How can a team of teachers of different subjects and different age groups benefit from the collaborative professional development of QTL™?

North Carolina QTL™ Instructor Susan Herring proudly writes about the work of ten Camden Middle School teachers who participated in her QTL sessions during the past year. The teachers and their students displayed their work -- some produced with the use of technology tools, and some more traditional -- during a community open house event. Click here for an overview of the projects.

The following are Susan's reflections after viewing the year's work.

"The real world audience for the collaborative projects were the proud citizens of Camden County for the grand opening of their remodeled school.  They celebrated the cultural diversity and educational progress throughout the ages and stages of former Sawyers' Creek, Marian Anderson, and Camden Middle School within the walls of the original school structure. There were hundreds of parents, former students, educators, and regional political leaders in attendance. 

"The leadership of the QTL participants were responsible for the visual displays that included PowerPoint presentations, networked studio productions, video productions, digital photography, word processed documents, and spreadsheets and scanned collections of original historical artifacts.  They used community resource persons to help collect the vintage photographs and oral recollections of times past.     

Camden Middle School teachers work on their collaborative project.

"This merged team of ten teachers focused the students' quality work not only on state standards, but the celebration of African American Heritage, Science Fair Projects and specific team members' involvement with the Coastal Rural Systemic Initiative funded by the National Science Foundation.  The teachers led the students with learning cubes, trading cards, word processed writings, Internet-based learning, guided reading practices, problem-based learning, math reform strategies, and importantly modeled teamwork for their students.

"The public was most complimentary of the students' works. Suggestions are for efforts to preserve the electronic artifacts that students used to investigate the past heritage of this rural county.  Their collection is similar to a 'Digital Fox Fire.'

"Science team members Ann Wood, Starr Binner and Julia Peters used the focus on a school located on an historical river and wetland. Groups of students used water studies for related science projects and integrated math visualizations for their data. They had several regional winners at the NC Eastern Science Fair in Greenville. Math teachers Bruce Long and Catherine Forehand had students use collected data to display the changing demographics of their school and county throught the decades.     

"Coach Bruce Long, manages a school production team that is responsible for the daily news which is programmed daily throughout the school. He not only coaches sports but has an informal group of middle school students that rebuild donated computers. Within his classroom he has created a math filming area to feed math models directly to his classroom TV monitor.     

"JoAnn Small, the proud user of a new digital display Star Board allowed students to prepare collaborative PowerPoint presentations about their school and present day student interests. She has a unique teaching position with the responsibility of supporting grade level content with publishing opportunities. She accentuated the use of spreadsheets with Ms. Forehand.    

"Social studies teachers John Hill and Waverly Creecy used technology to support learning with videography and dioramas.  They integrated with a 'novel' approach to literature connections with their grade level team members. Camden Middle School eighth graders will be completing in the upcoming statewide history bowl representing the northeast. 

"Linda Lane, a vocational teacher and representative Camden County teacher of the year, not only focused on the NC Computer Skills but enhanced teaching with QTL activities and strategies. Working collaboratively, not only did the team members integrate within their own content specialties -- they also prepared a joint electronic and hard copy professional team portfolio to set Quality Teaching and Learning standards for future professional development.