ITEC+545+Chapter+Presentation

=**Teaching for Understanding with Technology**=

[|Powerpoint Presentation]

Key Features of Teaching for Understanding
(recreated from Wiske, M.S. (2005). //Teaching for understanding with technology//. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.)

Generative Topics

 * are connected to multiple ideas within and across subject matters
 * are authentic, accessible, and interesting to students
 * are fascinating and compelling for the teacher
 * can be approached through a variety of entry points and a range of available curriculum materials and technologies
 * have a "bottomless" quality that generates and rewards continuing inquiry

Understanding Goals

 * are clearly defined and publicly stated
 * focus on big ideas, beyond memorizing facts and rehearsing routine skills
 * address multiple learning dimensions: knowledge, methods of inquiry and reasoning, purposes for learning, and forms of expression
 * are connected coherently so that lesson-level goals relate to long-term goals and to overarching goals, or throughlines

Performances of Understanding

 * develop and demonstrate understanding of target goals
 * require active learning and creative thinking to stretch learners' minds
 * build understanding through sequenced activities from introductory "messing about" to guided inquiry to culminating performances
 * engage a rich variety of entry points and multiple intelligences

Ongoing Assessment

 * is based on explicit, public criteria directly related to understanding goals
 * is conducted frequently and generates suggestions for improving performance
 * includes informal, embedded assessments, as well as more formal structures and products
 * uses multiple sources: self- and peer-assessments, as well as feedback from teachers, coaches, and others

Reflective, Collaborative Communities

 * support dialogue and reflection based on shared goals and a common language
 * take in account diverse perspectives
 * promote respect, reciprocity, and collaboration among members of a community on communal accomplishments, as well as individual performances

Activity 1
Using one of curriculum maps from the site below (or from your own school system), develop three examples of how to incorporate each of the above features into your classroom.

[|Spotsylvania County Public School Curriculum Maps]

Activity 2
Using the resources below (or those that you find yourself), develop three examples of how to integrate technology into the above framework.

[|Google Earth]--Explore the world using satellite imagery [|History Matters]--GMU site supporting the teaching of U.S. History [|National Archives]--Over 1200 documents to explore [|Rockingham County K-5 Technology Integration]--Offers suggestions for integrating technology for different subjects at the elementary level [|ReadWriteThink]--Interactive tools to support literacy learning [|WebQuest]--Web-based lessons in a variety of subject areas [|Blue Web'n Math]--Online resources for math instruction [|Edutopia Math and Science Resources]--Resources for teaching math and science [|HowStuffWorks "Physics Channel"]--Learning guides for topics in physics