Running Head: SHARED VISION & RATIONALE 1

Share Vision and Rationale

Megan Endicott

ITEC 7410

Fall 2017

Dr. Julia Fuller

Keywords: flexible pacing, differentiated instruction, personalized learning, varied

strategies, mastery-based assessments

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Shared Vision and Rationale

Vision Statement

The focus at Dolvin Elementary School is to effectively roll out the Fulton

County Personalized Learning plan that aligns with the school vision and mission set

forth and agreed upon by the staff, students and stakeholders. Technology is a key piece

in creating a solid personalized learning environment. The end goal at Dolvin is that

teachers seamlessly integrate technology as an enhancement to promote student creation

and demonstrate student learning as a replacement for skill and drill

procedures. Dolvins strategic plan includes three areas of focus, (1) building student

character, leadership, and confidence, (2) critical thinking across all content areas, and (3)

increasing student ownership of learning. To accomplish these goals, teachers are

incorporating STEM and Project Based Learning (PBL) opportunities, the 7 Mindsets

program, and the 7 Personalized Learning Principals identified by the district. To ensure

that the staff is properly prepared, a professional learning plan and timeline has been

implemented through a data driven processes to ensure that teachers and students needs

are identified and addressed.

Rationale

Several forms of data were collected through interviews, observations, and a

survey. Stakeholders from across the building were included in the process, which

included administration, the instructional technology coach, teachers, and parents. I held

a separate meeting with the administration team to discuss the current school vision and

mission and how technology is currently being used in the building and discuss future
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goals for our school. Based on the survey results, stakeholders believe that technology

integration is moving in a direction that allows teachers to take risks, students to

demonstrate their knowledge of learning through technology tools, and a belief in the

professional learning opportunities available are enhancing instruction. The areas the

stakeholders would like to focus on include finding ways to differentiate learning and

support the use of technology to better assess students. Two of the personalized learning

principles included in the schools vision are just-in-time direct instruction and mastery

based assessments. These principles promote student growth through tracking student

achievement and forming flexible grouping for differentiated instruction.

Mastery-based assessment is defined by the Fulton County School Personalized

Learning Team as promoting student progress through curriculum by showing mastery

on assessments guided by proficiency and competency (Mastery-based assessments).

Included in the definition is ensuring teachers can bridge the gap between the students

mastery of learning objectives with those of progress reports and report cards. One clear

process for identifying student assessment is through continuous formative checks. Barry

Zimmerman and Maria Dibenedetto from the Graduate Center of the City University of

New York warn that large summative tasks with no formative checks or feedback along

the way can cause low test scores and unmotivated students. They agree that these

limitations can be avoided by including formative assessment and an instructional

component designed to enhance mastery learning (Zimmerman & Dibenedetto, 2008).

Fostering an environment that is mastery-based rather than the outdated psychometric

approach measures individual student growth throughout the school year with a focus on

the mastery of course objectives, rather than a comparison of student achievement with a
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normative sample (Zimmerman & Dibenedetto, 2008). Through consistent feedback,

formative checks, and tracking individual student growth, students will begin to take

ownership of their learning as included in our school vision.

Finding ways to teach to each individual student is consistently a challenge.

Suprayogi points out the difficulty of avoiding the one-size-fits-all approach and

understand that children have different learning style, motivation, ability, need, [and]

interest (Suprayogi, 2017). In addition, it is important to understand diversity in various

student characteristics as listed by Suprayogi (2017) as learner interests, learning styles,

developmental level, learning speed, abilities, cultural background, language level,

attitudes, and regulation approaches. Through Suprayogis research on various case

studies, some barriers for implementing differentiated groupings were related to lack of

familiarity with tools and resources, lack of time, and lack of people resources. With

proper professional development featuring tracking and assessing students and best

practices for forming flexible grouping, teachers will gain the knowledge on resources

and technology tools that can help with implementing differentiation practices. Under

the umbrella of the personalized learning principle of variety strategies, lies the sub-

category of teaching in a variety of groupings. The Fulton County Personalized Learning

Team identifies this category as students learning in many instructional settings as they

learn new content instead of primarily receiving instruction in a whole-group setting

(Teach in a Variety of Groupings). Teachers will be working toward increasing their

resources to include a variety of grouping from whole-group to flexible groupings based

on individual student achievement.

