Arbor Station Elementary Promethean Learning Grant Proposal

Ralph Herndon
Sara Beth Moss
Christopher ONeil
Claire Phillips

Abstract
Arbor Station Elementary started the Promethean Learning Process in 2012, when Promethean
ActivBoards were purchased for every classroom through SPLOST funding. This year, the school
wishes to further professional development so that teachers and students will not only benefit from
having an interactive board, but it will allow the teachers to create assignments and assessments
through the use of the board with Activotes. This training will allow students to get the full benefit
of participating in their learning process while the teachers get instant feedback on the children's
learning (eSchool News, 2010). To achieve this goal ASES has set four (4) major objectives:
1. Integrate the Promethean Board into their daily lessons in the area of instruction, differentiation,
and assessment by the end of the 2016-2017 school year.
2. Improve student achievement based on the implementation of lessons taught using Promethean;
Aimsweb and GMAS scores will increase by 30% from the 2016 administrations to the 2017
administrations.
3. Provide advanced training to teachers who will use the technology and encourage
implementation in the classroom.
4. Assess the effectiveness of the technology in student learning.
Arbor Station Elementary is hoping that the Google Grants will be able to help fund the expenses
related to advanced teacher training by a school district approved professional trainer. Douglas
County School District school district for Arbor Station Elementarywill conduct basic teacher
training, the teachers will conduct student assessment, and the administration and leadership team
will compile the data.

Demonstrated Need
The results of a school wide Technology Survey (Appendix A) revealed that teachers do not feel
that they are using the Promethean Boards to their fullest potential. The teachers requested
Promethean training more than any other type of professional development. Third, fourth and fifth
grade teachers wanted more training in the area of assessing and data collection with Promethean.
Kindergarten, first and second wanted training in creating content area flipcharts. Team meeting
notes (Appendix B) with assigned discussions topics being technology needs revealed the
following:

1. Kindergarten We are limited in the way we use our Flipcharts because we are having to use
already existing flipcharts due to our lack of knowledge in creating our own.
2. First Grade - We are using Promethean just as we used our white boards because we dont feel
comfortable with all of the icons and how to use them.
3. Second Grade We are using our Promethean Boards like we used whiteboards. We do access
some flipcharts through Promethean Planet, but we dont have enough know how to adjust them as
we need them; we must use them as is.
4. Third Grade We really enjoy using our Activote devices, but there are so many more things we
could be doing with them. We would really like training on how to create assessments that we can
share as a team.
5. Fourth Grade We want to use ActivInspire for data collection purposes. Mrs. Joe (principal)
wants us to turn in Common District Assessment Data on a monthly basis, in order to do this, we
need a usable report and we have heard that Promethean can be used for this.
6. Fifth Grade We would love to use the Activote devices more often, especially since the Thinkgate
system has been taken off the table. We need a new way to streamline data and exporting from
ActivInspire to Excel seems like the answer to our problems, we just need to know how to do that.
So according to surveys and team meetings, teachers are looking for ways to inspire and motivate
excellent learning which, in turn, will improve student achievement. Teachers are looking for ways
use the technology and integrate it into their classrooms upon learning how to utilize the functions

effectively. Systematic professional development and system support will provide teachers the
opportunity to be proficient in integrating the Promethean Board into daily lessons.
Goals and Objectives
Teachers will fully integrate the Promethean Board into their daily lessons in the area of instruction,
differentiation, and assessment by the end of the 2016-2017 school year.
Student achievement will improve based on the implementation of lessons taught using
Promethean; Aimsweb and GMAS scores will increase by 30% from the 2016 administrations to
the 2017 administrations.
Teachers will be confident in their knowledge of the Promethean Boards functions and how to
integrate it into their curriculum.
Teachers will be confident in sharing Promethean Board lessons within their respective
departments.
Create a system support group for teachers to utilize as a reference when needed.
Plan of Operation
This project will be broken down into several phases of training and implementation.
The Basic Training: Teachers will become familiarized with the tools and functions of the boards.
(1-2 months).
The Advanced Training: Teachers will be trained to integrate the Promethean Boards into daily
lessons. Examples and hands-on activities will expand their knowledge and understanding of the
tools and functions of the Promethean Board. (1-2 months)
The Final Training: This training will be subject/grade specific. This phase will give detailed
examples of how to best utilize the Promethean Board for specific subject matter and grade level.
Assessing with Promethean will be taught during this training phase. (3-4 months)
Share Flipcharts: Teachers will share flipcharts of prepared lessons with other teachers in the
district (subject/grade specific). The flipcharts can be posted on the web for other teachers to
access. (3-4 months)

