Skype Lunch & Learn

These are both exiting and crazy times we live and work in today. As a District Instructional Technologist, I travel to many Middle and High Schools to help and train teachers how to use and integrate technology into their curriculum. However, there are times when the attendance in these trainings is low. Teachers have a lot on their plate too and they may have other jobs to go to or children to attend to. Being that the economy is not doing all that well, I wondered what would be an effective way to reach the teachers and help them learn new ways to involve students in their lessons. The answer I came up with is to Skype the teachers during their lunch period, although it does not have to be during their lunch time. It could be arranged during any time that they are free. Skype allows you to share your computer screen. This would allow me to show the teachers how to do things and talk them through it step by step. Another possibility could be that teachers could setup office hours for their students. This is what I want to setup with my schools to reach more teachers and help them understand the many ways they can involve the students in their lessons.

Cues, Questions and Advanced Organizers

Building background knowledge is an important step in the instructional process. Prior learning determines how we perceive new information so students need common foundations to build on. Cues and questions can be used to highlight key points and identify misconceptions. Purposeful questions can lead to a deeper understanding of the content and increased interest in the topic.

Advanced organizers help students focus on what is important and provide structure for learning. Organizers can be narratives students review or diagrams teachers provide to outline information. Students might receive a completed organizer to reference or be given a blank design to fill in during the lesson.

Word processing software is an obvious choice for narratives but let's look beyond the usual tools and consider creating brochures, posters, flyers, flashcards, etc. to share information in an attractive new format. Spreadsheet software simplifies the task of tallying rubric scores. Brainstorming software such as Kidspiration and Inspiration help can be utilized to present and expand background knowledge.

Video resources also offer innovative options for activating thinking and differentiating instruction. The class can view a related clip or students can visit designated websites to explore new topics. Virtual tours allow us to take advantage of global learning experiences without leaving the building.

Students can even work collaboratively to build and/or comment on shared organizers in an online format such as a wiki or shared document. Presentations can be created to compile multimedia resources related to the topic. Class and teacher created tools can be posted for easy access and frequent review.

How can technology help you prepare students for a successful learning experience?

Let's rethink the possibilities.

Based on content found in:
Classroom Instruction That Works: Research-Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement written by Robert Marzano, Debra Pickering, and Jane Pollock and Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works written by Howard Pilter, Elizabeth R. Hubbell, Matt Kuhn and Kim Malenoski

Generating and Testing Hypotheses

Another proven instructional strategy focuses on inductive thinking by having students discover principals through generating and testing hypotheses. To be successful, learning experiences must include clear guidelines and structured tasks that guide students to a deeper understanding of the concept.

Technology can be a valuable tool throughout the process. Directions, tables and graphic organizers can detail the procedures and organize the data. Digital probes, microscopes and tools can be utilized to collect accurate data. Spreadsheet functions facilitate recording and analyzing results so students can focus on interpreting data rather than performing complicated calculations. Online simulations allow students to quickly perform multiple trials or run experiments that cannot practically be completed on site.

Need good simulation sites? A netTrekker is a great tool for locating reliable resources. Simply refine the search results for your chosen topic by selecting Learning Experiences under the Learning Aids category.

Let's rethink the possibilities.

Based on content found in:
Classroom Instruction That Works: Research-Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement written by Robert Marzano, Debra Pickering, and Jane Pollock and Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works written by Howard Pilter, Elizabeth R. Hubbell, Matt Kuhn and Kim Malenoski

Technology Empowers Differentiated Instruction

Technology offers a great potential to help students and prepare them with 21st century skills but how does that same technology help teachers differentiate instruction for all students? In January of this year ISTE provided several examples of classroom projects that helped students learn while keeping them engaged.

Certainly students enjoy school better and learn more when they are being taught in ways that respond to their readiness levels, interests, and learning profiles. Teachers can better meet these needs by changing four elements of their instruction: content, process, product, and learning environment. Teachers can differentiate their instruction by changing some of their instructional strategies, management strategies and including software applications, video streaming, the Internet and other technology resources. Differentiated Instruction should include digital-age literacy, inventive thinking, effective communication, and high productivity which should lead to better student achievement.

Teachers can better understand their students by doing interest inventories, surveys, observations or interviews. You can check out:

• Survey Monkey at http://www.surveymonkey.com/
• Free Online Surveys at http://www.freeonlinesurveys.com/
• Zoomerang at http://www.zoomerang.com/.
  
