Professional Development for Educational Technology Grant

K. Betler

Grant Information
Link: http://www.canvaslms.com/canvasgrants/
Grant Amount: $5K
Funding Organization: Canvas Grants
Description: Awarding $100K to K-12 and higher education institutions for the most
innovative solutions toward lossless learning.

Education is based on feedback loops. So when feedback is lost, the quality of learning decreases. For Canvas
Grants 2015, were looking for innovative tools, methods, and research projects to decrease lossy learning in
face-to-face, blended, hybrid, or flipped classrooms.

Presentation: http://app.emaze.com/1355301/grant-project
1. Overview of Plan
For one hour, every other week, students in grades 9 - 12 will be grouped according to
their academic and personal interests to engage in projects that extend outside one subject
area. Students will be afforded the opportunity to design their own curriculum and put their
ideas into practice through learning experiences such as service learning, problem-based learning,
and more! Students will be creating high quality academic products while simultaneously
discovering new ways to become civically engaged in their community.
Students will be placed in groups of approximately 20 students with 2 3 teachers
assigned to each group. Groups will choose to focus on one of the 5 Pillars of a Canton Local
Graduate: 1) Producer, 2) Contributor, 3) Innovator, 4) Leader, or 5) Communicator. These pillars
represent what our district hopes to develop in each of our graduates. Each semester, students
and their teachers will work together to develop products, projects, presentations, and more that
are centered on developing the skills it takes to become a successful producer, contributor,
innovator, leader, or communicator. The learning experiences the students engage in will be
student-driven and based upon their academic and personal interests. Examples of such
experiences include starting a school garden, completing a service project for a local church,
creating presentations on body image and how its portrayed in social media, developing a solution
to nutrition in school lunches. There is no limit to what the students may come up with to work
on and students may end up working in smaller groups within their teams to focus on multiple
topics at once.
The teachers role will be to facilitate discussion and help to generate ideas while also
providing the students the support they need to make their project a success. However, teachers
will serve as coaches only and are not responsible for the projects themselves. We want students
to take ownership of their learning and have the chance to investigate and learn more about
something they are truly passionate about, outside the confines of a particular subject area
and/or content standards. Ideally, at the end of the year, we will be able to present a
community showcase of the students work to instill in the students a sense of pride in what they

Professional Development for Educational Technology Grant

K. Betler

do as well as recognize them for their hard work while involving the community in the learning
experience.
Teachers participated in their first professional development in October in order to
determine which pillar they would prefer to work with for the school year based upon their own
strengths and interests. Teachers were surveyed and then grouped according to each pillar. The
professional development included an overview of the vision and plan and a brainstorming session
to begin to design the students learning experiences for the school year. The next professional
development will be to develop a list of potential learning experiences to offer to students.
Teachers will also be paired in the next professional development setting and will be provided
morning meeting time to plan for their activities. Professional development will continue
throughout the school year as the leadership team deems necessary and as we discover the needs
of the students and staff. The leadership teams role will be to monitor learning experiences to
ensure all students are receive equal opportunity and to also provide support to staff as needed.
The leadership team will also be responsible for evaluating productivity at the end of each
semester and report back to the staff to provide feedback. We want to ensure the students are
completing projects/presentations/products that are academically-based and of high quality. This
school year will be mostly an experimental year as we adjust and revise for the next school
year.
2. Vision & Alignment
Canton Local Schools (Retrieved from www.cantonlocal.org)
Our Beliefs

The purpose of schools is to open minds, expand thinking, and instill a love of learning that allows each child to
prepare for the future.

Unfortunately, in many high school settings, students are forced to go from class to class,
learning material that they (and their teachers) often do not find relevant to their future. They
are dipping into a multitude of topics without having the opportunity and/or time to really dive
into something their passionate about, to open their minds and begin to love learning again.
Through this innovation, we hope to ignite the desire to learn in all students by allowing them to
take control of what they are learning and how they are learning.

Every day we foster a culture of pride in our schools, created by positive relationships and meaningful work.

Typically, students are grouped by grade level during the day and often interact with the
same teachers and peers every single day. Through this innovation, we hope to expand student
relationships to outside their grade level by mixing grade levels for these learning groups.
Students will also be working with teachers they may have had before and may not have interacted
with yet. This will hopefully give students the opportunity to build relationships with teachers in a
non-traditional setting where they are not being graded for their understanding of certain content.

