Students as Agents of Change: Evaluation as Reflection Presentation at the 27th Annual Conference of the National Alliance of Black School Educators Nashville, Tennessee November 12, 1999 Saul Rockman Rockman ET AL

Evaluation & Documentation n External to school district — independent n Documenting support systems n Exploring teacher development n Assessing student growth

Reasons for Teacher Participation

Teacher Skill Development

Teachers’ use of Infusion Curriculum

Frequency of Reading/Writing Activity

Teachers’ Reflections on Professional Growth

Teachers’ Reflections on Student Benefits

Student Writing Skills n Developing comfort & fluency n Have a sense of audience n Understand organization & narrative development n Have a flair for drama and presentation n Provide ample detail

What Students Like about Writing

Conclusions: Students n Students are actively engaged in the learning process n Student self-esteem has improved n Writing has become central to expressing ideas n Students show confidence in multimedia n Students share their knowledge with parents, peers, and younger colleagues

Conclusions: Teachers n Teachers learned new ways to deliver curriculum n Teachers are increasingly skilled and confident in using technology n Teachers are learning and using the Infusion curriculum n Teachers’ perceptions of student skills are changing

Conclusions: Systemic n The project is moving ahead as designed n District staff development capacity is increasing n Seeing progress in district technology plan n Project has promoted spirit of collaboration and open communications n Administrative support is growing

For More Information Leslie Green Project Coordinator Gary Community School Corporation 219/