Publication Date

8-2014

Document Type

Project

Degree

Master of Education (MEd)

MA Concentration

Educational Technology

Keywords

Professional development, task management, group management

Advisors

Roger Pence, Pamela A. Redmond, Jim O'Connor

Abstract

Meaningful professional development is dependent on the inclusion and participation of those presented to. With changes like Common Core State Standards and Project Based Learning, teachers are being sent to more and more trainings but with some resistance to implement what is being taught. The lack of personal connections and knowledge of current practices puts presenters at a disadvantage as teachers feel that their abilities and practices are not respected. Conditions like these don't lend themselves to growth and learning, but with a few changes professional development leaders establish a partnership with teachers who will be more receptive to new ideas. A website was developed to encourage teacher collaboration and participation in the learning environment. The site highlighted teacher accomplishments, projects, and provided tips and resources for Project Based Learning Classrooms. Described below are the strategies used in building and designing a website to aid in the implementation of new resources, specifically the "Task Log". Use of the Task Log during group collaboration project resulted in increased individual accountability and on task group behavior. Serving as a formative assessment tool, the Task Log also served as a platform for honest conversations between students and teachers about content learning. As a result, student content scores increased and responsibility for learning tasks had higher completion rates.

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