  

Differentiated Strategies

1. Tic-tac-toe board of activities where students choose to demonstrate their understanding of a topic by making a choice from the board. To learn more about tic-tac-toe boards go to http://daretodifferentiate.wikispaces.com/Choice+Boards.
   
   
   
2. I-Search – students work individually or in pairs using the internet and other research tools to investigate a topic of interest. A couple of examples:
   
• I-Search Unit – http://www2.edc.org/fsc/mih/i-search.html1
  
• I-Search Curriculum Unit – http://www.literacymatters.org/content/isearch/intro.htm
  
• Webbe template and storyboard – http://www.everythingdi.net/docs/webbetemplateJan152009.pdf



3. WebQuests - students work collaboratively using web research tools to investigate a teacher-designed topic of interest. Examples:
   
• WebQuest page – http://webquest.org/
  
• Pre-Writing a Webquest – http://tommarch.com/learn-ing/prewrite.php
  
• WebQuest Maker – http://www.teach-nology.com/web_tools/web_quests/



4. R.A.F.T.T. – this strategy integrates reading and writing in a non-traditional way with students creating a product that illustrates their understanding.
   
• R.A.F.T.T. stands for:
  
• Role – the role of the character
  
• Audience – audience for the product
  
• Format – the way a student choose to show their understanding
  
• Topic – the final product: who, what, when where, how
  
• Technology – software application used by the student
  
• What is R.A.F.T.T. –http://olc.spsd.sk.ca/DE/PD/instr/strats/raft/



5. Jigsaw – students are assigned a subtopic of a particular topic of study within a group. Students research their subtopic and then “jigsaw” with other subtopic experts from the other groups to produce information about the subtopic. Once complete the student returns to the original or “home” group to share their knowledge. The home groups can build a wiki to share the information learned.
   

For more information about differentiating instruction using technology go to http://everything-di.blogspot.com/.

Cooperative Learning

Cooperative learning is not a new concept. Designing learning situations where students work together to achieve designated goals has been a long term instructional strategy. Research reminds us that effective learning groups are well structured and rely on positive interdependence, social interaction skills and accountability to assure success for all participants.

With these guidelines in mind, consider the expanded options for cooperative learning groups. Updated connectivity and global technologies make local and international collaboration equally accessible. Students can establish shared bookmark sites and online calendars to manage project tasks. They can use video conferencing tools to meet across the miles. Students can work together to complete quests online or in a virtual world.

As educators we have the opportunity to align with colleagues across the hall or across the globe to remove the walls and expand the outlook of our students. Let's think beyond our past experiences and embrace the power of technology.

Let's rethink the possibilities.

Based on content found in: Classroom Instruction That Works: Research-Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement written by Robert Marzano, Debra Pickering, and Jane Pollock and Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works written by Howard Pilter, Elizabeth R. Hubbell, Matt Kuhn and Kim Malenoski

Setting Objectives

Research says goal setting ...

provides "a direction for learning"

establishes a focus and helps students ignore unrelated information

should be general and flexible rather than specific

needs to be personalized

clearly states performance expectations, required conditions and evaluation criteria.

How do we ensure the participation and buy in of all stakeholders in clearly identifying goals and objectives? How do we ensure the success of all stakeholders?

Word processing features allow us to create unit plans students can use to focus on lesson goals as well as overarching competencies. Students can create KWL charts to track their progress as they bring background knowledge to a new topic, identify what they need to investigate and evaluate what they have learned. Contracts and rubrics are easily created to communicate expectations using word processing or online tools.

Graphic organizers can add flexibility to goal setting and provide a more appropriate format for visual learners. Students might make choices within specified parameters and/or use images to communicate. Organizers also provide structure for tracking progress and setting timelines to meet each expectation and master each concept. Technology based plans can easily be modified as the focus flexes to include more/less detail or adjust for individual needs/interests.

Surveys and spreadsheets provide data collection components that can provide the information we need to personalize objectives making them more meaningful. Online surveys that include open-ended items are a wonderful way to access students' background knowledge and interests. Lessons can then be modified to address needs, clarify misconceptions and construct engaging activities.

Blogs are another tool for maintaining focus and tracking progress. Each person can contribute their views, challenges and successes as the class strives to reach a goal. Blending perspectives helps everyone develop a broader vision and deeper understanding of the topic.

