ILT Competencies Page **More in depth information on how each project meets the ILT competencies is included in each of the project reports. To see that project report, either click on the link provided within each competency or see the project page. The competency section is at the end of each report.**
Reflective Practice
1. Take a systems view
I met this competency through my independent study project, my class Web site, my WebQuest, and my department Web site. Through each of these projects, I had to analyze the need for the technology involved in implementing the project and how to use them with in the context of my classroom. With my independent study project, I met this competency by being aware of values, barriers and leverage points in connection with the implementation of clickers in my department. An example of one of these barriers was an uncooperative and resistant colleague (see the project report for further information). In the WebQuest, department site and classroom site, I had to design the web pages with my specific context and purpose in mind.
2. Use cycles of reasoning as tools for problem solving (with documentation for accountability and shared reasoning)
I met this competency through my class web site and my action research projects. For my class Web site, I conducted a survey on-line with all of my classes at the end of the 2005 school year. In the survey, I asked for feedback on what had been most useful and what needed to be changed. The survey was done on-line using Survey Monkey. Based on this information, I will continue to have a class Web site in the following school year with a few changes. For example, based on the feedback from my students, I will include a calendar as well as post all worksheets and notes on the class web page.
My action research project was focused on two main aspects 1) Determining how much cheating happens while using clickers and the best ways to prevent/deter cheating and 2) How to best use clickers for formal assessments. The documentation of my results of the action research can be found in the project report. Based upon my research, I have changed the way I use clickers for formal assessments in my classroom.
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3. Promote collaboration, partnerships, and relationships for full inclusion with stakeholders, clients, subject matter experts, team members, etc.
I met this competency through my action research, my department Web site and my independent study project. While completing my action research, I collaborated with three other members of my ILT research class to present our findings. In order to create my department Web site, I had to work with and discuss the content of the site with all of the members of my department. This site was also used to communicate with our parents as well. My independent study project met this competency in that it required collaboration with many different groups of people-my department, my building technology coordinator, the Douglas County Technology team, my principal and my staff.
I also met this competency through my class Web site. The main goal of that Web site was to provide collaboration between my students, their parents and myself. I feel that the Web site provided another important avenue of communication between us all. I also used the opinions and help of various cohort members to assist me in the design of the site. I have looked at a number of their sites and provided feedback to them as well.
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4. Be a life long learner and professional
I met this competency through my independent study project. Through that project, I was able to take on a leadership role in my school with respect to the purchase, training and implementation of clicker technology. I was also able to attend two different professional development workshops with other teachers that use clickers from across the Denver Metro Area. This enabled me to better understand CPS and how to teach it to others in my building. I have also been invited to attend another workshop next fall to further expand my knowledge of the clicker systems. I also met this competency through my action research project by assessing different ways to test students using the clickers, and now use these results to teach my staff on the best uses of clickers in their classrooms.
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Planning and Analysis
5 .Conduct a needs assessment for learning or performance intervention
I met this competency through my independent study project, my action research project and my WebQuest project. In order to begin my independent study I had to survey my staff to find out if clicker training was a need for the staff as well as why they felt the training would be valuable. I also met this competency in my action research by researching how to intervene on the cheating that I noticed had been happening during formal assessments. My WebQuest meets this competency because it was created after my students performed poorly on a cultural analysis essay after they had completed their culture projects that were centered on art.
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6. Conduct a learning or performance instructional analysis
This competency was met through my action research project, my department Web site project and my classroom Web site. My action research project focused on how to best use clickers as a way to measure student performance and was therefore focused on learner analysis. Since my action research was focused on using clickers, I also analyzed the appropriate use of this technology in my classroom. My classroom Web site was created to help my students in a number of different ways. The most important aspect of the site that helped to meet this competency was the learning aides that are posted on the site for my students. Many of my kids needed additional help or resources when they had been absent. Upon analyzing this learning problem, I decided to include both a daily class log and a project page for each class to function as a learning aide for my students. My department site also met this competency because it focused on changing our parents' understanding of proficiency testing, thus focusing on the history and purpose of the exams.
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Design and Development
7. Apply various theories/strategies and current research, and consider local needs and constraints to design and activities and experiences for learning
I met this competency through my classroom Web site project and my WebQuest project. In order to get students to use my classroom Web site, I would regularly post extra credit questions on each classes home page to encourage them to visit the site and use the resources available there. This sort of strategy is in alignment with Behaviorist theory. In my WebQuest project, I used constructivist theory which forced my students to collaborate and construct a group project based on their research. I acted as a facilitator throughout this project which also follows constructivist theory.
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8. Design learning and performance products and resources that reflect an understanding of the diversity of learners and groups of learners
I met this competency through my WebQuest project, my independent study project and my classroom Web site project. My WebQuest project was designed with different roles for different students based upon their interests. The WebQuest required students to communicate through writing, through discussions and through presentations. My independent study project meets this competency since I trained my staff on a large scale, individually and also created a "help" web site that they are able to access from their homes/classrooms. My classroom Web site met the competency by accommodating those students who were absent or needed extra help through the use of the projects page and the daily class log.
