III. Teaching, Learning, and the Environment.
Teachers implement curriculum plans, that include methods and strategies for applying technology to maximize student learning. Teachers:
A. facilitate technology-enhanced experiences that address content standards and student technology standards.
B. use technology to support learner-centered strategies that address the diverse needs of students.
C. apply technology to develop students' higher order skills and creativity.
D. manage student learning activities in a technology-enhanced environment.
III.A
Artifacts:
Link to a First Grader's digital artwork
Lesson: What Happens in the Fall
Link to a Fifth Grader's digital movie storyboard
Lesson: A Memory of Me
Link to a Quia game I created
Conservation Review
Soil Webquest
Soil Scavenger Hunt
Reflection:
Instructional activities provide appropriate technology-enhanced experiences as a means to support student content learning.
When teaching content my experience has shown that students learn better when they are engaged and excited over a task. I attempt to create lessons that do just this. I have submitted two artifacts demonstrating student usage and proficiency of technology. I wanted to show that as an instructional technology resource teacher I could work with all grades. My student products therefore were taken from opposite ends of the spectrum. I included a first grader’s digital artwork and a fifth grader’s digital story. The first grade project addressed science content while the fifth grade lesson addressed language arts. I also included the lesson plans used for each of these lessons. The lesson plans have specified both the Virginia SOLs and the NETS for students. I also included links to two activities that I created for my student’s use this year. One was a soil scavenger hunt. The other is a Quia game I created to use as a remediation and review tool. For each of these I have also given the lesson plans which document all standards: SOLs and NETS.
Lesson objectives and instructional activities are in alignment with appropriate content standards.
Meeting the Virginia SOLs and helping our students be successful is one of our main objectives. I researched the grade level SOLs for each of my lessons above that I have submitted. Each of the lessons were so successful that teachers have already requested repeats of them next year. Students who were exposed to SOL standards through the technology integration have demonstrated mastery of the standards being addressed.
Technology-enhanced learning experiences provide opportunities for students to meet student technology standards in the context of learning content.
While incorporating content into my lessons I was also concerned that my students learn age appropriate technology skills. First graders like to be very creative. I used KidPix to allow them to create their fall pictures. Using KidPix, students were provided with an opportunity to learn basic toolbar skills as well as mouse skills. The fifth graders were introduced to Movie Maker and basic video editing skills which is a skill which will open many doors in the future. The NETS standards are listed on the accompanying lesson plan.
III.A was granted a meets expectation on 8/7/06
III.B
Artifacts:
Reflection:
Instructional activities integrate learner-centered strategies in teaching content using technology as a learning tool.
I am a believer in brain based learning. This is one learner-centered strategy that looks at students as individuals. In my lessons above I revamped successful lessons that I used in my classroom as a classroom teacher. In my role as instructional technology resource teacher, I sought out available technologies to integrate into the lessons. The lessons incorporated digital voice recordings such as would be made for a pod cast. Students who had difficulty with writing, really got into the pod casting idea. I also used the digital camcorder. Students with a dramatic flair that is often put down in the classroom loved the idea of being video taped. Some students just want to type out responses and products. This is “quick and easy”. In my experience, gifted students just want to tell you the facts and move on to the next topic. Students were given the choice of working alone and in pairs. I even allowed several students to group into a group of three for the Brotherhood in the Biome lesson. Working with your peers provides a “safety net” for students who may know and understand the content but do not have the self confidence to show the teachers what they know. I also included a narrative which explains my beliefs and feelings concerning meeting the diverse needs of my students. I used a rubric in both of my lessons to give students a clear understanding of what was expected.
Instructional activities identify learner-centered strategies and select appropriate technology targeting the diverse needs of learners.
Although I am not a “computer-lab” teacher, I was fortunate this year to have set times to work with specific classes each week. I really enjoyed this opportunity. In the classes that I used the above lessons there were no extreme special needs. However there was a huge population of Title I students. The fifth grade students especially were difficult since the reading difficulty was coupled with the age appropriate feelings of needing to look good in front of one’s peers. This meant that I needed to be very aware of the interests and modalities of the class in order to engage the students in learning the content. In spite of the fact that special needs were few, I still found that I had a very diverse population of students. I designed my lessons to focus on choice and learning modalities for that very reason.
