Creating Technology to Promote Learning    

9:00 a.m.

Welcome and Introduction

Scott Cunningham, Assessment and Instructional Content Director, Assessment Technology, Incorporated

9:15 a.m.

Dynamic Intervention Systems

Presented by: Margaret Johnson, Professional Development Specialist, Assessment Technology, Incorporated

Summary:  Click to show/hide

It is well recognized that the American educational system must increase student learning to remain competitive in the 21st century. The need to increase learning will require dynamic intervention systems comprised of interrelated research and management components. Research components are needed to provide credible evidence of instructional effectiveness. Management components are required to plan, implement, evaluate, and adjust interventions. This presentation outlines a dynamic intervention system integrating research and management to promote student learning.

10:10 a.m.

Research as a Reality Check on Intervention Investments

Presented by: Jason K. Feld, Ph.D., Vice President Corporate Projects, Assessment Technoloy, Incorporated

Summary:  Click to show/hide

We are living in an age in which new educational interventions involving curriculum and technological innovations are proliferating into the educational marketplace at an exponential rate. At the same time, school districts are being called upon to utilize interventions to assist students in achieving new levels of learning in order to compete in a rapidly changing global society. The critical relationship between interventions and learning outcomes has become a central issue in 21st century education. Schools have invested large amounts of money in interventions. They now face the task of determining the educational return on their intervention investments. This presentation addresses the challenges associated with the conduct of research evaluating intervention effects. It begins by providing an historical context for current research on intervention investments. This is followed by a discussion of essential elements needed to build district capacity to support intervention research. The discussion of essential elements touches upon consensus building, time-management, technology-based research tools, and short-experimental and quasi-experimental designs. The presentation will conclude with suggestions and an illustration to help guide district research initiated as a reality check on intervention investments.

11:05 a.m.

Implementing Intervention through the Local Accountability Professional Development Series (LAPDS)

Presented by: Jason K. Feld, Ph.D., Vice President Corporate Projects, Assessment Technoloy, Incorporated

Summary:  Click to show/hide

WestEd knows from research and decades of experience that a one-size-fits-all approach does not work. That’s why the Local Accountability Professional Development Series (LAPDS) team customizes the training to address individual strengths and needs. While the implementation may differ based on each district’s or school’s unique characteristics, the LAPDS process remains the same.

WestEd’s services are based on the best available research in mastery learning theory and the alignment of curriculum, lesson planning, instruction, and assessment. This alignment provides students with specific, immediate feedback and multiple opportunities to demonstrate proficiency of the academic standards.

WestEd’s focus? To build your capacity to fully implement an accountability system that will rapidly improve student achievement. The LAPDS system uses rigorous standards and assessments fully aligned with the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) item specifications and the blueprints of the district’s or school’s state assessment.

11:50 a.m.

Lunch

12:30 p.m.

Designing an Intervention

Presented by: Scott Cunningham, Assessment and Instructional Content Director, Assessment Technology, Incorporated

Summary:  Click to show/hide

Designing the sort of intervention system being presented in this forum requires the close integration of three fundamental and familiar components. Goal setting, implementation, and evaluation are familiar to everyone in the educational world. This presentation will discuss how each of these components can be designed in order to achieve the degree of integration that will be needed in order to maximize the opportunity to realize meaningful increases in student achievement and instructional efficiency. Methods of organizing content that support easy tracking of both the instructional material that has been delivered and the outcome that has been achieved will be reviewed. Discussion will also be focused on use of the evaluation data to make decisions about subsequent instruction so that approaches that don’t work are addressed in a timely fashion.

1:30 p.m.

Breakout Session:  One of the challenges today’s educators face is that of utilizing technology to support educational interventions. In this breakout session participants will have the opportunity to share their experiences in planning, implementing, and evaluating interventions. They will discuss the kinds of interventions most needed to elevate student achievement in their district, and they will examine the role of assessment in informing intervention initiatives. Participants will explore the application of technology in intervention implementation using a variety of tools, such as Galileo Dialog Resources, Promethean flipbooks, and technology utilizing district- or teacher-created activities and lesson plans. Participants will leave the breakout session with sample implementation plans utilizing intervention technology that may be leveraged for intervention instruction in the current 2008-2009 school year.

3:15 p.m.

Breakout Findings and Closing Remarks

Presented by: Jason K. Feld, Ph.D., Vice President Corporate Projects, Assessment Technoloy, Incorporated