrations. – Actual visits to people’s homes are done to

make the sales pitch. – The technology support staff will be conducting

home presentations by taking the presentations to the staff, rather than have them come to us.

Market the Product by Conducting Home Presentations

Each of our technology staff and teachers of the gifted and talented program will be provided with a laptop computer and will have access to a video projector or display of some type.

Presentations will be done in the school buildings, at staff meetings or with smaller groups, and kept short and to a limited number of concepts.

Market the Product by Conducting Home Presentations

The technology staff and gifted and talented staff will also model the use of technology in classrooms for teachers upon request.– The classroom teacher will not leave the room

but will observe how the technology is introduced and integrated into the lesson plan.

Discussions

After the presentation, discussions with the classroom teacher will be held. – This strategy will be used with adult learners to

help them retain the information for a longer period of time.

Our New Workshops

What do you want to learn today?


We will post a date and time for a session and open it for teachers to register.

These sessions will be limited to eight people.

All participants will be required to come with at least one buddy, preferably from their own school.


Nothing will be said about the topic of the session….– research of adult learners shows they want to be

involved in planning their training

they will choose the topic!

Even more planning by teachers

Any group of teachers can pick– Topic– Date– Place– Time

The technology support staff will schedule the session and provide the instructor.– (no graduate credit)

Hands On Training

People generally remember 90% of what they say as they perform a task, compared to 20% of what they hear.

iBook and Airport

Strategies (subs)

Hire substitutes for four to eight teachers for a half day or full day. – Use this release time to work with the teachers

on technology skills that they choose or that has been decided by consensus of the group.

Strategies - (subs)

Utilize a supersub who will deliver a technology enhanced lesson aligned with the district curriculum.– This will provide the students with a good

learning experience– remove the need for the classroom teacher to

prepare lessons for the substitute

Strategies (subs)

Hire a substitute (or several) at an elementary school and have them take over a classroom for a few hours– The substitute could have a specialized lesson

plan that they would repeat with each class so that there is still effective learning taking place in the classroom.

Strategies (subs)

Hire a substitute – for a key tech teacher. This will allow the key tech

person to work with other teachers in their classrooms or during their off hours.

– who has technology skills and have this person help in classrooms rather than release the teacher.

– and allow the classroom teacher to observe another teacher who is utilizing technology in the classroom.

Strategies (subs)

Conduct an after school demonstration, then follow-up with a hands on day. – Use substitutes to release the teachers hour by

hour to go to an area of the school to work on the skill that had been demonstrated in the after school session.

Strategies (off hours)

Conduct all day, school-based inservices at the secondary level.

Work with teachers during their free periods.

Strategies (stipends)

Pay stipends for after school work sessions where teachers develop lessons integrating technology.

Pay some of the staff to develop presentations and/or handouts for staff meetings, building training, etc.

Strategies - trainers

Have specialists in a building trained on certain software (for example, ClarisWorks, HyperStudio, Netscape, or PowerPoint– Small groups or one-on-one– Stipends

Hold technology training sessions in a building at the end of the school day instead of having participants drive to another school

Strategies - trainers

Conduct a Learn It - Teach It activity. Provide training or stipends for a staff member to learn a new technology, then ask them to teach it to other staff members in small group settings.– Science CDs

Lessons can be developed at the district level and provided to these “go to” people.

Strategies - conferences

Send some staff members to technology conferences– Other monies (federal Title II funds for math and

science) can also be used for this. They would have to agree to present to the rest of the staff on what they learned.

The technology leaders in the building should be given the first opportunity to participate.

Strategies - stipends

Allow for technology based projects in which a teacher proposes a project using technology in a classroom project or curriculum area.– The teacher develops that project/lesson on

their own time, requesting support when needed. A stipend is offered for completion of the project.

Strategies - stipends

Give stipends for classroom curriculum projects that successfully integrate technology. – The project needs to be pre-approved by the

building principal.

Strategies - goals

Challenge each teacher to enhance two lessons during the school year. – Many teachers feel that they are expected to

utilize technology every day in every lesson that they teach and feel overwhelmed by that expectation.

Utilize the units of practice from Apple Computer– broken down by subject area and grade level.

Strategies - stipends/software

Pick a software program for staff members to know (Integrade Pro, PowerPoint, HyperStudio, Print Artist, an elementary gradebook program such as Grade Machine) and provide the software (instead of stipends) upon completion of the workshop.

Strategies - mini-sessions

Offer mini-sessions on technology for twenty minutes once per week after school. Let the teachers pick the topic or have a topic each week based on the school technology goals.– Staff meetings?

Strategies - mini-sessions

Hold monthly help sessions at the district staff development lab or rotate these sessions from school to school. Teachers can bring questions to ask the experts.

Strategies - student teachers

Take advantage of student teachers in a school. – When there is a student teacher who is capable of

conducting the classroom unsupervised consider releasing the supervising teacher to participate in staff development activities.

– The supervising teacher could also supervise other classrooms for an hour or two, releasing the classroom teacher to participate in staff development activities.

Strategies - Sharing

Establish a work/reference center where teachers can share information with each other, post work done by students, and make periodicals and manuals dealing with technology use in classrooms available.– A good computer and peripherals

Encourage teachers to develop a portfolio of materials and projects created by both themselves and their students.


Encourage all teachers to share information via FirstClass

Post lesson plan web sites and articles through FirstClass and our district web page.

Post student and teacher curriculum projects on the district web site


Encourage teachers to share information in organized staff meetings or in smaller discussion groups.– Prepare the presenter beforehand, encourage

them to have a handout and to keep the presentation short.


Form study groups within the building. – Each study group will meet periodically to work

on a common technology objective designed to improve their skills or improve student learning.

Encourage teams to work together to plan units of instruction using technology.

Provide time during the day for collaborative efforts.

Mentors - Partners

Establish technology mentors or coaches who are willing to help other teachers in their subject area, grade level, or interest area.– These mentors would be teachers willing to

share their expertise with other staff members who have shown an interest in learning how to use technology to improve their teaching.

Strategies - competencies

Create a list of minimum competencies, and provide training, support, time, or stipends to help them meet these.– FirstClass– Netscape– ClarisWorks– SASIxp (secondary)– e-mail

1999 Plan

Stipends of $100 per teacher controlled by sites

Each building will develop it’s own tech staff development plan

The challenge is to involved 100% of the staff

The stipends must follow the guidelines of the grant

1999 Plan (cont.)

Instructors will be paid with TTT funds retained at the district level

Limited graduate credit courses– District level– 15 hours of contact time– Curriculum based

Staff Development Thesis

Education

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