Teacher Mentoring Program

Overview

Apple and Lamar University offer teachers an opportunity to participate in a 32-week professional learning experience designed to assist in the development and deployment of coding initiatives in their schools. This program runs concurrent with the school year from August through May, is delivered fully online, and provides weekly interaction for teachers in the program with mentor teachers and university faculty. 

Teachers in this program:

  • Develop a publicly accessible electronic portfolio that showcases individual accomplishments throughout the year, their growth as a professional, and serves as a resource for peers and colleagues and the community.
  • Establish a personal growth mindset with self-established goals to outline a plan for personal professional learning. In this process, teachers will locate, evaluate, and compile lists of media (e.g. books, videos, web-based resources), individuals (e.g. experts, authors, researchers, or leaders), and appropriate professional networking communities that assist them in their professional growth.
  •  Prepare, present, and incorporate a personal growth plan related to acquiring and extending their coding and digital technology skills, including the use of Apple devices, MacOS and iOS software, Swift, and relevant coding applications. 
  • Design and deliver impactful lessons which incorporate digital tools and methods, in authentic educational settings, which impart significant learning to the student. Lessons delivered will include Everyone Can Create and Everyone Can Code curriculum, hands-on activities with Swift Playgrounds, Sphero SPRK+, and other coding resources, and a Community Challenge activity which utilizes Design Thinking, Prototyping, and UI/UX design.
  • Review relevant learning theories, educational philosophy, and neuroscience research to examine the balance between didactic and constructivist pedagogies when using technology and how technology tools enhance collaboration and engagement in learning.
  • Individually or collaboratively plan, design, and pitch to district leadership an education proposal that is disruptive, innovative, and immerses students in significant learning environments. The plan may include after-school coding clubs, a series of integrated coding lessons, a new coding course, or series of courses in their local district or across multiple districts. Presentation of this plan will include the creation of a multimedia pitch to district leadership and the community.
  • Participate as a member of one or more organically-formed Professional Learning Community (PLC) focused on the creation of collaboratively designed learning activates around coding and digital skills. PLCs will be organized across multiple grade-levels inside school districts and across school districts around topical interests and subject areas.
  • Assume a leadership role as change agent able to utilize disruptive innovation to advance educational outcomes.

Upon conclusion of the year-long professional learning experience, teachers earn Continuing Professional Education Units (CPEs) towards state educator recertification and up to 12 hours of graduate credit towards a Master’s Degree in Education (M.Ed.) in the Applied Digital Learning program, a Master's Degree in Computer Science (M.S.), or a Doctorate in Educational Leadership (Ed.D) at Lamar University.  

What our Mentor Teachers are Saying

In his own words, Douglas Kiang describes his experience as a mentor teacher in the Lamar University professional learning experience for K12 teachers learning to code and teach code.

Outcomes

Teachers participating in the year-long professional learning experience develop electronic portfolios and innovation plans that apply the fundamentals of challenge-based learning and principles of computational thinking (coding) as a catalyst to enhance learning environments for their students. Throughout this process, teachers take an intricate look into their own teaching philosophy and practices. As a result, teachers develop significant learning environments that engage students to apply their learning of these concepts in real-world settings that ultimately impact their schools, and the broader communities in which they reside.

Take a look at a sampling of electronic portfolios and innovation plans being developed during this process: