Knowledge Synthesis Paper #1 Kelly Wilson Professional Portfolio

CAPTURING PROGRESS OF STRATEGIC INIATIVES

4
Strategic Pillars of Severn School
• One Future
• Tech & Innovation
• Sustainability
• Globalism & Inclusion
Overview
Most schools have a strategic plan
with initiatives to be reached by its
community. However, how do you
know what progresses is being
made towards the goals without
some sort of tracking system? The
project explained in this page is an
example of a task analysis to create
such a tracking system. My role was
to analyze the information needs of
administration while creating an
easy to use interface for the
community to record their
progress.

Skills Gained
This task from my Needs Assessment and Task Analysis class (IDT 6400)
required a thoughtful exploration of the needs of the community. Interviews
of the stakeholders, from executive administration to the teachers in the
classroom, increased my capacity to communicate effectively with others. In
addition, my listening, transcription, and synthesis skills were used in
gathering the input needed to develop the data capture system.

The creation of the data capture system increased my knowledge in creating

effective survey instruments, and specifically in using more advanced logic in
creating Google forms. Understanding that the data needed to be filtered,
sorted and quantified by the end-users of the data increased my Google
spreadsheet skills.

Lastly, my skills in creating effective training materials improved my use of

the screen casting software, Screencast-O-Matic, and strategies to promote
learning.

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Knowledge Synthesis Paper #1 Kelly Wilson Professional Portfolio

Lessons Learned
The lessons learned in this task analysis project was a gateway to many
future projects. From the meta-learning of how to break down a task into its
various components to the specific skills and knowledge gained in creating
the tracking system, I return to the research and strategies I used.

As a current member of our professional development committee, I

continually use data capture tools to gather input from the participants both
before and after the training sessions that occur in our summer institute. I
use both Google forms and Survey Monkey to gather what topics and
methods of instruction our users want to further their professional
development. Then post-course, we survey class participants on their
experience to improve future course offerings and to provide the instructors
with feedback. I am known as a “survey-guru” at our school, and various
constituents of the school community seek me out to make surveys for their
clubs, activities, and other events.

My screen casting skills have also been used by many areas of our school
community. It has been used by our professional development committee to
create training materials for our instructors. I not only use it myself to
introduce topics to students in my class but have also trained other faculty
members for use in their classrooms. I most recently created a screencast to
introduce students on how to use the Google Classroom app for our new
proposed online course I am developed.

Impact/Importance
The importance of being able to analyze tasks and data is foundational in
educational settings. Educators determine what is important for students to
know and do. Administration determines what is important to fulfil its
mission. Both groups need tools and methods for analyzing the tasks
required to reach those goals, in addition to quantifiable means of tracking
progress to their goals. The methods and technological tools used in this task
have provided concrete gains for both member groups in our school
community.