5.3 Program Evaluation
Candidates design and implement program evaluations to determine the overall effectiveness of professional learning on deepening teacher content knowledge,
improving teacher pedagogical skills and/or increasing student learning. (PSC 5.3/ISTE 4c)
improving teacher pedagogical skills and/or increasing student learning. (PSC 5.3/ISTE 4c)
Artifact: Professional Learning Current Reality and GAPSS Review
Reflection:
During the fall of 2015, as part of the ITEC 7460- Professional Learning and Technology Innovation course, I created the Professional Learning Current Reality and GAPSS Review for Dalton Middle School. For this artifact I completed a GAPSS Part A by meeting with my principal and assistant principal and asking them a series of questions about our school and specifically focusing on the professional learning taking place at DMS. Once the GAPSS Part A was completed and a narrative of the results was composed, I completed a GAPSS Part B where I addressed specific standards for the school and rated them on a scale of not-addressed, emergent, operational, or fully operational. Based on the rating I also provided evidence to support the rating and recommendations on how the school could improve to receive a higher rating for that standard. My individual contribution was to interview the administration and complete the GAPSS Part A and B for the Professional Learning Current Reality report.
This artifact demonstrates my ability to design and implement program evaluations through my review of the professional learning program currently in place at Dalton Middle School. I interviewed multiple administrators to gain information about the professional learning at the school in addition to knowledge of my own experiences. Through my evaluation, I worked to determine the overall effectiveness of professional learning on deepening teacher content knowledge and addressed this in the report on the current reality. These types of experiences were found in the co-teacher training for special education teachers and the math and literacy trainings held on a monthly basis. I also included specific professional learning sessions that have been conducted recently that were aimed at improving teacher pedagogical skills and/or increasing student learning in the professional learning section of the GAPSS Part A. Some of these experiences included the Canvas trainings for staff and the Dalton Difference Day.
While I have participated in a variety of professional learning experiences, I had not stepped back to think about the quality of these sessions and how professional development was handled as a whole at my school prior to completing this artifact. Through the completion of this GAPSS Review and Current Reality Report, I learned more about the administration view professional development and how they decide what professional development needs to be provided and who needs to attend it. While it seems that some trainings do not connect to our daily work in the classroom as teachers, I learned that all trainings typically tie directly back to the School Improvement Plan, Vision, or needs of the school or district. If I were to improve this artifact I would go back and add more data correlating student achievement results to professional learning that has taken place. This would help give a clear picture of what is working and what needs to be reevaluated in the future.
The work that went into creating this artifact directly impacted school improvement through the evaluation of professional learning taking place. During the interview process for the GAPSS Part A, both administrators I talked with admitted that the evaluation process for following-up on professional learning in our school is lacking. While they were both able to come up with ways to follow-up with participants on the effectiveness of the professional learning, they realized it was not actually happening currently. By bringing this information to their attention, the administration began focusing on talking to teachers, looking at data, and following up on recent trainings from the school year. This impact can be assessed through the design and follow-up of future professional learning opportunities provided by the school. Hopefully you will see that the results of the follow-ups are impacting the design of future sessions.
During the fall of 2015, as part of the ITEC 7460- Professional Learning and Technology Innovation course, I created the Professional Learning Current Reality and GAPSS Review for Dalton Middle School. For this artifact I completed a GAPSS Part A by meeting with my principal and assistant principal and asking them a series of questions about our school and specifically focusing on the professional learning taking place at DMS. Once the GAPSS Part A was completed and a narrative of the results was composed, I completed a GAPSS Part B where I addressed specific standards for the school and rated them on a scale of not-addressed, emergent, operational, or fully operational. Based on the rating I also provided evidence to support the rating and recommendations on how the school could improve to receive a higher rating for that standard. My individual contribution was to interview the administration and complete the GAPSS Part A and B for the Professional Learning Current Reality report.
This artifact demonstrates my ability to design and implement program evaluations through my review of the professional learning program currently in place at Dalton Middle School. I interviewed multiple administrators to gain information about the professional learning at the school in addition to knowledge of my own experiences. Through my evaluation, I worked to determine the overall effectiveness of professional learning on deepening teacher content knowledge and addressed this in the report on the current reality. These types of experiences were found in the co-teacher training for special education teachers and the math and literacy trainings held on a monthly basis. I also included specific professional learning sessions that have been conducted recently that were aimed at improving teacher pedagogical skills and/or increasing student learning in the professional learning section of the GAPSS Part A. Some of these experiences included the Canvas trainings for staff and the Dalton Difference Day.
While I have participated in a variety of professional learning experiences, I had not stepped back to think about the quality of these sessions and how professional development was handled as a whole at my school prior to completing this artifact. Through the completion of this GAPSS Review and Current Reality Report, I learned more about the administration view professional development and how they decide what professional development needs to be provided and who needs to attend it. While it seems that some trainings do not connect to our daily work in the classroom as teachers, I learned that all trainings typically tie directly back to the School Improvement Plan, Vision, or needs of the school or district. If I were to improve this artifact I would go back and add more data correlating student achievement results to professional learning that has taken place. This would help give a clear picture of what is working and what needs to be reevaluated in the future.
The work that went into creating this artifact directly impacted school improvement through the evaluation of professional learning taking place. During the interview process for the GAPSS Part A, both administrators I talked with admitted that the evaluation process for following-up on professional learning in our school is lacking. While they were both able to come up with ways to follow-up with participants on the effectiveness of the professional learning, they realized it was not actually happening currently. By bringing this information to their attention, the administration began focusing on talking to teachers, looking at data, and following up on recent trainings from the school year. This impact can be assessed through the design and follow-up of future professional learning opportunities provided by the school. Hopefully you will see that the results of the follow-ups are impacting the design of future sessions.