Excellence in Professional Practice
ISTE-A Standard - Educational Administrators promote an environment of professional learning and innovation that empowers educators to enhance student learning through the infusion of contemporary technologies and digital resources.
a. allocate time, resources, and access to ensure ongoing professional growth in technology fluency and integration
b. facilitate and participate in learning communities that stimulate, nurture and support administrators, faculty, and staff in the study and use of technology
c. promote and model effective communication and collaboration among stakeholders using digital-age tools
d. stay abreast of educational research and emerging trends regarding effective use of technology and encourage evaluation of new technologies for their potential to improve student learning
For additional details, visit the ISTE web site ISTE Standards for Administrators.
a. allocate time, resources, and access to ensure ongoing professional growth in technology fluency and integration
b. facilitate and participate in learning communities that stimulate, nurture and support administrators, faculty, and staff in the study and use of technology
c. promote and model effective communication and collaboration among stakeholders using digital-age tools
d. stay abreast of educational research and emerging trends regarding effective use of technology and encourage evaluation of new technologies for their potential to improve student learning
For additional details, visit the ISTE web site ISTE Standards for Administrators.
Pre-Assess Yourself
After reviewing the ISTE Standards for this Capstone, where do you see yourself?
Creating Excellence in Professional Practice
In "Examining the Teaching Life", Wiggins and McTighe (2006) describe the importance of fluent and flexible transfer, the thoughtful assessment of teaching practices, and meaningful professional development.
As you move through this Capstone, you will be challenged to analyze what's working and what is not. You will be encouraged to research a program, initiative, or strategy within your organization through a variety of valid and reliable sites as well as by joining a professsional learning network. In an effort to achieve Excellence in Professional Practice, instructional leaders must provide ample opportunities for growth, facilitate and promote learning at all levels, and encourage piloting of innovative technologies.
Let's engage and explore some top resources in your pursuit of Excellence in Professional Practice.
As you move through this Capstone, you will be challenged to analyze what's working and what is not. You will be encouraged to research a program, initiative, or strategy within your organization through a variety of valid and reliable sites as well as by joining a professsional learning network. In an effort to achieve Excellence in Professional Practice, instructional leaders must provide ample opportunities for growth, facilitate and promote learning at all levels, and encourage piloting of innovative technologies.
Let's engage and explore some top resources in your pursuit of Excellence in Professional Practice.
Engage & Explore
Engaging in professional excellence involves connecting with other key players in your learning community. Learn how to network with other instructional leaders by joining a professional learning network in Thing 6: Communication Tools at 21Things for the 21st Century Educator (21things4teachers). Harness the power of Twitter, LinkedIn, or Google+ by joining groups, reading posts, and watching hashtag trends with an eye on local building initiatives.
Explain
As you monitor trends in education to make informed decisions, delver further into a topic by exploring sound practice and educational research. In Thing 10: Search Strategies learn how to cut through the meaningless web content to get to the good stuff! Explore Michigan eLibrary (MEL), web site evaluation, and citations. Learn to use MEL for valid and reliable resources with a handy toolbox to translate content, read-aloud using the audio feature, grab citations -- or check out Tools4Writing to learn to create your own citations! See how the Joyce Valenza criteria for web site evaluation can help you filter through meaningless web content in search of good information. If that's not enough, visit the Additional Resources for more great search sites like Google Scholar.
Research a current trend, model, philosophy or strategy related to your goals and vision and be prepared to reflect on how you might communicate and facilitate collaborative study among your staff. Keep track of your notes, links, online resources, screenshots, media creations and other content you will use to create digital artifacts in a "21 Things folder.
Artifacts and findings for this module will be posted in the Shared Discussion: Staff Participation and Response.
Research a current trend, model, philosophy or strategy related to your goals and vision and be prepared to reflect on how you might communicate and facilitate collaborative study among your staff. Keep track of your notes, links, online resources, screenshots, media creations and other content you will use to create digital artifacts in a "21 Things folder.
Artifacts and findings for this module will be posted in the Shared Discussion: Staff Participation and Response.
Elaborate
Analyze & Apply
Analyze trends from your research findings as they apply to your local building/district. What trend did you research and what were your findings? What possible solutions or adjustments to your local vision does your research provide?
Share a digital artifact showing how you communicated with staff, presented to facilitate discussion and encouraged participation in these areas of professional practice to move the building/district toward your vision? (e.g. presentation, back channel chat, data chart, infographic)
Present your information using an innovative method:
Go above and beyond by exploring possible resources:
Artifacts and findings for this module will be posted in the Shared Discussion: Staff Participation and Response.
Facilitators are looking for Digital Artifacts as evidence that are either:
1) a link to a digital artifact - a resource, document, visual, media creation, or
2) proof/documentation that participant has viewed, created, or participated in learning activity (e.g. reflection, summary, visual representation, data or feedback from staff activity)
Feel free to discuss challenges and lingering questions as well as share ideas and strategies or collaborative activities that garnered positive response and participation from staff.
Share a digital artifact showing how you communicated with staff, presented to facilitate discussion and encouraged participation in these areas of professional practice to move the building/district toward your vision? (e.g. presentation, back channel chat, data chart, infographic)
Present your information using an innovative method:
- Create a Powerful Presentation, a screencast, Digital Story, or a Visual
Go above and beyond by exploring possible resources:
- Explore PD Opportunities for your staff with 21things4teachers.
Artifacts and findings for this module will be posted in the Shared Discussion: Staff Participation and Response.
Facilitators are looking for Digital Artifacts as evidence that are either:
1) a link to a digital artifact - a resource, document, visual, media creation, or
2) proof/documentation that participant has viewed, created, or participated in learning activity (e.g. reflection, summary, visual representation, data or feedback from staff activity)
Feel free to discuss challenges and lingering questions as well as share ideas and strategies or collaborative activities that garnered positive response and participation from staff.
Evaluate
Gather input from stakeholders about your vision by asking staff to:
- review the research posted to a social bookmarking site
- insert comments using a shared document
- pilot a new technology in their classroom
- give feedback using a poll, dotstorming, or online sticky notes
- participate in a back channel chat for ongoing conversation
In Explain, Elaborate and Evaluate activities you were asked to research a trend or concept, communicate or present to staff, and invite stakeholder participation. What trend did you research and what were your findings? Be prepared to discuss how you communicated with staff, presented to facilitate discussion and encouraged participation in these areas of professional practice to move the building/district toward your vision. Feel free to discuss challenges and lingering questions as well as share ideas and strategies or collaborative activities that garnered positive response and participation from staff.
Post-Assess Yourself
After completing the activities for this Capstone, where do you see yourself (Beginning, Developing or Secure) in relation to the ISTE-A Standard for Excellence in Professional Practice? Complete the self-assessment form linked below and then follow-up with a shared reflection in the discussion forum based on the prompt that follows the standard below.
Complete the post-assessment form for Capstone 3 - Excellence in Professional Practice:
Reflect on "next steps" in each of the areas a, b, c & d for this standard. How will you continue to empower educators. . .
Complete the post-assessment form for Capstone 3 - Excellence in Professional Practice:
Reflect on "next steps" in each of the areas a, b, c & d for this standard. How will you continue to empower educators. . .
- through allocation of time & resources for professional growth,
- through facilitation & participation in nurturing learning communities,
- through promotion and modeling of effective communication & collaboration using digital tools, and
- through your plan for staying abreast of research, emerging trends and new technologies?
21 Things 4 Administrators by IISD, MISD, and SRESD is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
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