classroom are on the brink of managing the human capital in their buildings in ways they never dreamed. Talk about teacher quality!” Much like teachers must learn from their students in order to remain relevant, administrators must also learn from their staff. Ultimately, allowing the true learners to become leaders is perhaps the most essential 21st


century teaching and


learning skill. Shared Expertise


One example of this is encouraging teachers to take staff meeting or other professional development time to share what they are doing in their classrooms that is innovative, engaging, and (most importantly) successful. Another example is creating a skills database, in which staff members document the areas in which they have received professional development. In this way, it is clear who the “go-to person” is for a variety of topics, such as Google applications, Blackboard, Moodle, GPS applications, Discovery Education tools, and much more. Ultimately, both of these examples encourage a professional learning community in which staff members look to each other for the expertise needed to grow and learn. Rather than independently struggling to keep up, staff members are encouraged to network and to utilize the expertise present within their own district, which is often more than enough to make significant strides in educational excellence.


A Cooperative Shift


In conclusion, I would like to share an analogy that I heard during a recent presentation by motivational speaker Craig Conrad. It has been around for a long time and is probably best known as the “Crabs in a Bucket.” What crab fishermen have learned is that, if you have one crab in a bucket, it will climb right out. If you put several crabs in a bucket, however, you don’t have to worry about them escaping. Why? The crabs are too busy pulling each other down to climb out themselves. This phenomenon has been called the “crab mentality.” Rather than busily pulling each other down and discouraging leadership among their ranks, true professional learning communities must focus on climbing out of the bucket of stagnation and into a world of educational opportunities. Ultimately, what is most essential for all teachers and learners to move forward is a community of individuals who cooperatively shift from what they have rested on in the past to what will move them forward in the future.


Kristi Bush is the K-12 Media Specialist for Shepherd Public Schools and also works with Michigan Virtual School as an Online Instructor Trainer and Course Developer. She may be reached at snearybush@gmail.


Second Annual SIGPL Action Research Award By Sandra Kay Plair, Ph.D., SIGPL Assistant Director


At last year’s Spring MACUL Conference, we kicked-off of a new award program. The Action Research Award was created by SIGPL (Professional Learning) to encourage classroom teachers to document the efficacy of educational technology. Our goals for introducing this award program were twofold. First, we wanted a way to validate the cost of technology and satisfy the critics who believe technology does not enhance or increase student learning. Determining ‘What Works’ is grounded in the principles of research that can be reproduced to demonstrate value particularly when funding is an issue. SIGPL believes classroom teachers and other instructional support staff working with our students are able to provide answers about the effectiveness of educational technology.


Second, we see the Action Research Award as an approach to encourage continuous professional development. Calhoun (2002) described action research as “continual disciplined inquiry conducted to inform and improve our practice as educators.” We know that classroom teachers are constantly fine-tuning their practice through reflection and the study of their students’ progress. The addition of the Action Research Award program was a logical next step. Therefore, SIGPL decided to award $500.00 each year to at least one applicant who demonstrates a commitment to professional development through classroom action research in the area of educational technology.


For years we have been hearing that technology is too costly with no proof of a return on investment in the form of increased student achievement. Those of us who use technology in a variety of forms know intuitively that student learning does


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increase when technology is integrated into the curriculum. Our hope is that the award program will encourage more educators to prove its effectiveness and their own teaching with an action research project.


Any PreK-20 classroom, instructional support staff, teacher education faculty, or teacher education graduate student is eligible to apply for the award. However, winners must become MACUL members before receiving the award. In return, an award recipient will be asked to present his/her study at the MACUL spring conference and submit the study for publication in the MACUL Journal.


Application guidelines, deadline dates, and submission information is available on the SIGPL web page at macul.org. Feel free to contact any member of the SIGPL leadership team for more information.


Special Note: Congratulations to Dr. Michael McVey of Eastern Michigan University winner of last year’s award.


References


Calhoun, E. F. (2002).Redesigning professional development: Action research for school improvement. Educational Leadership. 59, 18-24.


Dr. Sandra Kay Plair, former middle school technology instructor with the Lansing School District, is the Assistant Director for MACUL’s Special Interest Group – Professional Learning (SIGPL). Currently she is an instructor for Michigan State University’s Master’s of Art Educational Technology (MAET) program. Her research interests includes professional development particularly where technology integration and experienced teachers converge. Email her at miztech@gmail.com.


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