1.1 Shared Vision
Candidates facilitate the development and implementation of a shared vision for the use of technology in teaching, learning, and leadership.
(PSC 1.1/ISTE 1a)
(PSC 1.1/ISTE 1a)
Artifact:
Shared Vision Paper
Reflection:
The Shared Vision paper was designed with intentions of expressing a shared vision of technology implementation within our school. The vision at Harmony-Leland Elementary School is to exemplify a community that embraces a culture of change and collaboration where all students perform on or above grade level. We strive to develop a team that focuses on and understands the importance of student-centered learning. The primary goals are to increase academic skills with special emphasis on English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics and to also promote the increase of parent engagement in school activities. With this vision, we are steadily building a school of academic achievers that possess the skills of leadership and becoming great contributors to our community. The role I had in contributing to the shared vision paper was working with administration to determine how technology integration could successfully impact the subject areas addressed in the school’s vision.
“One of the most important responsibilities of any leader is establishing a vision and inviting others to share in its development” (Farmer & Gabriel, 2009). Through communication with administration, teachers and acknowledging the school vision, the plan for our school was to implement more use of digital tools as a form of integrating technology to support student learning. There were three main ideal goals for supporting the implementation of our school’s vision. They are as follows: to provide additional support for staff members so that they are confident in using tools such as Microsoft Office 365, to increase student collaboration and engagement with these tools, and to encourage teacher and parent utilization to help support student learning. With this in mind, I began to brainstorm ideas and strategies that would align with the school’s vision and that would also support teacher and student learning. I decided to present a few workshops teaching staff members about a tool called Spiral which could be used to teach and assess different educational subjects. I had recently learned about Spiral and saw how it could be used to engage student learning by allowing students to work individually and in teams for online assignments. It included an option for preparing instructional video clips where teachers could insert questions throughout the video to assess student comprehension. Spiral also included an option for teachers to create a discussion platform where they could facilitate class discussions and allow students to share what they have learned or thoughts about a topic.
During weekly Professional Learning (PL) days, with the support of our designated instructional coach who visited time to time, I had opportunities (twice a month) to facilitate meetings with my third-grade team that where we discussed about tools such as the Cobb Teaching and Learning System (CTLS) and the resources housed on the site. I demonstrated and assisted teachers on how to create activities and assessments that could be used to monitor and collect data on student’s academic comprehension of mathematic skills. The development of these resources and its relationship to state’s standards proved to be a necessary tool that coincides with are one way that I helped to implement the shared vision, as being that teachers are now more comfortable with implementing a technology tool that is used to support and monitor student academic success. Whenever they were confused or may have forgotten how to complete a step, I was there to assist them. Overtime, third grade team members began to develop and assign online assessments on their own with limited help from the facilitator.
With completing this artifact, I learned that there is a lot of thought and examination that goes into implementing a vision. It’s imperative that everyone involved has a clear understanding of the vision and that they are also on one accord with making it happen. There must be room for flexibility and adapting to new changes in order to see progress and gain achievement with goals. If I could improve the quality of the artifact I would suggest encouraging parent voice being included in the shared vision. They are great stakeholders who can really make a meaningful impact on the culture of our schools. Having their point of view and support is always beneficial being that they are able to address ideas that may not be considered from an educator’s perspective. Also, they reflect a lot on our students and their motivation to engage in learning. Typically, when I a parent is more involved and collaborates with teachers, students tend to show more focus and growth in their learning environment.
Creating the artifact impacted the school by allowing stakeholders to be aware of the elements that would help build improvement with the school’s vision. This in turn led to more facilitation of professional development to assist teachers in using research-based technology strategies within their classrooms to improve instruction. This artifact also led to new student learning of tools that increased engagement and authentic learning by using tools such as Kahoot and Pebble Go. The impact on faculty was assessed by surveys to determine the quality of the professional development. The impact on students’ learning will also be assessed and evaluated by the Georgia Milestones to determine if growth occurred in the content areas of ELA and Math.
