2013-2014 GLPS Technology Professional Development

This year, our Tech & Media Team is taking a new approach to our professional development.  In the past, we have heard from teachers that they would like training on a specific topic (for example, Google Docs).  When we would prepare for the training, we would pull many resources and come prepared with different topics to discuss based on the direction of the conversation during the meeting time.  This approach worked well for some groups, but not so well with others.  Just like students, teachers have different preferred learning styles.  In order to provide the most relevant professional development that meets teachers' specific needs, we decided to use teacher input to drive our on-going professional development.

On our website, we have provided information about our PD process.  In a nutshell, we are taking a 4-step approach.

1. Before - Before we schedule a time to meet with a teacher (or group of teachers), we ask each person attending to complete this form at least 24 hours prior to the scheduled meeting time.  This information is CRITICAL in structuring a professional learning meeting time.  As the meeting is teacher input-driven, we must know what is important to you before meeting.
2. During - During each meeting time, we will provide a document that outlines our learning targets, agenda, and corresponding resources.  This will be posted online as a reference.
3. After - After the meeting time, we ask that each person attending to complete this form within at least 24 hours of the meeting.  The information gathered from this meeting is very important to us in self-evaluating if we met teacher needs, other areas that might need revisiting, and data for moving forward.  The completion of the pre-meeting form and the post-meeting form also allows us to document teacher attendance so that proper credit may be given for professional development hours for certification.  We will also be using Credly to provide teachers with badges that document their professional learning.  Once the post-meeting form is completed, teachers will receive their digital badge.
4. On-Going - We will be documenting meeting times so that we can provide information for teachers and provide reference materials.  Data is continually collected (data can be found here) and published to provide transparent information about our technology professional learning opportunities.

Some of the data we have gathered about our program to date is listed below.  For more in-depth information and data

We always welcome feedback and comments about our programs, as we are continually learning ourselves and trying to provide our staff with the best possible support.  If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to let us know!