Wednesday, March 12, 2014

My Personal GAME Plan



In order to show my students the importance of life-long learning, I must model for them.  So here I am again, life-long learning and blogging for my Master’s at Walden University.  

After reviewing the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) I feel more than adequate in the majority of the indicators listed in their standards (2008).  However, a couple are in need of improvement.  

Using Dr. Cennamo’s (2009) GAME plan strategy, here is my first goal: Under ISTE second standard. Design and develop digital age learning experiences with assessments.  Indicator D; providing students with multiple assessments, both summative and formative is something I would like to incorporate more into my classroom.  As for the action portion of my plan, I have a formative and summative idea.  For the formative assessments, I will use a response remote system in which students can submit anonymous (or not if I choose) answers to questions linked to the interactive whiteboard.  This will steer my teaching through the rest of lessons.  I also plan on using Google Docs, as a formative assessment where students would fill out a form for their self-reflection after completing a work of art.  Throughout the execution, I will monitor the action to judge whether or not students will submit summative answer anonymously or not depending on the diversity of the class.  Flexibility will also play a role in monitoring and adjusting the scaffolding my students will need when first navigating the self-reflections.  The last step in the plan is evaluating my results.  I will compare the effectiveness of my lessons with traditional formative assessment I have used in the past to the response remotes method.  I will also compare students’ hand-written self-reflections to ones in Google Docs and my time to assess them.

Bring on goal number two! ISTE’s fifth standard is where I see the most personal growth more me.  An indicator to engage in professional growth and leadership is to participate in a global learning community to build professional development.  While continuing my masters may seem to fulfill this indicator, I starting looking for an action I wanted something a little more art specific.  I came across a variety of online courses from one my favorite blogs, The Art of Ed.  In particular I am interesting in their iPads in the Art room, since I recently was approved for one (woot!) and the Tech-Ready Teacher.  I plan on taking one of these courses in the summer.  Throughout the course I could plan lessons based on what I have learned and monitor their effectiveness.  After an evaluation of the process, I could chose to take another course and share what I have learned or seek more professional development elsewhere. 

I’m curious to hear your suggestions, especially when dealing with assessments and technology.

Cheers, 
Miss R

References 

Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach. (Laureate Education, Inc., Custom ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.

International Society for Technology in Education. (2008). National education standards for teachers (NETS-T). Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-teachers

6 comments:

  1. Hey Lindsey:
    LOVE your Blog Art. Also love your idea of using IPads in the art room. The courses you have chosen are certainly relevant. The first course you reference given by the Art of Education (awesome resource by the way) intrigued me as an artist and a teacher. The fact that it offers assignments that focus on teaching tools and resources for the instructor to use with students as well as hands on ideas for students to use with the iPad insure you will garner a wealth of ideas you can share with your classroom.. Also, I like how you have selected a course that will help you meet many of the student right where they already are, Teach Ready Teacher, will certainly “turn on the lights” (Prensky, 2008) and provide a foundation of knowledge surrounding social media and digital collaboration platforms useful to the arts and the students interests in the arts. Dr. Peggy Ertmer encourages us all to find a supportive culture where we as teachers can take risks, grow and ripple out to the educational community (Laureate Education, 2009). The resource you have shared, in my mind, more than qualifies as such a community. Thanks for sharing.
    Darlene
    References
    Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Integrating technology across the content areas: Enriching content area learning experiences with technology, part 1. Baltimore, MD: Author.
    Prensky, M. (2008). Turning on the lights. Educational Leadership, 65(6), 40–45.
    Retrieved from the Academic Search Complete database.

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  2. Hi Lindsey,

    It sounds as if you have set some great goals. Utilizing the GAME plan strategy has helped you outline your plan well (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009). I know that assessing student learning both on a daily basis and on a long-term basis are essential to instruction and determining student success. You have shared some potentially great ideas. I think utilizing technology with your formative assessments will keep the students more engaged. You mentioned using a remote system. For this, will you be using I-clickers or something like them? I think keeping it anonymous may take the pressure off of the students who may be afraid of making a mistake. However, I have found that if the students know their identity is not revealed, at times they may intentionally make silly mistakes, which can cause for more distractions if they are displayed for the class. With proper expectations and requirements set ahead of time, I feel this is a tangible idea. I think using the Google Docs for self-reflection is a great idea. Self-reflecting is a skill that many students do not really understand how to do. I also do not think they truly understand the importance of this skill. Good luck with your plan!

    Nice job,
    Michelle

    References
    Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach. (Laureate Education, Inc., Custom ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.

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    Replies
    1. Michelle,
      For the remote system, I will be using SMART Response clickers that are owned by my district. I have used them in the past. They are extremely time consuming for the teacher, especially when you have the quantity of students I do! I would love to use something else, but most of my younger students do not have personal devices. My students only have access to two iPads and three laptops, which poses some problems. As far as students’ responses being anonymous or not, it will come down to trial and error.
      Lindsey

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  3. Lindsey,
    First, I would like to congratulate you on getting approved for an iPad in your classroom! Awesome! I have seen the course on The Art of Ed blog (a favorite of mine too) and have been curious about them. Please let me know how it is. I am looking to continue my professional development after grad school.
    I love the idea of the a response remote system. I think you will get a clear picture of your student’s prior knowledge. Response remotes give all students a voice in the classroom, even the introverted or shy ones. Good use of technology!

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  4. Lindsey,

    I was interested in reading about your GAME plan for formative and summative assessment. I have recently spoken with our tech department to gather information about incorporating clickers for assessment in my elementary general music classes. Two factors hinder my assessments: only seeing students once a week for 40 minutes and the grading system established by the district, OSNU for special area classes. I think you have great ideas, and I will be interested in hearing about the progress of your GAME plan with your art students; possibly your information on assessment will be of benefit to my students.

    I also am working on Standard 5, aiming for more professional growth and development experiences. Luckily, it seems as if there are multiple workshops and programs available to assist teachers who want to learn about the ways in which technology tools can enhance education.

    Good luck with your workshops!

    Julie Kubbs

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    Replies
    1. Julie,
      I feel your pain when it comes to time constraints. I see my students for seventy minutes a week. Hopefully these assessments will eventually take less time than traditional ones, giving us more precious production time!
      Lindsey

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