School Type: Public	School Setting: Rural
Level: Elementary	School Design: Traditional
Content Presented By:
NEIRTEC, Northeast & Islands Regional Technology in Education Consortium

Summary

The practice: Professional development should be primarily school-based and built into the day-to-day work of teaching.

• A cohort of second-, third-, and fourth-grade teachers learned how to integrate technology into standards-based lessons that had proven challenging for students in the past.
• Teachers met in groups of three or four with the technology integration specialist during the school day to discuss integration and modify their own lesson plans.
• The district approved the use of substitute teachers for those teachers involved in the first half-day professional development session.
• The first half-day session included participation in a technology-enhanced lesson modeled by the technology integration specialist.
• The second part of the professional development opportunity involved teachers presenting their own modified lesson to their students with the help of the integration specialist.
• Teachers discussed practical logistics of continued integration, including sharing the schools' projection systems and scheduling class time in the schools' libraries.

Amy Spath, the technology integration specialist for the Mexico Academy and Central School District in Mexico, New York and the district's director of technology were concerned that elementary teachers were not using technology to enhance learning in the classroom. Many teachers saw technology as an add-on, not an everyday tool for engaging their students. The teachers also had varying levels of expertise and experience with early childhood learning software. Although they had made several requests for more information on appropriate software and Web sites for their classes, the staff development opportunities offered to them had never included modeling of technology-enhanced lessons.

To address this issue, Spath took an online technology integration course offered by TERC and the Northeast and Islands Regional Technology Education Consortium (NEIRTEC). Through the course, she designed a professional development opportunity for teachers in her district, in which they would learn how to integrate technology into their existing standards-based lessons. During the first session of the professional development opportunity, teachers participated in a model lesson, reviewed technology relevant to the model lesson and the New York State standards, worked in groups to determine which software or Web sites best fit their students and the topics of their own lessons, and discussed assessment strategies.

Once the teachers had participated in the model lesson and group discussions, they then used these tools and strategies to adapt their own lessons and team-teach them with Spath. The integrated lessons asked students to listen to the information given, map out the elements of the lesson and their own observations, and gather more information on the topic to aid their understanding. Students would then write or design a document that showed their comprehension of the lessons' concepts. Special education students were integrated in the classroom and were not separated out into separate groups during lessons.

This in-house professional development opportunity encouraged teachers to collaborate with their colleagues, consistently assess their own teaching practice, and refine their lesson planning using the technology tools available. Teachers received feedback from their students and Spath, and gained hands-on experience with software that boosted their confidence levels in the classroom. Many teachers conducted follow-up lessons using technology without the aid of Spath.

• Professional Development - School leaders must provide relevant, meaningful, and ongoing professional development for all staff.  
• Standards
  All technology-enhanced activities should be deliberately and consciously aligned with local, state, and national standards.   
• Multiple Learning Strategies
  Technology-enhanced lessons and activities should represent a variety of learning strategies that include active learning strategies, constructive learning strategies, authentic learning strategies, cooperative learning strategies, and intentional/reflective learning strategies.  

  [Top]   [Next]

This resource is developed and maintained by The Education Alliance at Brown University. Seed funding was provided by the U.S. Department of Education. Send comments to: loom@alliance.brown.edu