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In Tracy Rileys study on flexible grouping of like-minded students in New

Zealand, alongside her colleagues and researchers found that the analysis of the responses

to the research questions led to the conclusion that in order to maximize the potential of

gifted learners in inclusive environments, it is important that teachers facilitate flexible

grouping, which acknowledges abilities, qualities, interests and differences in all

learners (Riley, 2016). While this case study focuses on gifted students, the

constructivist theories presented by Lev Vygotsky, promote learning through a social

environment with students among their zone of proximal development as they co-

construct knowledge (McLoed). However, in contrast to the case study of pairing like-

minded students, incorporating varied strategies through altered flexible groupings can

prove beneficial. Vygotsky also suggests that much important learning by the child

occurs through social interaction with a skillful tutor (McLoed) he likes to refer to as the

knowledgeable other. This could occur through specific flexible grouping opportunities

to offer remediation or support for English Language Learners (ELLs) or Students with

exceptionalities. The knowledgeable other could be a peer or a teacher through guided or

direct instruction.

Diversity Considerations

Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Students

Out of 852 students, only 128 students are identified as socioeconomically

disadvantaged (SES) at Dolvin Elementary School. Ensuring all students have

accessibility at home to technology resources and internet connectivity for SES is a cause

for concern. Fulton County schools has issued a county device to all middle and high

school students creating a 1:1 learning environment, while elementary students are set up
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with shared devices. In each classroom at Dolvin, each teacher is equipped with a teacher

laptop and iPad. The classrooms contain 8 shared iPads, and 3 desktop or laptop

computers. Our school has access to lap-top and iPad mobile carts to serve as a class set

when needed through a check out process. In addition, mobile maker carts outfitted with

robotics and STEAM resources are available for each grade level. With the abundance of

technology in our building and through the support of the stakeholders, such as the school

Parent Teacher Association (PTA) and the Dolvin Foundation, I will propose a checkout

system much like that implemented in the middle and high school, but offered to

particular families as identified based on needs.

Gender Inequalities

Studies (Warnecke, 2017) show that there is a technology gap between genders

forming an inequality. Warnecke (2017) explains that there are three forms of gender

inequalities: unequal access to knowledge, training and employment, particularly decent

work, unequal opportunities for self-discovery, social and professional relationship-

building; and unequal understanding of legal rights and modes for civic participation. To

follow-up, Warneckes research finds that knowledge, access, and effective utilization

of technology can help in bridging the gap. At Dolvin, both girls and boys are

encouraged to learn and experiment with technology-rich learning, coding, and robotics.

A student tech team has been enacted and has equal number of boys and girls on the

team. To help bridge the gap, the student tech team will help ensure students are properly

trained on troubleshooting their devices as well as find new innovative ways to use

technology tools. This will help build student ownership of their learning. I will advocate
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for a girl only technology innovation squad through Wonder Workshop to establish and

reach critical thinking goals.

Students with Exceptionalities

Out of 852 students, 75 students are listed as having a disability. Students at

Dolvin have support through pull out and inclusion models based on the special services

put in place for the individual child. Students work with a variety of Fulton County

supported technology. One of which is Co-writer, which helps with writer word

prediction and speech recognition for students who have deficits in written expression.

Read:OutLoud 6 is also incorporated to provide access to electronic books required by

IDEA. This technology offers students accessibility to text-to-speech and study tools for

reading comprehension. Currently, Dolvin offers training on special education students as

needed. The Special Education Instructional Support Teacher (IST) meets with special

education teachers monthly for in-depth student specific meetings and data talks. In

addition, the special education teachers also attend required county meetings to collect

data. One valuable way to support teachers to increase student achievement is to bring in

professionals. Last year, Dolvin brought in the district Exceptional Children Program

Specialist to train teachers on the Universal Design for Learning to promote an

environment that focuses on diverse learning needs. One major barrier identified by

Courduff, Szapkiw, and Wendt (2016) documented that special education teachers felt

stress, workload, and lack of appropriate teacher training in addition to little

understanding of how teachers acquire proficiency and overcome barriers in integrating

assistive technology. I will promote continuing to bring in specialists to train teachers on

meeting the students needs and build a professional learning network. One comment
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notated in the survey was the wish to view more examples of technology being used by

teachers in the building. Offering the opportunity for flexibility in teachers schedules to

promote peer observations for learning opportunities would also be beneficial.