References:
Farmer, P.C., & Gabriel, J.G. (2009, February). How to Help Your School Thrive Without Breaking the Bank. Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/107042/chapters/developing-a-vision-and-a-mission.aspx
Reflection:
The Shared Vision paper was designed with intentions of expressing a shared vision of technology implementation within our school. The vision at Harmony-Leland Elementary School is to exemplify a community that embraces a culture of change and collaboration where all students perform on or above grade level. We strive to develop a team that focuses on and understands the importance of student-centered learning. The primary goals are to increase academic skills with special emphasis on English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics and to also promote the increase of parent engagement in school activities. With this vision, we are steadily building a school of academic achievers that possess the skills of leadership and becoming great contributors to our community. The role I had in contributing to the shared vision paper was working with administration to determine how technology integration could successfully impact the subject areas addressed in the school’s vision.
“One of the most important responsibilities of any leader is establishing a vision and inviting others to share in its development” (Farmer & Gabriel, 2009). Through communication with administration, teachers and acknowledging the school vision, the plan for our school was to implement more use of digital tools as a form of integrating technology to support student learning. There were three main ideal goals for supporting the implementation of our school’s vision. They are as follows: to provide additional support for staff members so that they are confident in using tools such as Microsoft Office 365, to increase student collaboration and engagement with these tools, and to encourage teacher and parent utilization to help support student learning. With this in mind, I began to brainstorm ideas and strategies that would align with the school’s vision and that would also support teacher and student learning. I decided to present a few workshops teaching staff members about a tool called Spiral which could be used to teach and assess different educational subjects. I had recently learned about Spiral and saw how it could be used to engage student learning by allowing students to work individually and in teams for online assignments. It included an option for preparing instructional video clips where teachers could insert questions throughout the video to assess student comprehension. Spiral also included an option for teachers to create a discussion platform where they could facilitate class discussions and allow students to share what they have learned or thoughts about a topic.
During weekly Professional Learning (PL) days, with the support of our designated instructional coach who visited time to time, I had opportunities (twice a month) to facilitate meetings with my third-grade team that where we discussed about tools such as the Cobb Teaching and Learning System (CTLS) and the resources housed on the site. I demonstrated and assisted teachers on how to create activities and assessments that could be used to monitor and collect data on student’s academic comprehension of mathematic skills. The development of these resources and its relationship to state’s standards proved to be a necessary tool that coincides with are one way that I helped to implement the shared vision, as being that teachers are now more comfortable with implementing a technology tool that is used to support and monitor student academic success. Whenever they were confused or may have forgotten how to complete a step, I was there to assist them. Overtime, third grade team members began to develop and assign online assessments on their own with limited help from the facilitator.
With completing this artifact, I learned that there is a lot of thought and examination that goes into implementing a vision. It’s imperative that everyone involved has a clear understanding of the vision and that they are also on one accord with making it happen. There must be room for flexibility and adapting to new changes in order to see progress and gain achievement with goals. If I could improve the quality of the artifact I would suggest encouraging parent voice being included in the shared vision. They are great stakeholders who can really make a meaningful impact on the culture of our schools. Having their point of view and support is always beneficial being that they are able to address ideas that may not be considered from an educator’s perspective. Also, they reflect a lot on our students and their motivation to engage in learning. Typically, when I a parent is more involved and collaborates with teachers, students tend to show more focus and growth in their learning environment.
Creating the artifact impacted the school by allowing stakeholders to be aware of the elements that would help build improvement with the school’s vision. This in turn led to more facilitation of professional development to assist teachers in using research-based technology strategies within their classrooms to improve instruction. This artifact also led to new student learning of tools that increased engagement and authentic learning by using tools such as Kahoot and Pebble Go. The impact on faculty was assessed by surveys to determine the quality of the professional development. The impact on students’ learning will also be assessed and evaluated by the Georgia Milestones to determine if growth occurred in the content areas of ELA and Math.
References:
Farmer, P.C., & Gabriel, J.G. (2009, February). How to Help Your School Thrive Without Breaking the Bank. Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/107042/chapters/developing-a-vision-and-a-mission.aspx