Human Performance Technology

1.       Last school year the Irving ISD school board adopted the CSCOPE curriculum.  CSCOPE has been implemented fully this year; there has been no learning curve for teachers.  Teachers are expected to use every single aspect of CSCOPE in their planning and teaching.  Seasoned teachers are having a very difficult time incorporating the curriculum into their teaching and planning.  They need help and support planning lessons and finding all the elements of a CSCOPE lesson.  Some grade levels are working as a team to plan and make sure that the lessons are being taught the way they are supposed to.  There are however a few teachers who do not have as much support as they need to implement the curriculum into their teaching.  I would provide these teachers with a checklist for planning, incorporating, and teaching the CSCOPE lessons as they should be taught.  Having a step by step list of the instructions that includes examples is a very helpful tool for me when I am learning a new concept.  Having an instructional specialist to help the teacher is also necessary for the teacher to be successful.  Once the teacher has started using the curriculum regular meetings with the IS a way to help the teacher along in the learning process.  Giving the teacher positive construction feedback on their success and challenges in the classroom is a great motivator to encourage the teacher to keep trying and eventually they will succeed in the curriculum implementation. 

2.       Access during the task is access to the specific information needed to perform a task, and access to the information at the time the task is to be performed.  If one part of this characteristic does not exist, then the characteristic changes and is no longer a performance support characteristic.  After reading the definitions for the different EPSSs available I prefer the access during the task to help complete certain work related tasks.  EPSSs have not been widely used because they can appear to be complicated and impersonal.  People like to have human help when they are completing a task.  Reading and understanding directions and can take valuable time away from the task at hand.  Most people in today’s market place most people don’t want to take the time to read and understand directions that will help them complete the task they are working on. 

                                                                  

3.       Students in the fifth grade are not scoring as high as the teachers would like on their reading assessments.  Teachers have looked over the previous year’s data and the current data and can’t seem to make any sense of it.  Teachers have been given the help of the school’s instructional specialist to help find a solution to this problem.  Going over the assessments with the students in small groups will give the teachers insight as to why the students are missing the questions they are.  Once the teachers and the ISs gather the information they can get together to plan lesson’s that will re-teach the information they do not comprehend at the time of the first assessment.  Focusing on the individual issues the students are having will help the teachers understand what they need to do a more thorough job of teaching the concepts to their students. 

4. I have been involved in many different informal learning experiences in my adult life.  We have countless trainings as teachers over the course of our careers.  Often times the trainings involve the trainers giving the teachers a little bit of information and asking them to come up with some sort of lesson that they can take back with them to the classroom.  We are given poems and passages to read and decipher the meaning as a group.  We are shown a picture and asked to tell the presenter what the picture means to us.  The experiences are sometimes tough after a long day of teaching and coming up with the answers is not always easy.  It is ultimately an engaging experience and I usually end up taking something great away to use at my school.  The instructor was the disseminator of the information and the teachers were the ones to take the puzzle pieces and create something great to use to teach their children how to learn from information presented in the same way.

Instructional Management

Brinkerhoff’s Success Case Model

The Success Case Model (SCM) is a “common sense” approach to determine successful outcomes in for cases.  The SCM compares successful cases with unsuccessful cases to find out how well something works.  The SCM follows five steps: focus and plan the success case study, 2^nd construct a visual impact model, 3^rd conduct a a survey research study, 4^th schedule and conduct in-depth interviews with multiple success cases, and 5^th write up and communicate the evaluation findings. 

 Having a five step model for evaluating instruction is an effective way for teachers to plan well and assess the effectiveness of their instruction.  I would have charts already made up before I started the lesson.  I would use the chart throughout all stages of the lessons: beginning, middle, and end.   

5 Steps	Before	During	End
Success Case Study
Impact Model
Survey Research
Interviews
Write-Up

Having a formal place to take notes makes it easier for the teachers to see where they need to improve and it help to reference the chart for future successful cases. 

The most recent innovation to enter into my social system at home and work has been the Iphone and the Ipad they have opened so many means of communication within my life.  I am able to search the internet at a moment’s notice.  This phone has helped me in many different areas of my life at home and work.  Iphones are extremely easy to use and take a short learning process.  The hindrance with the Iphone has been at work.  District policy does not allow us to have our phones on during school hours.  It is slowly changing and the policy is losing on cell phones and smart phones.  There are so many great applications available through the apple products that assist instruction.  We are using the phones for educational purposes and not personal ones.  

Situational Leadership

When I am preparing for a training sessions with my teachers I make sure that I have a clear and concise agenda of the objectives being taught.  I have to make sure that I am well informed on the topic being presented.  Many teachers are not comfortable using technology and don’t always utilize it appropriately as a result.  It is my responsibility to make them feel comfortable by giving them the tools necessary to learn the information or skill.  Talking to the teachers in a manner that does not put them down or imply that I am smarter than they are is very important to successful staff development.  Not all the teachers will be on the same level of technology knowledge.  I will have to accommodate as necessary while training teachers to integrate technology into the instruction.  Showing the teachers how to use the technology and making sure they are comfortable with the task at hand is an important foundation to lay, before incorporating it into their lessons.  I will also have follow up sessions to discuss strengths and weaknesses of the technology used in the classroom.  Having a support system and someone to help back up the teachers when they need it is important to have successful technology integration in the classroom setting. 