English Language Learners

At Dolvin, we have 100 out of 852 students who are identified as English

Language Learners. Our English Language Learners (ELLs) are taught by our English

Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL). In addition, our school has access to two bilingual

parent liaisons to help with communication needs for students and parents. Our ESOL

teacher assists students with cultural linguistic backgrounds and the faculty that serve

them as well. The ESOL teachers host a school-wide professional development portion

annually as an overview on their students and host a detailed session for new teachers

each year. This year, the ESOL teachers will be gaining access to Imagine Learning

which is an ESOL specific program. The students will be able to hear content in their

native language and record themselves to compare to the model in the program. Teachers

can listen to recordings and track student growth and inform instruction. For students

with very limited English, Starfall is a program that meets their needs. Finding useful

ways to integrate other technology tools such as Osmo and Seesaw are additional options

used for ELL students. A common theme in the survey, teachers again mentioned having

access to training that was specific to their classroom. Offering job embedded

professional development and providing flexibility in ESOL teachers schedules to

observe other professionals at least twice a year would impact student learning

significantly.

Stakeholder Roles
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Currently our school has access to several types of technology thanks to the

support of the Fulton County district officials and the tax payers who support the

personalized learning initiative. Dolvin has worked hard to set its vision and mission to

match those of the district. All stakeholders involved devote a lot of time, energy, and

money to the implementation.

Administration

The administration team supports technology integration through offering various

professional learning opportunities. In addition, the administrative team fosters an

environment in which teachers can take risks to try new things. Flexibility in scheduling

and creating lesson concepts that are specific to each classroom teacher and their students

is important and another area that is a focus for our administration. Monthly data talk

meetings are held as a grade level to discuss student achievement and find areas of

weakness in teacher instruction that can be addressed through professional learning as

needed. This continued support will help increase student achievement and ownership of

their learning. Student and teacher achievement is consistently tracked through monthly

data talks, formative and summative observations, and TKES scores.

Instructional Technology Coach / Flex Administrative Assistant Role

Our school has a flexible position titled Administrative Assistant (AA) where the

staff member is used at the discretion of the principal and assistant principal. Our

Administrative Assistant is used partially as an instructional technology coach. The AA

has created a calendar for teachers to sign up for various types of coaching. This job

embedded coaching can be in the form of modeling, co-teaching, or observations with

feedback for teacher growth conversations. I will propose continuing with peer
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consultations or collaborations with the AA. The job-embedded professional

development will aid in finding useful ways to integrate technology to promote

differentiation and flexible grouping through assessments.

Teacher Technology Team Vanchise

Technology leaders have been identified throughout the building and placed on a

teacher technology team that parallels the district Vanguard technology team as a spin-off

or franchise. A member per grade level, including administration, and special areas are

included on the team and serve as a peer coach for their grade levels. Teachers may

request to have a Vanchise member provide one-on-one instruction, model a lesson, or

co-plan or co-teach a lesson. The Vanchise also hold monthly afterschool professional

development for teachers that match the school initiatives. These sessions are embedded

with technology tools and resources for integration and are filled with best practices for

instruction. The Vanchise members conduct a Technology Integration Matrix

Observation on their assigned teammates three times a year and discuss goals with

teachers to move up one indicator on the matrix. Moving forward, the Vanchise team will

ensure they are providing follow-up conversations with their team after their observation

and coaching session. This could happen in the form of independent informal interviews

or grade level discussions.