Let's rethink the possibilities.

Based on content found in: Classroom Instruction That Works: Research-Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement written by Robert Marzano, Debra Pickering, and Jane Pollock Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works written by Howard Pilter, Elizabeth R. Hubbell, Matt Kuhn and Kim Malenoski

Nonlinguistic Representations

Research about the positive effect of nonlinguistic representations on student achievement has been shared and stressed in multiple initiatives. As educators, we need to provide graphic representations, models, images and images to help students organize and structure their learning. Over time students must also learn to create their own tools to translate the content into a structure that will improve learning.

How can technology help us accomplish these goals?

The district provides a variety of tools and resources for creating graphic organizers. Kidspiration and Inspiration software were designed to support organizer development. Microsoft Office programs are also very useful for creating images and diagrams to structure content. The resources section in our Riverdeep Lesson Plan Database contains Word and pdf versions of the Learning Focused graphic organizers as well as links to a variety of sites that provide organizer templates.

Many technology based tools also support the strategy of providing images to help students internalize concepts. Along with the standard Office products, we provide the option to run netTrekker images searches to locate appropriate pictures.

The save search and filtering features of netTrekker make it a great resource for locating kinesthetic activities to enhance student learning. Curriculum Pathways for grades 8 through 12 is an excellent source for web based activities and creative teaching strategies that meet the needs of all learning styles.

Make time to attend a training session to learn about new tools then take advantage of the resources that are just a few keystrokes away.

Let's rethink the possibilities.

Based on content found in:

Classroom Instruction That Works: Research-Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement written by Robert Marzano, Debra Pickering, and Jane Pollock and
Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works written by Howard Pilter, Elizabeth R. Hubbell, Matt Kuhn and Kim Malenoski

Homework and Practice

Homework is not a new idea and practice is not a new approach but how can we use these tools effectively?

Research validates the feeling that the amount of homework assigned to students must be appropriate for their grade level. Teachers and schools need to set reasonable guidelines for the length of time students are expected to practice outside of class. While parent involvement in monitoring and facilitating good work habits should be encouraged, students must be responsible for completing assignments and developing solutions.

The purpose of assignments must be clearly communicated. Practice problems are linked to skills students have become familiar with in an instructional setting. Students can be asked to think about background knowledge they can apply to a new topic or be asked to comment on how their skills or understanding have been expanded after studying a new concept. The intent determines the intensity and focus students need to apply to the task.

Research has also shown that developing competence in a new skill requires multiple practice sessions spread over time. Students must work with new processes until they can apply them quickly and accurately. Technology tools can be employed to help students track their progress by charting precision and speed. Excel graphs allow students and teachers to monitor achievement and adjust assignments.

Don't forget the importance of feedback. Students must feel their work has value and derive maximum benefit from assignments if they receive suggestions for continued mastery. Microsoft Office features can be used to analyze student work and refocus efforts. Interactive/adaptive activities can automatically adjust to meet individual needs. Collaborative tools that allow students to support one another can help everyone move forward.

What specific technology based tools would you recommend? How can we help teachers integrate and appropriately utilize these tools?

Let's rethink the possibilities.

Based on content found in:

Classroom Instruction That Works: Research-Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement written by Robert Marzano, Debra Pickering, and Jane Pollock

Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works written by Howard Pilter, Elizabeth R. Hubbell, Matt Kuhn and Kim Malenoski

Reinforcing Effort and Providing Recognition

Research shows that reinforcing effort and providing recognition are also effective instructional strategies under certain conditions.

Rewards should:
- be contingent on performance standards
- be abstract/verbal rather than tangible
- be timely and
- include feedback.

In addition, students must believe they can succeed and understand the relationship between effort and success. Teachers need to provide examples of situations where they or someone known to the students succeeded because of their willingness to commit the effort needed to accomplish their goal.

Students also need opportunities to track the relationship between effort and success. Comparing scores on an effort rubric and a related achievement rubric can help create a visual representation of the positive effect of effort.

So how can technology help?

Microsoft Word features can help teachers provide feedback, create personalized certificates of achievement and rubrics to set clear benchmarks. Students can use Micosoft Office tools to analyze their work and track progress.

Response systems and carefully selected online games or surveys can be used to allow students to compare their progress against a larger group and/or provide immediate feedback.

