Critical Thinking, Communication, Collaboration, and Creativity with Chromebooks:

Implementing Meaningful Use of Chromebooks in Instruction

Module 5 - Staff Development for Technology
Tina Clark, Jessica Horton, and Madison Hester
Dr. Jensen
Spring 2019

Abstract
Valdosta Middle School (VMS) is seeking a grant to advance our knowledge in effective

utilization of Chromebooks in our classrooms by providing teachers with professional

development. In 2016, the Langdale Foundation in Valdosta, GA provided VMS STEM

Academy with enough chromebooks so that each student was able to have access to his/her own

chromebook daily which is still true today. Professional development in the utilization of

chromebooks will allow the STEM teachers to support critical thinking, communication,

collaboration, and creativity in their instruction. In order to become a fully certified STEM

program, teachers need to be able to plan a curriculum that shows evidence of sustainability and

student growth, support in the planning of interdisciplinary lessons, and being able to plan

lessons so the evidence of using technology will be obvious. The target population for our

professional development includes the educators from the VMS STEM program. Our goals

include equipping teachers to infuse the 4 Cs in their lessons, providing at least 3 meaningful

opportunities for teachers to have Chromebook training this year, and creating a culture where

students are producers, not consumers, of information in one lesson per week. Our activities

include our initial day of professional development, which is the opportunity for which we are

seeking funding. Our expected outcome is that teachers who participate in our professional

development will infuse the 4 Cs throughout their lessons while using technology as a tool. This

will allow us to create and maintain a STEM culture throughout VMS.

Demonstrated Need
There are 360 students out of 904 students at Valdosta Middle School who attend the STEM

Academy. Valdosta Middle School has a STEM Academy within its school. The STEM

Academy’s mission is to provide students with a rigorous, relevant curriculum of academic study

that will advance their knowledge in the areas or science, technology, engineering, and

mathematics, empowering them to become college and career-ready and prepared to work in the

21st century.

Many of the students attending the program must meet certain qualifications to remain in the

program. Students must meet the following qualifications to remain a member of the STEM

Academy:

1. Must be highly motivated

2. Must obtain at least a 75 or higher average in all academic classes

3. Must work toward continuous improvements of their ability to demonstrate the use of

“21st Century Skills”: communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity.

4. Must participate in at least two STEM competitions during the school year. One of

which will be the schoolwide Science Fair. Examples of other competitions are Math

Team, Robotics Team, Reading Bowl Team, etc.

The target population for our project includes educators, who teach the students within VMS

STEM Academy, who have basic chromebook knowledge, but need more instruction in how to

effectively implement the use of chromebooks to support the 4 Cs of technology integration:

critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity. The school conducted a survey

of all STEM teachers, representing sixth grade, seventh grade, and eighth grade, along with fine

arts teachers and connections teachers. The survey is provided in Appendix A. In all, 22 teachers
who are STEM teachers were asked to fill out surveys. The questions surveyed the teachers on

how often they use Chromebooks and their technical skills with the technology, along with how

many professional development opportunities they have had with Chromebooks and how likely

they are to attend future opportunities. We also inquired about how comfortable they are with

their current level of critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity in their

lesson plans. After analyzing the data which can be viewed in Appendix B, the surveys

demonstrated that over half of the teachers use Chromebooks at least once a week, but most had

never had any professional development regarding using them to promote higher level thinking

skills. Only two of the teachers reported having an extreme level of technical skill proficiency

with the Chromebooks. Many teachers reported their lessons support the 4 Cs, but could be more

effective with the added use of technology. Finally, only one teacher surveyed reported that he

or she would not choose to attend a Chromebook training, indicating that this training is very

much wanted and needed. Anecdotal evidence from our district instructional technologists

indicates that the most in-demand training is on Chromebooks. Feedback provided shows that

many teachers are adept at using Chromebooks from a technical perspective, but not in the

application of the technology for more complex levels of thinking.

