Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Online Assignment #2—Kate Kristian

Technology
From the book, Integrating Technology by James G. Lengel and Kathleen M. Lengel, I learned that there are actually stages in technology adoption. I find this important because just like the stages of general teacher development there are limits to what a teacher can apply into their classroom when integrating technology. The stages go as follows: Entry, Adoption, Adaptation, Appropriation, and Innovation. To give you an idea of how a teacher develops through these strategies, at the Entry phase the teacher is aware of technology, but chooses not to involve him or herself in the use of it, and is not interested in using it with students. Teachers in the entry phase actually avoid technology. In the final stage of innovation, the teacher views technology as a tool, however not the only tool to good teaching. The teacher focuses on the curriculum and ensures that students are meeting standards rather than being impressed by a student’s project that doesn’t include the content of the curriculum.
In Integrating Literacy and Technology by Susan Watts Taffe and Carolyn B. Gwinn, they emphasize the use of layers of instruction in order to scaffold, and gradually release the responsibility to students. The stages of instruction include, Teacher Explicit Instruction, Teacher Modeling, Think-Aloud (while modeling), and Interactive Demonstration.

Parent and Community Involvement
Mobilizing the Community to Help Students Succeed by Hugh B. Price was given to me by one of my Professional Certification Team members. She is a literacy coach for the Seattle School District and felt it was a great resource for involving parents and community members in the school environment. There are a lot of ideas in how to set up programs that involve parents and community member that have proven to boost student achievement.

Assessment
“Assessment Through the Student’s Eyes” by Rick Stiggins is an excellent resource for getting started with more student-centered assessment. Stiggins refers to this assessment as “Assessment for Learning” and has great advice for implementation:

• Share achievement targets with students prior to the project, unit, or assignment
• Share examples of exemplary student work
• Provide time for self-assessment and provide students with specific feedback in manageable chunks
• Set time for students to set goals
• Have students develop a scoring rubric for the assignment or project
• Provide students with time to reflect on their achievement. For example, after a test is graded, have students determine what concepts they are actually struggling with, and where they may have made a computational error. Then, provide further instruction and another opportunity for students to demonstrate their skills.

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