A Successful Model of Technology Staff Development

This document is designed to describe a Technology Teacher Development Center, a training opportunity which reflects all the best features of excellent staff development.

Five Days of training with 6 - 10 teachers at a time seems to fit the bill for teachers who know their curriculum (not brand new teachers). The training should be broken into a three day, and a two day block with about 2 - 4 weeks for practice in between. As seen in the accompanying diagram, the training should contain as many of the 9 components as possible.

The more of these components that are present in the training, the more likely the teacher will internalize the ideas of successful, effective, technology use. Let's examine these issues individually.

Discussion about characteristics of traditional and nontraditional classrooms, and how technology fits. It is important for participants to realize that education has many issues that affect and are affected by technology. Teachers need to examine their own teaching styles and how technology will impact their classrooms. Traditional classrooms can have characteristics that can impede the inclusion of technology, (must be quiet, more whole class instruction, etc.). It is important for participants to examine their own styles, where they fit in the continuum, how they compare to other participants, and how their teaching may be impacted by the introduction to technology.

Observations of classrooms where technology thrives. A picture is worth a thousand words--and a live classroom experience is impossible to beat. Teachers know their own classrooms, and perhaps some of their colleagues, or at least classrooms they student taught in--but they probably can't picture what a classroom looks like with students actually doing technology projects and using technology as a tool. The software and technology are very easy to use now. Most teachers can figure out how to use the technology, but the harder issue is how to I manage my 32 students with one or two computers? Or what assignment do I make for my students in the computer lab? What is a third grade student capable of doing with certain software? Once they see a teacher and students actually using technology, they begin to envision strategies they can use in their own classrooms. Teachers visit classrooms a few times at different times of the day to see a variety of technology uses. This "situated learning" environment provides the classroom reality that is invaluable to the participants.

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All training must make a conscious connection to the curriculum. As mentioned before, software and technology are easier to use than ever. The HOW you “work the software” is a snap. The WHAT do you do with the software is the key. In classrooms, they see the software in context. Fourth grade teachers need to see how students can build a database about explorers, not necessarily how to create mailing labels. 5th grade teachers need to see a HyperStudio stack on the colonies. 6th grade teachers need to see a mind map of the characteristics of Greek Gods. Primary teachers need to see Kid Pix examples for teaching patterns, phonics, and more.
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Software exposure and modeling. Along with the classroom curriculum connections, participants need to see a variety of solid software that their schools or the district can support. They don’t need to be exposed to 30 different titles, but rather the basics that help them use technology as a tool for research, data organization and analysis, and publishing. There is a fine line between showing too little so as not to stimulate their ideas, and showing so much that they feel overwhelmed and cannot focus on tasks they can actually take back to their classrooms and do. And they need lots of free exploration time. The demonstrations can be minimal because the trainer can be facilitator during exploration time.

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Time to Create. Once participants are exposed to software and classroom uses, they begin to want to explore software and create their own HyperStudio stacks or their own newsletters, mind maps, Kid Pix slideshows, and so on. There needs to be some of this time daily, and even more on the last three days. Teachers like to have the time to try out their new skills where they can get instant assistance if they need it. The play and experimentation time is priceless.

Time for reflection daily. We all pay lip service to reflection and agree that it is vital to the teaching and learning experience, but when the time crunch hits, reflection is often the first thing to be dropped. A journal is often an unrealistic expectation, but it is one method of reflection. Perhaps a more down-to-earth reflection is a "needs and gots" discussion. What did you get out of today's session and what do you need next? This happens on each of the 3 days in the first half of the training, and the list is kept to ensure that when they return in a few weeks, they get what they say they needed. Needs and Gots are also recorded on the last two days to remind them how much they learned, and to focus them on their next steps when they return to their schools. Evaluation is another part of reflection. Participants need to evaluate each day's learning experience and give feedback to trainers.

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Create a unit of study. This component ensures accountability and gives teachers a goal. Without this, technically, a teacher could explore software for a week with no idea of what to do in the classroom, or surf the internet, writing down URLs with no idea how it will impact student work, or create a HyperStudio stack that will never be used in the classroom. The unit of study, a sample of which is included, forces the links to the curriculum, standards, technology scope & sequence and student work, and can provide a database of examples for other teachers to draw upon.
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Share with other participants and principal. Sharing creations and the unit of study is a chance to show off what you learned and is also another incentive to produce. It is not done until the last day, to give them plenty of time to create something they are proud to share. Their principal should visit on the last day too, earlier in the day, to see what they are working on and to demonstrate support. It gives teachers an opportunity to talk to the principal about software and equipment needs and plans for the future. AND it allows the principal time to see technology possibilities, and to see the concrete results of the dollars they spend on training.
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Follow up sessions. Everyone says that follow up is essential, but rarely is there staff allocation for follow up activities. The most efficient way is to have participants come back to after school sessions (should these sessions be required? is a question you may have to answer) where participants continue to share and learn new techniques. The best follow up is to visit classrooms and to observe and coach teachers as they work with technology. I have found that the only way to do this is to cut back on the original trainings that your staff developer does in order to meet this heavy demand.
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The topics were listed in order of appearance in the training, not in order of importance. You can certainly conduct effective trainings without all these components. Classroom observations may be an impossibility in your district, or follow up may be a luxury you just cannot provide at this time, but the more of these pieces you provide, the more successful will be technology implementation in the classrooms of the teachers you train. Adoption is more likely when the training you provide is rich with as many of the 8 experiences listed above as you can possibly include.
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Look at the chart, highlight the components you provide in your technology staff development sessions, and brainstorm how you can include one or two more. You’ll be glad you did.