Goals and Objectives

● Goal #1: Valdosta Middle School STEM teachers will receive professional development

so they are able to plan unique and explicit curriculum that supports critical thinking,

communication, collaboration, and creativity where there is evidence of sustainability and

student growth using technology in the form of chromebooks. By the end of the session,

teachers will have at least one rewritten lesson plan that they have updated, and one new

lesson plan to try.

 ○ Concern/Factor: STEM teachers would like to visit a school to witness unique

online curriculum methods. STEM teachers would like funding to purchase

online programs.

■ Indicator: According to the Georgia Department of Education STEM

website (www.stemgeorgia.org), data suggests that Georgia middle

schools holding GaDOE school-wide STEM or STEAM certification show

positive gains in mathematics achievement with an increase in the

percentage of developing learners and above over a three-year trend.

● Goal #2: Valdosta Middle School STEM teachers will receive ongoing professional

development to support the planning of interdisciplinary lessons while using

chromebooks in the classroom. Teachers will receive at least 3 professional development

opportunities specifically aimed toward integrating meaningful Chromebook use in the

classroom.

○ Concern/Factor: Funding is needed so teachers are allowed teacher planning

days to plan with other teachers.

○ Indicator: According to the Georgia Department of Education STEM website

(www.stemgeorgia.org), anecdotal evidence has shown that when schools

transform their learning cultures to STEM or STEAM learning environments by

implementing best practices in transdisciplinary teaching and learning, students

benefit greatly and student learning increases.

● Goal #3: Valdosta Middle School STEM teachers will plan lessons so the use of

technology will be implemented to allow students to become producers of information,

 not just consumers of information. Each teacher will have one lesson plan per week

utilizing Chromebooks.

○ Concern/Factor: Students will need access to a form of technology in the form

of a chromebook on a daily basis.

■ Indicator: According to the Georgia Department of Education STEM

website (www.stemgeorgia.org), data suggests students who attend

GaDOE-certified STEM or STEAM schools tend to perform higher in

mathematics compared to their peers in non-STEM/STEAM comparison

schools based on in-depth analysis of Georgia Milestones EOG data for

grades 5 and 8.

Plan of Operation

Schedule Activity Description Goal Supported

8:30 - 9:00 am Check In Participants will N/A

check in, receive
name tags.
Participants will scan
a QR code to take a
pre-conference survey
about their current
level of proficiency
with technology,
specifically,
Chromebooks.

9:00 - 9:30 am Breakfast Participants will N/A

enjoy a continental
breakfast

9:30 - 11:00 am The 4 Cs: How To Presenters will Goal #1

Foster Critical address the 4 Cs as a
Thinking, model for learning
 Communication, and innovation skills.
Collaboration, and Participants will bring
Creativity an existing lesson and
rework it to address
the 4 Cs.

11:00 - 12:30 pm Interdisciplinary Participants will Goal #2

Lessons with divided into teams
Technology that consist of one
member from each
discipline. Each team
will plan a standards
based lesson that
incorporates all of
their subject areas,
and Chromebooks.

12:30 - 1:30 pm Lunch Participants will N/A

receive a buffet-style
lunch

1:30 - 3:00 pm Put the Pencil and Participants will Goal #3

Paper Away - 30 experience 30 ways
Ways to Use a that Chromebooks
Chromebook can be used to replace
pencil and paper
assignments.

3:00 - 4:00 pm Question and Answer Participants will have Goals #1, #2, and #3
Session to opportunity to
reconvene with all
three presenters and
ask any questions
they may still have,
and share any
feedback they have to
offer. They will
complete a Google
Forms survey
evaluating the PD.

