Caitlin Maynard

ITEC 7500
Reflection – Standard 5.3

5.3 Program Evaluation - design and implement program evaluations to determine the overall
effectiveness of professional learning on deepening teacher content knowledge, improving
teacher pedagogical skills and/or increasing student learning.
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The Current Reality and Georgia School Assessment Performance Standards (GSAPS)
Review were completed in the Fall of 2019 as part of ITEC 7460, Professional Learning and
Technology Innovation. In conjunction with Element 5.3, I had to evaluate my school’s
professional learning plan, rate its overall effectiveness, and provide recommendations for
improvements.

Element 5.3 deals with the final section of Standard Five, Professional Learning and
Program Evaluation. It requires the ability to design and implement a program evaluation to
determine the effectiveness of professional learning in terms of deepening content knowledge,
improving pedagogical skills, and increasing student learning. Within the Current Reality
and GSAPS Review, I had to look into my school’s current professional learning plan and decide
whether or not it met our needs as teachers and the needs of our students. As our main focus has
revolved around an instructional strategy called the Teaching and Learning Cycle, our
professional learning was all geared toward selecting content-based texts for the students to
annotate and reconstruct to show mastery. For this to be successful, the teachers must first
know, and ultimately deepen, their content knowledge by choosing passages that are appropriate
and pertain directly to the concept they are teaching. Next, the Teaching and Learning Cycle
requires teachers to improve their pedagogical skills since the cycle depends on annotation, note
taking, and rewriting of texts; a process that dips into multiple learning styles and approaches to
teaching. Finally, student learning is overall increased as they are able to dive deeper into their
content through the text and especially through their reconstruction of the information either in
small groups or individually. I was able to gather that information through completing the
Current Reality and GSAPS Review and I am grateful for the opportunity as I had not really
given the Teaching and Learning Cycle and what it could do for our entire school until this
assignment.

While completing this artifact, I realized that there are many facets to a School Improvement
Plan and overall goals and professional learning go hand in hand for school success. For
example, two of our main goals dealt with student growth targets in Reading and Language
Usage and Math. For students to see growth, we have to ensure that our instructional practices
are content-based and pedagogically sound, setting students on the best path toward increased
learning. Therefore, the professional learning that is delivered should be effective in meeting
these goals. If I could do anything differently during this process, I should have asked more
direct questions about professional learning opportunities for the specialized courses, such as
Connections. I did speak to my Principal and Instructional Coach about the cost of professional
learning speakers and resources, but those were all in terms of academic instruction. I wonder
what sources are available either at the school- or district-level of focused professional learning
for Fine Arts, Career and Technical programs, and Physical Education. I feel that information
could help give a more well-rounded understanding of our professional learning as a whole
school.

The work that went into creating this artifact impacted faculty development and student
learning. As both teacher effectiveness through content knowledge and pedagogical skills and
student learning were examined through the evaluation lens, I could determine what was working
and what wasn’t in terms of professional learning. The impact was assessed through personal
reflection and discussions with my Instructional and Digital Coach, which led to tweaking of the
Professional Learning Plan for the 2020-2021 school year.