10.1- Measuring NETS Competencies
I think one of the best ways we can tell if teachers and administrators are meeting the NETS competencies is to use observation after becoming extremely familiar with the competencies themselves. If I were going to do this, I would have a list of the competencies and focus on one area in particular while observing. That way I could delve deep into each individual standard and get a really good idea whether or not the teacher or administrator understood what is expected of them. I would also ask for specific evidence that would support each standard and again show that they understood what was being asked. Another way to gain information would be to follow up on student assessments and actually ask them questions that would give a different perspective. It can sometimes be difficult to get a true reading on someone though if they know they will be observed ahead of time. From time to time our administrators will pop into our classrooms for a few minutes and give us some feedback without even telling us they will come by, which keeps us on our toes because we know we need to be prepared every day, not just the day they choose to come see us.
One example of this might be a group of teachers working on standard 2a., which is "design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity"(NETS-T. 2008). It would be pretty easy for someone to tell if a teacher was trying to incorporate digital tools within their lessons and student work or projects would reflect that. The types of evidence that could be collected might include projects that students complete and submit via the internet. I think that another good idea would be to ask a few students how they feel about the teachers use of technology and if they felt like it was appropriate for the assignment. I think there's a lot you can get from asking students simple questions because they are eager to give their opinions if they feel like you want their honesty.
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Getting feedback from students about technology use in classrooms could be a good gauge as to how effective the technology integration is. However, how many students would need to be interviewed to gain accurate information? Perhaps this could be done using Google forms to gather information from a larger pool of students.
ReplyDeleteJulie,
ReplyDeleteI agree with your idea that an administrator or observer should look a only a few standards at a time. When I was going through the list, it became very overwhelming. I can see this working nicely if the administrator asks the teacher ahead of time for which standard they would like them to look since each lesson won't touch on each standard. This would definitely help save time overall.
Nice job,
Megan
I think it is great to see what teachers are integrating tools and technology into the classroom. By providing a bank of student work examples, maybe other teachers would be able to see what they were doing and want to try some themselves. It only takes one to inspire the others. I think a lot of people do not even know that some of the tools exist, so it would come with a roll out that would be slow and steady. This would lend to professional development and awareness.
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