4:00 pm Adjournment Participants will be N/A

provided with a bag
of resources and
donated promotional
items
 Overall Project Timeline
Activity
Initial Professional Development Planning
Initial Professional Development Workshop
(as described in this proposal)
Professional Development Workshop #2
Professional Development Workshop #3
Continuing Support for Teachers participating
in the workshops
Post Professional Development Survey
(Appendix C)
Evaluation Plan
Goal
Goal #1: Valdosta Middle School STEM
teachers will receive professional
development so they are able to plan unique
and explicit curriculum that supports critical
thinking, communication, collaboration, and
creativity where there is evidence of
sustainability and student growth using
technology in the form of chromebooks. By
Time Frame
September - October 2019
Monday, November 4, 2019
Monday, January 20, 2020
Monday, April 6, 2020
Ongoing November 2019 - May 2020
May 2020
Evaluation
The reaction level to this goal will be
evaluated during the post-conference survey.
For the learning level, participants will be
able to view their responses to the initial pre-
conference survey and then adjust their level
of understanding to reflect on their learning
related to the Four C s. Transfer will be
evaluated via ongoing surveys and
 the end of the session, teachers will have at observations. Results will be evaluated with
least one rewritten lesson plan that they have student products emphasizing evidence of the
updated, and one new lesson plan to try. 4 C s.

Goal #2: Valdosta Middle School STEM The reaction level to this goal will also be
teachers will receive ongoing professional evaluated during the post-conference survey.
development to support the planning of For the learning level, participants will
interdisciplinary lessons while using provide evaluative data regarding the
chromebooks in the classroom. Teachers will effectiveness of the professional development.
receive at least 3 professional development Transfer will be evaluated in subsequents
opportunities specifically aimed toward professional development sessions. Results
integrating meaningful Chromebook use in the will be evaluated through long-term follow up
classroom. and continuing interviews.

Goal #3: Valdosta Middle School STEM
teachers will plan lessons so the use of
technology will be implemented to allow
students to become producers of information,
not just consumers of information. Each
teacher will have one lesson plan per week
utilizing Chromebooks.
The reaction level to this goal will also be
evaluated during the post-conference survey.
For the learning level, participants will share
feedback on information gained about
producing information rather than consuming
it. Transfer will be evaluated through the
analysis of future lesson plans. Results will be
evaluated through survey instruments
assessing student growth related to
technology.

Budget

Items/services Quantity Cost

Catering/Coffee 30+ participants $3,000.00

Technology Support $1,200.00

Instruction
 Participant Materials 30+ participants $100.00
(nametags, office supplies)

Promotional Items 30+ participants $ 500.00

(notebooks, bags, Google
Chrome related items)

Substitute/Classroom 30+ participants $2,700.00

Coverage ($90.00 per teacher)

Total $7,500.00

Our budget includes sufficient funds to support the attendance of at least 30 people.
There are 25 educators participating and approximately 5 - 10 presenters and support staff. Food
and beverage costs will be $3,000. Each of the three presenters will receive a $400 payment for
their 1.5 hour session, bringing the instructional fee to $1,200. Basic office supplies and
associated materials will be $100, and promotional items will be $500. Promotional items will
include notebooks, bags and Google-sponsored items. Additionally, we will secure substitute
teacher coverage for each teacher at the rate of $90 per participant, which adds to a total cost of
$2700. The total for our professional development workshop, and the grant amount we are
requesting, is $7,500.00.

References

Gierke, T., & Evans, B. (n.d.). Thirty Ways to Use Chromebooks in Schools. Retrieved March
28, 2019, from
https://www.oakparkusd.org/cms/lib/CA01000794/Centricity/Domain/951/Ways to use
Chromebooks in the Classroom.pdf.

STEM Georgia. (n.d.). Retrieved March 28, 2019, from http://www.stemgeorgia.org/.

Appendices

Appendix A
 Appendix B

How often do you use Chromebooks in your classroom?

Have you received professional development this year on Chromebook use?

How proficient are your technical skills with Chromebooks?

Which of the following attributes do your lessons support?

How likely would you be to attend a professional development session on using Chromebooks to
support critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity?

Appendix C