Professional Documents
Culture Documents
ProfessionalLearningCurrentRealityandGASPS
DanielL.Warzon,Jr
PL&TechnologyInnovation
KennesawStateUniversity
Runninghead:ProfessionalLearningCurrentRealityandGASPS
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Overview
CollinsHillHighSchoolisintheheartofGwinnettCounty,Georgia.CollinsHillopened
itsdoorsin1994andsincethenhasexperiencedsomedramaticchanges.Thepopulationofthe
schoolhasfluctuatedovertheyearsandcurrentlyhassettledaround3,200students.Theschool
utilizesthetechnologysuchhassixlaptopcarts,fourchromebookcarts,oneIPadcart,four
computerlabsforcontentareas,andtwoothergeneralcomputerlabs.TheschoolalsohasaMac
labthatisutilizedbythefineartsdepartment.CollinsHillalsohasinitiatedabringyourown
device(BYOD)initiativethatallowsstudentstobringtheirpersonaldevicestoschooland
connecttotheschoolsWiFi.TheschoolutilizesDesiretoLearnlearningmanagementsystem
thatisknownattheschoolaseClass.AlongwitheClasstheschoolisaGoogleSchool.Each
studentandteacherattheschoolhasaGoogleAccountthatgivesthemaccesstoGoogleandall
theappsandtoolsithastooffer.CollinsHillalsocontainsaScience,Technology,Engineering,
andMath(STEM)academythatiscurrentlyinitssecondyear.Theschoolhasastaff
developmentplanandthe20162017editionisstillinthedraftphase.Thisplanoverviewsthe
staffdevelopactivitiesandhowtheyrelatetotheschool'sLocalSchoolPlanforImprovement
(LSPI)goals.Alongwiththestaffdevelopmentplantheschoolhasaschooltechnologyplanto
expandtheclassroombeyonditswalls.
Vision
CollinsHillsvisionfortechnologyintheclassroomalignswiththecountysvisionfor
technologyandtheschoolsprofessionaldevelopmentgoalsofenhancingteachingandlearning
tosupportstudentachievement,increasetheschoolsgraduationrate,andincreasetheschools
CollegeandCareerReadyPerformanceIndex.Atthecountylevel,thevisionisfortechnology
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toexpandtheclassroombeyondthewallsoftheclassroom.Schools,coaches,andteacherswill
dothisthroughcollaboration,makingtechnologyavailable,andprovidingappropriatetraining
forteacherstogivethemtheskillsandtoolsthattheyneed(GwinnettCountyPublicSchools,
2016).
CollinsHillsLocalSchoolTechnologyCoach(LSTC)alignstheschool'stechnology
visionwiththecountystechnologyvisionandwiththeschool'sprofessionaldevelopment
vision.Sheexplainedthegoalbeingnottochangealloftheteachersmethodsofteaching,butto
changealessonatatime.Thegoalisfortheteachersandstudentstoutilizeandusethe
technologymoreandmoreastheteachersandstudentsgetcomfortable.Theschoolwantsto
provideopportunitiesfortheteacherstolearnthesetoolsthroughmultipletrainingopportunities
likelunchandlearns,PLCgrouptraining,orevenoneononecoaching.
NeedsAssessment
Theprofessionalneedsareassessedinmultipleways.Thefirstwayisthroughteacher
input.Theschoolandthetechnologycoachespolltheteacherstogainunderstandingofwhatthe
teachersandstaffmemberswouldliketolearnmoreabout.Thesesurveysareanonymousand
allowtheteacherstobehonestandclearaboutwhattheyneedtolearnmoreabout.Theschool
alsousesstudentperceptionsurveys.Thishelpsgatherthestudentsinput.Theschoolalso
performsneedsassessmentsthroughobservations.Thecountyprovidesamatrixthatallowsa
schoolandteachertolookattheleveltheyareimplementingtechnology.Thisselfassessment
toolhasfourdifferentlevels:planning,committing,implementing,andtransforming(GCPS,
2014).AccordingtotheschoolsLSTCwearecurrentlyratedataleveltwoofcommitting.The
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schoolhassetupmanyformsofprofessionallearningopportunitiestomeettheneedsofthe
schoolandimprovetechnologyimplementationtomeetitsoverallgoals.
