Enhancing Education Through Technology

This Monday I spent the entire day at College CSD for their Professional Learning Day.   The reason this is a priority for me this year is that they are in Year Two of their Science Curriculum Review.  In Year Two; they spent three days this summer developing Consensus Maps for K-12 Science using their version of Curriculum Mapper.  In addition the entire district is engaged in a K-12 focus on Assessment for Learning as CCSD was invited to attend the Iowa Department of Education Assessment for Learning Training Sessions hosted by IDE AfL team (of which Phyllis Anderson is a member) during the 2010 - 2011 academic year.  As a district, they graciously offered to design their Professional Learning Days toward a district-wide focus on Assessment for Learning as a model for other districts throughout GWAEA.

I have been asked to serve on the district PLD design team and to serve as an active member of the HS Cadre.  This morning the entire district focused on:

• Balanced Assessment Systems (theory)
• Zone of Proximal Development as a way to understand how to alter the learning gap (theory)
• The definition of Clear Learning Targets (demonstration and practice)
• How to write Success Criteria to match the clear Learning Targets (demonstration and practice)
• Embedding both into their practice by designing mini-lessons using AfL Rubrics and examples and models of strong and weak work (coaching and transfer)

This district uses Google Sites and Documents for the majority of their collaboration and work to truly reflect how teachers use technology to enhance both their curriculum work and their instructional practices.

In addition, when I worked with the 7 - 12 grade teachers on Consensus Mapping in the PM, I used a Formative Assessment Classroom Technique from Page Keeley's book to build community and surface their preconceptions about Consensus Mapping. The F.A.C.T. was called Visual Synectics.  Another F.A.C.T. I recommended tot he HS ESS teacher was Representation Analysis.  I sent her this Sidewiki to help her think about how to implement this F.A.C.T. in her class this week.

I have learned so much about how to effectively Enhance Education Through the Use of Technology (i.e. E2T2) as a result of time spent with these teachers and administrators.  My only wish is that the other districts I serve would push me as hard and demand my services as much!  Oh well!  Some day......