What do you want to be when you grow up?

For the past several years as I've been working towards my degree, I've struggled with exactly what I want to do when I complete my PhD. Where might I work? What type of work do I hope to do? Where can I make a difference?
These questions have become excruciating over the past few months in particular, especially as I narrow in and focus on the topic of my dissertation. This is the point in my education that will define me as a researcher, an educator, a philosopher. It's a pretty important decision. While I have so many areas of interest (literacy, professional development, technology, leadership), when I narrow this down I'm afraid of what I might leave out.
But at one point, that quiet voice that whispers in the back of my mind became clearer. We all have that voice that resonates quietly within us. It's the voice that is difficult to hear amidst the din of our insane worrying, debating, fretting, and doubt. The one we often choose to ignore.
It was in this moment of clarity that I realized it's not "what" I want to be when I grow up. It's who I want to be right now. Who I want to continue to be in the future. The type of person I would see as my best self.
So, I've created my vision of who I want to be. Starting now.
1. Someone who understands and appreciates the value of people.
2. Someone who prioritizes people over "things" or accomplishments.
3. Someone who steps back to really listen and observe.
4. Someone who is able to problem solve with resiliance.
5. Someone who values the input of others.
6. Someone who is able to contribute her own input and ideas.
7. Someone who is able to speak up for those who are unable to speak up for themselves.

Sure, I still need to narrow down my dissertation topic. This will still define a part of me professionally. But there is comfort in knowing I will still choose how I will define myself every day.

What DOES Research Tell Us About Tech Integration?

There is no way I could spend the last two weeks pouring through the literature on professional development and not share. I am specifically looking at professional development in technology and how it might lead to effects on student learning. My initial search through EBSCO examined professional development and literacy coaching. This brought up 23 articles total that relate to student achievement. I broadened my search to coaching and student achievement. From this search, I narrowed 107 articles down to 40 articles that actually address student achievement in the research. Finally, I searched coaching, professional development, technology, and student achievement. This brought me zero results. So, I settled on ten articles focused on professional development and technology integration, one which included a mentor as part of the professional development.

One thing that stood out most for me as I poured over these articles is the importance of teacher self-efficacy in implementing new technologies in the classroom (Overbaugh and Ruiling, 2008). Teachers need to see the value for their students of implementing new technologies. They also need to believe that they have the skills to do so. This makes sense, instructional-y. You are more willing to put in the time and effort if you feel you are capable of something. Think of Vygostky's zone of proximal development. If a task is out of our reach, we simply cannot accomplish it. Without providing the appropriate scaffolds for teachers, we can't expect them to implement new technologies with students.

Professional development for technology integration for teachers needs to be learner centered (Polly and Hannafin, 2010). Teacher development needs to focus on student learning, be teacher-owned, and focus on developing both content and pedagogy. Teachers need to examine their beliefs and actual instructional practices to reconcile the differences between them (John Hattie would support observations and self-examined video-tapes of lessons). Also, more time spent on collaborating around lessons and in-class coaching, results on classroom observations were significantly improved (Martin et al., 2010). Teachers also need scaffolding with in-class implementation of new practices. I can see how the role of a mentor or coach would fit here nicely. In fact, Kopcha (2012) found that participants in a model which included a mentor in Year 1 of implementation, and not Year 2, reported their improved instruction and beliefs were attributed to the mentor and professional development provided by the mentor.

Overall, there is very little research published on student outcomes and professional development in technology integration (and none on instructional technology, coaching, and student achievement). We do know what best practices tell us for professional development (more to come on that). And we do know that technology integration is directly tied to teacher self-efficacy. I hope this information has been useful. I will continue to update as I learn more.

Getting Technology RIGHT

What a great learning day at SAI with Scott McLeod and Angela Maiers. I was so disappointed that not more of my colleagues and supervisors could have been there, but was grateful to have our building administrator there.

Today's blog is really just a reflection on what I picked up from today's session. The overarching theme was getting technology RIGHT:
R.eal
I.ntegrated
G.lobalized
H.onoring
T.ime and Talent

Sadly, most of the learning that occurs in school is in a static setting. Real life is integrated, not static. One thing Angela Maiers pointed out is that the Iowa Common Core is set up for educators to look at as a list of what we want students "to be", not what we want students "to do". Therefore, we must think about the skill sets students need, set a purpose for work and problem solving, and allow students to do the heavy lifting. Teachers can no longer be the "sage on the stage". We must learn from each other.

There is no way to encapsulate all of the big ideas here, but another take away was a process Scott McLeod walked us through in incorporating the many pieces from the Iowa Core and integrating technology into a single lesson plan (not necessarily a one-day and done plan, but a series). Going through this process helped me to think through how I might structure a collaborative process with staff. Getting feedback and input from others is such a powerful way to improve on your work!

Finally, (and I know this is not what the conference was about, but these parts are fun, too) the amazing tools we were able to walk away with. Just for fun, I really enjoyed the Visible Tweets. This can be used to display learning of staff and students alike. Also, a big thanks to Mark Moran for sharing Dulcinea and Sweet Search (a search engine for students with quality sources that have been looked at by staff). Mark suggests having students cite at least 2-5 resources when completing a project or paper. Sweet Search is just one place to start.

Tech Integration or Ed Reform?

An overall concept I've been struggling with this academic year is technology integration. Dr. Scott McCleod has been working with a group of our school and community members on how best to approach this with our school system. As a building that is trying to integrate a small amount of iPads at the elementary level, we have been struggling with what this should look like for our students. As I originally feared, this is not a topic that can be simply addressed.

At the same time, as other districts and states are, we struggle to incorporate the Iowa Common Core State Standards into our teaching. Just as we can't simply incorporate iPads into the way we currently teach, we can't "do the Core" and do what we have always done.

Today, a couple of amazing instructional coaches presented what they learned at an assessment conference. One of the resources they shared with us was sample items and performance tasks from the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium. I am convinced that if teachers were exposed to tasks like this for students, they would immediately begin to change the way they think about what they have students doing in the classroom.

While I would love for someone to just place in my lap the learning we need to do as educators, I know it will not be this easy. And so our journey begins.

Why School?

A great read was shared with our technology task force, Why School? by Will Richardson. This is a quick read that gives an overview of the state of schooling in the United States where technology is concerned, and how we need to shift our thinking from traditional classroom roles of teacher/student to global learners. Richardson begs the question that is so often neglected...Why do we need school?
Shift needs to happen in the way that we approach learning with our students. No longer is memorizing facts going to be enough to get students by in the real world. With ubiquitous information available, students will need to learn how to recognize the facts, assimilate new knowledge, and synthesize what they know to real-world application and problem solving. They will need skills in working collaboratively both face-to-face and on-line.

In order for our students to be well-armed in a global economy, our teachers must also be prepared to teach these skills to students. While it would be impossible for all teachers to keep up with the latest technology, teachers must be tech-savvy and willing to learn new platforms, applications, and software. This won't require a specific knowledge base as much as it will require a skill base of problem solving and an open mind.

I am hoping this book will help our technology task force realize the importance not of technology itself, but the mindset which we will need to equip our students for handling world-sized problems as they move to real-life situations. We will need to shift the way in which we approach teaching and professional development. We will need to examine how technology is currently used in the classroom and determine how best to help teachers make the necessary shifts and mindsets in teaching and learning.