ProfessionalLearningandTechnologyTraining
TherearemultipleformsofprofessionallearningopportunitiesofferedatCollinsHill.
Themainprofessionallearningopportunitycomesthroughprofessionallearningcommunities.
Thesecommitteesareorganizedbysubjectareaandeachmeettwiceamonth.Throughthese
committeesteachersdiscussresultsbasedgoalsthattheyhaveandimplementaplantheywantto
achievethosegoals.Withinthesegroupsteacherscanreceivetechnologycoachingthatdirectly
relatestotheirsubjectarea.AlsoincludedinCollinsHillsprofessionaldevelopmentareGenius
Hoursmeetings.GeniusHourisaninitiativestartedbyGooglethatfocusesonareasthatinterest
employeesorteachers(CollinsHillHighSchool,2016).ThisopportunitystemsfromGoogle
allowingemployeestoexplorewhattheywanttoexploreduringlearningtimeatwork.The
GeniusHoursessionsincludedinthisyearsprofessionaldevelopmentwillbeAdvanced
Pinterestforeducators,BlogsforEducators,TwitterforEducators,GoogleAppsforEducators,
andSocialMediaResourcesforEducators.Allofthesesessionswillhelpteachershaveabetter
understandingofhowthesetechnologytoolscanhelpthemintheclassroom.Anothergroup
learningexperienceofferedisFIPtraining.FIPtopicswillbepresentedtoteachersthroughan
administrativebulletinandthenbecoveredindetailedatthemonthlyfacultymeetings.Formore
individualtrainingtheschoolofferseClassandothertechnologytrainingthroughourLSTC,
mediaspecialist,andoureClassspecialist.Thesespecialistwillmakeoneononevisitswith
teacherstohelpassesstheircurrentuseoftechnologyandhelpthemimprovetheiruseto
enhanceteachingandlearning.Aftermostoftheprofessionaldevelopmenttrainingopportunities
Runninghead:ProfessionalLearningCurrentRealityandGASPS
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feedbacksurveysaresentouttocollectdataontheimpact.FollowupismadethroughPLC
groupsandthroughtheLSTCspecialist.Theschooldoeslackinitiativetoincreasetheamountof
coachingthattakesplacewhetheritisexpertcoachingorpeercoaching.Lowmansresearchhas
foundthatcoachingcanbethroughanexpertorapeer,andtakesplaceinthepersonsnatural
environment,theirclassroom,notinaworkshop(2016.)
Alignment
Theprofessionallearningopportunitiesaredirectlytiedtothetheschoolimprovement
goals.Toshowhowthegoalsarealignedtothetrainingoffered,theschoolhasconstructeda
flowchartthatshowshowtheyareallconnected.Toimproveteachingandlearningtosupport
studentachievementtheschoolprovidesstaffdevelopmentthroughGeniusGroups,PLC,GTES
staffdevelopment(eClasstraining),andliteracytraining.Toimprovethegraduationratethe
schoolhasinstitutedHabitudesleadershiptraining,StudentleadershipPLC,studentmentor
training,andagraduationteam.Thisstrivestocreateschoolstudentleaderstoimpactthestudent
bodyandinreturnincreasethegraduationrate.InanefforttoincreasetheschoolsCCRPIscore
theschoolhasimplementedcSTEMPLC,GenerationiY,andtheServiceLearningAcademy.
ThecSTEMPLCcollaboratestoenhancetheSTEMprogramoftheschool.GenerationiYisa
studythatdigsintoourcurrentgeneration'scharacteristics,thedigitalworldtheyliveinandhow
topreparethemforthechallengestheywillface.Theservicelearningacademyfocuson
connectingstudentswilllocalbusinessesandnonprofits(CollinsHillHighSchool,2016).
