Technology Professional Development Plan

for California Connections Academy

Michael Armor
California State University Fullerton
Spring 2023

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Professional Development Curriculum Overview

This curriculum is targeted to educators at California Connections Academy. This charter

school is entirely online and as a result, the use of technology is extremely important to the

curriculum.

Statement of Educational Philosophy

One of the purposes of school is to prepare students socially and emotionally for the

world. The teaching philosophy of Progressivism is a belief that teaching should center on the

student and their needs. Students should be encouraged to ask questions, even about things

that are seen as established. They should have answers to those questions, even if it means

finding out the answer together. Students should be taught generalized problem-solving skills,

rather than mere solutions, skills that can transfer to other similar problems and even be

adapted to real-world problems. Critical thinking should be encouraged over memorization,

analyzing not just the answer to a question, but why it is the answer. This also includes making

sure sources are reliable and accurate, and determining if they have an agenda. Creative

solutions to problems should be encouraged as long as the results are replicable. Students

should be active participants in their own learning. This progressivist philosophy influences this

curriculum in its student-centered approach to technology, content, and pedagogy.

Technology is ever-changing and teaching should keep up with it. Teachers have an

obligation to teach to the best of their abilities, and those abilities include the use of the best

technology. Making sure technology is used effectively, and equitably is just as important as
making sure the newest technology is available. Having technology is only the first step to

effectively using technology to teach. This curriculum focuses not only on using technology but

on using the technology to its fullest to ensure the best experience possible for students. By

utilizing technology in this way, students will get an accessible, creative learning experience

thanks to the skills teachers will learn over the school year.

Target Population

The target population for this plan is second grade educators at California

Connections Academy Southern California, part of the Capistrano Unified school district

in Orange County. The school is an entirely online tuition-free charter school serving

grades K- 12. The grade levels focused on in this curriculum are teachers of K-8

students, roughly half of the student population. Figure 1 shows the academy

enrollment by grade level. While the majority of students are enrolled in grades 7-12,

roughly a third are enrolled at the K-6 level.

Figure 1: California Connections Academy Enrollment by Grade

 Figure 2 shows the enrollment at the academy by race. The majority of students

enrolled are Hispanic, with White students close behind.

Figure 2: California Connections Academy Enrollment by Race

Class sizes are typically 40- 42 students for each teacher. The school is entirely

online, and both teachers and students make the most use of technology. Software

used regularly includes Google docs, Google forms, Google Sheets, Google Slides, and

Gmail, as well as Class Kick, Blooket, Nearpod, and Google Voice. All students have
access to computers to participate in the classroom and Zoom is used for synchronous

class time.

Professional Development occurs monthly, with new technology being covered

every three months, on a rotating schedule with math and ELA training. Some of the

technology that has been covered includes Padlet, Blooket, and Peardeck. This

professional development typically introduces the technology and shows its features but

does not go in-depth on how to integrate it into the classroom. An example would be

using Peardeck as a way to assess students by having them interact with slides, rather

than merely as a way to show information.

Discussions with the faculty and testimonials on their website show that Teachers

at California Connections Academy are fairly good with technology and open to using

new technology. Recent changes to the curriculum have emphasized more synchronous

learning, as opposed to a previous emphasis on asynchronous learning, and as a result,

some teachers are developing curricula for the first time in years using new technology.

Needs Analysis

Second-grade teachers at California Connections Academy were surveyed

regarding their comfort in using technology for various aspects of teaching. Eight

second-grade teachers responded to the survey and their responses seemed to

reinforce my belief that they are confident using technology. This survey was followed
up with a more in-depth interview with one teacher. Figure 1 shows that they frequently

have students use technology to collaborate with their peers.

Figure 1:

The teacher interviewed explained that this is mostly done in the form of

collaborating to answer questions during a lecture, or in the form of “break-out rooms”

which are smaller group zoom meetings with no teacher present.

Figures 2, 3, and 4, show that the teachers are comfortable using technology for

Figure 2:
Figure 3:

Figure 4:
 However, when probed further, the teacher interviewed revealed that technology

isn’t necessarily used in this way all that often, as it is often faster to use more

traditional methods, and lack of time is often a factor. Figures 5, 6, and 7 show that

when it comes to SEL, gamification, and feedback from other students, most use it

often, but some do not. This again shows that technology isn’t always used.

Figure 5:

Figure 6:
Figure 7:

This shows a possible avenue for professional development. While the teachers

are comfortable using technology, that doesn’t necessarily translate into using the

technology effectively for student-centered learning. Figures 8, 9, and 10 show that

almost none of the teachers are familiar with TPACK, SAMR< and TIM technology

models. The follow-up interview indicated that these are not used at the school and

there isn’t much guidance given as to how to use technology effectively.

