technology development through peer mentoring · web viewmeet once a week to find out what...

Technology Development Through Peer Mentoring 1

Technology Development through Peer Mentoring

Karen Rhoades

University of Alaska Southeast


Technology Development through Peer Mentoring

Background

Shannon is a 15 year veteran educator who has not taught in a regular

classroom for 8 years. This year she was hired by our district as a 4th grade teacher.

She is a knowledgeable and active user of personal technology but is not up-to-date on

the latest classroom technology. She had prior training on the Smartboard but has not

used it. She was also not familiar with our district’s curricula or digital grading, testing,

and reporting system.

I had a Smartboard installed in my 5th grade classroom last year and have been

using it for a variety of instructional purposes. I understand how to use the digital

versions of our curricula as well as the digital version of our district’s grading, testing,

and reporting software.

Since I had already volunteered to train Shannon, she formally agreed to be my

mentee for this project.

Literature Review

Out of all the research I found on technology mentoring, I relied on one article to

guide me through the process. The article, entitled Teacher training: Staff development

through peer mentoring, outlines the role of a successful tech mentor as laid out in the

Objectives section.


Methodology

Objectives

I will provide my mentee with assistance with technology tools and tasks such as

grading programs, quarterly reporting documents, digital curricula, and new

classroom equipment.

I will provide one-on-one help with questions or concerns about integrating

technology in a particular content area or grade level.

I will offer positive solutions to technology challenges that she identifies or that I

observe.

Timeline and Plan

Meet once a week to find out what technology she could incorporate into a

lesson. Estimated timeline about 4 weeks.

Reflect on whether or not it was successful and whether or not another option

would have worked better.

Troubleshoot problems they encountered during the lesson with the hardware or

the software.

Provide training and assistance with electronic resources used in other areas

such as grading and district lesson plan submission.

Data Collection

Data collected and used for this mentoring project will include:


Observation and conversation notes

Student work (see Appendix A and B)

Student survey (see Appendix E)

Mentoring Rubric

Summary Article

Results

Week 1

I met with Shannon to assist her with connecting her Smartboard to her laptop. I

provided her with a brief tutorial on the Smartboard software including the tools that

were available and how to use them during a lesson. Troubleshooting hardware and

software issues were ongoing during the mentoring process.

I assisted her with setting up her classes for our grading program as well as our

digital curricula.

We decided to meet once a week to discuss what technology she might want to

incorporate during instruction.

Week 2

We discussed the reading lesson she was working on this week and I directed

her to www.readwritethink.org as a resource for student-created projects as a response

to the lesson. The story took place in Japan so the student response was to create and

write a postcard to her from Japan, telling her what they were seeing, doing, and

learning (See Appendix A).

http://www.readwritethink.org/


I also directed her to http://www.discoveryeducation.com/. She was unaware that

our district had a license for lessons and streaming video through Discovery’s United

Streaming site. I showed her resources that I had downloaded for science, history,

Alaska culture, and language arts lessons and suggested links she could use to

supplement her instruction.

Week 3

I helped her locate digital resources embedded in our Language Arts curriculum.

Her students really enjoy correcting the Daily Edit page on the Smartboard each day as

well as reading and listening to the digital versions of leveled readers on their laptops. I

also showed her how to display the Practice Book pages so that students could correct

their work on the Smartboard.

I showed her how to load the digital version of our Social Studies Student Edition

textbook on the Smartboard. Students listen to the articles and are able to interactively

draw and write responses to the text on the digital page displayed on the Smartboard

(See Appendix B).

Prior to using the digital version, Shannon relayed that students were bored and

restless with the print version of the textbook. When she displayed the digital version,

she said that students told each other to be quiet and listen!

http://www.discoveryeducation.com/


Week 4

This week I showed her how to load the digital version of our math curriculum. I

modeled how to find Practice Book pages so that students can correct their work on the

Smartboard. I also showed her how the students could take quizzes on line.

I directed her to two sites with digital math manipulatives,

http://www.glencoe.com and http://www.everydaymath.com and modeled how I use

them during instruction.

I also directed her to the website of the State of Arizona Department of Education

located at http://www.azed.gov, an in-depth resource for Common Core. I showed her

where to locate and download the math word wall cards I use to supplement my

instruction.

Week 5

At the end of the quarter I taught Shannon how to use the digital versions of our

report card and the Lesson Plan Monitoring Plan (LPMAR) checklist that coincides with

the digital format of our Common Core Standards.

Our students had just completed MAP testing and I showed her how to download

student test results https://reports.nwea.org. I also modeled how to interpret and explain

the results for parent conferences.

https://reports.nwea.org/

http://www.azed.gov/

http://www.everydaymath.com/EM_eToolkit_Demo/eTools_v1.html

http://www.glencoe.com/


Discussion

During our final meeting Shannon and I reviewed all of the technology assistance

I had given her. She affirmed that it was all helpful and that she continues to use all the

resources I directed her to and trained her to use.

I asked her to rate the quality of my assistance using the rubric for this class. She

marked me Exceeds in all three areas.

I also did an exit survey with Shannon’s students with regard to the technology

that is used in their class. I asked them to rate the technology that is used and to

discuss ways they would like to further use it (See Appendix C).

References

Arizona Department of Education. (2013). Arizona’s college and career-ready

standards. Retrieved from http://www.azed.gov.

Discovery Education. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.discoveryeducation.com/.

International Reading Association. (2013). Readwritethink. Retrieved from

http://www.readwritethink.org/.

Jackson, L. (n.d.). Teacher training: Staff development through peer mentoring.

Education World. Retrieved from

http://www.educationworld.com/a_admin/teacher_training/teacher_training006.s .

McGraw-Hill Education. (2013). Everyday mathematics toolkit. Retrieved from

http://www.everydaymath.com.

http://www.everydaymath.com/EM_eToolkit_Demo/eTools_v1.html

http://www.educationworld.com/a_admin/teacher_training/teacher_training006.s


http://www.discoveryeducation.com/

http://www.azed.gov/


McGraw-Hill Education (2013). Virtual manipulatives. Retrieved from

http://www.glencoe.com/sites/common_assets/mathematics/ebook_assets/vmf/V

MF-Interface.html.

Northwest Evaluation Association. (2013). Retrieved from https://reports.nwea.org.

https://reports.nwea.org/

http://www.glencoe.com/sites/common_assets/mathematics/ebook_assets/vmf/V


Appendix APostcard Activity

Student Response to Literature

Source: www.readwritethink.org

JapanMt. Fuji

Dear Mrs. ClouseI went to Japan with my class! It was so cool. I learned that they celebrate fire and water. I also learned that Japanese people don’t use chairs they use cushions and they use chopsticks. They speak and write differently.

From,Laci

Mrs. ClousePO Box 222Dillingham, AK 99576



Appendix BSocial Studies Digital TextInteractive Student Response


Appendix CStudent Technology Survey and Results

Q. What technology is used in your classroom?

A. Smartboard, Kindle, Elmo (document camera), student laptops

Q. What do you like about each piece of technology?

A. Smartboard

we can write on it we can touch it it projects internet sites it’s a big IPad we like to do homework and Social Skills (supplemental weekly

instruction) on it. Kindle

it turns the pages quietly it reads to you it’s lighter than a book

ELMO

the teacher can write on paper and we can see it on the Smartboard it has a cool name it helps to watch Mrs.Clouse practice cursive writing

Laptops

research on the internet Photobooth typing games Study Island create cool passwords

Q. In what other ways would you like to use technology in your class?

A. Smartboard

reading and spelling practice pages Social Studies

Laptops

math homework reading activities after SSR (sustained silent reading)

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