Standard+Five

5. Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership
==== Teachers continuously improve their professional practice, model lifelong learning, and exhibit leadership in their school and professional community by promoting and demonstrating the effective use of digital tools and resources. Teachers: ====

d. contribute to the effectiveness, vitality, and self-renewal of the teaching profession and of their school and community
As educators, we are continually asked to improve our knowledge base, improve our pass/fail ratio, improve our delivery, and a multitude of other facets of our teaching. One of the things we are encouraged to do is to keep up on current research. [|Abstract_1-1.docx] This abstract is an example of an article to be reviewed by anyone interested in the research being discussed. I might look at the abstract if I wanted more information about the school finance reform that has occurred in this nation in the 70's and 80's. There are other research papers that could be reviewed by teachers studying about any multitude of topics.

When looking at these reports it is important one is able to understand the data being presented by the researcher. The reader needs to understand the different parts of a research paper. The file linked here ([|Keller_Application_Problem_Set_2.docx]) discusses the different parts of a couple of different research papers. There are several types of data that could be used. There are frequency distributions, example found here [|Keller_Application_Problem_Set_6.docx]. There is the use of mean, median, and mode. Pearson r is a measure of relationship between performances on two tests. It is found here [|Keller_Application_Problem_Set_8.docx]. Technology can make the display of data easier as in this experimental design sample. [|Keller_Application_Problem_Set_13.docx]. Historical research can is another aspect of furthering ourselves. This would be research that the data is already done. It just needs to be gathered and organized. [|Keller_Application_Problem_Set_15.docx] is a file that talks of historical research. The addition of computers makes these types of research much easier if the desired data is already input.

Action research is the type that will most likely allow us as researchers and educators to jump in and do research with our classes as they are in order to answer a burning question. This article, [|Keller_Application_Problem_Set_16.DOCX], discusses what I might need to do my research, strategies, helpful people, format for reporting data. All of these culminate into a research paper proposal. I had to choose a subject to research, the type of research which would fit well with the subject and research question I wanted to look at. I also found and studied articles related to my research question. The method of how to test the hypothesis and the type of data that is collected was determined by me; as well as how the data will be analyzed. The report was written in APA format. It is linked here. [|research_prop-1.doc.doc]

Leadership is a quality that is needed by anyone who is on the cutting edge of any endeavor. A good technology plan is necessary to set a direction for the school and set what is going to be important to reach our goals.[|USD437_Technology_Plan.pdf]

Whatever job is undertaken there is going to be people who are resistant to the changes to be made. The book __Who Moved My Cheese__ was a story which addresses the various people in an organization, those who hope for change, accept change and resist change. This book report was done in VoiceThread and compares my life to the characters in the book. media type="custom" key="9161414"

In order to help everyone accept the change it helps to have an understanding of human psychology. In Advanced Educational Psychology we looked at different parts of psychology and how people learn. In looking at how people learn I need to look at how I learn and how I teach this is done using some reflection papers. This article looks at how developmental characteristics are influential on learning. This one looks at how my beliefs affect my teaching. This looks at how I see my students background affect their learning and looks at intelligence and motivation on learning. Since I am a father of two girls at the age where they are beginning to have a schedule of their own activites for us to keep up with, I took particular interest in this subject. Is there a problem with over-scheduling of our youth in America? As I look through the various papers I get some ideas of the problem of over-scheduling.

Regardless of how good the technical aspect of a school is; it will not make much difference if the rest of the school is in shambles and ruin. An orderly and safe environment is necessary for any good technology plan to succeed. The [|dress code]must be addressed so as to not distract from the learning environment. Should the students be allowed to where whatever they want? Some of it is very indecent, insulting, or vulgar. Is the school to be single gender buildings? There has been some success with separating boys and girls in separate buildings. How are we going to deal with illegal immigrants? Should they have the same education as legal residents? There is a strain on over taxed district resources. What about high school exit exams? To some it seems to be a good idea to test the students' ability to show what they know. Without these things thought about it becomes increasingly difficult to get anything done with technology guidelines.

Each teacher must continue to evaluate their teaching and material to determine if it is still worth using. Teachers must have an idea if societies needs have changed since the last review. The purpose of looking at these tools described in this portfolio is to examine ways to become more efficient. The curriculum should be written in a way to make the most of various tools availible. Discussions with other teachers can help us evaluate these tools and curriculum as it is written. This link is a discussion We must be able to evaluate the needs of the learners with the available resources of the school. The document [|linked here]llustrates a short discussion between a classmate and me about this issue.

At the high school which I teach we are asked to review the use of various tools, come up with ideas for using the technology we have, and ideas for sparking an interest of students in the material and tools in use. Many people ask if "gadgets" are important enough to spend time and money on during the class day. The [|document]located here discusses the need to include technology in our curriculum and why we discuss the technology.

In developing a course that is rich in not only content covering the standards required by our Board of Education but also to satisfy the tech standards desired by seem to be desired by society; I need to develop a Curriculum plan for my classes to address both groups of people. I need to allow for the use of all sorts of various tools. The curriculum also needs to be flexible enough to allow for the possibility of new technologies to be utilized

When building a new curriculum you need to evaluate yourself to determine if there are holes in what you do. Is there anything that can be fixed before we start on a new curriculum? Maybe it can be fixed when we start the class. Is there a way to be more efficient with the delivery of the material. I did a [|curriculum plan] for a hypothetical Earth science course. It looks at the problems stated here.