Sean Rogers

EDLR 5015
Problem of Practice
Leading the Way Through Google Expeditions
To demonstrate my leadership, I decided to lead a professional development

workshop on Google Expeditions to Manchester High School’s American History PLC.

InTASC Teacher Leadership Standards’ #5 and #8 as well as Teacher Leader Model

Standards’ Domain 1 and Domain 4 provided the framework for this project.

I was inspired to do this project after seeing the new virtual reality technology that

MHS has invested in. MHS’ social studies department was not familiar with this new

resource and had not received any training on how to use this technology. I wanted to

introduce this new resource to the American History PLC I am part of and provide

resources to support teachers using it in their classrooms. A major part of this project was

collaborating with the technology educators. I received training from them on how to

operate the virtual reality headsets and navigate Google Expeditions. On top of receiving

training, they helped create a professional development workshop that we could run in

my PLC. When I wasn’t working with the technology educators, I was using Google

Expeditions and exploring opportunities to connect these virtual reality field trips to the

American History curriculum. I ended up creating a 27-page spreadsheet that organized

the Google Expeditions into various units of the curriculum.

On March 26th, an MHS technology teacher and I led the PLC through a

workshop on Google Expeditions. We led an Expedition, provided strategies for using it

in the classroom, and allowed time for teachers to ask question. I then projected the

spreadsheet and we discussed how this technology can be effectively used in American

History. The workshop concluded with me sharing the document with the department so
that it can became a living document where teachers can leave notes or suggestions as

well as consider connections to the CT Social Studies Frameworks.

The project went much better than I initially envisioned. The leader of the PLC,

Ian Webster, was more receptive to the project than I predicted. The MHS technology

educators also provided great assistance throughout the process. There were also more

historical Google Expeditions than I expected. Every step of the process went really

smoothly. My only regret is that I only have another month at MHS left and I won’t have

many opportunities, if any, to observe my peers use this technology in their classrooms.

I really appreciated getting feedback from the PLC after the professional

development workshop. The PLC, made up of seven teachers and two student teachers

from Neag, seemed very enthusiastic about the technology. When going over the

spreadsheet, the teachers were really excited about all of the possible opportunities to

connect VR into their curriculum. For example, teachers were really excited about the

Lower East Side Tenement Museum Expedition. They had been denied the opportunity to

go on a field trip to this site due to distance so they were happy that they could now visit

this historic site from within their classroom. One teacher was concerned about the health

effects of VR and voiced how he was getting a headache from the technology.

This project was a great authentic opportunity to find myself as a teacher leader.

Going into this experience, I was nervous about teaching adults and running a workshop

on technology. It was critical that I manage my time and understand the way that my

peers learn and collaborate. This project encouraged me to work with a variety of staff,

design learning resources for adults, coordinate a workshop, and provide an opportunity

to support my peers and strengthen their instruction for the sake of student learning.
Members of MHS’ American History PLC tour the battlefields of Gettysburg through virtual reality.

A technology specialist and I go over opportunities to connect Google Expeditions in the American
History curriculum. Projected on the board is the spreadsheet I created.