Teachers

The teachers role is ensuring they share their school technology vision with the

school leaders and Vanchise members to ensure their voices are heard. In the survey, not

all teachers strongly agreed that they understood their role in the technology vision. In

addition, teachers will need to universally understand that administration supports

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teachers taking risks and trying new innovative ideas in their classroom. I will advocate

for creating a #FailForward Twitter hashtag to build a school-wide professional learning

network to ensure teacher are moving away from complacency and toward

transformational learning to promote critical thinking as included in the school vision. In

addition, teachers will work with all students to bridge the digital divide between SES

and ELLs students, as well as the gender gap through differentiated instruction and

flexible grouping. Nearpod is a tool that is used in almost every classroom as a

differentiated instructional tool in rotations, embedded on websites or Google classrooms,

or sent home via links. Nearpod sessions are offered through session codes that are

created for specific levels of students based on their needs.

Parents and Students

Parents are a vital asset as they raise additional local school funding for our

budget to pay for educational software to support all our students. Parents are expected to

remain in constant contact with their teachers and read all information sent home in

weekly e-mail blasts and communication journals. In addition, the expectation is that

parents read the Dolvin Diary for weekly school news and periodically check the school

website. Parents with students requiring special services or accessibility are expected to

reach out to the administration as needed to obtain resources or support from the school.

Students are responsible for completing homework assignments in a timely

manner and maintain an open communication with their teachers and parents to aid in

taking ownership for their learning. A student tech team of fourth and fifth grade student

members are available to help their peers with technological needs in the mornings prior
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to the bell. Based on Vygotskys constructivist theory the social groupings will help

students grow academically through social interaction.

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References

Courduff, J. j., Szapkiw, A., & Wendt, J. L. (2016). Grounded in What Works:

Exemplary Practice in Special Education Teaachers' Technology Integration.

Journal of Special Education Technology, 31(1), 26-38. doi:

10.1177/0162643416633333

Mastery-based Assessment. (n.d.). Retrieved October 13, 2017, form

http://fultonpl.weebly.com/mastery-based-assessment.html

McLeod, S. A. (2007). Lev vygotsky. Simply Psychology, 7.

Riley, T. (2016). The Importance of Learning with Like-minded Peers through

Flexible Grouping in Inclusive Educational Settings. International Journal of

Learner Diversity & Identities, 23(4), 33-47.

Suprayogi, M., m., Valcke, M. M., & Godwin, R. r. (2017). Teachers and their

implementation of differentiated instruction in the classroom. Teaching

&Teacher Education, 67291-301. Doi:10.1016/j.tate.2017.06.020

Teach in a Variety of Groupings. (n.d.). Retrieved October 13, 2017, from

http://fultonpl.weebly.com/teach-in-a-variety-of-groupings.html

Warnecke, T. (2017). Social Innovation, Gender, and Technology: Bridging the Resource

Gap. Journal of Economic Issues (Taylor & Francis Ltd), 51(2), 305-314.

doi:10.1080/00213624.2017.1320508

Zimmerman, B.J., & Dibenedetto, M.K. (2008). Mastery learning and assessment:

Implications for students and teachers in an era of high-stakes testing.

Psychology In The Schools, 45(3), 206-216.

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Appendix

Essentials Condition Survey

Answers based on a rating of: 1 - Strongly Disagree, 2 - Disagree, 3- Somewhat

Agree, 4- Agree, and 5- Strongly Agree.

1. My school ensures all stakeholders (teachers, students, administrators, and

parents) can identify and understand the technology vision and how it applies to

their roles.

2. I feel safe to take risks on critical issues involving technology integration in my

classroom.

3. I am aware of the long and short term technology goals for my school.

4. I am comfortable using technology to accommodate diverse learners and their

instructional needs.

5. I utilize and value the instructional technology support from the Dolvin Vanchise

and student tech team.

6. My school has access to sufficient infrastructure and support.

7. Professional learning opportunities are offered through a variety of means to aid

in proper technology integration, best practices, and personalized learning.

8. There is equal access to technology resources in my building.

9. There is a digital citizenship plan and an acceptable use policy in place to protect

students in my building.

10. In my classroom, technology is used to promote differentiated instructional and

create a personalized learning environment.

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11. In my classroom, technology is used as an assessment tool to track, measure, and

increase student achievement.

Short Answer

12. Describe a lesson or a classroom that effectively integrated technology.

13. What are ways you would like to see teachers integrate technology more

effectively.

14. What changes can be made to our current professional learning that will help you

better integrate technology.

15. What is the role of our stakeholders with the technology integration vision?