Recently, I spent time on the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) web site set-up to enhance digital learning and use of technology in the classroom. One section of the site is made for teachers and the technology standards called National Education Standards for Teacher (NETS-T). There are five separate standards for teachers for encouraging and teaching safe, effective use of technology.
As I read through the standards, I found some areas that I use effectively and some areas that I can continue to work on to enhance my teaching. The two areas I have picked to focus my GAME plan (see below) on include “engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources” and “design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity”.
GAME plan (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009)
Goal-
Action-
Montoring-
Evaluation-
Goal- My goal is to design lessons that explore real-world problems and are relevant to my students' lives and their learning.
Action- In order to meet my goal, I plan to re-evaluate the lessons in my classroom to incorporate these skills for my students. I also plan to research and evaluate problems that incorporate more real-world situations that my students can relate to with their prior knowledge. I will be using internet sources and technology programs to enhance the lessons taught. Some examples of these might be virtual field trips or webquests.
Monitoring- I will be monitoring my goal through discussions with my students and reviewing previous lessons with my students to find their understanding of the current curriculum.
Evaluating- At the end of the unit, our district requires the testing of the standards covered during that unit which will allow me to evaluate more formally the progress using real-world problems and situations in social studies.
-Melissa
Cennamo, K., Ross, J., & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
ISTE | NETS for Teachers 2008. (n.d.). International Society for Technology in Education | Home. Retrieved November 12, 2009, from http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards/NETS_for_Teachers_2008.htm
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Melissa, I also selected the indicator related to using real-world issues and authentic problem solving as an area I needed to strengthen. I agree that a plan of action to improve in this area would be to research some real issues that directly relate to our content standards. Technology can be a catalyst to connecting our students to these issues through communication, research resources, simulations, and more. It's really quite exciting. The biggest challenge I find is coming up with the issue that is important to all of my students. I feel it is key that the students really care about the outcome of the problem they are trying to solve. As I am surfing the web for project opportunities I will keep an eye out for anything that may relate to your instructional needs. Just let me know if you have any general areas of focus.
ReplyDeleteKaren-
ReplyDeleteThank you for the offer! I love bringing real-world stories and problems into my students' lives to show them how what we are learning is important to them. I teach fifth grade science and social studies, so I cover a lot of ground during the year. I would love to return the favor if I come across the same for you.
Melissa