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)
Artifact
My Current Reality and GSAPS Review artifact was created to assess the current reality of my school and assess its effectiveness as compared state standards. This was my favorite research project in my graduate studies because it forced me to gather data and assess my school to be able to get a stronger reality of where we stood. Much of what I identified has also been identified by our system as a need as well, and I am glad to say that we our current reality has improved since I created this document. You cannot grow and improve if you don’t know where you are. Reviewing this document today, I still see areas where we don’t align, but no one is going to agree with me item by item. I am proud of the strides we have made towards a more “transformative practice” (Harron & Mason, 2020), but we have so much more to do. It will take time.
Standard 5.3 Program Evaluation asks candidates to 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. Surveys and interviews, along with great resources like the GSAPS Review Rubric allowed me to design and implement a program evaluation to determine whether the professional learning deepens teacher content knowledge, improves teacher pedagogical skills, or increases student learning. I appreciate that the rubric takes into mind strengths and weaknesses of students, learners, and administration. It even covers stakeholders and the role they play. That is critical, because all of the above are needed to transform a culture. There is a lot of work from a variety of people that is needed to make a school culture effective.
I learned so much from creating this artifact. It was alarming to discover how much I did not know about an organization that I had been a part of for over five years. How many other teachers in our system have the same problem? I feel this is a project that every teacher should undertake. My biggest regret in relation to this project is that I did not know more about the data inventory process that is ongoing before I was assigned this project. Again, I feel it would do every teacher good to research this. Not until I was forced to interview and survey teacher, learners, and administration was I made aware of so much of what goes on in our school.
By researching, analyzing, and assessing the data involved to create the Current Reality and GSAPS Review, I now am better positioned to make confident decisions in my classroom and beyond. By using an instrument like the GSAPS, schools can get a better idea of what they current reality is and what changes they need to make. This information translates into students being better prepared at meeting state and national standards as the move forward.
References
Cobb County School District. (2018, August 6). 2018-2020 CCSD TECHNOLOGY PLAN [PDF]. https://sbcobbstor.blob.core.windows.net/media/WWWCobb/fgg/5/CCSD%20Technology%20Plan.pdf
Harron, J. R., & Mason, L. (2020). Creating virtual spaces: Using eXtended reality and transformative technologies to prepare teachers to thrive in an ever-changing world. What Teacher Educators Should Have Learned from 2020, 213.
Love, N. (2008). The data coach's guide to improving learning for all students: Unleashing the power of collaborative inquiry. Corwin.
Middle School. (n.d.). McClure Middle School 2018-2019 Strategic Plan [PDF].
https://sbcobbstor.blob.core.windows.net/media/WWWCobb/medialib/2b664214021.pdf
Standard 5.3 Program Evaluation asks candidates to 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. Surveys and interviews, along with great resources like the GSAPS Review Rubric allowed me to design and implement a program evaluation to determine whether the professional learning deepens teacher content knowledge, improves teacher pedagogical skills, or increases student learning. I appreciate that the rubric takes into mind strengths and weaknesses of students, learners, and administration. It even covers stakeholders and the role they play. That is critical, because all of the above are needed to transform a culture. There is a lot of work from a variety of people that is needed to make a school culture effective.
I learned so much from creating this artifact. It was alarming to discover how much I did not know about an organization that I had been a part of for over five years. How many other teachers in our system have the same problem? I feel this is a project that every teacher should undertake. My biggest regret in relation to this project is that I did not know more about the data inventory process that is ongoing before I was assigned this project. Again, I feel it would do every teacher good to research this. Not until I was forced to interview and survey teacher, learners, and administration was I made aware of so much of what goes on in our school.
By researching, analyzing, and assessing the data involved to create the Current Reality and GSAPS Review, I now am better positioned to make confident decisions in my classroom and beyond. By using an instrument like the GSAPS, schools can get a better idea of what they current reality is and what changes they need to make. This information translates into students being better prepared at meeting state and national standards as the move forward.
References
Cobb County School District. (2018, August 6). 2018-2020 CCSD TECHNOLOGY PLAN [PDF]. https://sbcobbstor.blob.core.windows.net/media/WWWCobb/fgg/5/CCSD%20Technology%20Plan.pdf
Harron, J. R., & Mason, L. (2020). Creating virtual spaces: Using eXtended reality and transformative technologies to prepare teachers to thrive in an ever-changing world. What Teacher Educators Should Have Learned from 2020, 213.
Love, N. (2008). The data coach's guide to improving learning for all students: Unleashing the power of collaborative inquiry. Corwin.
Middle School. (n.d.). McClure Middle School 2018-2019 Strategic Plan [PDF].
https://sbcobbstor.blob.core.windows.net/media/WWWCobb/medialib/2b664214021.pdf