LDT Program

Master's Project Proposal

Version 1.0

Teaching is an art. It is not a science where the same steps can be followed by a number of practitioners all yielding the identical results. As with any art, artists need time to develop and create their products. Commonly artists are instructed to "make friends with others who make art, and share your in-progress work with each other frequently" (Bayles). "Developing and delivering quality instruction in a traditional manner is in large part an art that unfortunately is practiced by only a limited number of instructors. Thus, uneven quality results. Even among exceedingly talented instructors, there is the problem that their talent is not passed on to others who could in turn become 'artists' in the design and delivery of instruction" (Hannum). A teachers’ colony adapting the model of an artists' colony to professional development for educators would allow the natural teacher-artists to develop their art while helping others to become artists as well.

A colony model is also a full-time collaborative model. As with artists, "it is assumed that improvement in teaching is a collective rather than individual enterprise, and that analysis, evaluation, and experimentation in concert with colleagues are conditions under which teachers improve instructionally" and "when collaborative norms undergird achievement-oriented groups, they bring new ideas, fresh ways of looking at things, and a stock of collective knowledge that is more fruitful than any one person’s working alone" (Rosenholtz). For these reasons, a teachers’ colony will make the most of any educator’s professional development time.

The colony will be an innovative professional development program designed specifically for full time teachers for all content areas at the secondary level in the north Texas area, but easily adaptable for alternative audiences. This collaborative teaching and learning community will convene for a six week period of time (one grading period) during which participants will take a sabbatical from their districts. This community will consist of approximately 12 teachers and will meet during school hours. The location of the colony will be central to all participants and will feature collaborative work space and plentiful education resources in addition to being fully wired and containing the technology resources ideally used in schools. While working at the colony, teachers will participate in various professional development activities, especially literature reviews, discussions, and research. In addition teachers will have the opportunity to apply their learning to create curriculum and instruction for use in their classrooms. Finally, teachers will begin the process to obtain National Board certification and will serve as a support group in this effort after their sabbatical time is complete. Additionally teachers will have the opportunity to earn graduate credit for their work.

• To provide quality professional development for secondary school teachers
• To promote collaboration among educators
• To successfully integrate technology into curriculum and instruction
• To create an ongoing learning community
• To support teachers in their quest for national board certification
• To model a successful classroom environment
• To develop innovative curriculum and instruction
• To develop innovative professional development
• To foster a non-competitive, safe environment for collaboration and risk-taking

Bayles, David and Ted Orland. Art and Fear: Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking. Santa Barbara, CA: Capra PR,1993.

Duckworth, Eleanor, et al. Teacher to Teacher: Learning from Each Other. Teachers College PR, 1997.

Hannum and Briggs. Educational Technology. January 1982.

Highet, Gilbert. The Art of Teaching. New York: Vintage,1989.

"A Library of Information for Educators." National Staff Development Council. http://www.nsdc.org/library/ (December 28, 1998).

Loughran, John and Tom Russell, Ed. Teaching about Teaching: Purpose, Passion, and Pedagogy in Teacher Education. Washington, D.C.: Falmer PR,1997

"The National Board for Professional Teaching Standard." 1998. http://www.nbpts.org (December 28, 1998).

Rosenholtz, Susan J. Teachers’ Workplace: The Social Organization of Schools. :Teachers College Press, 1991.

Snell, Tricia, Ed. Artists Communities: A Directory of Residencies in the United States Offering Time and Space for Creativity. New York: Allworth PR, 1996.

"Teacher Enhancement Program: Local Systemic Change Grant Information." National Science Foundation, 1998.

Wolf, Thomas. Managing a Nonprofit Organization. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1990.

• Many teachers do not receive professional development of a consistently high quality.
• Many districts provide minimal time for professional development.
• Many secondary schools do not promote collaboration among teachers within the same district beyond the departmental level.
• Many teachers do not have time within the school year for continual reflection on their work. "We speak of learning from experience but not in experience" (Loughran).
• Teaching as a profession has a high burnout rate.

"The appeal of unthreatening sharing with colleagues . . . may gradually spread from a small hybrid group to a wider audience, diminishing teachers’ uncertainty, augmenting their psychic rewards, increasing student learning, and finally inducing teachers to end their long silence." (Rosenholtz) With this in mind, the primary benefit will go to the teacher-participants and their students, but benefits will extend to other teachers and students within the district. As a result of increased student learning the district, the parents, and the community-at-large also benefit.

This project aims to place teachers in a new situation which will foster successful professional development and will assist teachers in making meaning out of their practices. As a result of attention to the situative theory of learning, a strong community of professionals will ensue. As teachers participate in this situative learning, they will engage in reflective practices. One champion of professional development for educators insists that to be engaged in reflection teachers should be "learning how to make [their] beliefs influence [their] practices, recognizing all the while that the central matter is ‘listening to [their] practices’ -- learning what words mean when we express them in [their] actions, and learning what ideas do to the people [they] are teaching" (Loughran).

general office supplies . . . . . . . . . . .$200

mail / long distance . .$600

travel . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 40

project proposal

year one timeline, scope and sequence

benefit analysis, first draft of manuscript, resource specifications

final manuscript, artifacts

final budget, grant proposal

final portfolio

• project proposal
• detailed budget
• grant proposal
• scope and sequence
• benefit analysis based on consultations with stakeholders and potential "users"
• resource specifications
• literature review
• year one timeline
• artifacts e.g. application for participation, participation agreement for teachers and districts

Dr. Stephanie Hirsh

Dr. Hirsh’s work with the NSDC will prove invaluable for the planning of a curricular scope and sequence for this project. Additionally, she will provide a stakeholder’s voice as a current school board member and a former district-level assistant superintendent for instruction. Finally, Dr. Hirsh can assist with the theoretical basis for staff development decisions.

Ms. Susan Saunders

Ms. Saunders will provide guidance in the area of grant proposal writing, facilities in the Dallas area, and non-profit management.

Dr. Beverly Rodgers

Dr. Rodgers brings experience in program evaluation and fulfillment of grant obligations.

Dr. Sandra Maddox

Dr. Maddox is well-versed in the state of Texas educational regulations and works with 90 school districts in the north Texas area. Also, Region 10 is a possible umbrella organization under which this project could reside.

Dr. Maroba Zoeller

Dr. Zoeller will offer a current school and district level staff development perspective. She is essential to the benefit analysis.

Mr. Lance Boxer

Mr. Boxer is a crusader for successful technology integration in schools. His experience pioneering Education MCI and currently Marcopolo will help with scope and sequence, benefit analysis and resource planning.

Mr. Tom Luce

Mr. Luce has been instrumental in the Texas school reform movement since the 1980’s. He is a wealth of information legally (founding partner of Hughes&Luce), governmentally (recently appointed by Governor George W. Bush to The Education Commission of The States, and industrially (sits on the board of directors at Dell Computer Corporation).

Mr. Mike Moline

Mr. Moline works with various districts in north Texas and has his finger on the pulse of the stakeholders in the area of educational technology. Also as a trainer, his experience delivering staff development will be valuable.

Curriculum Vitae

References

Ms. Staci Kalmbacher, Director of Distance Learning

Allen Independent School District

601 E. Main Street

Allen, Texas 75002

972-727-0400

Dr. Dan Troxell, Principal

Jersey Village High School

10300 Jones Road

Houston, Texas 77065

281-864-3400

Mr. Mike Moline, Senior Technology Consultant

Region 10 Education Service Center

400 E. Spring Valley Road

Richardson, Texas 75083

972-348-1700