5-2/3: Data Analysis and Tools

5-2: Data Analysis

Here is the link to my data sheet:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Zc3HIXha4qNjZPfJMXx7S5HffjtGuitTtSjHBN7WUKo/edit?usp=sharing

Data Analysis: 
Upon looking at student data, some clear trends appear regarding standards. The first thing I noticed was that almost all students have a firm grasp on Standard 7! From there, I could see that Standard 1 and 2 have a large amount of students who have mastered them, but need some small group reteaching. Standard 6 shows the biggest area in need of reteaching because most of the students chose the wrong answer. I almost wonder if this question was worded differently than how they had been instructed or if the material was new to them. Standards 3-5 and 8-10 show about half of students mastering them. These standards may need to be continued in the classroom, with students who have shown mastery progressing to more challenging work.

My suggestions based on this testing data is that the teacher needs to group students based on areas of weakness. Within standards, he/she should work on pairing students who chose similar wrong answers to address the misconceptions or errors that led to that answer. The teacher also needs to look at standards with high error rates and think about reteaching the material with a different method to help students gain a better understanding.

5-3: Tools

The tool that I used was Google Sheets located in Google Drive. I like how easy it is to use and the fact that I would be able to share it with my partner teacher, so we can both access the information any time we need it. A strength of Google sheets is how simple the layout it. It is very user friendly and easy to edit and change.

I found that adding color made a huge difference to me. I used a different color for wrong answers to each question. This made it very easy for me to see which questions were more challenging to students quickly. It also helped me to focus in on who would need small group instruction for the different topics.

I feel that Google sheets would be a great way for student data to be shared among a team. My school currently emails Microsoft Excel sheets to each teacher for them to collect data and email back to the principal. By creating a spread sheet on Google sheets for each grade level and granting them access to it, I think we could make the process a lot more streamlined and save everyone some time and hassle!

Technology in Teaching Presentation

Here is the link to my Prezi for the technology presentation! Enjoy!
https://prezi.com/c_rz_3gxfgnm/technology-in-teaching/

Technology Training Survey

Google Form

Here is my survey for technology training!

TPACK Response

What is the TPACK Model?

The TPACK model is a collection of different types of knowledge that teachers need to be successful in the classroom (Koehler, Mishra, Akcaoglu, & Rosenburg, 2013). According to Koehler et. al (2013) it is separated into the following types of knowledge:

• Technological Knowledge - understanding how to use computers, presentation tools, and other new technology
• Content Knowledge - knowing the subject matter
• Pedagogical Knowledge - knowing how to manage a classroom, determine learning goals, helping to foster student motivation, and how to utilize assessment
• Pedagogical Content Knowledge - knowing that different subjects lend themselves to different ways of instructing
• Technological Content Knowledge - knowing that technology impacts the topics we are teaching and how we show that information
• Technological Pedagogical Knowledge - knowing that technology can make a huge impact on how a classroom operates and picking the best tool for the impact you are trying to make
• Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge - using all of the above knowledge to craft instruction that fits students need and make effective teaching decisions (p. 3-4).

Teachers need to utilize the different types of knowledge to make decisions on what is best for the students learning based on the needs in their classroom. This model helps teachers to analyze their strengths and weaknesses and gives us a way to focus on making our teaching better.


How would teachers implement it in their classroom?

Harris & Hofer (2009) suggest that teachers start by implementing this thinking into their lesson planning. They suggest that teachers start by making clear learning targets and then think about appropriate activities that would foster those goals (p. 2). After setting goals and activities, Harris & Hofer (2009) then believe it is time to look at technology tools that are available and improve the goals and activities that were chosen earlier in the lesson planning (p. 3). Harris & Hofer (2009) advocate for technology last because that way the lesson is not focused on the technology and how it is being used, but instead on the student progress and need (p. 3).


What obstacles might a teacher have to deal with?

I think the first major obstacle is the teacher's mindset. Upon first looking at TPACK, it is quite overwhelming! I think if teachers are willing to look into it they will see that it is not difficult or extreme by any measure. Another obstacle would be changing our current thinking about technology. Like Harris & Hofer pointed out, many teachers think about the technology first and then the learning goals, which turns their lesson focus onto the technology. Getting teachers out of that mindset may be a very big challenge, since we tend to focus so much on the tools available to us right now.


Sample Activities:

I love the list of activities provided by Harris & Hofer (2009). I love how they started with some of the simplest activities that we have students do like answer questions or create a map and provided some potential technology options to benefit students. Many of the ideas utilize Google content, which has the added benefit that they are free to use, so all students would have access to them. The best part about this chart is that since 2009 more technology tools have become available and could be added to it to keep a current list of resources for all teachers in my district when they are creating and updating our units to align with the Common Core standards!


Resources:

Harris, J., & Hofer, M. (2009). Instructional planning activity types as vehicles for curriculum-based
TPACK development. Research highlights in technology and teacher education, 99-108.


Koehler, M. J., & Mishra, P., Akcaoglu, M., Rosenberg, J. M. (2013). The Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge Framework for Teachers Teacher Educators. Commonwealth Educational. Retrieved fromhttp://cemca.org.in/ckfinder/userfiles/files/ICT%20teacher%20education%20Module%201%20Final_May%2020.pdf