Contribute to the planning, development, communication, implementation, and evaluation of technology-infused strategic plans at the district and school levels
ISTE Coaching Standards (2014)
Resonant Ideas: Technology Strategic Planning + Evaluation
Strategic Planning
I am grateful that my district has the goal of teaching computer science and computational thinking to all students as part of its strategic plan. In my post Coaching for Computer Science Integration, I looked at how acting as coaches, technology teachers, CS specialists and curriculum developers might communicate and foster the district’s goals for computer science in spite of an absence of state requirements and only a partially-developed curriculum. This quest helped me articulate the role coaches can play in helping teachers understand why computer science was included in the strategic plan and how it applies to their classrooms. It also helped me recognize how coaches can be a valuable conduit between individual schools and teachers, recognizing innovation and spreading best practices.
Evaluation as Part of a Strategic Plan
For the ETC 6106 Community Engagement project, I helped design and evaluate results from a survey of administrators and teachers involved in a K-5 Computer Science pilot program within my district. The purpose of the research was to determine attitudes toward CS education in K-5 at the pilot schools, identify key successes and challenges thus far, and gather input on which model of instruction – facilitator or specialist – was preferred. Results will be used to inform how the program should be scaled throughout the district. The research (report published privately) provided valuable insight as to what administrators and teachers see as the benefits of having computer science taught in their school and identified aspects that worked well and others that might need improvement.
Without conducting evaluations like this, educators miss opportunities. How else would you know whether the district vision is being realized through a program or, as an example from my Community Engagement project research, that one of the greatest benefits for offering computer science to all students is the positive effects for special needs students?
Another example of the power of evaluation is described in my post A Data-driven Approach to Professional Development, where administrators asked graduates of a teacher preparation program what they had found useful or lacking in their education. When teachers responded that they wanted more edtech training, the university redesigned the program to offer integrated, ongoing, and hands-on edtech instruction.
Properly-designed evaluations in education should lead to discovery and problem-solving, and enhanced learning.
