The University of Wyoming College of Education has started using the Sanford Development Program, which was developed by Arizona State University through a $28 million grant by T. Danny Sandres, aimed to help professors track students learning in the classroom and with corporate learning.
In the U.S. 20 different universities have implemented the program, each receiving a $50,000 grant.
“Some of our faculty here is using it in their classes but then any teacher [in] elementary, middle school, high school in Wyoming can have access to it as well,” Cody Perry, Sandford Inspire co-coordinator at UW, said. “And basically, they are 30-60 minutes online, on-demand modules that cover five domains of teaching and learning and so there are just a variety of different modules that teachers can do from classroom management type of things to culturally relevant teaching; English as a second language and those types of things.”
Since October 2017, UW’s faculty has utilized the program in their classrooms. Perry communicates with various teachers and principals of the schools in order to make them aware of the website, which is free to use.
“But right now, I am really trying to get principles in the school throughout the state because this is kinda [time] of the year where they will be planning their professional development for next year,” Perry said.
The program comes with a gap analysis with a list of 50 modules and then assigns them based on the course in the college and their curriculum. Depending on the module, faculty can search for particular courses on the website and can analyze which one of the modules will work best for their class.
“I think this type of education really helps students in a way that learning alone can really be challenging and some people obviously can learn alone but learning in groups or bigger units can really help people to understand and break down information at a much higher level,” UW freshmen Nick Schriber said.
Most of the modules are geared more towards the elementary level teacher, whereas some of them are specifically for graduate students, who might be teaching for the first time.
Faculty members can access the program for free by registering at the website sanfordinspire.org. According to the website, Sanford offers five domains: learning environment; professional practice; motivation; student growth & achievement; planning & delivery. Along with it, each domain has its own video version, which introduces the module and what they will learn in a particular section. A test is also scheduled at the end of the module and one must get 100% in order to pass it.
“After they’re done, then they give a certificate stating they completed it,” Perry said. “So, for our faculty here this is a good way for them to have assignments and add points to class without adding any extra grading because all they need to do is see this certificate and they know that the person got 100%.”
Perry designed and set up the university’s college of education website in such a way that it breaks down faculty resources, alumni resource and resources for current students. The website also includes a survey regarding the modules to track how many students have completed the module, which is reported back to the national university every month.
“They [teachers] get to experience everything like without actually going to the real world to know that what is waiting for them out there, so they will also have like practice about what they could do or what they could give to the students,” UW senior Akriti Subedi said.
