Assignment Task:
Effective professional development in elementary school setting programs play a pivotal role in elevating educational outcomes, nurturing a positive school culture, and equipping teachers with the tools they need to succeed. To ensure the plans are successful, they must meet the needs of teachers and other educational professionals, be relevant to their school context and experiences, and be appropriate for their student population. An important aspect of planning professional learning experiences is conducting a needs assessment of the school teaching staff.
For this assignment, assume that you are conducting a needs assessment for your school's teaching staff based on the 2 or 3 high-priority areas you identified in the Wk 1 - Summative Assessment: Data Analysis Report. This needs assessment will facilitate your design and implementation of a comprehensive, school-wide professional development program.
To prepare for this assignment, complete the following:
- Research a variety of tools and formats (e.g., digital survey, interview, paper or pencil) used to assess educator's professional development needs.
- Select an appropriate format for your needs assessment that aligns with your professional context.
- Review the Wk 1 - Summative Assessment: Data Analysis Report, specifically the 2 or 3 high-priority areas you have identified for professional development.
Create a needs assessment tool to facilitate your planning of the Wk 6 - Summative Assessment: School-Wide Professional Development Plan. Your needs assessment tool should be 15-20 questions in length and meet the following requirements:
- Align with the 2 or 3 high priority areas previously identified in Week 1
- Include 3 or 4 questions related to each topic listed below:
- Student learning needs (e.g., teachers' perception of the needs, essential resources, and materials)
- Professional learning needs (e.g., teachers' perception of the needs, helpful resources, and materials)
- Professional development delivery (e.g., suggested options, rate of occurrence, activities, follow-up)
- Peer collaboration options (e.g., PLC, action-research group, peer coaching)
- Accountability, implementation, and evaluation (e.g., suggested requirements, leadership involvement, monitoring progress)
Write summary in which you describe your strategy for implementing the needs assessment tool at your school. Include the following information:
- Identify the following general details:
- Individuals to be surveyed/interviewed (e.g., teachers, parents or caregivers, all staff)
- Timeline for implementation (e.g., distribution date, return deadline)
- Describe how the data will be collected (e.g., paper and pencil survey, electronic survey, interviews)
- Describe how you will analyze the data collected (e.g., relationships between questions, response keywords)