Figure 8:
Figure 9:

Figure 10:
Statement of Need

Given the information from the survey and from the interview, this professional

development plan will center around the effective use of student-centered technology.

This would include the application of technology integration models such as TPACK,

SAMR, and TIM to improve the technology integration practices and ensure best

practices are being used.

The data shows that these teachers will benefit from more training on

student-to-student feedback and collaboration, SEL, and the effective use of

gamification to improve student engagement and motivation. The data shows that

student-to-student feedback is typically facilitated by a teacher, rather than students

initiating it on their own, and research shows that would be more effective if they were

motivated to act more independently in this regard. Social Emotional Learning is always

important and research shows it can be done in a more effective way using the

technology they have at hand. While they have plenty of technology for gamification

such as Blooket, it is used rarely, more as a reward than a central part of the lesson

plan.

Literature Review

Research Support for Student Centered Technology Use

The heart of any classroom is the students, and as such, the central focus for

any use of technology in a curriculum should be on students and their needs. While it
may seem obvious that students should be the focus, some teachers use technology

only in ways that enhance their own experience, such as teaching materials, direct

instruction, and demonstrations (Wu & Huang, 2007). While there is merit to using

technology in this way, student-centered tech use, with an emphasis on self-directed

learning, collaboration, and free interaction with technology tools is something that can

lead to an increase in student engagement and motivation (Wu & Huang, 2007).

Student Engagement

Student-centered approaches to learning emphasize students' backgrounds,

culture, and interests, as well as their own individual learning styles (Hirumi, 2002). This

approach may initially be uncomfortable for students who are used to a teacher-centric

learning environment but over time attitudes change and students end up with higher

levels of engagement and motivation as they experience success with the technology

tools (Hirumi, 2002). Allowing students the freedom to interact with technology tools and

create their own content, either personally, or collaboratively also leads to higher levels

of student achievement (Calderón, 2020). If students believe they can do something,

and are motivated to do it, they are more likely to succeed at what they are doing.

A student-centered approach can utilize collectivist principles of collectivism such

as the processes of (a) searching; (b) curating and sorting; (c) creating; (d)

self-assessing; (e) sharing; and (f) reflecting (N’gambi, 2013). Rich, student-centered

learning environments foster the development of student initiative and decision-making,

support studies in meaningful and information-rich contexts, encourage collaborative

learning through a student-centered approach, and use assessment for learning to track

students' progress through real-world tasks (Calderón, 2020).

One potential pitfall to a student-centered learning environment is that while mid

and high level achievers see an increase in performance due to the independence an

environment like this can provide, low achieving students may get left behind and have

lower engagement (Wu & Huang, 2007). The way to counter this is to ensure that

scaffolds and guidance are provided to all students, especially low achieving ones and

that teachers are available for support. For this reason, it is important that teachers

themselves are confident in using the technology that students use.

Teacher Efficacy

In order for student centered technology use to be successful, teachers must

know how to use the technology effectively. Barton et al. (2020) found that teachers’

knowledge and usage affect student receptiveness. If a teacher barely knows how to

use the technology, they are not going to be able to be a good resource to help students

use the technology. The better that they are able to use it in a way best suited to their

learning environment, the better students are going to be able to use it in a similar

manner. They are able to confidently model the use of the technology and identify how it

will add value to the curriculum, and therefore create authentic, effective projects and

assignments that use the tool (Barton et al., 2020). Conversely, a teacher who is

skeptical of the technology and does not feel confident in their success may end up

failing in implementing the technology in a self-fulfilling prophecy.

 Although instructors place a high priority on their students' use of technology and

responses to it, they don't appear to take much responsibility for preparing their pupils

for success in this area. This is intriguing because effective classroom procedures and

student involvement are closely correlated with instructors' self-efficacy or belief in their

ability to bring about change. Additionally, instructors' ed-tech implementation

strategies are positively correlated with their level of comfort and confidence with

integrating technology into the classroom (Barton et al., 2021) A study by Burçin

Hamutoğlu, and Basarmak (2020) showed that there is a correlation between teachers’

self-efficacy, how much they believe in themselves, and the success of technology

integration. As such, professional development will focus on improving teacher

self-efficacy, specifically in regard to creating a student-centered learning environment.