Theories and Models of Learning and Instruction

• Teaching children how to behave and learn in cooperative groups in the classroom is a challenge that all teachers face at the beginning of the year.  Using B.F. Skinner's Behavioral Learning Theory to help the teacher model and reward the appropriate behaviors when the students exhibit them.  The teacher has to constantly reinforce the behavior they wish to see in the small groups and redirect the behavior that does not benefit the small group.  Cooperative groups are wonderful teaching strategy when they are implemented properly and effectively.  The Cognitive Information Processing Theory will also help advance the students learning in cooperative groups.  Getting feedback from an expert source during the learning process will help the student understand the information that is important to the lesson.

9 Events of Instructions                                                    Principals

Gaining Attention	State the Problem
Informing the Learner	Activation
Stimulation Recall of Prior learning	Activation
Presenting the Stimulus	Demonstration
Providing Learning Guidance	Demonstration
Eliciting Performance	Application
Providing Feed back	Application
Assessing Performance	Application
Enhancing retention and transfer	Integration

 

·         Informing the Learning is important to set your expectations for the students.  I would introduce the rules that are to be used while the students are in the cooperative groups.  I let them know what my expectations are for the groups and I also let them create rules for the group.  When the students are in groups they will be given an assignment or a project that they are to complete as a group.  I make sure they are clear about the goal they are to achieve.  Meeting with the groups every few days helps make sure that they are staying focused on their goal and working together as a group.  Constant feedback and corrections will help the students demonstrate the behavior and work that is expected of them.  Once the groups are working cooperatively and achieving the goals that have been set for them.

·         While I am teaching my student s the benefits of working in a cooperative group I also model the behavior I expect from them.  There are posters around the room with the steps to working in a successful cooperative group.  When I am redirecting undesirable behaviors I remind them of the posters and the appropriate behaviors for success.  When teaching children how to work in and the benefits of small groups a teacher has to scaffold to have cohesive and beneficial small groups.  You first have to set the routine and the expectations for the children upon entering the classroom.  This process can take several classes to complete and takes diligence and effort on the teacher’s part.  Once the expectations are set and the goals are clear students will learn and benefit from each other in a successful cooperative group.

·         Engaging in design research gives teacher a structure to follow when forming a lesson for their students.  Seeing how the learning process works in order to the basic learning, reteaching, and assessing will help the teachers form a cohesive dynamic lesson.  This will often get the kids in engaged and have an opportunity to learn from all angles. 

Instructional Technology

“Educational Technology is the integration of technology into every day teaching and learning.  Technology is an integral part of the teacher’s curriculum and instruction.  Technology should be seamlessly used daily in the classroom environment.”

I would eliminate developing criterion from its place in the model.  I don’t think that an assessment criterion should be developed so soon in the model.  The students and the lesson can change drastically before you reach the end of the instruction.  The instructional strategy should be developed before t he assessments are considered.  This is one of the best instructional models I have seen in my studies and teaching.  I would not change to many things at all.  It is easy to understand and use in the classroom.

The model is student centered and goal oriented as all models for instruction should be.  Making the instruction meaningful with measurable outcomes for students is a necessity for teachers and students in the classroom today.  The best way to incorporate the model into the school and the classroom has to be through a team effort.  A teacher should be able to rely on the staff around them for help and support when creating meaningful goal oriented instruction.  This model fits perfectly into the way I plan and teach in the library.  I bring added instruction to the classroom and support what the students are learning.  The teacher and I collaborate and discuss what our objective and goals for the lesson are. 

How Will We Use Technology in the Future

Technology is still being used as a supplement in the classrooms today.  Some teachers use it daily and depend on it.  Other teachers are not comfortable using technology and the hardware in their classroom.  It is my opinion that with the invention of Smart phones and the ipad education has a real opprotunity to change the way we use technology with students.  Distance learning is becoming easier and easier with all of the hardware available.  Students can use Smart phones and ipads to have instant access to information and educational websites to help them advance in the classroom.  Online learning poratals are also a new way that schools and teachers can teach and communicate outside of the classroom  

Hello Everyone!

Hello class!  My name is Carrie Patrick and I am currently an elementary school librarian in Irving.  I am in my second year as a librarian and I am convinced that I have the best job in education.  This is my last class I need to complete my Masters in library sciences.  I am super excited to be so close to the end.  I live in Irving with my husband who is an Instructional Technology Specialist in Irving ISD as well.  We have four dogs and enjoy an active life.  We love to cook, travel, and spend time with family and friends.  I attended The University of Texas at Austin for my BS in applied Learning and Development.  I taught 6th grade reading for six years prior to my current position. This week I am hosting our fall book fair.   I am looking forward to a very busy yet successful week.  I have enjoyed being a librarian very much and look forward to many more years of learning, reading, and passing on my passion for reading to my students.