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K. Betler

We are committed to preparing our students to be flexible, collaborative, creative, life-long learners.

Students will be working in large groups as well as smaller groups during this time based
upon their learning interests. In order to create high quality products, students will be required to
collaborate with students and adults they are not used to working with and will be asked to
generate creative solutions to problems they are trying to solve or develop products that are
practical and beneficial to the greater population of students. Students will be encouraged to
work with community members and find experts that will help them reach their goals.

All our students have the potential to learn more than they are currently learning, and it is the responsibility of all
they encounter in our schools to support their learning.

Our goal through this innovation is to not just provide students the opportunity to choose
what they are learning but also raise the bar for the kind of products that result from that
learning. We hope that by allowing students to engage in learning experiences that are meaningful
to them, it will increase their motivation and they will be more inclined and open to challenging
themselves to reach higher levels of learning than they are currently learning.

The focus of all school activity is the design of high-quality, engaging work that students find interesting and
relevant and that challenges them to reach their highest potential.

This belief, most of all, is our highest aim through this innovation. Every day we ask
students to engage in learning that we, as teachers, believe to be relevant and meaningful.
However, to most of our students, while they entertain us sometimes, it is completely irrelevant to
their futures, aside from their desire to achieve high grades. Especially with this generation of
students, many of them already have a solid idea of what direction they want their career to take
and many of them wanted to get started now they want to learn directly about their careers
nursing, engineering, technology, and more. They are ready to start to learn their trades yet are
stuck in general education courses. W hile these courses are highly beneficial and necessary, it is
not the kind of learning that sparks a students desire to be truly great and to understand what
success feels like outside the classroom. W e want to provide students an opportunity to come face
to face with their futures.
Schools that are focused on engagement are the responsibility of the entire community; we take pride in the
relationships among our community and our schools, characterized by collaborative partnership, open and
honest dialog, mutual respect, and trust.

Our ultimate goal with this innovation is to engage with the community as much as possible.
W e want to bring in the experts from our neighborhoods and local businesses and let them teach
our students what it takes to be successful outside of the classroom. W e also want our students
to seek out ways in which they can give back to the community to build that collaborative
partnership that can be so beneficial to school climates.
Overall, this innovation allows teachers and students to engage with material in a more indepth fashion than they would be able to do in the traditional classroom. Students will experience
rigorous expectations and work centered on one focused goal. This aligns with the new Common
Core standards that are more problem -based and offer more complexity to traditional skill-based
assessments. Students are being asked to elaborate their findings, provide evidence for their
reasoning, and answer questions that are multiple parts. This innovation will expose students to

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K. Betler

this type of rigor in a safe environment and will also expose students to the technology they are
expected to be comfortable with on the PARCC assessments. With 1:1 computing, our students will
be able to utilize their technology in ways they never have before.
ISTE-A Standards:

Visionary Leadership
!
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Digital Age Learning Culture

!
!
!

!
!

Allocating time and resources during the school day to focus on technology and cross-curricular
integration (1 hour every week)
Facilitating and participating in learning communities through pillar groups and teacher teams
Communicating student projects digitally and through professional learning communities

Systemic Improvement
!
!
!

Teaching students AND teachers how to be digital age learners

Teachers modeling the effective and appropriate use of technology through student products
Providing a learner-centered environment by allowing students to determine what they are going to
learn and how they demonstrate their learning

Excellence in Professional Practice

!

Promoting a shared vision of purposeful change in regards to engagement

Using a technology-infused strategic plan to improve student achievement and motivation

Leading purposeful change through the use of technology by allowing the students to drive the learning
process
Innovation team will be responsible for collecting data on the effectiveness of the learning experiences
Establishing partnerships with local businesses and community members to leverage student learning

Digital Citizenship
!
!
!

1:1 Computing
Technology use policies re-affirmed in learning experiences
Students encouraged to use the technology to focus on global perspectives Think Global, Act Local

3. Professional Development Activities

I. Professional Development #1 (11/24/14)
For the first professional development centered on this innovation, teachers were presented
with the overview and vision of the innovation by the innovation team. The overall layout of the PD
was explained. This PD took place for one hour after school.

