The document summarizes an evaluation project to enhance classroom instruction through the use of Discovery Education resources. The goals were to assist teachers in integrating technology and provide training and support on Discovery Education. Key tasks included identifying curriculum standards needing emphasis, communicating with teachers, filtering Discovery Education resources to those standards, and distributing curated resource lists to teachers. Teachers responded positively and more teachers requested similar resources, showing the potential for an extended project.

1. Evaluation Project 2011 Enhancing Curricular Instruction Through the Use of Discovery Education Resources Lisa DuFur Cheryl Giles Carolyn Hager Jackie Pennel

2. Goal Our primary goal as Curriculum Technology Trainers is to assist in the integration of technology into classroom instruction. As the CTT for our schools, we will provide training and support to teachers as they incorporate Discovery Education resources into their classroom instruction. By correlating DE resources and media with State Curriculum Standards/State Performance Indicators (SPI) or Course Level Expectations (CLE) we give teachers useful resources that they may not have had time to compile.

3. Communicate with Teachers Our first task was to partner with teachers of Biology, English 10, U.S. History, and Algebra I to collect specific SPI’s or CLE’s that teachers identified as needing a bit more emphasis. This information was based on student evaluation by teachers and EOC test results. Creating a Professional Learning Community with our teachers allowed us to exchange ideas and get a better feel for their classroom needs so that students reap the benefits of instruction and have a better chance of understanding these identified concepts.

4. Filter and Drill Down After receiving the list of SPI’s or CLE’s from teachers we explored Discovery Education to find the resources/media which identified the specific SPI’sor CLE’sthe best. DuFur – Biology Giles – English 10 Hager – U.S. History Pennel – Algebra I

5. Distribution and Results We made a list SPI’s or CLE’s and hot linked the corresponding Discovery Education resources/media we selected. These lists were distributed to teachers after instructional sessions on Discovery Education were held. Teachers were pleased that we gave them instructional material that was extremely useful in the classroom. They were even more pleased that this didn’t take extra time on their part to assemble. Additional teachers in other subject areas requested the same information for their curriculum. We feel this would be a useful extended CTT project.

6. Star Discovery Educators Holding sessions on Discovery Education enabled us to become Star Discovery Educators which extends our Professional Learning Community around the world and allows us to grow professionally within our unique Shelby County Schools environment.