Unit 12 - Professional Development Workshop Outline

Assignment:
Design a professional development workshop outline for training teachers to find, evaluate and/or use
instructional technology resources for mathematics, science, and technology instruction.

Requirements:

1. Workshop Description
In this workshop, I will be working with Teachers to introduce the site Explorelearning.com,
specifically their Gizmo simulations. Our school district buys the software each year, and
although the Biology department uses Gizmo’s regularly, many other departments can use the
software but do not. It has come to my attention that unless more teachers use this software
the school district will stop paying for it. In order to get more teachers to use this software, I
plan to hold a professional development session. The goal of this PD session is to help teachers
become accustom to the software and take advantage of its many features so that that the
Biology teachers still have access to the resource they love! I hope that along the way, other
teachers will see how this resource can benefit them and their students!

2. Workshop Summary
a. Anticipated length (days, total hours, etc.) I plan to have one PD session after school from
2:30 to 3:30. If there is a lot of interest, I will add an additional one hour PD session so that
more teachers can attend.
b. Description of the format (face-to-face, video conference, web-based, etc.) The format of
this session will be face-to-face in an afterschool PD session. The workshop will take place
in a computer lab so that teachers have access to a computer as well.
c. Target participant group (identify the participants: teachers, administrators, math
coaches, etc.) I plan to target Math, Science, and Technology teachers because
Explorelearning.com has a lot of great resources for Math, Science, and Technology
teachers.
d. Anticipated size of the participant group (how many would you expect to participate?) I
hope to get at least 15-20 teachers to attend my PD session. There are approximately 25-30
Math, Science, and Technology teachers at my high school.

3. Learning Outcomes for Participants

After attending this session, participants should be able to access, explore, and utilize all the
resources available on explorelearning.com, especially the Gizmo simulations. Participants
should feel comfortable enough to use these resources in their classroom with their students.
This workshop addresses the following ISTE NETS-T/NET-S standards:
ISTE NETS- T Standard 5 Engage in professional growth and leadership
Teachers continuously improve their professional
practice, model lifelong learning, and exhibit
leadership in their school and professional
community by promoting and demonstrating the
effective use of digital tools and resources.
a. Participate in local and global learning
communities to explore creative applications of
technology to improve student learning
 b. Exhibit leadership by demonstrating a vision of
technology infusion, participating in shared decision
making and community building, and developing the
leadership and technology skills of others
c. Evaluate and reflect on current research and
professional practice on a regular basis to make
effective use of existing and emerging digital tools
and resources in support of student learning
d. Contribute to the effectiveness, vitality, and
selfrenewal of the teaching profession and of their
school and community

ISTE NETS- T Standard 1 Facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity
Teachers use their knowledge of subject matter,
teaching and learning, and technology to facilitate
experiences that advance student learning, creativity,
and innovation in both face-to-face and virtual
environments.
a. Promote, support, and model creative and
innovative thinking and inventiveness
b. Engage students in exploring real-world issues and
solving authentic problems using digital tools and
resources
c. Promote student reflection using collaborative
tools to reveal and clarify students’ conceptual
understanding and thinking, planning, and creative
processes
d. Model collaborative knowledge construction by
engaging in learning with students, colleagues, and
others in face-to-face and virtual environments
ISTE NETS- S Standard 1 Students leverage technology to take an active role in
Empowered Learner choosing, achieving and demonstrating competency
in their learning goals, informed by the learning
sciences.

1a Students articulate and set personal learning

goals, develop strategies leveraging technology to
achieve them and reflect on the learning
process itself to improve learning outcomes.
1b Students build
networks and customize their learning
environments in ways that support the learning
process.
1c Students use technology to seek feedback that
informs and improves their practice and
to demonstrate their learning in a variety of ways.
1d Students understand the fundamental concepts of
technology operations, demonstrate the ability to
 choose, use and troubleshoot current technologies
and are able to transfer their knowledge to
explore emerging technologies.

ISTE NETS- T Standard 3 Students critically curate a variety of resources using

Knowledge Constructor digital tools to construct knowledge, produce
creative artifacts and make meaningful learning
experiences for themselves and others.

CLOSE
3a Students plan and employ effective research
strategies to locate information and other
resources for their intellectual or creative pursuits.
3b Students evaluate
the accuracy, perspective, credibility and relevance of
information, media, data or other resources.
3c Students curate information from digital resources
using a variety of tools and methods to
create collections of artifacts that
demonstrate meaningful connections or conclusions.
3d Students build knowledge by
actively exploring real-world issues and problems,
developing ideas and theories and pursuing answers
and solutions.

4. List of resources used for workshop such as:

a. Print/electronic resources (Word, PDF, etc.) I will provide each teacher with an
electronic copy of the directions and features we discussed during the workshop.
Additionally if a teacher cannot make it to the workshop, I will make a quick video
reviewing all of the features that we covered. I will email this PDF and video out to all
workshop participants.
b. Presentation files (PowerPoint, Prezi, Google Slides, Keynote, etc.) I do not believe I
will need any presentation files for this workshop.
c. Videos (YouTube, your own video titles) If a participant is unable to make it to the
workshop I will make a quick video for him/her to view. I will email this, along with the
PDF direction sheet, so that they have a chance to learn the material.
d. AV equipment (Projector, interactive whiteboard, etc.) For this workshop, I will need a
computer that is attached to a projector. If available, I would prefer an interactive
whiteboard. I will also need to be in a computer lab so participants can also work on the
computers (especially if they forgot their device). Additionally, I will need a speedy
internet connection so that we can fully explore the resource.

5. Participant activities
In this professional Development workshop participants will practice using the
ExploreLearning.com website, especially the Gizmo simulation resources. I will begin the
 seminar by introducing the resources. I will then give teachers some time to discover and
explore on their own so that they can find a resources that will work for them and their
students. In the last few minutes I will have teachers present what they have found so that
everyone has an idea of what resources are available on the site.

6. Evaluation
I will measure the “success” of this workshop by providing the last 5-7 minutes for teachers to
complete an online survey through Microsoft Forms. The survey will include content questions
about the software discussed as well as opinion questions about the delivery, activities, and
content to help me and as a coach to run a better workshop in the future.