June 2003 — Seeds of Innovation
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Models of Professional Development
It was during the Clinton-Gore administration that education technology began to play an important role in improving student achievement and influencing school improvement. In 1995, the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment produced a landmark report titled "Teachers and Technology: Making the Connection" (online at www.wws.princeton.edu/~ota/disk1/1995/9541_n.html ),which discovered that most teachers did not feel prepared to use technology effectively.
A key finding of the report revealed that 30% of the technology budget should be used for teacher training. The focus up to that point had been mostly on purchasing hardware and software. This report helped bring the importance of effective professional development for teachers to the forefront. It is not surprising that during 1995, the Technology Innovation Challenge Grant (TICG) program funded the first 19 grants, which set the stage for the 91 that followed. From 1995-2000, 100 projects from 46 states and a total of $609.9 million invested have produced some of the most impressive, innovative education technology products, models and curriculum.
This article will focus on the models of professional development used by a variety of U.S. TICG programs. You will notice that a large number of 1998 projects are highlighted. This is because for that year's competition, grant guidelines specifically mandated professional development by providing support to consortia that had developed programs, or were adapting or expanding existing programs, for technology training. The models to be explored are coaching and mentoring, face-to-face, train-the-trainer, and Web-based training.
Coaching & Mentoring
Coaching and mentoring is a research-based, highly effective professional development model that has been used extensively by Project Venture (1998, www.creighton.k12.az.us/projectventure/index.html) in Ph'enix, which is a diverse consortium consisting of urban, suburban and rural school districts. At the heart of the districts' professional development model are 21 Technology Mentor Teachers (TMTs) who work with more than 330 teachers across the consortium.
TMTs are highly trained, certified teachers on assignment who use coaching and modeling techniques to help teachers effectively integrate technology in their classes. TMTs work one-on-one with teachers who are chosen through a rigorous application process, and receive five computers and a presentation system in their classroom. They build important relationships with their teachers that allow for the planning, modeling and reflecting of technology integration techniques with a focus on core curriculum and state standards.
This model has built great capacity and created a natural process of sustainability by having a significant number of highly trained teachers who are becoming technology leaders in their schools. Our project's evaluator, Dee Ann Spencer, Ph.D., found that 65.6% of teachers were integrating technology to a great or seamless extent by the end of the project's third year (2000).