Video conferencing is a good way to get input from an "expert" in the field or learn more about the effort required to become knowledgable/successful in a chosen area.

Technology tools can also be utilized to share work acknowledging that a student has met their goal.

What recommendations would you make about the power of reinforcing effort and providing recognition?

Let's rethink the possibilities.

Based on content found in:
Classroom Instruction That Works: Research-Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement written by Robert Marzano, Debra Pickering, and Jane Pollock
Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works written by Howard Pilter, Elizabeth R. Hubbell, Matt Kuhn and Kim Malenoski

Note Taking...

How do we find a balance and help students learn how to take notes? Writing everything down isn't practical or effective. Writing too little down means students are missing important information. Marzano stresses that notes should be a "work in progress". Revisiting and revising notes as the students understanding of the concept expands is an important part of the process. The goal is to have sufficient details for the notes become a good study guide for assessments.

Teachers might begin by taking notes themselves and sharing those notes with students during or after the lesson. Providing structure for note taking can also be helpful. Outlines and/or graphic organizers the students can complete during the lesson can support learners as they strive to improve their skill level. Be sure to leave room for flexibility so students can continue to personalize their learning.

Several technology tools for creating organizers have been suggested in previous posts. Don't forget the importance of including images to enhance retention.

What if we consider expanding the skill base by allowing students to collaborate on the notes for a topic? The teacher could provide a shared document or a wiki to allow multiple students to access the notes. Students can then compare what they recorded individually to look for common points and additional ideas they may need to be added or excluded as extraneous. Wording could also be reviewed to find the most succinct way to capture the information.

What tools are available to help your students become better note takers?

Let's rethink the possibilities.

Based on content found in:
Classroom Instruction That Works: Research-Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement written by Robert Marzano, Debra Pickering, and Jane Pollock
Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works written by Howard Pilter, Elizabeth R. Hubbell, Matt Kuhn and Kim Malenoski

Summarizing...

Another high yield strategy identified in Classroom Instruction that Works (Marzano, Pickering and Pollock) and addressed in Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn and Malenoski) is summarizing.

In order to use this strategy, students must learn what information to ignore, what information to rephrase and what key information to keep as they review a section of text. This requires careful analysis of the passage. An awareness of the stucture of the material can help direct the summary. Some literature has a beginning, middle and end. Other articles may take the form of a conversation, narrative, or be intended to argue a point.

Teachers can provide structure for the summary by providing questions to frame the analysis. Kidspiration, Inspirations and Microsoft Office drawing tools can be used to create graphic organizers to guide students in their initial efforts. Later, students should be able to create their own organizers to structure their summary.

The AutoSummarize tool in Microsoft Office Word can provide a starting point for students to explore this new strategy. Several formats are available and the percent of the article included in the summary can be adjusted. This will provide an opportunity for students to compare their analysis with the results provided by the program or adjust the program settings until they feel the appropriate information is selected.

Having students create PowerPoint slides of the key points is another way to utilize technology to develop summarizing skills. Limiting the number of bullets or the amount of text can help students learn to pull out the essential information.

Collaborative summaries can be created using a Google Doc or a wiki. Working as a team, students can discuss the information to be included or excluded.

What other ideas come to mind?

Let's rethink the possibilities.

Similarities and Differences...

Analogies

Analogies are the final component of the Identifying Similarities and Differences strategy. This is the most complex because students have to identify two pairs of items that have the same relationship and must explain the relationship.

Teachers may begin by providing the word pairs and asking students to explain the common connection. Eventually students will be able to provide the second pairing as well as identify the relationship or independently create an analogy to highlight key points.

How can technology support and promote student mastery of analogies? Relating images rather than words may be especially helpful for young or non-English speaking students. Teachers can create graphic organizers to provide structure for the exercise in Word, Kidspiration or Inspiration. Word lists can help students practice creating relationships by simply pairing the terms. The opportunity to work in an interactive environment makes manipulating the word choices even easier and may improve participation.

What other options come to mind?

Let's rethink the possibilities.

Similarities and Differences...

Metaphors

Metaphors require students to make connections at an abstract level. Teachers can introduce this method for identifying similarities by helping students identify a pattern of behavior or steps in a process. Students are then challenged to find a comparison item with a similar pattern or process.

