In Southlake, Texas, earlier this year, the following professional development activities took place. A group of new teachers attended an after-school workshop on Windows software. A school bus driver participated in an all-day "Super Saturday" workshop to find out what word processing is all about. And a veteran special education teacher used a computer graphics program to create a picture book—one of several computerized solutions she came up with to help some of her life skills students communicate with classmates.
What do these people have in common? None was forced to attend inservices. None earned continuing education credits for his or her extra work. What they did earn, however, were cash stipends—$525 for the teachers and $300 for the bus driver. All work for the Carroll Independent School District, a small suburban district midway between Dallas and Ft. Worth. The district's performance-based technology competency program is designed to motivate all employees to learn new technological skills and to impart that knowledge to students. The program rewards professional growth, involves adult learners in their own planning, and correlates individual needs with school and district goals (Krupp 1989).
Application, Not Hours
Research studies have demonstrated that students' scores on standardized tests are more closely related to the academic ability of their teacher than to any other teacher characteristic (Hanushek 1981). But although the need for ongoing teacher learning is evident, the fulfillment of professional development hours alone does not necessarily result in more effective teachers.
This is the dilemma for all staff developers: How can we develop a continuous learning model that emphasizes the application of that learning in classrooms, rather than the fulfillment of inservice hours? To us, it seemed possible to design a staff development plan in which professionals don't demonstrate their mastery of a subject by the number of hours they invest in workshops or other training, but rather by their proficiency in using the technology as a teaching tool.
Our program involves a series of technology competencies that are based on district, campus, or individual goals set by the employee. In this way, everyone who accepts this challenge contributes to the overall mission of the district, as specified in the strategic plan. The program was built on faith—faith that teachers (and later all staff) would want to improve professionally and could support and encourage one another's learning.
Technology I: The Basics
Our school district was in a unique position to set this structure in motion using technology training as the vehicle. In the 1993-94 school year, the district school board had voted to link an annual teacher pay raise to individual professional development efforts. The district and all its campuses already had set a goal to increase staff knowledge of technology and allow professionals to become proficient in certain technology competencies. The job of structuring a plan to achieve that goal was a joint responsibility of the district's central administration and the school board's technology committee.
- Discuss ethical issues in technology (copying disks, for example).
- Operate computer systems with an understanding of basic vocabulary and how to set up hardware.
- Demonstrate the use of two out of three computer tools—word processing, databases, and spreadsheets.
- Use computer graphics programs.
- Research emerging technologies (such as CD-ROMS and video disks).
- Integrate various technologies (such as multimedia) into the curriculum.
- Demonstrate computer troubleshooting.
The committee also specified several ways of demonstrating proficiency in each competency. For some activities, such as using graphics programs, it was easiest to submit samples of the work to prove proficiency. For others, such as operating computer systems, the building principal simply verified performance.
We realized that employees varied in their technological knowledge and proficiency and in their learning styles. As recommended in Five Models of Staff Development for Teachers (Sparks and Loucks-Horsley 1990), we offered a variety of learning options. Staff members could take advantage of traditional workshops that the district conducts for hands-on training in each competency; or they might opt to learn by reading, by working informally with a partner, or simply by practicing skills on their own.
The teachers on the technology committee, in conjunction with the district's Curriculum Division administrators, decided to offer a stipend for those employees who demonstrated mastery of the competencies. The District Advisory Committee made some revisions to the plan and endorsed it as a way to increase teachers' salaries and upgrade their technological skills.
Employees who were interested in receiving the stipend completed a self-evaluation form, determining areas for their own training and study. Principals identified a team of campus contacts who were available to give individual help or to hold sessions on specific technology topics.
Participants tracked their progress by using an Individual Technology Worksheet, which documents their proficiencies in the competencies through demonstration, a sample of work, a written document, or a test. They then submit the completed worksheet to the Curriculum Division for stipend authorization.
Collegiality and Autonomy
- It builds teacher interdependence to ensure the success of professional education.
- It provides opportunities for teachers to work closely with colleagues in meaningful learning.
- It enables practitioners to show that they can exercise autonomy and build initiatives for continuous learning.
Also in support of Little's research, the plan incorporates what we know about adult learners and nurtures ongoing professional relationships. If we are to meet the needs of both new and veteran teachers and provide the best learning environment for our students, we need to design staff development activities that provide personal satisfaction, self-actualization, and opportunities to demonstrate new learnings in collegial and supportive settings.
- Teachers actively plan inservice activities.
- Teachers actively set goals and select activities.
- Teachers assess their learning through demonstration and concrete experiences (Berman and McLaughlin 1978, Lawrence 1974, Yarger et al. 1980).
Technology II: The Classroom
- Demonstrate telecommunications competencies to enhance professional development and instruction. For example, access TENET (the Texas Education Network), a telecommunications network that the Texas Education Agency and the University of Texas at Austin established to connect all educators in the state via e-mail or teleconferencing.
- Research and evaluate emerging technologies, such as CD-ROMS and video disks, by reading periodicals, observing demonstrations, or taking courses. Then write a report describing how you might use these technologies in the classroom.
- Evaluate five types of software (Is it easy to use? How much does it cost? Is it networkable? Skills-based? Constructivist?).
- Use technology for personal productivity and instructional enhancement.
Even though these second-level competencies were designed to be more difficult, the response to the stipend program in the 1994-95 school year was almost as universally favorable as was the response the first year. As of May 1995, 82 percent of the district's professional staff had demonstrated mastery of these new competencies.
Technology III: Personal Projects
This year, because most of the professional staff have gone through the two levels of competencies, we decided to take the program to a new level and offer teachers and administrators an alternative way of earning the stipend. Those who have completed the two levels may now submit a mini-proposal—a brief grant proposal of sorts—for an individualized technology project that puts to use the competencies mastered. The proposal, which may be submitted by individuals or groups, must address the nature of the project, how it puts the second-level competencies to use, and how it directly involves or affects students.
Professional staff members who have not completed the two competency levels have a choice: they may earn the stipend by submitting the mini-proposal or by demonstrating mastery of some first-level competencies.
A Learning Community
This year, the school district also extended the technology stipend program to paraprofessionals (teaching assistants) and auxiliary staff—custodians, cafeteria workers, and bus drivers. These employees, as well as teachers who are new to the district, are invited to improve their technological skills and earn a stipend of about $300. Because many of these employees are unfamiliar with computer technology, we help them master basic competencies—virtually the same ones we used with the professionals the first year of the program.
A recent Saturday training session attracted about half of the paraprofessional and auxiliary staff. Participants—many of whom had never touched a computer before—came away with a sense of accomplishment and the desire to learn more.
With nearly all employees of the Carroll Independent School District now participating in the technology competency program, our learning community has been broadened. Throughout the district, teachers, students, auxiliary staff, and administrators are discussing and using technology more than ever before.
The teachers' use of technology has had a direct impact on the students, who are using the technology as their teachers use it. We will continue to research the plan's effects on students. Meanwhile, we do know that technology has been a leveling factor that has brought together people from all over the district—including students—to work toward a common goal.
