Mark+Lipton

//May 3rd, 2009

Thanks again for inviting me and my students// //to your tech coach meeting (April 24th 2009). We left very excited, discussing your work and the role of technology in your classrooms. You are all doing some amazing work! My team was taking notes and we have been meeting to discuss your work and the tech coaches program. ..

I imagine all of you are off on your summer adventures -- but I'm only now returning to my team and processing our notes and observations. I'll post these below and if you'd like any kind of followup or discussion, please let me know and I'll be happy to talk with you, meet with you, or hear about your work.

GROUP 1: Tech-Knights o Can this same sort of lesson be done with other programs than Clicker 5? o Do students need previous experience with the technology before the unit? o How do you encourage a balance between graphics/images and content/text? o How did you get to the point where students actually learned the material and were not just producing a “re-telling”? o Was there a chance to look back at the original chart of known/unknown/misconceptions/wonderings/questions etc.?

GROUP 2: Putting the Pieces Together o Students needed a lesson in order to use technology o Desks were moved into groups of 4 and according to previous success and math ability - Questions/Reflections: o Better to spread lesson over two days worth of math class o Did the teachers do anything with those 23% who did not have a better understanding of the math concepts after the lesson? o Homogeneous grouping was used→ did you ever consider heterogeneous? o How could you differentiate for those students who did well on the diagnostic? o Was independent practice allowed before post-assessment/student reflection?

GROUP 3: The Clickers - Frayer model—diagnostic method o Definitions and visuals (i.e.: 2 6’s and 2 9’s) - Questions/Reflections: o How did the diagnostic reflect the rest of the lesson? o Templates? Clicker grid? How did the students access the template? o Could the pull tabs have been audio instead of text? o How could you better “hook” students at the beginning of the lesson? (Real life examples?) o Vortex feature: feedback for incorrect work? o Could authentic examples be brought onto smart board for students to point out what they have learned?) o Assessment/evaluation strategy?

GROUP 4: Grade 7/8 Attention Seekers - Critical literacy: recognizing overt and implied messages - Specific curricular expectations are chosen—one from media (1.2) and one from Reading (1.5) - Video-taping and camera techniques are explored in chart form—working through terminology - Appeals are also worked through in chart form—desire for possession, transfer of masc./fem., luxury and elegance, etc o Deciding what each appeal looks like o Graphic organizers and visual strategies o Matching up appeals to descriptions—students would be able to correct each other (collaborative matching of appeals to descriptors) - Top 5 Things learned: o 1) how to use gradual release of responsibility o 2) how to integrate smart board o 3) how to use notebook 10 o 4) how to manage the laptop cart in the classroom o 5) importance of critical literacy - Culminating activity: applications of technology and appeals for assessment - Questions/Reflections: o What did you use for your final presentation? (differentiated? Options?) o Good balance between technology and human touch (paper/hands on) o You tube: • Did your students go on? • How did you find commercials on you tube?—need to ensure students are on the same playing field in terms of ads that are chosen • Great way to engage boys, in particular (why?) • How did the students demonstrate their critical understanding of advertising techniques?

GROUP 5: Cereal Killers - For Grades 1-2—first exposure to media strand - Cereal boxes - Questions/Reflections: o Did you consider comparing different cereal boxes? What about looking at nutritional information? o Cross-curricular connections? (taste testing, audience targets, nutrition) o What about self-assessment checklist for students to use? (Hard copy?) o Comment: socioeconomic differences—what changes would be made to address these in terms of cereal choices?

GROUP 6: Kindergarten Krazies - Writing about rabbits—using Clicker o Comment: Were all centres focused on the same topic of rabbits/Easter? - Questions/Reflections: o Could you get students who are struggling to use smart board? o Great video...where do rabbits live? o Subject-verb agreement at kindergarten—impressive, raises stakes for later grades o Clicker on smart board works well for explicit teaching and large visual display for all students o Other insights about the value or drawbacks of using Clicker 5 with kindergarteners? o Have you thought about using technology buddies with older grades?

GROUP 7: Wiki-D Women - Multiplication strategies for a 3rd grade classroom o Matching names to strategies o Skip counting o Arrays o Fact families - Asked students what method they preferred (what are their opinions indicative of?) - Questions/Reflections: o Comment: nice to see literature brought into math (literacy with numeracy)—cross-curricular connections o Extension—making arrays with KidPix o Metacognition

GROUP 8: Video Vixens - Making inferences lesson using a visual book (“Yo! Yes?) o What do we know for sure (looking at visual) o What do we infer? - Used photo story 3 o Journal writing exercise - Next time: more computers, teach how to use software so students are more independent, and reflection can be done throughout the exercise (not just at the end) - Questions/Reflections: o Could a checklist have been used? (Inferring by evidence vs. prediction?) o Next, could they try inferring with text in addition to the picture? o Comment: real life application in journaling helps to make great connections o Did you try modelling an inferring think-aloud? o How can the skill/strategy be incorporated into other lessons? (Special Ed/Life skills context, for example?)

Our Overall Reflections:

- A VERY impressive set of lesson plan presentations! They make us want to learn how to use some/all of the smart board/notebook/Clicker technology. Meredith wrote: "As someone trained to teach at the intermediate/senior level, I wonder if similar workshops are available for secondary school educators. If not, how are secondary school educators expected to keep up/impress/engage their students if their students come from elementary experiences that are ripe with technology?" In other words, how can we further value the tec coaches program?

- We were particularly impressed by the groups that used multiple methods of scaffolding within their lesson; that is, breaking things down into small steps and increasing the level of difficulty only when simpler tasks are mastered (e.g., Groups 3 and 5). Tackling a lesson with a step-by-step approach makes it easier for the teacher to identify who is ready to move on to the next step and who needs more work. Was this always appropriate for learning the technological skills necessary? or the content lesson? how do these two things interact in a scaffolded model?

- A number of groups used a checklist somewhere in their lesson plan, and when a checklist was not included it was pointed out during the question/reflection period. Providing a checklist (whether digital, on the board, or hard copy) is valuable for students. Not only does a checklist promote a careful step-by-step approach to their work, but it also ensures that students include all of the required elements in their work. Basically, checklists ensure that students hand in complete assignments and they help students to recognize what the expectations are right from the beginning. What were the other challenges to assessment that resulted from these tools?

- Consider the following question: “What curriculum expectations were addressed in the lesson?” – We know that each group must have been working from specific expectations, but it would have been useful if more of these expectations were laid out within the presentations. Although tiresome, looking at curricular expectations might actually make it easier for teachers to imagine how their lesson plans can be modified for other subjects and/or grades. Moreover, I think that there are a lot of cross-curricular connections that can be made; teachers might actually find that one lesson meets many curricular expectations. *A number of the question/reflection periods commented positively on those lesson presentations that achieved some sort of cross-curricular connection, and so this is also why we mention curricular expectations*

- We are impressed how the technologies that were included in the classroom were used as tools to make teaching more effective, and that they did not “take over” the role of the teacher. Most of the technologies were interactive and/or nicely paired with what someone identified as “the human touch.” Technology is a part of the everyday life of today’s youth but it is likewise important not to forget that human interaction and instruction are also a key part of teaching and learning. It seems as though a healthy balance was found with these lesson plan presentations.

Thanks to all for an enriching experience,

the team at the Media Education Project

/mk&ml//