Standard+I

Teachers use their knowledge of subject matter, teaching and learning, and technology to facilitate experiences that advance student learning, creativity, and innovation in both face-to-face and virtual environments. Teachers:
 * 1. Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity**
 * a**. promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness
 * b**. engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources
 * c**. promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students' conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and creative processes
 * d**. model collaborative knowledge construction by engaging in learning with students, colleagues, and others in face-to-face and virtual environments


 * 1**. As I plan for classroom instruction, I consider the state standards that need to be covered in a specific area. I also consider how much time in the school year I should take on each standard in order to complete all of them by year's end. I try to decide the best way to convey the content to the students, and this is when I will plan for differentiation in the activities. I try to make sure every week, every chapter and every unit has a variety of ways to convey the material. This school year, I was placed in a CFF classroom, and so I have made a conscious effort to incorporate technology into my lesson planning. I have tried to move beyond just using the Interactive White Board as a projection screen. I have developed interactive flip charts and used the polling and questioning applications with the ActivVotes. I have access to a cart of laptops, which I use at least once a week with the students. After taking Technology Integration in the Classroom through Wilson College, and after attending the TIENET collaboration day in March, I've started to consider the NETS Standards for both Teachers and Students.


 * 2**. With my students, I often use a variety of projects and activities, such as lecture, discussion, web quests or scavenger hunts, and collaborative learning activities such as gallery walks, skits, and jigsaw activities. My planned projects and activities include project-based learning, collaboration, higher order thinking, creativity and innovation and the use of digital tools and resources.


 * 3**. As I reflect on improvements to make in my teaching, there are 3 areas I intend to focus on in the next year. I would like to be more consistent in the use of technology in all my courses. It is easier for me to use technology in my Contemporary Issues and Sociology courses because of their small class sizes, but I know Global Studies students would benefit from these activities as well. In the coming year, I will also reexamine the assessments I use. I inherited these courses as a long-term sub at first, so I just continued the courses as set out by the original teacher. For the coming school year, I am ready to take ownership of these units and use a wider variety of assessments to judge the students' learning. I would like to use some of the digital tools available to examine real world issues. With this in mind, the third improvement I hope to make will be more project-based assessments. In the academic courses especially, I know test-taking is an important skill to develop, but I should offer students the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge in a more authentic way in all my courses.


 * 4**. In order to improve my teaching, I will rely on professional resources. In the spring of 2010, I participated in one of the TIENET collaboration days. I plan on taking advantage of opportunities in the future for professional development offered through the LIU, our CFF coach, or in graduate courses. The TIENET has also created a wikispace where all the contributing technology directors and coaches are able to post recommendations for digital tools and sources for integration of technology in the classroom. I will also use my diigo and delicious bookmarking accounts to keep track of valuable sites I have visited and that have been shared with me.

I will increase my use of technology by incorporating one digital project in each major unit of study in Global Studies. I will reevaluate the chapter and unit assessments given in the Global Studies course, and replace some of the test assessments with more authentic, project-based work.
 * Summary Statement for Strategy 1**