Project Evaluation
Evaluation of this project can be broken down into two categories:
1. Teacher training and adoption: evaluating the effectiveness of the training provided to the teachers
in the use of the boards and teacher adoption of the boards in the classroom.
2. Student learning assessment: evaluating the effectiveness of the use of the boards in the learning
environment and the effect of the use of the boards on student learning.
Teacher Training and Adoption
To evaluate teacher training and adoption, formative and summative evaluation methods will be
used. Specifically, the principal and teachers have committed themselves to these items:
1. All teachers shall attend the four phases of training provided by the school district before the start
of school year 2017-2018
2. All teachers shall provide the principal with a written report evaluating their experience with the
boards by end of the school year 2017-2018. The report will include:
a. a completed copy of the Teacher Survey (see Appendix C);
b. an evaluation of the effectiveness of the training received and requests for further training
if needed;
c. a description of how the boards were used in the classroom which includes, but not
limited to, what subjects were taught using the boards and what supporting software was
used.
d. the teachers plans for the use of the boards for school year 2017-2018.
Student Learning Assessment

To evaluate student learning, teachers shall include in their end-of-year report the following
information:
1. Provide a subjective and objective evaluation of the student learning when the boards were used
to teach material.
2. Report observations on the student interest in the technology as the year progressed including
factors such as:
a. Did the students lose interest in the technology/subject as the year progressed or was
interest retained?
b. Was there more/less participation by the students than experienced by the teacher for that
subject in prior years?
c. What effect did clickers have on student participation?
3. Report observations on student learning effectiveness
a. Did the teacher observe an increased proficiency by students?
b. A subjective evaluation of the difference in class participation and student proficiency for
classes when the board is used as opposed to classes where it is not.
4. Provide an optional collection of anonymous comments by the students themselves on the use of
the technology.
In addition to requiring teachers to submit an evaluation of student learning, the administration will
also look to standardized test scores. Each year, Georgia administers standardized tests to 3rd, 4th,
and 5th graders. The areas tested are reading, english/language arts, math, science, and social
studies. In the lower grades, kindergarten, first and second, AIMSweb scores will be used to assess
student growth. Higher or lower scores cannot be solely attributed to the presence and use of
Promethean ActivBoards in the classrooms. However, the Promethean ActivBoards in the

classrooms are a factor. If scores improve in testing done during the 2017-2018 school year, Arbor
Station Elementary will conclude that the presence and use of Promethean boards in the classroom
has had a positive impact on student learning.

Budget
The budget below is for the Arbor Station Elementary Promethean Learning Grant Proposal. The
following training sessions will consist of the following.
Training Session #1 will be held on site at the school during pre-planning at the beginning of the
school year. All 57 teachers on staff will be required to attend this session.
Training Session #2 will be online and all 57 teachers will be required to complete the training
between set dates during their planning period.
Training Session #3 will be online and for Academic Coaches and Grade Level Chair only. Grade
Level Chair, with the help of the Academic Coach will then re-deliver the information to their
departments during common planning.
Budget Category
I. Personnel
A. Training Session #1 (Basic Training) ($5,569 On-Site)
1. ActivLearning - 2 - Day Professional Development On-Site
(2 concurrent days)
B. Training Session #2 (Advanced Training) ($2,223 - 57x$39 Per Online Seat)
1. ActivInspire Level 1 Skills Course - Online Training
25+ places Price per seat.

C. Training Session #3 (Final Training) ($1,992 - 8x$249 Per Online Seat)

1. ActivInspire Level 2 Curriculum Developer Course - Online Training
25+places Price per seat
II. Stipends/substitutes (for participants) ($437.08 - 7 Subs @ $62.44 ea.)
A. Training Session #3 will require substitutes for Grade Level Chairs only during this
one-day online training.
a.

7 Grade Level Chairs and 1 Academic Coach

III. Travel ($0)

A.

No travel required!

IV. Facilities, Equipment, Materials ($0)

A.

All training sessions will be held at Arbor Station Elementary and require only a
computer, the internet, and a Promethean Board, which are already readily available!

V. Communications ($0)
A.

All communications needs are already available!

VI. Other Costs ($0)

A.

