Nadia Williams

ITEC 7500: Capstone & Portfolio

Fall 2015
Standard 5.1
Standard 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. (PSC 5.1/ISTE 4a)

Reflection:
As part of my EDRS 8900 course in the spring 2015 Semester, I conducted a Georgia
Assessment of Performance on School Standards, more commonly known as a GAPSS
assessment, on the school at which I worked. In placing myself into the role of being an
evaluator, I was able to see what my school had to offer at that point in time with regard
to professional learning opportunities, technology tools, and general student and
teacher support. In creating the GAPSS assessment, I also had to conduct a needs
assessment as a component of the overall artifact.
In creating and conducting the GAPSS assessment, which served as a needs
assessment, I made as objective a record as possible of the ways in which my
colleagues, students, and I were supported from a variety of fronts in order to
determine school-wide, faculty, grade-level, and subject area strengths and
weaknesses. The results of this assessment thereby informed the content and
delivery of technology-based professional learning programs as well as student
instruction. It essentially served to reflect the current reality of professional learning at
East Cobb Middle School. By recording the demographical reality of East Cobb, I was
able to provide a sound basis upon which one could understand why certain types of
professional learning decisions had been made. For example, at the time at which I
created the assessment, the students were posting gains via the Criterion-Referenced
Competency Test (CRCT) but as was identified in the AdvancedEd report filed by
representatives at East Cobb, the achievement gap was widening. This information
came on the heels of the then-upcoming Georgia Milestones Assessment which was
created to replace the CRCT. Thus, the GAPSS assessment Part A helped me and my
schools leadership determine school-wide the professional learning needs in order
to tailor the professional learning opportunities granted to teachers sculpted around
those observed teacher and student needs.
Having taught for almost a decade, I had heard of GAPSS assessments, but was
unaware of what work went into creating one. I was so glad to have learned what
comprises a GAPSS assessment as a result of creating this artifact. I loved
investigating and learning about the strengths and weaknesses of my school. That

said, if I were to conduct a GAPSS assessment again in the future, I would like to take
more time to do a more in-depth analysis of my school. Though that would have been
challenging to complete at the time during which I conducted this assessment, I see
how taking more time would have allowed me to include a record of more of the
nuanced needs, strengths, weaknesses, and realities of East Cobb Middle School.
This artifact provided me with a stronger foundation to help me in my new role as a
District Coach. Now, I can see and evaluate schools with more of a specialists eye. As
a result, I have found that in coaching individual teachers or groups of teachers, I am
able to look at their perceived challenges in a manner that is sensitive to their
challenges, but also supportive of where it is that they wish to go academically. This
thereby impacted professional development of teachers as I have been able to conduct
more professional development sessions. The impact of this professional development
can be assessed in the ways in which teachers who have attended my sessions have
enhanced their lesson plans by employing what I have taught. For example, one
teacher, recognizing that she was fearful of integrating technology in her classroom,
invited me to work with her one-on-one to help her design a lesson that would enhance
both her and her students technological skills. If I had not learned about the
technological weaknesses of my own school, I would not have been able to construct a
professional learning session to assist this teacher and many others.