Professional Development Approaches

When approaching professional development on this topic, research shows that

one factor that leads to low self-confidence is a lack of external support from districts

and administration (Burçin Hamutoğlu, & Basarmak, 2020). As such one focus of this

professional development will be learning to work with the resources that are available,

and self-affirmation techniques to focus on what can be done, rather than on what

cannot be done. In addition, creating a wide base of knowledge of technology, rather

than focusing on individual programs, is important in allowing teachers to adapt to new

technology as it comes out (Brenner & Breill, 2016). In that vein, technology models

such as TPACK, SAMR and TIM, will be helpful in providing adaptable strategies for
integrating technology in a wider variety of situations and creating a structured approach

that will improve self-efficacy.

When it comes to the structure of the classes, smaller groups with more

individualized support and attention have been shown to have a greater effect (Li et al.,

2019). Participants should be grouped by technology skills and instruction should be

personalized to suit their individual needs. In the case of the second-grade teachers,

they are all at a fairly level of comfort and familiarity with technology due to the nature of

California Connections Academy as an all-online school. As such, only one or two

individual groups should be sufficient.

As for content structure, research shows that a constructivist approach is best

when it comes to teaching adult learners (Hsu, 2016). Starting with basic concepts and

building upon them with subsequent sessions is the approach that will be taken, starting

with basic, more familiar concepts and then adding on to them gradually, in a way that

keeps the teacher's individual needs in mind.

Summary

This professional development will focus on using technology to make a more

student-centered learning environment. A student-centered learning environment has

been shown to improve student engagement and, in many cases, achievement. In order

for such a learning environment to succeed, teachers must be confident in their own use

of technology. As such, this professional development will focus on improving teacher

self-efficacy imparting techniques for integrating technology in a way that fosters a

student-centered learning environment. That will be done in small groups, focused on

building up skills based on existing knowledge and providing individualized support.

Goals, ISTE-E, and Objectives

Goals

The goals for this professional development are (a) to see improvement in the

use of technology for student-centered learning, and (b) to impart the tools to create a

more effective student-centered learning environment. The target group of teachers

should be able to see higher levels of student collaboration and independence

regarding technology as an indicator of higher levels of student-centered learning. They

should also be able to use technology integration models to ensure that technology is

properly used to its greatest effect for each lesson and learning environment.

Standards

This plan will focus on the following ISTE-E standards and indicators in the target

population.

2.1 Learner

- 2.1a: Set professional learning goals and apply pedagogical approaches

made possible by technology and reflect on their effectiveness.

2.4 Collaborator

- 2.4b: Collaborate and co-learn with students to discover and use new

digital resources and diagnose and troubleshoot technology issues.

 2.5 Designer

- 2.5a: Use technology to create, adapt and personalize learning

experiences that foster independent learning and accommodate learner

differences and needs.

2.6 Facilitator

- 2.6b: Manage the use of technology and student learning strategies in

digital platforms, virtual environments, hands-on maker spaces or in the

field.

Objectives

The objectives for this Professional Development plan are designed to allow

teachers to demonstrate their progress toward the goals of this professional

development plan over time after all sessions of the plan have taken place.

1. Teachers will be able to provide evidence of an increase in levels of student

collaboration in their classroom using descriptions of classroom activities.

(ISTE-E 2.1a)

Assessment: Teachers will provide descriptions and examples of classroom

activities that show evidence of student collaboration,

2. Teachers will be able to provide evidence of an increase in levels of student peer

feedback in their classroom using descriptions of classroom activities. (ISTE-E

2.1a)
 Assessment: Teachers will provide descriptions and examples of classroom

activities that show evidence of student peer feedback.

3. Teachers will be able to design student-centered lessons that integrate

technology in ways that promote student independence and self-directed

learning. (ISTE-E 2.4b)

Assessment: Teachers will present a lesson plan that integrates technology and

explain how it promotes student independence and self-directed learning.

Timeline and Budget

September (120 Minutes)

Topic/Content: Current Practices in Student-Centered Learning

Goals/Objectives: -Teachers will be able to describe their current practices

regarding student-centered learning.
-Teachers will be able to identify at least one way to improve
student-centered learning in their classroom.

Assessment: Teachers will provide descriptions and examples of classroom

activities that show evidence of student collaboration

October (60 Minutes)

Topic/Content: The TPACK model of Technology Integration

Goals/Objectives: -Teachers will be able to evaluate their existing lesson plans

using the TPACK model.
-Teachers will be able to identify technological, pedagogical,
and content knowledge in their lesson plans.
-Teachers will be able to describe ways to use TPACK to
increase student-centered learning.

Assessment: Teachers will create a breakdown of their lesson plans,

identifying the three types of knowledge and sorting them into a
TPACK Venn Diagram.

