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Poquoson City Schools

Poquoson, VA


School Type: Public
School Setting: Suburban
Level: K-12
School Design: Traditional
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Results

It is difficult to evaluate the actual success of any professional development program. Participating in training sessions is one thing; demonstrating consistent competence is quite a different matter. Poquoson addresses this issue by requiring teachers to develop a portfolio in either hard copy or electronic format. The portfolios are evaluated with a rubric that provides specific standards, thus making the process straightforward. For example, Virginia's first technology standard states, "Operate a computer system and utilize software." The Poquoson rubric requires teachers to present three pieces of evidence, such as a disk on which they have saved at least two files. The rubric describes this as proof of use.

In Poquoson, a school-level administrator works occasionally with a committee of peers to decide whether the state standards have been met. Portfolios like those developed by teachers in Poquoson are extremely useful in assessing/evaluating teacher competence with technology, but they do not reveal how technology is actually being applied in the classroom. Poquoson is fortunate to have administrators who know what to look for when observing teachers in the classroom.

As of spring 2000, all certificated staff members have been successfully and diligently working toward meeting their technology standards and all have met at least six of the eight required standards. Twenty percent have completed their portfolio check-off for all eight standards.

There has been a great increase of technology use professionally which has translated into increased use by students. Because of the heightened comfort and competency levels of the instructors, integration of technology into the curriculum is a regular occurrence.


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