Candidates model and facilitate effective classroom management and collaborative learning strategies to maximize teacher and student use of digital tools and resources. (PSC 3.1/ISTE 3a)
Reflection: I chose to complete the Online Teaching Endorsement. Through this pathway I developed an online module for fifth grade students covering life science standards found within the Georgia Standards of Excellence. Throughout this module, students participate in synchronous and asynchronous class settings. They work collaboratively and independently to complete learning activities and complete final projects with peers through project-based learning strategies. This artifact demonstrates mastery of standard 3.1 because students enrolled in the course must first read and sign off on the course syllabus and learner expectations before beginning the course. Within these documents, learning expectations are explicitly stated along with consequences for not adhering to the class rules. Students are provided with discussion posts rubrics to use when responding to peers to ensure that appropriate and beneficial responses are being provided consistently. These expectations are also discussed and reiterated in the introductory synchronous sessions and enforced throughout the duration of the module. This module also supports standard 3.1 because, throughout the module, students collaborate with peers using a variety of appropriate digital tools to complete learning tasks and final projects. Throughout the creation of this module, I learned that as an online facilitator, you must be explicit in your instructions, both in the synchronous and asynchronous class formats. When teaching students online, it is difficult to gauge students’ comprehensions and engagement levels. Overcommunicating expectations and offering students a variety of methods in different modalities to complete tasks are good strategies to use to ensure that student interest levels are high, that they are engaged in the content, and understand what is expected of them throughout the course. If I were to enhance any features of this module, I would require more synchronous check-ins with students throughout the course. These sessions would be strictly for questions, answers, and clarifications, not for content teaching. I believe by offering these opportunities, students would feel more supported by their teacher and enjoy the opportunity to ask questions and communicate with their peers, further building an online classroom community. The technology skills the students both gained and refined through this project directly align to the technology improvement plan located within our school’s improvement plan. The impact can be assessed by the student’s products at the conclusion of the project. The impact of the student products should products reflect appropriate implementations of digital tools and resources.