FundingandIncentives
CollinsHillHighSchoolisequivalenttoaTitleIbasedonthenumberoffreeand
reducedlunchesitservesandbecauseofthisitreceivesadditionalfundsfromthestate.Other
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fundsareacquiredthroughtheschooldistrictorgrants.Theschoolhasreceivedmanygrantsto
fundthetechnologythatisavailablesuchasthechromecarts,aswellasgovernmentfundingfor
theSTEMprogram.
AfairamountoftheprofessionaldevelopmentismandatorysuchasthePLCgroupsand
theGTESstaffdevelopment.Inordertoencourageattendanceforothertrainingopportunities
theschooloffersprofessionallearningunits,prizes,gifts,andfood.Ascertifiedstaffmembers,
professionallearningunitsarerequiredtorenewtheircertificates.Theprofessionaldevelopment
opportunitiesthattakeplaceduringlunchusuallyprovidetheteacherswithfoodorsnacks.
Diversity
Minimalprofessionaldevelopmentisofferedforteachersthatworkwithstudentswith
specialneedsandstudentsthatcomefromculturallyandlinguisticallydiversebackgrounds.The
SpecialEducationandESOLdepartmentshavePLCgroupsinwhichteacherscollaborateon
bestlearningpractices.Theseteachersreceivemoreprofessionaldevelopmentfromthecounty
level.
Evaluation
Theeffectivenessoftheprofessionaldevelopmentplanismeasuredbymeetingthegoals
thataremet.Improvingstudentachievementisthefirstgoaloftheschool.Teachersareobserved
throughoutthesemesterinordertoensuretheyareusingbestteachingpractices.Theyalsomeet
withtheirPLCgroups,collaboratingonpracticesandcollectingdata.Thisdataisanalyzedatthe
PLClevelaswellasattheschoollevel.Theschoolwillalsomeasureitssuccessbyincrease
theirgraduationrateandCCRPIscore.Withasteadyriseinbothofthesescoreswewillseethe
professionaldevelopmentmakingpositiveimprovements.
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References
CollinsHillHighSchoolStaffDevelopmentPlan201617,2016.
GwinnettCountyPublicSchools.(2016).StrategicPriorities:InformationManagementand
Technology.Retrievedfrom:
https://publish.gwinnett.k12.ga.us/gcps/myhome/public/about/content/generalinfo/strate
gicpriorities/strategicprioritiesinfomgmttech
GwinnettCountyPublicSchools.(2014).MatrixofeClassImplementation
Lowman,J.J.(2016).Acomparisonofthreeprofessionaldevelopmentmechanismsfor
improvingthequalityofstandardsbasedIEPobjectives.CommunicationDisorders
Quarterly,37(4),211224.doi:10.1177/1525740115595338
M.West,personalCommunication,September,2016.
PROFESSIONALLEARNING
Themeansbywhichteachers,administrators,andotherstaffacquire,enhance,andrefinetheknowledge,skills,practices,and
dispositionsnecessarytocreateandsupporthighlevelsoflearningforallstudents
ProfessionalLearningStandard1:Alignsprofessionallearningwithneedsidentifiedthroughanalysisofavarietyofdata
EVIDENCE:CollinsHillsprofessionallearningneedsareidentifiedthroughstudentdata,studentsurveys,andteachersurveys.The
needsarealsoassessedbylookingatstudentachievementdataandstudentwork.
RECOMMENDATIONS:CollinsHillHighSchoolcouldprovidemoresupporttoteachersthroughdifferentiatingprofessionallearning
andprovidingmorefollowupaftertheimplementation.
Version:Spring2016
9
ProfessionalLearningStandard2:Establishesacultureofcollaborationamongadministratorsandstafftoenhanceindividualand
collectiveperformance
EVIDENCE:CollinsHillhasbimonthlyPLCmeetingswhereadministratorsandstaffmembers.Thesemeetingsfostercollaborationto
improveteachingandlearningintheclassroom.