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K. Betler

a) Getting to Know You Activity

Staff members were previously divided into groups for each Canton Local pillar (contributor,
leader, communicator, innovator, and producer) based upon their interest survey results. Prior to
breaking out into groups, teachers were asked to play the Ice Breaker activity where teachers
were asked to describe themselves as a square, squiggle, rectangle, triangle, or circle. A
description for each personality type was described to help give teachers an idea of the different
kinds of personalities teachers would be working with in their groups. This was a fun activity for
teachers to get to know one another that dont get to spend much time together on a regular
basis.
b) Pillar Groups
Teachers then broke out into their pillars groups to work on brainstorming potential
activities to provide students throughout the school year. While teachers worked, they were asked
to write down questions, comments, or concerns on index cards they received at the beginning of
the meeting. Teachers were also given brainstorming documents to help guide their thinking and
ensure all groups were working toward a common goal. This took the majority of the meeting as
the innovation team wanted to allow plenty of time for teachers to brainstorm ideas to help them
take ownership of the process.
II. Professional Development #2 (12/9/14)
This professional development will take place during after school time for one hour. This will
be a continuation of the previous meeting. The innovation team met to discuss the feedback the
teachers gave us from the index cards and are using that to develop a framework for the
experiences and work the students will be completing during this time.
a) Framework
Before teachers are grouped into teams, they will be presented the framework guidelines for
the work they will be giving their group of students each week. The framework includes a product
at the end of each semester and also must have academic connections. Teachers also must submit a
proposal for student projects and may choose to allow students to break out into subgroups if they
should chose to do so.
b) Teacher Teams
From the teachers feedback from the previous meeting, the innovation team wanted to
immediately divide into teacher teams within each pillar groups. Teams of 2-3 teachers will be
formed to work with approximately 20 students for this experience. We want to allow these
teacher teams to have time to develop their ideas and plan together so we can begin our first trial
before the end of the semester. The innovation team decided to allow teachers to choose their
teams prior to the meeting. This will take up the majority of the professional development time as
we want to allow teachers to have time to plan together and more specifically, plan how they are
going to help facilitate their students learning. The vision of the innovation to allow students to
determine what they are learning so teacher teams will be tasked with identifying how they are
going to help their students create project proposals and develop their ideas.

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K. Betler

*The continuous professional development will occur during morning meetings when teachers are
collaborating as teacher teams and discovering their skill needs. We hope to provide professional
development tools and research to individual teacher teams based upon their innovation. The
innovation team plans to utilize the district technology resource teacher as a supplemental part of
this professional development. The innovation will officially begin after Christmas break.
4. Research and Supporting Data
As part of my districts core beliefs, the innovation team has centered its thinking on the
work of Phil Schlechty at the Schlechty Center for Engagement. Schlechtys work is founded on
the belief that students are knowledge workers and volunteers and it is the teachers job to
provide engaging work that is designed through collaborative experiences. At its core, engaging
work stems from its design.

Design, as defined by Phillip Schlechty, is the development of relationships among critical

elements that satisfy the needs, motives, and values of the customer. Invention is the process of
creating something new. Innovation is the process of installing something new. An innovation can be
either a process or a product, but the innovation does not occur until the process or product is put
to use. So, in a learning organization, the design work begins by understanding the customer,
inventing new processes and products in response to the customer, and being innovative in the ways
that new processes and products are installed (Schlechtycenter.org, 2014)
At Canton Local, a large piece of understanding our customer comes from understanding the
socioeconomic status of our students. W ith over 60% of our students classified as economically
disadvantaged, teachers are constantly helping students overcome issues that occur inside their
homes from living in poverty. Many students begin school with deficiencies before Kindergarten.
Research consistently confirms that one of the most important influences on students academic
achievement is their socioeconomic status. The Poverty Training document provided by the United
States Department of Education states, Youth living in poverty are the least likely to become
educated in our nation (Beegle, 2012). In speaking with our students, many of them tell us they
do not plan on attending college or any post-secondary institution. Some of them have no plans
after graduation or plan to begin work immediately after graduation at surrounding manufacturing
plants and other businesses at entry-level positions.
W hat is also interesting that research suggests is the influence of the school in addition to
the influence of the home. According to the American Psychological Association, research indicates
that school conditions contribute more to SES differences in learning than family characteristics:
-

Schools in low-SES communities suffer from higher levels of unemployment, migration of the
best qualified teachers, and low educational achievement
A teachers years of experience and quality of training is correlated with childrens
academic achievement

The intention for this innovation is to not only provide students living in poverty with the
opportunity to experience learning in new ways and ignite in them a desire for lifelong learning and
personal development. Many of our students see no connection to what they are learning in school
and what they are living with at home or plans for their future. However, this innovation is not

