Philosophy of Staff Development
As we move toward the 21st century, educators are challenged to develop the ability of students to effectively use technology in their learning, in their work, and in their play. We must recognize our ultimate goal is to enhance student outcomes in achieving curriculum standards, not to provide instruction in the operation of technological tools. We must have a clear vision of what we want those outcomes to be. We must identify the outcomes we are currently accomplishing and acknowledge the gap that exists between what is and what we desire. We must effectively integrate the use of technology in instruction to achieve these outcomes and, at the same time, produce technologically literate students. This demands that teachers are able to use and teach with technology in a way that models real-life application and relevance. Staff development must equip teachers to meet this challenge.
In order to be successful, staff development should address the specific needs a staff has in the area of integrating technology into the curriculum. Therefore, we must distinguish what those needs are before we begin to plan. This can be accomplished by assessing needs through a survey, individual interviews, or observation. Obviously, members of a staff will have a variety of needs based on individual skill levels, so we must also design staff development opportunities that are directed at a variety of skill levels. By pairing teachers with different levels of skills, we can encourage the development of mentoring relationships among the staff. These relationships can be an important link for providing follow-up. Finally, we must keep in mind the technology tools available so that our plan is relevant and can be implemented by the teacher in their classroom situation today.
Because teachers have schedules that already extend beyond normal work hours, scheduling is a critical issue in staff development. In order that it not become a prohibitive issue, staff development opportunities should be available through a number of scheduling options. By providing staff development sessions before, during, and after school hours we can accommodate the busy schedules of all teachers. We also convey the message to our staff that their individual schedules are important to us, as well, and we want to help them as much as we can. Offering variety on the staff development menu also allows us to accommodate individual scheduling needs, as well as addressing individual learning preferences. Some examples are opportunities to go to conferences, workshops, participate in on-line courses, and one-on-one mentoring.
The staff development plan requires administrative support. This should include not only encouragement of staff to participate, but non-negotiable reasons to participate, also. In addition, administrative support should be demonstrated in the administrator’s willingness to be actively involved too.
The design for staff development sessions should model the way we want teachers to teach with technology. This means that rather than sitting back and listening, teachers should be engaged in the instruction. Inquiry-based sessions that demonstrate the application of the technology within the curriculum and meet curriculum standards provide teachers with tools that are relevant and can be used in their classroom immediately.
Finally, in equipping teachers to meet the challenge of producing technologically literate students, we must provide follow-up to our staff development sessions. Follow-up encourages teachers to use what they have learned again and again. It is an important means of helping teachers to form new pedagogical practices and change the way they teach. In turn, this will facilitate change in the ways in which our students learn, work, and play.