Developing Target Area Goals


Developing Target Area Goals for Technology

The first component, survey development, identifies specific areas that should be assessed in the technology plan. The second component assesses the school’s present condition through a survey form that asks “what is” and “what should be” in identified target areas. Component three of the process conducts an assessment analysis that provides a school profile that identifies areas for technology improvement. The fourth component of the process develops goals that will address the areas of weakness outlined in the school profile.  In Exhibit 1 Developing Target Goals, the author has included a diagram illustrating the five-component process of developing target area goals.

 

Exhibit 1

Developing Target Area Goals

 

Component One: Survey Development

 In component one, the steering committee members must first identify what they want to know about technology as it relates to student learning. By using the Survey Design instrument in Exhibit 2 Survey Question Design Instrument, the steering committee can determine how to get answers to this question. The questions are categorized into the Five Critical Areas for Site-Based Technology Assessment: professional development, curriculum, assessment and reporting, equipment and network design and maintenance. These five areas will be the basis for future goals and strategies regarding the technology plan and implementation.

 


Component Two: Conducting a Needs Assessment Survey

Conducting a needs assessment survey will serve two purposes: 1) to provide data as a means to assess the school’s need for technology in specific areas, so that the school can make decisions concerning priority targets for technology improvement; 2) to provide data at the onset of the project that will serve as benchmarks for the school to measure continuous growth.  The Target Area Assessment Survey should be the centerpiece of the planning process, the database from which the technology team unfolds its vision for the future. Target area assessment means obtaining information about obstacles the technology committee may face as it begins the planning process. These obstacles should be outlined in terms of “What Is?” and “What Should Be?”  Data gained from the assessment process should help the steering committee identify the school’s technology needs and help to prioritize these needs in the planning process. The needs assessment survey will give the steering committee information about staff readiness for technology and should include information on the following five areas of importance presented in Exhibit 3  Five Critical Areas for Site-Based Technology Assessment.


Component Three: Conducting A Technology Profile

After the surveys have been returned and the information compiled, the technology team will learn what their target audience considers “what is” and “what should be” regarding technology use in the school. In (Exhibit 4 Technology Needs Assessment Profile), the authors have designed a Technology Needs Assessment Profiling instrument to help site-based planners analyze the survey results into a profile of the school’s desire to improve technology.

 

When conducting a technology profile the subcommittee should determine which areas scored most and least favorably on the scale. Lower numbers indicate that participants believed the goal represents “what is” already happening in the school, while higher numbers indicate a need in one or more of the five target areas. These areas of need should be considered as candidates for target area goal development. Subcommittee members should also look for large discrepancies in the continuum of “what is” and “what should be”. Additionally, they should look for large discrepancies in replies from different groups, such as teacher or parents. If large discrepancies exist in either case, the subcommittee should examine their causes. The final product of the technology needs assessment profile will serve as a benchmark for the next step in the process, selecting target area goals and strategies to meet those goals.

 


Component Four: Developing Target Area Goals and Strategies

One important function of the profiling process is that it allows for a truer picture to emerge of what the school needs when it approaches the development of site-based target area technology goals. It is well known among collaborative planners that people are more willing to commit to goals they have helped establish. Additionally, they are more likely to stay committed to those goals if they receive timely and accurate feedback for their participating. The goals themselves are not reinforcing. Instead, motivation to achieve goals stems from learning what needs to be accomplished and developing specific strategies that give direction to future technology accomplishments.

 

The development of target area goals is one means by which the school can compare their desired practices in a systematic way to desired standards of excellence. Target area goals will serve as the benchmark resource for the future and the overall development of the schools technology plan.  As a guide to developing goal statements, the authors have provided in Exhibit 5 (What Is A Goal Statement?) three statements that goals should address as they relate to the planning process and benchmarks for technology improvement.

  

Exhibit 5

WHAT IS A GOAL STATEMENT?

 


When developing technology goals, the steering committee should identify at least one goal under each categorical domain established as a priority within the Technology Needs Assessment Profile. For example, in the profiling process, there were five critical areas the committee wanted to address in assessing technology. In (Exhibit 4 Technology Needs Assessment Profile), subcomponent 1.2, under the category of professional development, demonstrated that teachers believed inviting technology and education professionals to conduct in-service training in the areas of technology use and online learning should be a priority.

 

Since this area was a priority among teachers, the target area goal developed under the category of professional development should address this need, as demonstrated in Exhibit 6 Target Areas Development Worksheet. An example of a target area goal that would address this need is as follows: Given a series of professional development opportunities, teachers will become proficient in integrating technology into the curriculum. Using this system of analysis, goal statement development will assist the school in comparing their practices to meeting identified standards of excellence as they have been outlined for the reader in Exhibit 6.

 


 

Identifying Target Area Goals