With enough practice, students can eventually create metaphors on their own. How can we support mastery of this learning technique?

A table or chart that encourages students to move from literal characteristics to more abstract properties could be helpful. Adding structure to the process of developing metaphors can provide the scaffolding students need to build confidence in a new strategy. Adding images can be helpful for students with limited language proficiency and/or visual learners.

What other technology tools can be employeed to support the use of metaphors as an instructional tool?

Let's rethink the possibilities.

Similarities and Differences...

Classifying

Another frequently employeed approach for identifying similarities and differences is classifying. This strategy requires students to develop rules that govern the sorting of information. Teachers can provide structure for introductory exercises by providing the items to classify and/or designating the categories to be used.

As students learn the craft of classifying information, assignments can progress to more open exercises that require students to create their own categories. Eventually students should also be able to identify the key elements and the categories for sorting the information.

Kidspiration and Inspiration tools are great resources for creating classifying activities. We need to continue to support and encourage the use of these programs.

What if we add other Microsoft Word tools to our training agenda? Tables provide a flexible structure for classifying activities. Shapes tools on the drawing toolbar and diagram options can be used to create a wider variety of organizers.

Add your ideas for supporting the development of classroom activities that enhance learning by having students classifiy information to identify similarities and differences.

Let's rethink the possibilities.

Similarities and Differences...

Comparing

Identifying similarities and differences is one of the high yield strategies identified in Classroom Instruction that Works (Marzano, Pickering and Pollock) and addressed in Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn and Malenoski). Two variations of this strategy need to be considered.

Teachers need to begin with very structured tasks to help students understand the approach and assure their ability to use this strategy to extend their knowledge. Teacher-directed activities can incorporate a great deal of discussion and interaction. This approach is useful when there are key facts every student should grasp.

As students become proficient at identifying similarities and differences, the task can evolve to more open ended activities that support divergent thinking and allow students to add independent observations.

At any phase of implementation, graphic organizers are a great way to structure activities where students identify similarities and differences. An internet search will return a long list of sites offering graphic organizers for classroom use. Many textbooks and training manuals offer a variety of organizer choices. These resources provide a variety of basic diagrams. But how can we grow past the basics?

Fortunately, our school system has provided Kidspiration and/or Inspiration licenses for each school. Training for these programs is also available. The challenge is moving these software products from available to utilized.

Here's another challenge. Students don't have Kidspiration or Inspiration on their home computers. Organizers can be created and printed for offline use but computer active tasks have to be completed at school.

What if we add a new tool to our Microsoft Word training agenda? The drawing toolbar in Word offers lots of shapes, lines and connectors that can be used to create graphic organizers. Office clipart collections can also be accessed to include images.

Add your ideas for supporting the development of classroom activities that enhance learning by having students identify similarities and differences.

Let's rethink the possibilities.

Research Says...

Researchers at McREL (Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning) reviewed the results of more than 100 studies to identify the categories of instructional strategies that have the greatest effect on student achievement. Based on their findings, school districts across the country have used the book Classroom Instruction That Works: Research-Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement written by Robert Marzano, Debra Pickering, and Jane Pollock to guide reform efforts and plan staff development.

The top 9 categories of successful strategies are:
1. Identifying similarities and differences
2. Summarizing and note taking
3. Reinforcing effort and providing recognition
4. Homework and practice
5. Nonlinguistic representations
6. Cooperative learning
7. Setting objectives and providing feedback
8. Generating and testing hypotheses
9. Cues, questions, and advance organizers

McREL staff members Howard Pilter, Elizabeth R. Hubbell, Matt Kuhn and Kim Malenoski followed up Marzano's work with the book Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works to provide suggestions for utilizing the power of technology to support these strategies. They have lots of great suggestions for integrating technology that support the proven approaches.

I've read Marzano's book (need to really study it) and I'm working through the follow-up book. As I read I keep wondering, how does all this apply to our work and our schools?

As technologists, our focus is usually on the technology. What if we make a shift?
* Let's focus on the students and brainstorm ways to implement research-based approaches that can help them achieve more.
* Let's focus on the strategies and how we can help teachers implement identified best practices.
* Let's focus on ways to integrate technology because it supports instruction not because it is an additional subject that should be covered.
* Let's focus on new approaches that will result in real and lasting change.

I invite you to join me in an exploration of
these instructional strategies.

Let's rethink the possibilities.