Design

 

​Beginning teachers, mentors, and facilitators are surveyed (annually) to assess the effectiveness of the Induction and Mentoring program and to make improvements.   Recent survey results from all groups indicate that Lexington School District Two does have an effective Induction and Mentoring Program. 

                                

                                                                                                                             ​​      Findings:

Suggestions for improvement indicate a need to focus on making the Induction Program more focused on individual beginning teacher needs and make them more school level appropriate e.g., EC, Elementary, Middle Level, & Secondary).

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​     Action Plan:

Though the concept of Blended Learning is not new, it has recently gained traction with administrators, educators, students, parents, and policy makers as a way to expand and gain flexibility in course offerings. The concept dates back to the 1920’s when “supervised correspondence study” allowed rural and working students to complete degree and certificate programs with instructional and collegial support.  Current online coursework is informed by the latest research on how to merge many different types of media with text to make student learning engaging and memorable. When new virtual environments are connected to face-to-face individualized support, the result is enhanced student learning and improved student success. In fact, the dynamism of this approach has led some to predict that “the future of education will involve providing content, resources, and instruction both digitally and face-to-face in the same classroom.”  (See Appendix C: Blended Learning Review of Literature and Appendix D: Building Effective Blended Learning Programs).

Having available multiple modes of communication such as e-mail, chat, web-conferencing tools, etc., as well as personalized face-to-face interaction, gives greater opportunity to get the individualized attention needed for each set of individual circumstances. Blended Learning environments often lend themselves to more readily establish a community of learners that can communicate in person and across distance and time-essential to student satisfaction.

We will transition into a three-year plan beginning 2011-2012 for the enhancement of the district Induction Program. The phase-plan will begin with a Blended Learning Model for year one (2011-2012), transition to a Synchronous Learning Model year two (2012-2013), and finally, to Virtual Learning Model for year three (2013-2014).

Such an environment (Blended Learning) will support the District Strategic Plan Initiatives for Teacher Professional Growth (See Appendix E: District Strategic Plan section 17.1). Other relevant supplements to this plan are listed in the following appendixes:  Appendix F: Cisco Web Ex Proposal, Appendix G: Analysis/Cisco Web Ex Proposal, Appendix H: Lexington School District Two (Induction), Appendix I: Technology Requirements, Appendix J: Lexington School District ADEPT Plan, Appendix K: Professional Growth and Development Plan for Educators, Appendix L: Human Resources Integrated System (HRIS), and Appendix M: Synchronous Learning: Lexington School District Two University)