November (60 Minutes)

Topic/Content: The SAMR model

Goals/Objectives: -Teachers will be able to describe the elements of the SAMR

model.
- Teachers will be able to explain how the SAMR and TPACK
models are similar and different.
-Teachers will be able to explain how the SAMR model can be
used to improve student-centered learning.t

Assessment: Teachers will create a diagram illustrating the SAMR model.

December (60 Minutes)

Topic/Content: The TIM model.

Goals/Objectives: -Teachers will be able to describe the elements of the TIM
model.
-Teachers will be able to explain how the TPACK and SAMR
models work with the TIM matrix.
-Teachers will be able to use the TIM to describe a
student-centered learning environment at their technology
level.

Assessment: Teachers will create a Technology Integration Matrix chart and

fill it in with their current practices, and ideas for improving
student-centered learning.

January (120 Minutes)

Topic/Content: Using the TPACK model to enhance student-centered learning.

Goals/Objectives: -Teachers will be able to rewrite lesson plans in a way that

makes use of the TPACK model to improve student-centered
learning.
-Teachers will be able to integrate the three types of knowledge
to create a lesson plan that focuses on student-centered
learning.

Assessment: Teachers will recreate and submit a lesson plan that optimizes
student-centered learning and shows their use of the TPACK
model.

February (120 Minutes)

Topic/Content: Using the SAMR model to improve student-centered learning.

Goals/Objectives: -Teachers will be able to identify elements of a lesson plan that

can be substituted, augmented, modified, or redefined.
-Teachers will be able to use the SAMR model to create more
student-centered lesson plans.

Assessment: Teachers will create a new lesson plan with the SAMR model
that updates an existing lesson plan to make it more
student-centered.

March (120 Minutes)

Topic/Content: Using the TIM model for student-centered learning.

Goals/Objectives: -Teachers will be able to identify the learning environment and

technology levels of their classrooms.
-Teachers will be able to make changes to their existing lesson
plans using the matrix to create more student-centered
lessons.

Assessment: Teachers will recreate an existing lesson plan in a way that is

more student-centered using elements of the TIM model and
show those elements.

April (120 Minutes)

Topic/Content: Modifying Curriculum to be More Student-Centered

 Goals/Objectives: -Teachers will be able to design a more student-centered
curriculum for the next second-grade school year.
-Teachers will be able to demonstrate their use of
student-centered technology practices in their classrooms.

Assessment: Teachers will describe how they have modified their teaching
practices from the beginning of the year to create a more
student-centered learning environment.

Budget
Bottled Water: 8 x $4.99= $39.92
Snacks: 8 x $10 = $80
Power Strip for devices: $15
Blooket Plus: $35.88
Total: $90.80

Reflection

This process taught me a lot about what goes into professional development.

There were things that I hadn’t thought about that were important, such as knowing how

to create a budget by predicting what will be needed in advance. I also learned how

much research goes into developing a plan, both in determining the needs of the target

population and what needs to be done to address those needs.

When it comes to what I learned about the school, I learned that even a school

with a high level of technology integration still has room for improvement. During the
professional development session that was implemented, the teachers present were

surprised by how much they learned. Despite high self-efficacy in using technology,

there was a gap between what they thought they knew about the subject and what they

actually did. I believe working at a school that is so tech-integrated gives teachers a

sense of being on the cutting edge and a confidence that they know everything there is

to know about technology integration, especially compared to less tech-savvy schools. I

do think it is great that despite this confidence they were still open to learning even

more.

I think the most challenging part of implementing this plan is that I don’t currently

work at the school, so all communication between the teachers and I has to go through

a teacher who does work there. I am hoping to get contact information for more

teachers in order to make this easier to implement. I also plan to put together a discord

and invite those who wish to participate in the professional development plan. Thai will

make it easier not only to get in touch with people but also to share resources and links

to relevant articles and sites. Another challenge is coordinating the free time of

everyone. I think this can be mitigated by having asynchronous resources and doing

synchronous sessions with smaller groups, then posting what was discussed on the

aforementioned discord.

The benefits of this tech plan are of course an increase in student-centered

learning among the second-grade teachers, but there are other benefits as well. The

resources that are introduced in this professional development plan are useful for a

variety of learning environments and the technology integration models are useful for
tech integration at any level. Professional development like this in small, grade-level

groups also gives an opportunity for bonding through shared experiences that will make

the team function better in the future. These skills can also be carried over to other

grade levels that the teachers may move on to in future years. These are benefits that

can come from any professional development and I think tech plans and professional

development are important for any teachers, especially teachers that are already

confident in their own self-efficacy. Even the most experienced and tech-savvy teachers

have the opportunity to learn more as new technology is developed and new strategies

and research arise to create a better tech-integrated classroom.

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