Conclusion and Next Steps
Conclusion
The use of technology is going to become a more integral part of education. Proper use of technology in the classroom is even more important. Teachers must attempt to change how they teach when they use technology. Having students simply use a device to complete something that they normally do on paper is not the most effective use of technology. SAMR (Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition) is a good model to think about when designing lessons (Puentedura, 2014). The goal would be for teachers to strive for Redefinition by designing totally new ways of facilitating learning. In order to engage students in and out of the classroom the lessons that are designed for students to complete must be engaging. The goal of this project did support that students are more engaged with the content when the lessons are different that the their normal delivery modality. Students must see their assignments as a worthwhile use of their time. However, with technology there are always drawbacks. As well all know, technology does not always work when or how we want it. Student apathy and behavior will always find their place in any paradigm shift in teaching. These cannot always be controlled, but rather a part of the profession.
Technology allows for faster feedback to students. Students do not always see technology as a tool of learning because until middle school very few students use technology in school. They are more familiar with using it for the purposes that they see fit afterschool hours. Providing digital rewards and instant gratification can help to engage students in an environment that some students are more familiar with. Keeping in mind transformative learning theory, it is important that students are able to construct and view their learning environment as something that is beneficial to them (Christie, Carey, Robertson, Grainger, 2015). Student generated content is a great way for students to connect with what they are learning to their own learning environment. Structuring lessons that center on activities that students enjoy can hopefully engage reluctant learners. Over this action research project, students were generally engaged in their lessons to a greater or the same extent as they are normally. Students really enjoyed learning how to make digital presentations and the class discussion was a big hit.
Student perception at the end of the unit seems to be very similar to student behavior before. Students want to be engaged and a majority has a favorable view of using technology outside of the classroom. Students want content delivered to them that is seen as effective and worthwhile. While student perception of the type of lesson did drop, I truly believe this can be contributed to their abilities being challenge. The incoming 6th grade student is exposed to many different types of lessons in middle school that they may be unfamiliar with. Teachers must be trained in how to deliver effective content to their students or the whole use of technology is not effective. Implementation is difficult for most teachers as it is a paradigm shift away from how they were trained and usually view schools.
Overall assessment data is similar to slightly higher on tests and quizzes. Students change every year and new standards have already been changed in lower grades. The fact that the data seems similar for mastery suggests that it is really just about how content is delivered to students. In my action research, most lessons for students are not moving towards Redefinition of instruction, but rather use Substitution. One goal of this project was to see if student completion rates changed for their online assessments. The completion rates showed no significant increase in completion rates for assignments that had to be completed afterschool hours. Classwork was near 100% on every assignment. Student perception about receiving digital feedback from the teacher was higher than student perception of written feedback.
Next Steps:
Effective professional development and movement towards a Redefinition of digital instruction can have a positive impact on student perception of using digital tools in the classroom. One goal would be to push our administration for better professional development in digital instruction. We have tools to deliver digital instruction, but not training on how to change the instruction. If teachers see using technology as merely a way to deliver the same type of lesson, the may not feel the need to incorporate it. The mentality of “if it is not broken don’t fix it” can be a fair response to using technology ineffectively. Teachers need to feel confident that what they are providing to students will have a greater impact than what they are already doing.
This study could be modified by increasing the use of digital lessons that replace normal lessons that I have done in the past. For example, each week the students have a list of vocabulary words that they have to describe and draw. This assignment could be changed into a digital assignment, but the goal would be how to make it unique to a digital experience. Merely having them complete the assignment on a computer does not mean it is going to impact mastery of content. Continuing to look at previous content delivery options and determining how to make it an effective digital lesson is the continuation of the action research project. Assessing how effective the change of the lesson delivery must be done after the lesson is taught. Determining if it made a positive impact on content mastery should be the overall goal of any reflection by every teacher. Ongoing stakeholder perception cannot be ignored, as it is important part of effective instruction.
After conducting the needs assessment and then delivering content based on that needs assessment was beneficial. I like having the ability to have direct impact on my students that I can control. I really liked knowing beforehand that students want digital lessons that are engaging to them and see to be a worthwhile use of their time. Exposing students to different types of digital assignments to find the ones that impact work completion rates and their perception of the content as beneficial is an ongoing action plan. Increasing the amount of feedback and digital rewards was something that was lacking in follow through. Students were able to get instant feedback on the assessments and any extended responses they did, however they had to be reminded to go back in and check. Too often they merely looked at their grade and closed the window. The students had to be reminded to open the assignment and read what I typed for them. The use of digital badges was used, however more post data should have been collected on their impact. This action plan will continue to be modified as the school year continues.