Professional Development Workshop Design

Andrew Wagner

University of St. Francis

EEND 690

21st Century Ed Leadership

Instructor: Jenna Woodland

March 30, 2019

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Format of Professional Development Type

This professional development (PD) workshop plan is designed for a half day in which

students will not be in attendance during PD. The anticipated total amount of time is 3.5 hours,

allowing for a 30 minute lunch after students are dismissed. This is envisioned for a high school

with departments but could also be modified for grade level teams in an elementary school.

Introduction to PD

Timeline: Approximately 15 minutes

Snacks and light refreshments will be provided in the school cafeteria for the whole staff.

A brief video clip will be shown demonstrating the power of technology tools to enhance student

learning to pique the interest of the staff. The presenter will announce the focus of the PD is

effective use of technology tools in the classroom to assess student learning. There will be four

poster-sized signs in different parts of the cafeteria with titles that include: video creation, digital

quiz apps, game apps, and built-in assessments. The staff will be directed to choose one of the

four topics that they are interested in or feel proficient in. Since teachers will be allowed choice,

they will be more invested in what they will be learning about and discussing. A technology

coach or teacher leader will lead each group to a different part of the building to begin their PD

session.

Video Creation Digital Quiz Game Apps Built-in

Apps assessments
Possible Apps for ScreenCastify Socrative Kahoot! Plickers
subgroups WeVideo Quizzizz BrainPOP PearDeck
FlipGrid Google Form
Brainstorm and Create Session

Timeline: Approximately 1-1.5 hours

Each leader will begin by having teachers brainstorm the different tools that they use in

their classrooms to assess student learning or that they have heard about and would like to know

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more. The session will subdivide to focus on specific apps. For example, the digital quiz apps

session might subdivide into small groups to discuss Quizzizz, Google Forms, Socrative, etc.

Each small group will select a spokesperson who will help report out to the whole group later on.

Teachers will discuss their experiences with that particular app and share how they have

modified existing assessments or created completely new assessments that wouldn’t be possible

without the application.

After small group discussion time of about 30 minutes, each group leader will report out

to the whole group the advantages and disadvantages of using each tool. After some question and

answer time, each teacher will be able to pick one of the apps to create a brand new assessment

that they could use that week with their content area. Since the focus is on the creation of a tool

that will be useful in the very near future, teachers will be motivated to put forth their best effort.

Teachers that are considered “experts” will be able to help troubleshoot any issues while teachers

work individually or collaboratively on assessment creation. Teachers will be highly encouraged

to utilize their assessment tools to promote student creativity, collaboration, communication, and

critical thinking as much as possible, rather than focusing solely on knowledge recall. It will also

be encouraged that staff try to use their chosen tool to move beyond the Substitution level of tech

use to at least Augmentation or Modification, and if possible, to Redefinition. Teachers will have

about 45 minutes to experiment with their technology tool and receive assistance from

colleagues.

Departmental Share and Create Session

Timeline: Approximately 1-1.5 hours.

After completing their new assessment tool, teachers will meet with their departments.

Everyone will be partnered with someone from a different session to share out what they learned,

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what they created, and the pros and cons of the tools that they encountered. They will show their

assessments to their partner and gain feedback for improvement, if any is possible or necessary,

based on previous experiences. Everyone will be asked to share one “take-away thought” that

really resonated with them. Each teacher will get a chance to hear about all of the other apps that

were discussed and “played with” that day. This think-pair-share should last about 30 minutes.

Finally, they will collaborate in small teams based on the courses that are taught to pick a

“best in show” app out of all of the possibilities, and create another new assessment or lesson

using that technology tool. The emphasis of this creation is to really push comfort levels to try to

create something new and innovative. As adults, teachers are naturally curious and are

intrinsically motivated to try new things if they feel that there will be benefits to them personally

and professionally. Approximately 45 minutes is allotted for this creation time.

Conclusion

Timeline: Approximately 15 minutes

The whole staff will once again meet in the cafeteria to share-out ideas and to offer

constructive criticism and feedback on the creation process. Individual teacher experts will be

encouraged to offer support and coaches will set up follow up meetings with individuals or small

groups to offer technology support in the following week.