III.B was granted a meets expectation on 8/7/06
III,C
Artifacts
Reflection:
Instructional activities provide learning experiences that address higher order thinking skills and encourage student creativity within authentic and challenging tasks.
I feel that the definition of critical thinking is the ability to research and find information, analyze and evaluate that information, and use that information in an appropriate manner to solve real life problems. To do this a teacher must provide students with opportunities to mull over relationships between facts learned and information gathered. They need to be allowed to determine the relevance of the research they discover. They need to be made responsible for the decisions made during learning. They need ownership of what they are taking in cognitively. This will provide the motivation for continued learning.
This year I used many lessons which I feel promote critical thinking skills but I would like to focus on three of these.. One of these lessons is What is a Verb?, a lesson for second to fourth graders. The idea for this lesson came after I heard a third grader ask his teacher why they needed to know parts of speech, verbs in particular. I began the lesson by leading the students through a video clip from United Streaming entitled, Herb and His Verbs. This video clip provides a definition for verbs in a fun manner. After the video, I showed various pictures that I gathered from a web site called Pics 4 Learning. I showed the picture and put a sentence on the overhead to accompany the picture. Students were asked to identify the verb and tell what kind of verb it was. Next I checked for understanding by having students utilize a web site to test their knowledge of verbs. While students were trying their skills on the web site game, I walked around and observed to see where student weaknesses fell. I also carried with me a bag of tile letters and had students pull 3-5 letters from the bag. Students were asked to create a made up word from their letters and to come up with a definition for that word. They could not reveal that definition to anyone. I then had the students open up a software program. I gave them a choice between Power Point, KidPix, or Microsoft Paint. They were to use the program to design a picture which would explain to the rest of us the definition of their word. One child asked if he could use the school's digital camera to gather the pictures to define his word. He put the pictures into a folder and used Windows to create the sideshow. After the lesson I asked the students to think of times they may have to figure out a word that may not ever have heard of before. Answers included, during reading, when learning a new language, and if you visited another country.
The second lesson I did was called Native American Adaptations. Not being familiar with fourth grade
SOLs, I went straight through the VDOE's enhanced scope and sequence, refining it slightly to build technology skills. I started off using a KWL graphic organizer. Using a KWL helps students to access prior knowledge which helps build retention. I again used a video from United Streaming and brought in many web sites. Students were asked to research and I provided students with an opportunity to discuss what they have learned in small groups using a "jigsaw". After the students had thoroughly researched the topic of Native Americans and the adaptations to their environment, students were given an assessment project. For the assessment, students were asked to prepare a report to the King of England on one Language Group. The information prepared for the king will aid more incoming settlers in preparing for colonization. By taking what they had learned from the lessons and research on Native Americans and applying it to English settlers, I was promoting the critical thinking skills of my students. Students were given a choice between Publisher, Photo Story, or Power Point to create the king's presentation.
Often times, critical thinking means allowing the students to explore subjects and topics not typically covered by the tested SOLs and giving them an opportunity to see how the expanded topic relates back to what they are studying. This is why I have included the lesson on what a scientist does. In this lesson students researched famous scientists and the scientific method. They looked at their own SOLs and were asked to make a decision about which SOL a chosen scientist would have interest in. At the end of the lesson a report or presentation was expected from the students.
Learning experiences provide (1) open-ended projects or assignments that do not prescribe ways of meeting objectives and (2) opportunities for students to use their imagination, problem-solving abilities, and creative arts skills to meet objectives.
Students also need to have a chance to show their creativity. Unfortunately, many teachers think that promoting creativity means allowing students to do anything they wish. This could not be farther from the truth. In my experience, when I told students to do whatever they wished, the students ended up imitating another child or imitated me. This is not creative! Providing limitations or guidelines actually enhances creative thinking skills since it provides safe boundaries for students to explore within and aids the student in focusing on the problem to be addressed rather than the how of addressing the problem.. In both my lessons I provided these comfortable limitations. I limited the technologies to just a few so that the students could move more quickly into project. Students were given 20 minutes to "play" with the different technologies so that they would know which one would best work for them. After the 20 minutes of play, student were asked to write the name of the program they would use on a 3 x 5 card. They were informed that they could not change their mind after the decision had been made. Students were also given the chance to work in partners small groups if desired. they were made aware that no "stretching room" in the evaluation would be allotted if they chose not work alone. I gave the rubrics out and I clarified what I was looking for. They students then began the projects. In the science lesson I again gave the students choices but supplied a rubric to guide those choices.
