Standard 5.1 Needs Assessment
Candidates conduct needs assessments to determine school-wide, faculty, grade-level, and subject area strengths and weaknesses to inform the content and delivery of technology-based professional learning programs. (PSC 5.1/ISTE 4a)
Artifact: Teacher Needs Assessment
Reflection:
This artifact is the Individual Teacher Needs Assessment that I completed in ITEC 7460. I conducted this needs assessment on Wayne, a 4th grade teacher who was our eCLASS lead innovator for the past year. The purpose of the needs assessment was to determine the next steps for the technology team to take in supporting the teachers at our school. Wayne was a perfect person for me to conduct this needs assessment on because he represents the vast majority of the staff. He has jumped into the world of technology integration, and most of our teachers are in that same spot – very few teachers are hesitant to at least try technology out with their students. This artifact demonstrates mastery of Standard 5.1 - Needs Assessment - which states that "candidates conduct needs assessments to determine school-wide, faculty, grade-level, and subject area strengths and weaknesses to inform the content and delivery of technology-based professional learning programs" since I was able to determine what direction to go in technology-based professional learning once I conducted this needs assessment with Wayne.
I conducted this needs assessment with Wayne for the purpose of determining strengths and weaknesses in the area of technology relating to our entire faculty. I gave him a couple of surveys to complete, and I also interviewed him. Some of the questions pertained specifically to him while several questions pertained to the entire staff. He gave some very valuable suggestions for how professional development can be improved for all teachers. For example, he expressed an interest in learning more about how to use alternative assessments to allow his students to showcase their understanding of the content standards in nontraditional ways. Our school is very focused on giving worthy assessments that will inform and improve instruction, and teachers are always looking for digital assessment tools to utilize with students. In addition, he talked about the need for more instruction on how to implement project based learning into the classroom. Finally, he mentioned that he wished that the school had more schoolwide objectives regarding technology skills and programs used.
Once I completed the needs assessment, I used and am still using it to inform the content and delivery of the technology-based professional learning program. In the interview, Wayne mentioned that it would be very beneficial for teachers to have a voice in what the professional development topics could be rather than having to sit through something that some of them may already know about. This would give the staff more ownership in the professional development topics as well as more of an incentive to be fully present at the meetings. Several weeks prior to our technology staff development meetings, I meet with our vertical technology team that consists of a teacher from each grade level as well as some support areas. Those teachers provide us with some ideas of what their grade levels would like to focus on during their technology professional learning time. I have already seen some great benefits come out of this because then when we meet with the entire grade level for the technology professional development, teachers have said that they feel like their time is being used very productively and they are being given some great ideas to take back and try in their classrooms. Finally, Wayne mentioned that working with teachers in a small group setting and even one-on-one is sometimes even more beneficial than a formal technology professional development meeting. There is something about those small group settings that really make teachers feel valued, and it also allows me to cater to those specific teachers’ individual needs instead of working with a very large group of people and being unable to provide that constant one-on-one attention. I have been doing a lot of that this year, and it has really helped! Teachers have enjoyed that one-on-one time and they have used a lot of the technology programs that I have worked with them on in their classrooms.
I learned so much from conducting this needs assessment. It was very beneficial to talk to this teacher and see things from his perspective because his point of view is a good indication of what a lot of the teachers at my school are probably thinking and wishing for regarding professional learning. He gave me some great suggestions of ways to improve professional development, and I believe that improvements I have put into place so far have been well received by the majority of staff members. If I could do this needs assessment over again, I would love to interview more than just one teacher - maybe each one from each grade level. Then I could get a really broad perspective of what teachers are thinking and what they would like to see in their technology professional learning. This artifact has impacted school improvement and faculty development, and in turn student learning, since I have been able to improve the technology professional learning sessions. Teachers are truly learning about valuable tools and strategies that they are excited to try out with their students.
This artifact is the Individual Teacher Needs Assessment that I completed in ITEC 7460. I conducted this needs assessment on Wayne, a 4th grade teacher who was our eCLASS lead innovator for the past year. The purpose of the needs assessment was to determine the next steps for the technology team to take in supporting the teachers at our school. Wayne was a perfect person for me to conduct this needs assessment on because he represents the vast majority of the staff. He has jumped into the world of technology integration, and most of our teachers are in that same spot – very few teachers are hesitant to at least try technology out with their students. This artifact demonstrates mastery of Standard 5.1 - Needs Assessment - which states that "candidates conduct needs assessments to determine school-wide, faculty, grade-level, and subject area strengths and weaknesses to inform the content and delivery of technology-based professional learning programs" since I was able to determine what direction to go in technology-based professional learning once I conducted this needs assessment with Wayne.
I conducted this needs assessment with Wayne for the purpose of determining strengths and weaknesses in the area of technology relating to our entire faculty. I gave him a couple of surveys to complete, and I also interviewed him. Some of the questions pertained specifically to him while several questions pertained to the entire staff. He gave some very valuable suggestions for how professional development can be improved for all teachers. For example, he expressed an interest in learning more about how to use alternative assessments to allow his students to showcase their understanding of the content standards in nontraditional ways. Our school is very focused on giving worthy assessments that will inform and improve instruction, and teachers are always looking for digital assessment tools to utilize with students. In addition, he talked about the need for more instruction on how to implement project based learning into the classroom. Finally, he mentioned that he wished that the school had more schoolwide objectives regarding technology skills and programs used.
Once I completed the needs assessment, I used and am still using it to inform the content and delivery of the technology-based professional learning program. In the interview, Wayne mentioned that it would be very beneficial for teachers to have a voice in what the professional development topics could be rather than having to sit through something that some of them may already know about. This would give the staff more ownership in the professional development topics as well as more of an incentive to be fully present at the meetings. Several weeks prior to our technology staff development meetings, I meet with our vertical technology team that consists of a teacher from each grade level as well as some support areas. Those teachers provide us with some ideas of what their grade levels would like to focus on during their technology professional learning time. I have already seen some great benefits come out of this because then when we meet with the entire grade level for the technology professional development, teachers have said that they feel like their time is being used very productively and they are being given some great ideas to take back and try in their classrooms. Finally, Wayne mentioned that working with teachers in a small group setting and even one-on-one is sometimes even more beneficial than a formal technology professional development meeting. There is something about those small group settings that really make teachers feel valued, and it also allows me to cater to those specific teachers’ individual needs instead of working with a very large group of people and being unable to provide that constant one-on-one attention. I have been doing a lot of that this year, and it has really helped! Teachers have enjoyed that one-on-one time and they have used a lot of the technology programs that I have worked with them on in their classrooms.
I learned so much from conducting this needs assessment. It was very beneficial to talk to this teacher and see things from his perspective because his point of view is a good indication of what a lot of the teachers at my school are probably thinking and wishing for regarding professional learning. He gave me some great suggestions of ways to improve professional development, and I believe that improvements I have put into place so far have been well received by the majority of staff members. If I could do this needs assessment over again, I would love to interview more than just one teacher - maybe each one from each grade level. Then I could get a really broad perspective of what teachers are thinking and what they would like to see in their technology professional learning. This artifact has impacted school improvement and faculty development, and in turn student learning, since I have been able to improve the technology professional learning sessions. Teachers are truly learning about valuable tools and strategies that they are excited to try out with their students.