ANALYST
Teachers model safe, ethical and legal behaviors and create learning environments that encourage students to engage in positive, socially responsible behavior.
a. Design and implement a variety of formative and summative assessments that capitalize on technology to provide feedback to students and inform instruction.
As shown in other artifacts, students are 100% in control of the topic, process, and product for their 20% Time. However, to be the best facilitator I can be and to guide them toward success, I need continuous updates on how things are going. To this end, we have a weekly check-in for 20% time. Students take a screenshot of something they've been working on, and write a caption telling what they accomplished that day and where they'd like to start next time. This simple, 3-minute activity has a number of benefits: students are held accountable for their productivity, students are able to see their own progress over time, and students are able to self-start what might otherwise be an overwhelming task.
ARTIFACT: 20% PROJECT CHECK-IN
Although I fervently believe that norm-based assessments are not the most effective way to evaluate individual students' progress, it can be useful as a teacher to use a whole-group assessment. I use whole-group assessments as a barometer to determine if I am teaching concepts in a way that my students understand, and as one piece of the larger puzzle that is a student's demonstration of mastery. This summative assessment is my barometer for my students' understanding of concepts in digital citizenship, and continually evolves and changes along with my program.
ARTIFACT: DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT
ARTIFACT: 20% PROJECT CHECK-IN
Although I fervently believe that norm-based assessments are not the most effective way to evaluate individual students' progress, it can be useful as a teacher to use a whole-group assessment. I use whole-group assessments as a barometer to determine if I am teaching concepts in a way that my students understand, and as one piece of the larger puzzle that is a student's demonstration of mastery. This summative assessment is my barometer for my students' understanding of concepts in digital citizenship, and continually evolves and changes along with my program.
ARTIFACT: DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT
b. Provide alternative ways for students to demonstrate competency and reflect on their learning.
The culminating 20% presentation is the most exciting (and, often, anxiety-inducing) part of my computer technology classes. Before the big day, we spend time talking about each point on the final scoring rubric. Then, each student takes a day to self-evaluate and give me their thoughts on how well they met each indicator on the rubric. This has a number of benefits: first, students don't feel pressured in the moment to "tick all the boxes" - they've already planned for that. Additionally, it gives me a window into what students are nervous about, where they feel their project might be lacking, and give them last-minute advice and encouragement. Finally, after the project is scored and I have added my own feedback to the rubric, the students feel reassured that they have had all the opportunities they possibly could to achieve success.
ARTIFACT: ELLA'S 20% PRESENTATION
I began my career as a special education teacher, and I absolutely love getting back to my roots within my computer technology classes. By modifying the depth, purpose, or level of support a student receives with each project, all students are able to succeed. The storybook below was completed as a part of a design challenge in a 7th grade tech class, where students demonstrated empathy for an audience by writing picture books for preschoolers. This student, very familiar with social stories, had the idea to write a social story for another student in his class who wanted to convince his Mom to adopt a puppy. By shifting the audience just a bit, this student was able to show his own learning, based on his own experiences, in his own best way.
ARTIFACT: JAMES'S STORYBOOK
ARTIFACT: ELLA'S 20% PRESENTATION
I began my career as a special education teacher, and I absolutely love getting back to my roots within my computer technology classes. By modifying the depth, purpose, or level of support a student receives with each project, all students are able to succeed. The storybook below was completed as a part of a design challenge in a 7th grade tech class, where students demonstrated empathy for an audience by writing picture books for preschoolers. This student, very familiar with social stories, had the idea to write a social story for another student in his class who wanted to convince his Mom to adopt a puppy. By shifting the audience just a bit, this student was able to show his own learning, based on his own experiences, in his own best way.
ARTIFACT: JAMES'S STORYBOOK
c. Use student assessment data to guide student progress and to communicate with students, parents, and education stakeholders in order to build student self-direction.
Before any problem can be solved, it must be established that a problem actually exists. In the classroom, it's important to consider that before we do any teaching, we must establish that a need exists. Each semester, I start by having students take this general survey about their confidence with different aspects of technology. There are two major forces behind this - first, I do not want to waste class time teaching things that students already know! But more than that, I want students to leave my class feeling bold, independent, and confident with technology. Helping students achieve that feeling is every bit as important to my practice as teaching the actual skills.
ARTIFACT: TECH SKILLS STUDENT SURVEY
As a part of the Google Certified Innovator program, I am developing a project which will help STEM teachers create curricula that are more relevant and reflective of groups who are underrepresented in STEM fields, particularly girls and students of color. To this end, I am currently designing a survey that will gather data about students' interests and aspirations. Once we have this information, we can look for opportunities within our courses to address the topics students care about, and the problems they want to solve. When students see their passions reflected in the courses, they see themselves as scientists, engineers, and developers. The responsibility is on us as educators to reach out, reflect, and make it happen.
ARTIFACT IN PROGRESS: #STEMISFORME STUDENT SURVEY
ARTIFACT: TECH SKILLS STUDENT SURVEY
As a part of the Google Certified Innovator program, I am developing a project which will help STEM teachers create curricula that are more relevant and reflective of groups who are underrepresented in STEM fields, particularly girls and students of color. To this end, I am currently designing a survey that will gather data about students' interests and aspirations. Once we have this information, we can look for opportunities within our courses to address the topics students care about, and the problems they want to solve. When students see their passions reflected in the courses, they see themselves as scientists, engineers, and developers. The responsibility is on us as educators to reach out, reflect, and make it happen.
ARTIFACT IN PROGRESS: #STEMISFORME STUDENT SURVEY