July 2004 — SETDA

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South Dakota: A South Dakota Report Card: Results From the ISTE/LOFTI Teacher Profile

  1. A self-report survey section designed to gather quantitative information about ISTE Standards I and V;
  2. An interview guide addressing ISTE Standards II, III and IV; and
  3. A section designed for use in analyzing student and teacher products based on a unit of study.

A rubric based on ISTE Standards I through V was also designed to accompany the instrument and serve as a basis for judging teachers' achievement of the 23 performance indicators.

More than 1,500 K-12 teachers in 210 schools across South Dakota responded to the online survey portion of the study. Once the data were compiled, each participating school received a report indicating the competency of their teachers relative to ISTE Standards I and V. The data in the reports showed areas of strength and weakness in districts so that focused professional development could be organized in response to specific needs.

The second section of the LOFTI tool required different data collection methods. Thirteen interviewers were trained to collect information on ISTE Standards II, III and IV. The training not only provided them with interviewing tips and techniques, but also gave them an opportunity to practice their skills. During this phase of the study, 56 teacher interviews were conducted and transcribed. Teachers interviewed were identified by LOFTI site coordinators and selected because of their perceived proficiency or high performance relative to the ISTE standards.

Interviewers also collected teacher and student products and placed them in the ILTP packets in order to complete the collection of data for the study. During this phase, a second round of training prepared 15 reviewers for the packet-scoring process. Two individuals reviewed and blind-scored each teacher packet. Those packets with a difference greater than 20 points between scorers were reviewed and scored by a third reader. Scoring was completed for 51 ILTP packets using the rubric developed for the 23 indicators associated with ISTE Standards I through V. Click here to see the rubric.

Results of the ILTP Study

South Dakota teachers met or exceeded expectations on two ISTE standards, according to data revealed in the ILTP Study.

Standard I - 92% of the teachers either met or exceeded this standard on two indicators: 'possesses knowledge and skill' and 'pursues continual growth in technology knowledge and skills.' This means that teachers are comfortable with their ability to operate technology hardware, use software, understand technology concepts, and solve basic technical problems. They also regularly use a variety of computer-based technologies in their personal and professional lives.

Standard II - 96% of the teachers also met or exceeded this standard on one indicator: 'Designs developmentally appropriate experiences.' This information tells us that teachers believe they have the skills to create lessons with a range of activities to meet the developmental needs of students.

In addition, four performance indicators under three ISTE standards were identified as areas in which South Dakota educators performed least well: Standard II - 'Applies research on teaching and learning with technology.' Underperforming teachers in this area have not provided clear evidence that they apply current research on teaching and learning in the planning, implementation or assessment of the lesson/unit.