Students were excited over the these lessons and the results were positive. I think that next year I will spend a little more time teaching Publisher before the students actually use it. I mistakenly thought that since Publisher was so much like Word, that students would quickly understand the program. I was mistaken and as a result, Publisher was not a high priority in software programs.
III.C was granted a meets expectation on 9/4/06
III.D
Artifacts
This is my Technology Implementation Plan. If you do a really good job on this, you can use it for II.D, II.E, and V.B.
Artifact #2: Student photos using technology and links to student projects
Artifact #3: Monster Exchange Project
Artifact # 4: Power Point Book Reports
Reflection:
Instructional activities outline effective classroom management techniques that facilitate appropriate active engagement with the technology resources to enhance learning.
As a classroom teacher I knew that flexible grouping allows students to work in differently mixed groups depending on the goal of the learning task at hand, then to break apart once the task is completed. It was easy to do this in a regular classroom with standard SOL curriculum. As an ITRT it is my job to model not only best practices as regarding technology but also to instruction as a whole so I really had to think about my grouping practice. The arrangement of the lab where I did most of my lessons was not in my sphere of control to change so I had to decide how to make the arrangement work for me. I have submitted the link to my technology implementation management plan and a link showing students working on lessons I created. The four labs I worked in had the computers facing the wall, circling the room. I was not happy with this arrangement at first but as I have reflected on the past several strands, I realize that the way the labs were laid out really benefited instruction. Having the computers circling the room left an open area in the middle. I often had students talk about the projects and tasks before they began working on them. I had them sitting in the middle of the floor to do this. With the Monster Exchange Project I had the students partner up and I encouraged students to talk together verbally before getting on the computer. Describing the monster verbally give the students an opportunity to get a clear understanding of the procedure they are to follow. After they described it for their partner, the students were much more prepared to write about the monster. After the initial writing, I had one child volunteer to have their piece edited. Together the class took each sentence and checked it for grammar and also compared it to the monster drawn. I then had students open up their paragraphs and the pictures. Students revolved around the room helping classmates edit their paragraphs. I indicated on the lesson plan just how I did this. With the PowerPoint book report lesson, I was using mobile laptop computers in a middle school classroom. Each child was provided with a print copy of a PowerPoint template I put together. They were asked to storyboard information they might include in the report. The students then shared the storyboards with a partner for editing input. In order to group the students in an appropriate manner, I grouped students so that students with stronger organizational skills could help those who struggled. In both lessons I used the COW to guide and demonstrate to the students the specific instructions I was giving.
Instructional activities integrate technology as both a teacher demonstration tool and a tool for student learning.
In both of my lessons I depended on the COW to demonstrate the directions to the students. Students were better able to follow instructions and were more comfortable with the task they had been given after seeing the process modeled by the teacher. In both lessons, students were actively engaged in the tasks. In the Monster Exchange Project, students interacted with both Word and Microsoft Paint. These tools were used to create a monster which students then digitally shared with another class. In the middle school lesson the interaction was with PowerPoint to create a way to report on a book the students had read. Both of my lesson plans specify that teacher modeling is the most efficient way to guide the students’ progress.
Instructional activities group students in a variety of ways appropriate to the learning context to interact with the technology such as the one computer, small group, and lab environment.
The two lessons that I share here as artifacts, demonstrate students working in lab settings. I have also provided a link to pictures which demonstrate students working as partners on laptop computers, sharing one classroom computer, and working in labs. As an ITRT, I work with students in a lab situation the majority of the time. Sometimes I will work in a classroom with a teacher using laptop computers. I also help teachers set up schedules and lessons that teachers can use in the classroom where they may have only one computer.
III.D was given a meets on 9/4/2006
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