Classrooms for the Future   Organization: Pennsylvania Department of Education

Classrooms for the Future is a high school reform initiative designed to improve teaching and learning in Pennsylvania by creating technology-enriched instructional settings and providing extensive professional development through a coaching model designed to improve teacher practice and student achievement.

On-site coaches in over 100 participating school districts provide day-to-day technology integration support and mentoring at the school and classroom level. As part of their own training, coaches and school leaders used a TIGed virtual classroom to model the kind of online collaborative learning they hoped to foster in each school, participating in online discussions and blogging their experiences and reflections on the professional development and coaching process. Many coaches replicated this model as a way to provide an online learning community for their teachers, while also introducing them to the TIGed tools.

How are CFF coaches using TIGed?

• Creating TIGed classrooms as dedicated online space for professional development and collaboration.
• Engaging students in online discussions about the Classrooms for the Future initiative, giving students a voice about the future of learning
• A Biology teacher at Shanksville-Stonycreek High School introduced TIGed to his students first, building on their leadership with the online tools to later support other teachers’ classroom integration of new technology.
• At Cornell High School, AP Government and Politics students blogged about current events and pressing global issues, using Understanding the Issues as reference and background material.
• An English teacher at Midd-West High School used a rubric to define expectations for using discussion boards, preparing students to apply critical thinking and communication skills in an online environment.

Best Practice:
Create collaborative environments where teachers can learn from one another. Social networking can help improve teacher practice, if the leadership and environment are supportive.