Professional Development Planning for Technology Based Student Centered Learning

Professional Development Planning for Technology Based Student Centered Learning
Based upon interviews with students, teachers, technology personnel, and teachers, the primary uses of technology in our classrooms by our teachers are for administrative purposes and the presentation of teacher center lessons. Students report that their primary use of technology across the nontechnology oriented curriculum is for the preparation of reports and class presentations. Our Students report that they are directed to engage in technology based creative problem solving in their nontechnology based class perhaps one a year at the most in any of their classes as a whole.
Our Academic Excellence Indicator Systems (AEIS) data shows that we need to improve the performance of our economically disadvantaged subpopulation Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) in Science for Grades 10 and 11. We have a 74% passing rate compared to the state average of 81% on the Grade 11 Science TAKS. We have a 66% passing rate compared to the state average 65% on the Grade 10 Science TAKS.
Our ideal situation for technology integration is to ultimately provide computers in every class room available for student use in at least a one computer per two student ratio. The purpose of this is to create a paradigm shift in the instructional use of technology across the curriculum. It is our desire to move from teacher centered instruction using technology as a means of presentation delivery to technology based student centered and discovery style learning. In the science classroom, this can be accomplished using the Vernier probe system that the district already owns, the CBI lab systems, interactive modules already available on the internet for public use, interactive tutors and lab simulations available from the text book publishers, and CD-Rom versions of the text book provided by the publishers.
Our overall goal for student performance in the economically disadvantaged student populations is to improve our performance on both the Grade 10 and Grade 11 Science TAKS by 15% over the next two years. We also want to improve our Average Daily Attendance (ADA) in this subpopulation for Grades 9 through Grade 12. The following goals and professional development activities for the Science Department should assist in reaching those campus goals.


Science Department Goals:

All science classes will engage in labs involving hands on and technology based activities which will begin by encompassing ten percent of the total instruction and increase yearly by ten percent to 40% of the total instruction at the end of four years.

Assessment of this goal will be accomplished by:
• Evaluation of teacher’s lesson plans
• Assessment of documentation of regular administrator classroom walk throughs already being performed

Activity 1:

Teachers will attend a two day professional development session facilitated by a representative from the Vernier Corporation on the use of the probes and their capabilities. During this session, teachers will preview and perform labs that are provided with the lab ware equipment that pertain to their specific subjects. The Vernier Corporation provides this service for free due to the fact that the district has purchased the equipment. This could be accomplished during the summer allowing the teachers who participate to receive the necessary two days summer professional development required by the district.


Activity 2:

Physics and physical science teachers will use the one day professional development session to preview and perform labs that accompany the CBI equipment which the district already owns.


Activity 3:

Teachers will use the one day session to preview the lab simulations and interactive tutors that accompany the adopted text book for their class.



The majority of teacher classroom use of technology across the curriculum is centered on presentation of material in teacher centered lessons. The following goals and professional development activities are to help improve TAKS scores across the curriculum and grade levels, improve ADA, and move our AYP towards the state goal of 100% in the year 2014.

Goal 1:

Instruction in classes across the curriculum and grades will provide ten percent of all instructional time for technology based student centered and directed learning. This will increase by ten percent yearly over the next four years until a 40% of instructional time is used in this manner.

Goal 2:

Classes across the curriculum and grades will assign one technology based student problem solving activity project for a test grade each semester. This will increase to one each nine weeks in the following year.

Assessment of these goals will be accomplished by:
• Evaluation of teacher’s lesson plans
• Assessment of documentation of regular administrator classroom walk throughs already being performed


Activity 1:

Teachers will be provided subs and meet by grade levels and departments one day every nine weeks to create webliographies and rubrics for technology based student directed learning.

Activity 2:

All teachers will receive training in internet safety and cyber ethics. A focus will be placed on this and the curriculum will be presented to the students at the beginning of the year during their home room classes. Teachers will be expected to re-teach these concepts on a regular basis.

Activity 3:

Teachers will receive training in the use of web cams for video messaging. The session will include ideas for collaboration activities with students in schools from other districts across the country.

Activity 4:

Instruct the teachers in ways to effectively use the on line drop box already provided by the district for student journaling and assignment submission.