Design Teams

Research shows that teachers need time, resources and on-site support to experiment with and implement new ideas to effect change in the classroom. To bridge the gap between professional development workshops and classroom reality, we offer a Design Team model where teachers can implement the ideas, skills and strategies gained during the Critical Basics workshop. In this unique offering, Media Workshop consultants guide Design Team participants through the collaborative design, implementation and assessment of a small curriculum project that addresses a concrete need or goal, subsequently following a well-defined approach to successful integration of technology into the curricula. By implementing a small project, consultants and project participants meet periodically to address issues such as classroom management, implications on teaching and learning, and using technology to support Performance Standards. Teachers and other educators also use this time to learn from one another and support their colleagues efforts.

During these sessions the group focuses on a process as much as a final project that includes the following objectives:

• Continue with curriculum planning, multimedia production and project implementation
• Discuss their teaching practice and identify a specific cross disciplinary need or goal that they would like to address
• Gain more hands-on exposure to a software program in the context of a project
• Identify appropriate teaching strategies and suitable technology to support that specific teaching strategy in the context of implementing student-produced projects
• Receive guidance in finding and using appropriate new media tools
• Reflect on implementation. Revise/design as necessary.
  

For middle schools and high schools, Design Teams are ideal for small groups of educators who have common prep time or after-school professional develompent time to focus on an interdisciplinary, thematic unit. For elementary schools or teachers from common departments at the secondary school level, they can be especially beneficial so that teachers may exchange ideas, share resources and conduct peer reviews with their colleagues.

Design Teams meet weekly or biweekly over the course of one semester or one school year, for an average of 45 on-site hours (approximately 15 sessions).

To find out more about our offerings and cost for services, e-mail Donna Schnupp at dschnupp@mediaworkshop.org or call Media Workshop at 212.782.0310.