RECOMMENDATIONS:ToenhancethecultureofcollaborationCollinsHillcouldprovidefurtherfeedbackandgiveincentivesfor
teacherstoconductactionresearchandpresenttheirfindingstothestaff.
Version:Spring2016
10
ProfessionalLearningStandard3:Definesexpectationsforimplementingprofessionallearning
EVIDENCE:Expectationsarenotclearlydefinedforwhatisexpectedofimplementingtheprofessionallearning.Professional
developmentisofferedbutlacksimplementationandfollowup.
RECOMMENDATIONS:CollinsHillcouldprovidemoredefinedexpectationsofhowtheywanttheprofessionaldevelopmentandask
teachersandstafftoprovideevidenceofhowitisbeingimplemented.
Version:Spring2016
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ProfessionalLearningStandard4:Usesmultipleprofessionallearningdesignstosupportthevariouslearningneedsofthestaff
EVIDENCE:CollinsHillhasmultipleprofessionallearningopportunitieslikePLCgroups,thatlookatcurriculumandstudent
achievement.ClassroomsobservationsareusedtoimprovequalityofteachingthroughtheGTESsystem.
RECOMMENDATIONS:CollinsHillcouldprovidemorefollowuptotheprofessionaldevelopmentofferedandmoreindividualized
coaching.
Version:Spring2016
12
ProfessionalLearningStandard5:Allocatesresourcesandestablishessystemstosupportandsustaineffectiveprofessionallearning
EVIDENCE:CollinsHillprovidessubstituteteacherstoallowteacherstoparticipateinapprovedprofessionallearningopportunities,
providesweeklyandmonthlytechtips,andprovidestoolsandtechnologyneededtoimplementtheprofessionallearning.
RECOMMENDATIONS:CollinsHillcouldprovidemoreresourcesandencouragementtoattendmorethantherequiredprofessional
development.Moreextensivefollowup,feedback,andindividualizedcoachingcouldbeprovided.
Version:Spring2016
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ProfessionalLearningStandard6:Monitorsandevaluatestheimpactofprofessionallearningonstaffpracticesandstudent
learning
EVIDENCE:Staffmembersmonitortheimpactofprofessionallearningthroughgatheringstudentachievementdata,reflectingand
refining.Thisfluctuatesatdifferentlevelsbetweencontentarea.TeachersandPLCsarealsomonitoredandevaluatedby
administrators.
RECOMMENDATIONS:CollinsHillcouldincreasetheamountofcoachingandfollowupaftertheimplementationofprofessional
developmentornewskillsbeinglearned.AccordingtoLowman,coachingisacontinuousprocessofobservationandfeedbackandcan
bedonebyanexpertorapeer.(2016)
Lowman,J.J.(2016).Acomparisonofthreeprofessionaldevelopmentmechanismsfor
improvingthequalityofstandardsbasedIEPobjectives.CommunicationDisordersQuarterly,37(4),211224.
doi:10.1177/1525740115595338
Version:Spring2016
14
KSUITECProfessionalLearningStandard:Professionallearningreinforceseducatorsunderstandinganduseofstrategiesfor
promotingequityandhighexpectationsforallstudents,applicationofresearchbasedteachingstrategiesandassessmentprocesses,
andinvolvementoffamiliesandotherstakeholdersinpromotingstudentlearning.
EVIDENCE:CollinsHillhascreatedaculturetothroughprofessionalandstudentdevelopmentlikeHabitudestraining,Service
Learningacademy,andstudentmentortraining.Theseprogramswillenhancetheschoolclimatetocreateapositivelearning
environmentandinreturnincreasethegraduationrate.Theschoolconductsschoolclimatesurveysthataregiventothestaff
members,students,andparentstogatherdataonwheretheschoolclimatecanbeimproved.
RECOMMENDATIONS:Theschoolcouldoffermorestafftrainingtoimprovetheschoolclimate.Theschoolprovidesthoroughtraining
andmentorshipfornewteachers,butcouldprovidemoreforalloftheotherteachers.
Version:Spring2016