Professional learning sessions to support teachers incorporating technology to update their lessons and assessments

Morris, Anne B.The primary focus of this Executive Leadership Portfolio (ELP) is to investigate whether teachers who actively participate in professional development designed to model best practices and explore digital technology would incrementally change their instructional moves to include these practices and technologies. ☐ The literature presented within this ELP provided a framework to design nine Professional Learning Sessions (PLSs) intended to support teachers in their efforts to prepare students for 21st Century Learning at Garnet Valley School District (GVSD). Each PLS was designed to include the topics, structures or characteristics, and strategies suggested by the research for teaching teachers how to emphasize creating learner-centered lessons, infuse content, learning theories and pedagogy with knowledge of technology (TPACK). The literature, rationale for the design, and an evaluation of the PLSs are presented. ☐ Quantitative and qualitative data were collected for an evaluation of the PLSs through four instruments – a district feedback form, teacher proposed lessons, periodic surveys, and teacher interviews. Guskey’s Framework on the Five Levels for Evaluating Professional Development was used to analyze the collected data. Analysis suggested that participants were satisfied with the sessions and did demonstrate an acquisition of knowledge and the intent to create lessons and assessments using the digital tools and best practices modeled during the sessions. Participants did make subsequent changes to their instructional moves to include integrating digital tools; however, participants did not consistently create student-centered lessons.University of Delaware, School of EducationD.Ed