You
have been assigned to develop a series of professional development sessions
focusing on technology use in the classroom for teachers during a time of
economic decline. How will you use Situational Leadership to facilitate this
project and manage scarce resources?
Different
kinds of situations demand different types of leadership. In a time when scarce
resources are the norm for most educational entities you have to plan
carefully. You need to determine you resources, as the text explained resources
are people, time and money, the expected outcome determines the resources
required for the project.
In this model the focus is the teacher integrating
technology in the classroom. I would first create a plan to focus on specific
technology. Resource constraints will shape the projects outcomes, so I would
determine what technology the school already had access to and try to expand
the use of that technology. So for the sake of this question I am going to say,
the school district has access to iPads. I would contact the school district to
determine if the Districts Department of Instructional Technology would
consider giving a few instructional sessions for the teaching staff at our
monthly staff meetings. I would also organize a team of teachers to get
feedback from other teachers about how they were using the iPads in their
classrooms, how often they use the devices and their input on what they would
like to learn about. I would take all the information and determine what topics
would provide the best learning and have the most effect on learning in the
classroom. Then I would set-up a Saturday technology integration workshop to
kick off the project. In the workshop teachers would be provided with access to
technology integration courses developed by the school district that would
provide teachers with learner directed experiences that are relevant to all
staff members regardless of their experience with iPads or their experience
with applications. Teachers have very little time for training so access to the
courses outside of the workshop would be provided. There is a library website, www.
ALA.org which offers a list of the top 2013 teaching and learning websites; you
can easily access many online teachings that are free, allowing teachers to
participate in the social exchange of ideas, both electronically and in person
at workshops like this one or at monthly staff meetings. I would create a
reference manual for teachers to take with them from the workshop so they could
continue to learn after the workshop was over. For the six months following the
workshop I would teach a specific iPad application at each staff meeting and
ask for teachers to share their latest uses of the iPad in the classroom and
question what impact it was having on their teaching. In a project such as
this, you have to delegate responsibilities, seek input for creative ways of acquiring
information at little or no cost, and you must explore all options to proceed
to the ultimate outcome.
"For the six months following the workshop I would teach a specific iPad application at each staff meeting and ask for teachers to share their latest uses of the iPad in the classroom and question what impact it was having on their teaching."
ReplyDeleteI applaud your ability to think long-term success of training. I cannot count the number of training sessions I have been to with little to no follow-up to guaranty success. This is a vital element in the growth of education; we expect it of our students, so why not our staff?
I love that you considered the long-term life of your professional development. I would like to delve deeper into the "I would also organize a team of teachers" statement. How would you choose these teachers and how would you organize them? I would hope that you or someone in administration would be aware of which teachers are the strongest in bringing technology to their classrooms and would take advantage of that knowledge. Time and again I have seen administration assign teachers who are not comfortable with the topic to train and then teach various topics. I appreciate adding depth to teachers' knowledge base, but why not take ask the teachers who are most comfortable in the topic to train and then teach? I am certain with your long-term thoughts, you would consider these and other questions before selecting your teacher team.
ReplyDeleteChristi Abramsky
The choice of subject and the description of process that builds on prior learning is genius which makes for a most meaningful outcome: a more competent and confident technology user of a well-known and popular tool. Users have a stake in selecting uses for the technology they would like to master. The inclusion of supporting sources for additional training independent of the seminar or staff meeting considers take the taste and pursue amplification of what is presented formally.
ReplyDeleteUnder the umbrella of Web 2.0, I would develop a list of skills such as write a contribution to a discussion list, write a contribution to a blog, write a contribution to a wiki, upload a photo to a blog or a wiki, upload video clip to a blog or wiki, set up my own blog, set up my own wiki, setup a Facebook and Twitter account, understand what social networking means, understand the difference between the discussion list, blog, and wiki, and finally understand what is e-safety in social networking.
Among staff members there may be tasks they would like to know how to do that could be added to the technology competency-to-master list. From the task list, I organize mini-lessons for a semester or the school year. We spend no money. We buy no equipment. We determine to become more knowledgeable about resources we have in hand and exploit the resource to the maximum extent.
Great job Mary!