5.

1 Needs Assessment

Candidates conduct needs assessments to determine school-wide, faculty, grade-level, and

subject area strengths and weaknesses to inform the content and delivery of technology-based
professional learning programs.

This artifact, the Individual Teacher Needs Assessment was created during the Professional
Learning and Innovation course. The purpose of this Needs Assessment is to determine the needs of a
classroom teacher before instructional coaching. This artifact describes the individual teacher being
assessed, as well as the needs after instructional coaching took place. The Levels of Technology
Integration (LoTI) scale is used to determine areas of strengths and weaknesses before and after the
coaching opportunities.

The needs assessment conducted identified areas of strength and weaknesses in the
instructional practices and ability to integrate technology effectively into the classroom of a single
teacher. Using a variety of observations, discussions, and a LoTI type survey, specific needs were
identified. This artifact demonstrates the ability to use a needs assessment (surveys, observations,
interviews) to inform decision making and planning for future coaching sessions. This artifact
demonstrates the ability to develop a needs assessment specific to an individual teacher and classroom.
A plan, completed during one of the coaching sessions, was designed around the specific teacher, her
skills, her interests, and her needs to deliver personalized professional development to most effectively
impact instruction in the classroom.

This artifact allowed me the opportunity to reflect on my ability to start a coaching relationship
with a new teacher. Often times I have found it is difficult to gain enough trust with a teacher that
allows you to enter the classroom and create change. It takes a lot of time and effort to get your foot in
the door with some teachers. This artifact reminded me that it takes a strong plan for success when
working with teachers that are not as excited about the instructional coaching opportunity! While
working with this teacher, it took several weeks to gain enough trust to get this teacher to step out of
their comfort zone and begin looking at some different instructional practices and resources. Eventually,
this teacher was encouraged by their early success with the instructional changes, and I contribute these
successes to the plan that we created together for their personalized professional development and
coaching sessions. If I were to repeat this artifact, I would continue to use a similar plan, but I would
increase the amount of time that I am able to spend in the classroom with the students and the teacher.
I think it is important that instructional coaches have a strong understanding of how the teacher and
students interact in the classroom to make a more accurate and dedicated personalized professional
development plan.

This artifact had an impact on student achievement and faculty improvement. This artifact
describes coaching sessions with a teacher that was known in the school as being resistant to
incorporating technology but was respected for the progress that her students showed each year. Since
completing this assignment and the individual teacher needs assessment, I have been invited in to
several classrooms and I have completed several other needs assessment before working with individual
teachers and PLCs. Students have ultimately benefitted from the more effective instructional practices
and more effective uses of technology in the classroom.