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9. Develop products and resources to support learning and performance
I met this competency through all of the products in my portfolio. My classroom Web site met this competency since I chose to use the web to post all of my classroom "necessities" to create a resource that my students could use from home. My independent study met this competency since I needed to use eInstruction representatives, Len Scrogan from Boulder Valley, my building's technology coordinator and Kristin McCord (who is a technology coordinator at the district level) to assist me in the completion of the project.
I also applied message design principals while I developed and implemented my WebQuest project, my class site project and my independent study project.
I decided to create the WebQuest so that my students would learn via a different media-the web. While implementing this project, I had to take into consideration what my students were not learning from their previous culture projects, and how I could implement the WebQuest with the limited lab space that was available in my school. My classroom site was created to encourage student interaction in a virtual environment and to offer learning support to those students who enjoy learning via the Web.
My independent study on staff development and training of clickers met this competency since I was forced to deal with a member of my department who diligently resisted the technology. It was a lot of work for me to convince her otherwise, although she eventually agreed to the purchase of the clickers for our department.
I met this competency through my action research project by using research to determine how to best use clickers as a learning resource. The results of my research will serve as a resource as to how to best use clickers for formal assessments in the classroom.
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Evaluation and Assessment
10. Evaluate effectiveness of programs, products or practices
I met this competency through my action research project. My research focused on how to best use clickers effectively for formative and summative assessments. It also focused on how to prevent academic dishonesty while using the products. I also met this competency through my classroom Web site project by using a student survey to evaluate the effectiveness and usefulness of that Web site.
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11. Assess student/participant learning
This competency was met through my action research project and my independent study project. It was met through my action research because I used the clickers for day-to-day assessments via performance measures on reading quizzes. I also based my decisions on how to use the clickers most effectively based on the data that was gathered during my research. My independent study project met this competency because I observed the teachers I had trained on the clickers and provided them with feedback for improvement. I also met this competency by using technology for assessment in both of these projects.
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12. Utilize research methods to investigate a learning or performance problem, issue or trend
I met this competency through my action research project. I used action research methods to solve two main problems I was encountering with the use of clickers in my classroom. Through the research, I investigated how to: 1) Best use clickers for formal assessments and 2) How to prevent/discourage academic dishonesty while using the clickers. For this project, I did action research in my own classes by comparing different types of CPS assessment modes, using different types of exams and by conducting two different student surveys. I also did a literature search to see what other professionals had discovered with respect to these same issues. The final results and recommendations of my action research can be seen in the project report on the project page.
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Implementation and Change
13. Applying theories of diffusion, adoption, and change to a local problem, develop a change strategy
I met this competency through my independent study project and my department Web site project. My independent study project focused on staff development and the implementation of effectively using clickers at ThunderRidge High School. Before my independent study project, this technology was unavailable to our staff and students. This project both fostered the adoption of the technology and changed the way some of our teachers look at assessment while using the systems. My department Web site meets this competency because it was developed to help inform our parents and students about a number of different issues: teacher contact information, study resources and proficiency test information. The proficiency test information was especially vital since it solved a problem we had previously had with miscommunication surrounding the tests requirements and procedures. It forced our department to standardize those tests and then communicate those with our parents via the Web site.
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14. Participate in an implementation process or change strategy
I met this competency through both my action research project and my independent study project. During my independent study sessions, I developed a Web site to serve as a job aide that will help those teachers who have recently been trained on the clickers to set up their own databases. In that project, I also led various trainings and worked together with my building technology coordinator and our district technology representatives to implement the technology at my school (please see implementation/change strategy in the project report and time log for this project for further explanation). I met this competency through my action research project by gathering data on the effectiveness of the use of clickers for formal assessments and also gathering information on how to prevent cheating while using the clickers. The data and its analysis on this innovative technology will be used to guide future efforts of clicker use in my school.
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Management
15. Employing effective strategies (e.g., team leadership, collaboration, accountability) manage one of the following endeavors: Instructional-Design Project, other development projects, facilities such as lab, library or classroom, classroom and students, resources such as software collections, hardware, etc., personnel, and/or information resources
I met this competency through my classroom Web site project, my WebQuest project and my independent study project. My classroom Web site met this requirement as it was implemented to help manage my students' make-up work and classroom assignments. It gave me a way to manage and organize my students assignments, projects and rubrics. Learning how to effectively manage and keep the site up to date was also a valuable learning experience of that project.
My WebQuest project meets this competency since it was a development project using the Web as its media. I had to manage the lab for a week while my students were researching for the WebQuest project as well. I also had to learn how to manage blogs during my WebQuest project since my students were required to use Yahoo!Groups as a way to communicate outside of class.
My independent study met this competency since it was focused on the managing and training of personnel in my building. I was also involved in the purchasing and managing of the clicker hardware and software.
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Site created by Kiffany Lychock and last updated on July 8th, 2005.
Questions or comments: Kiffany.Lychock@dcsdk12.org
