Donna McElveen

Which kind of teacher are you ? Hopefully not as old school as me !

Is this one any better ? You are trying to infuse technology but sometimes you feel it’s too overwhelming!

Better yet : Learner-Centered Technology Infused Classroom Grounded in constructivism, learner-centered approaches involve instruction where the teacher is a facilitator (or guide) as the learners construct their own understandings

Do your lesson plans look like this? Curriculum focused Worksheets for practice Direct instruction Written assessments Include art and music for creativity Try to include work in pairs

Learner-centered with technology infused Curriculum-centered Child-centeredTeacher-centered Constructivist-drivenStandards-driven Includes all digital resourcesTraditional Information-age modelFactory model Criterion-basedNorm (bell curve) based Process- and product-orientedProduct-oriented CollaborationIsolated teaching and learning Experiential knowledgeRote knowledge Comparison of the two different lessons

Literacy Coach Lesson Plan  Lesson plan design for our schools different  Literacy coaches use the NC Teacher Academy Lesson Plan template.  Goals and Objectives tied to NC State Standards, no common core yet.  Planning was designed in areas of instruction based on Literacy Strategies derived from Bloom’s Higher Levels of Thinking

An example lesson before the makeover  The activating strategy was selected so teacher could bring in prior knowledge of students that would engage them through music. The teacher selected the song however and was not one that all students could relate to.  Organizing strategy was designed to encourage cooperative learning and for lower level students to be helped in a group with more able students. The jigsaw activity is one that is good for students to learn content without having to read all the content individually.  The comprehending strategy includes more cooperative learning in a game environment and allows students to move and become active learners.  The summarizing or assessment strategy allows for a quick informal assessment in a creative activity where students can practice summarizing content Reflection  When this lesson was taught the focus was on addressing different learning styles and creating student engagement. There was no access to technology other than a computer lab 1 day a week. Using art and creative activities allows students to express their mastery in a different format.

Look what lesson looks like with technology  Activating strategy- Instead of teacher choosing a song, and students writing their responses, students used tools that interested them to access the music and to respond on a blog. The change was made to allow student interest in their music and give them some responsibility over their learning.  Organizing strategy- Students worked in cooperative learning groups as they had in the prior lesson, but again they used technology to research the poem on the internet. Students shared information orally in both plans where the “makeover “ came was different was in the use of the Smartboard to complete the Jigsaw activity. Online journal different method of journaling the activity. Allowing students to move and use the Smartboard increases the rigor of the instruction. Blogging encourages those who are not motivated to write a paper, to express their opinions.

The Rest of the Lesson  Comprehending strategy- The use of the internet for designing posters with wordle and posting them on the class’ webpage were the changes in this section. Instead of using print materials for research and markers and paper the internet was used to produce creative projects which students then reflected on each others poems. This change encourages students as they are engaged in internet research, and using technology for design.  Summarizing/ Assessment- Using the video cameras or cell phones student will show their mastery by producing a multimedia presentation. Rubrics will be used for evaluation where the prior lesson was students drawing on paper and teacher evaluation with no criteria. This type of assessment builds knowledge for the long term.

New and improved  The first change was the inclusion of technology standards which will change all the activities that follow.  Utilizing technology throughout the lesson will continue to engage students and archive their learning for reflective purposes.  The collaboration that students are experiencing through this lesson will increase academic rigor, student responsibility, and engagement.  This lesson also exposes students to many technology resources and skills necessary to compete in the 21 st century environments in and outside the classroom.

Results of the Makeover  This technology infused lesson plan changes this lesson from teacher centered learning environment to learner focused one.  To engage the learner many of the paper and pencil activities were revised for 21 st century learners and transformed into technology based learning. The new and improved version of this lesson plan looks and sounds much different than the one I taught before.

Why technology infused lesson plans ?  Utilizing technology throughout the lesson will continue to engage students and archive their learning for reflective purposes.  The collaboration that students are experiencing through this lesson will increase academic rigor, student responsibility, and engagement.  These lessons expose students to many technology resources and skills necessary to compete in the 21 st century environments in and outside the classroom.

THE NEW AND IMPROVED TECHNOLOGY TEACHER