Goal+4+Content+Knowledge+-+Tracie

Goal 4: Content Knowledge

Goal Four: Content Knowledge
 My reflection on Goal 4 - Content Knowledge - as it applies to our project, and to our portfolio

Tracie Weisz EDET698 Portfolio Project Goal 4 - Content Knowledge

At the heart of the building the Alaska TOOLkit is the parsing out of each of the math and English language arts content standards. For each standard at each grade level, we are looking at the depth/breadth of knowledge that is required, and considering the possibilities of what that could look like in a classroom from a performance assessment perspective. In other words, if a student knows this, they can...

This approach incorporates the structural thinking found in Understanding by Design. Knowing what a student performance might look like, we then take a step back, and ascertain what a student at that grade level might need to know or do in order to achieve that level of performance. This is where our knowledge of both the content and technology integration come into play.

For example, at the 8th grade level, an ELA standard under Reading for Literature, Craft and Structure, states that a student will, "//Analyze the overall structure of a text: compare and contrast the structure of two or more texts and analyze how the differing structure of each text contributes to its meaning and style."// From a performance assessment standpoint, we can look at an idea from the 21st Century Skills English Language Arts matrix, which reads, //"// //As the culmination of a unit of fantasy or investigative journalism reading, students write fanfic (stories set in the worlds of the books they read). Each story will introduce a contemporary realistic concern or issue, such as water shortage, vigilantism, or genetic engineering. Students may publish these works on the school website or on fanfic sites approved by the teacher."// This is one of many possible great ideas for a performance assessment.

From the perspective of content, and using the structure of Understanding by Design, we can tell that a student would have to learn and read literature in the fantasy genre, and/or pieces of investigative journalism (this could also work for the same anchor standard under Reading for Information). They would need to understand the structure of texts of that particular genre, and also have some critical analysis tools to be able to compare not only the meaning of the texts, but the text style. That is the content aspect.

Now our knowledge of technology integration comes into play, and this becomes a bit of a brainstorming session. Students could use web tools such as concept/mind maps as graphic organizers for analysis and comparison. They could also post daily reflections on their class blogs which showed their growing understanding of the genre and style. The possibilities are really endless, and we can't list them all, but what we can do is provide ideas that will help teachers to integrate technology into their teaching of this standard in a way that directly assists them in teaching the standard and the content. The two ideas I've listed above are open to much interpretation on the part of the teacher in how they would like to apply them in their instruction, and the specific tools lend themselves nicely to other instruction and content.

Learning to use an online concept or mind map is more than just operating the software. Students can apply this tool to many other areas of their learning, and teachers can use this type of graphic organizer to encourage critical thinking, brainstorming, comparison/contrast, and a multitude of other thinking structures for class activities. Blogging is both a technical skill and a writing/presentation skill that students can use across the curriculum, as well as out of school. If this happens to be their first exposure, or the first opportunity for a teacher to familiarize themselves with it, both student and teacher will find it is applicable in many ways.

The Alaska TOOLkit is designed with the idea that the technology tools and skills students and teachers can gain will provide a foundation to build upon that can support learning across the curriculum. It also builds in personalized professional development for teachers. Choosing a beginner tool, such as an online concept mapping tool, can provide teachers with an opportunity to apply it in many instructional situations.

**Resources**:

21st Century Skills Map - English. (n.d.). Partnership for 21st Century Skills. Retrieved March 24, 2014, from http://www.p21.org/storage/documents/21s

MindMappingCollaborative. (n.d.). MindMeister. Retrieved March 20, 2014, from http://www.mindmeister.com

Mind Mapping Software - Create online Mind Maps. (nd.d). Mind Mapping Software - Create online Mind Maps. Retrieved March 20, 2014, from http://www.mindomo.com

bubbl.us - Brainstorm and Mind Map Online. (n.d.). bubbl.us. Retrieved March 20, 2014, from https://bubbl.us

UbDEducators - Home. (n.d.). UbDEducators. Retrieved March 20, 2014, from http://ubdeducators.wikispaces.com

 Artifacts

Click here for a link to a post from EDET637 - Differentiation Instruction Through Technology. In this post, I discuss differentiation, but also outline how I use Understanding by Design to plan content instruction and address student learning needs within the content. Ideas and concepts from UbD heavily influence the sample performance assessments contained in the Alaska Toolkit.

Click here for a link to a post from EDET637 - Differentiating Instruction Through Technology. In this post, I discuss how I use technology to differentiate content in the classroom. These are strategies and ideas that are addressed specifically throughout the resources in the Alaska Toolkit.

Click here for a link to a post from EDET668 - Educational Technology Leadership. In this post, I discuss shifting content from simply a transfer of knowledge, to making it more relevant for students. All of the lesson ideas and sample performance assessments included in the Alaska Toolkit are grounded in the idea of using technology to make the content relevant.

Click here for a link to a post from ED626 - Classroom Research. In this post I discuss how the shift in the New Alaska Standards affects classroom teaching and learning. Addressing these shifts and how that would affect teaching is one of the drivers that led us to the idea of developing the Alaska Toolkit.