No other costs are predicted at this time unless additional training and
support is needed!
Total Costs: ($10,221.08)

References
eSchool News, (August, 2010). Technology takes formative assessment to a whole new level
(2010, August 4). E-School News. http://www.eschoolnews.com/2010/08/04/technologytakesformative-assessment-to-a-whole-new-level/

Fies, C., & Marshall, J. (2006). Classroom response systems: A review of the literature. Journal
of Science Education and Technology, 15(1), 101-109.

Marzano R.J., Haystead, M.W, (July 2009). Final Report Evaluation Study of the Effects of
Promethean ActivClassroom on Student Achievement. Centennial CO: Marzano
Research Laboratory

Porter S.H. (June 2010). Using an Interactive Response Collection System to Increase Classroom
Formative Assessment in an Effort to Improve Student Self-Efficacy in Mathematics in
Limited Resource Environments. (Masters Research Project) Obtained from:
http://www.cehs.ohio.edu/gfx/media/pdf/porter.pdf

Appendix A Technology Survey

Arbor Station Elementary School

STAFF TECHNOLOGY SURVEY
1) What is your primary work role in the Douglas County School System?
Classified Staff
Certified Teaching Staff (Classroom)
Certified Teaching Staff (Non Classroom)
Administrator
2) What grade level / area do you primarily work with?
All Levels
Middle School
Elementary
High School
Alternative (Haven)
3) How many years have you worked for the Douglas County School System?
Less than 2 years
2-5 years
6-10 years
More than 10 years

4) How often do you use a computer for district work?

Daily Weekly
Monthly
Never

Not Available

5) How often do you use district email?

Daily Weekly
Monthly Never
6) How often do you use Outlook calendar?
Daily Weekly Monthly
Never
7) How often do you access Internet resources for district work?
Daily Weekly Monthly
Never
8) How often do you check your District Email from home?
Daily Weekly
Monthly
Never
Not Available
9) How often do students use computers as part of your in class work?
Daily
Weekly Monthly
Never
Not Available

I Don't Have Students

10) How often do students use computers as part of your out of class work?
Daily
Weekly Monthly
Never
Not Available I Don't Have Students
11) Which of the following hardware resources would you use in your classroom and how often?
a.) Computer
Daily Weekly Monthly Never
b.) Digital Projector
c.) LadyBug
d.) Digital Camera
e.) Digital Video Camera
f.) Interactive Whiteboard (Promethean)
g.) Graphing Calculato
h.) Clickers (Student Response System)
i.) Portable Mobile Lab
j.) Scanner

NA
Daily Weekly Monthly Never
NA
Daily Weekly Monthly Never NA
Daily Weekly Monthly Never
NA
Daily Weekly Monthly Never NA
Daily Weekly Monthly Never NA
Daily Weekly Monthly Never NA
Daily Weekly Monthly Never NA
Daily Weekly Monthly Never NA
Daily Weekly Monthly Never
NA

12) Which of the following software resources would you use in your classroom and how often?
a.) Moodle with Students
Daily Weekly Monthly Never NA
b.) Moodle for Staff Resources
Daily Weekly Monthly Never NA
c.) Think.com
Daily Weekly Monthly Never
d.) ClipArt.com
e.) ActiveInspire
f.) Inspiration or Kidspiration
g.) Microsoft Word
h.) Microsoft Publisher
i.) Microsoft PowerPoint
j.) Microsoft Excel
k.) Discovery Ed (United Streaming)
l.) Brainpop
m.) Stratelogica

NA
Daily Weekly Monthly Never NA
Daily Weekly Monthly Never NA
Daily Weekly Monthly Never NA
Daily Weekly Monthly Never NA
Daily Weekly Monthly Never NA
Daily Weekly Monthly Never NA
Daily Weekly Monthly Never NA
Daily Weekly Monthly Never NA
Daily Weekly Monthly Never NA
Daily Weekly Monthly Never NA

13) Please list technology related resources that you DO NOT HAVE NOW but would like to use
in your job.

14) How would you prefer technology training to take place (your first preference only)?
Someone knowledgeable at my site
Formal class at a central location
Formal class at my site
Online class
Training manual/tutorial
15) Have you received any benefit from the technology resources available to you in the district?
Yes
No
16) When thinking about technology in the Douglas County School System, what are we doing well
that you would like to see continue?
17) When thinking about technology in the Douglas County School System, what suggestions for
improvement do you have?
18) As you look into the future how do you see technology impacting the learning process and the
operations of schools, departments and the District as a whole?
19) Additional comments:

Appendix B Team Meeting Notes

Appendix C Evaluation Survey