Apple Teacher Professional Learning Plan
The great desire to use the tools that are provided by the district in an effective and useful manner. When I was a teacher, I felt it was my duty to utilize the tools that a district provided for me to best of my abilities to encourage, engage, and teach the students. I felt as I was letting the district down if I did not do those things. The problem was, I didn’t alway know how to properly use the tools that were provided to me. This was because two reasons. The first being that sometimes, little to no training was provided to me for the new tool. The second, the training that was provided, was like many of the others. Not specific to my needs, no follow-up and no support during the implementation of the tool.
My district is currently in their third year of an iPad initiative. I hope to support this initiative by providing those items that were sometimes not provided to me, in a professional learning plan. The plan is to take the Apple Teacher Program, and make it relevant and collaborative with the teachers in the district.
A year (or more) after this course is over, I want teachers to understand how the integration of iPads or any personal technology devices can accent student learning. For teachers to understand that the use of technology, the iPad in particular, supports all learning styles and can allow students to show their understanding at a deeper, more complete manner.
With that goal in mind, the following are my plans. These plans are developed around the report produced by Alison Gullamhussein’s research (2013) as follows:
Professional learning should be
Long enough in duration to allow ample practice and implementation of new skills
Support for learners during the implementation phase of the skill
An active initial exposure
Modeling the practices and skills being taught
Specific to the content or discipline of the learner
Duration: The following plan will start at the beginning of the school year, and aim to wrap up by the end of April. It will compose of weekly meetings after an initial introduction training.
Collaboration: Throughout the entire professional learning timeframe, the collaboration will be encouraged through both the learning gatherings and the Google Plus community. Both places will be for questions, but also for sharing victories and challenges.
Lead: I will main lead on the professional learning sessions. The iPad initiative is for grades six through twelve. I would love for this to include those educators in the middle school. If that is the case then the instructional technology specialist at that school will work with me in making sure there is a solid community of learning set up there as well.
Audience and their needs: The audience for this professional learning are educators in grades 6-12. They are all currently in their third year of 1:1 iPad initiative roll out. Up to this point, there have been a few days of district directed learning days and workshop based professional development focused on specific apps or techniques with the iPad.
For a more detailed outline check here.
The following is my Understanding by Design template for this professional learning. It links to the iTunes U Course that will be utilized during this time. At this point, the iTunes U Course is still under construction.
I hope that creating a professional learning experience in this manner will help my teachers in two ways. The first is so that they understand what the iPads can bring to the classroom and their students understanding and empowerment. The second is the modeling of this professional development can lead a change in the way that professional development is given and allow teachers to feel excited about learning again.
References:
Gulamhussein, A. (2013). Teaching the teachers effective professional development in an era of high stakes accountability. Center for Public Education. Retrieved from http://www.centerforpubliceducation.org/Main-Menu/Staffingstudents/Teaching-the-Teachers-Effective-Professional-Development-in-an-Era-of-High-Stakes-Accountability/Teaching-the-Teachers-Full-Report.pdf