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K. Betler

only for our students; it is also for our teachers. Teachers working in low SES schools can easily
become overwhelmed and often feel defeated, as if they are not making a difference in the lives of
their students because there is so much to overcome. W e want to provide teachers the opportunity
to get back to their roots and remember why they chose to be teachers in the first place; we
want them to feel free to work outside the standards and teach students skills that are going to
essential no matter where life takes them.
5. Best Practices & Standards
1) Student-Driven Learning
Study without desire spoils the memory, and it retains nothing that it takes in. Leonardo da Vinci
W ith the increase in technology and the overwhelming amount of information available
to our students each day, teachers must shift their understanding of students as vessels to be
filled with information to learners who should be seeking information. The U.S. Department of
Labor predicts that todays learner will have 10-14 jobs by the age of 38 (Harper & OBrien,
2012). W e are preparing students for jobs that do not yet exist and teaching them technologies
that have not yet been invented. In the book by Jennifer Harper and Kathryn OBrien, StudentDriven Learning , the authors state, A classroom that uses student-driven learning fosters
autonomy and shifts the focus from the knowledge and influence of the teacher to the experiences
of the students, ultimately encouraging students to take the drivers seat in their own education
(2012). Many teachers today are accomplishing this 21 st century practice through innovations such
as the flipped classroom where students are working at their own unique pace and are able to
learn on their own with their teacher as a coach and facilitator. Technology is one of the most
fundamental elements of student-driven learning and can be a great tool for students to access
information. This innovation will utilize technology on a regular basis and teachers will be
encouraged to incorporate technology into their student projects. We plan to have a physical and
digital showcase of the students work that will be displayed for the community.
2) Cross-curricular Learning
Cross-curricular instruction seems as if it should be one of the most natural
components to effective teaching practice. Almost everything we experience in everyday life is a
mixture of content areas; however, this is a practice that often goes untouched in the traditional
classroom due to time constraints, lack of collaboration amongst teachers, and pressure to conform
to national and state standards.
Students are finding it more and more difficult to buy into education when they are forced
to view their subjects as independent of one another. They go from class to class making few
connections to their surrounding world. In our high school, we have a freshman team that uses
block scheduling to allow for cross-curricular work and they find a lot of success. It is our hope
that through this innovation, all students will be able to experience this same kind of learning
while also still learning each subject independently to work toward mastery of each independently.

We have gone about as far as we can go with isolated instruction and learning. While it may have served
the purpose for the older generations, it does not meet the deeper learning needs of students today and

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K. Betler

tomorrow. Fortunately, deeper learning can be accelerated by consolidating teacher efforts and combining
relevant contents, in effect, opening new spillways of knowledge (Johnson, 2013)

5. Budget
The budget will be used to facilitate student learning experiences and projects and is to
be determined. For example, several welding students have expressed interest designing metal art
that can be displayed outside of the school.
Potential budget uses:
Materials for community service activities (rakes, garbage bags, etc.)
Materials for community garden
Presentation materials (tri-fold boards, posters, etc.)
Technology support materials
Materials needed for student creations/inventions (TBD)
Transportation support for student field trips and/or community outreach projects
6. Evaluation of Professional Development #1
After the first professional development and in talking to teachers, many of them found
the brainstorming session frustrating because they wanted more guidance and logistics as far as
what the students would be doing during this time. The innovation team did not want to set
guidelines for the first professional development because we wanted to allow teachers to think
freely and design without any restrictions. I believe the feedback we received was helpful and
helped us to shape the design of the following professional development. The teachers did seem
engaged, however, and were supportive of the overall vision of the innovation. They completed
index cards to provide the team with feedback as well as present questions and/or concerns that
would like the team to address for the second professional development. At this point, we cannot
assess the teachers reaction to the innovation experience as it will not commence until the
second semester. However, we plan to provide staff and students with monthly online surveys
regarding their progress and overall satisfaction with the experience.
Potential staff questions:
Do you feel the time period allotted is enough to be productive each week?
Would you prefer to meet more often? less often?
Describe your collaboration experience with the other team teacher?
To what extent have you and your students achieved your goals set at the beginning of
the year?
Potential student questions:
Has this experience changed how you feel about school? If so, how?
Do you look forward to this time during the week?
Do you feel more or less engaged during Pillar time than your regular courses? Explain.