EDTC6433 Module 2 Triggering Event Question Reflection

EDTC6433  Module 2 Triggering Event Question Reflection

Thinking about the different students that come through my classroom on a daily basis helped me create my triggering event question for Module 2.  More and more students are asking for technology to be incorporated into the lessons we do in class.  The question I researched and am looking for answers to is: How can I create authentic learning experiences in my high school math classroom that incorporate contemporary tools and align with the common core state standards?  Through my research I found an article titled Technology-Enhanced Formative Assessment: A Research-Based Pedagogy for Teaching Science with Classroom Response Technology by Ian D. Beatty and William J. Gerace.  This article talked about using CRS (Classroom Response Systems) to perform both summative and formative assessments of students.  This article has given me a renewed desire to try and use technology for formative assessments.  According to the article, “An assessment-centered learning environment weaves formative assessment deeply into the fabric of instruction, providing continual, detailed feedback to guide students’ learning and instructors’ teaching.” (Beatty, Gerace, 2009)  I agree that class needs to be a constant place of assessment and adjustment.  Having the technology to poll students throughout the class and adjust my teaching based off of their responses will not only give them a better education but help improve my teaching and awareness of my student’s level of understanding. 

While keeping my triggering question in mind, I was reading the assigned reading for ISTE Standard 2.  In the assigned article EPIC WIN Inspire Engagement through Online Competitions and Collaborations by Learning & Leading with Technology they talked about creating online competitions for students.  Talking about teachers they said,  “Then they can begin to incorporate online competitions into their classroom as tools to teach and assess those standards.” (Mote, Kafai, & Burke, 2013)  I think giving space for competition within the classroom is important to the development of students.  I particularly think competition on an online platform would be beneficial for students.  If it is part of an online platform it could reach a different set of students than your typical day to day lessons.  Making an online competition would be an interesting and fun summative assessments for students.  I am going to continue to look into this option for my classes.  I am unsure at this point how it would work in a math classroom but I am hopeful I can find a way to incorporate an online competition or a project that is similar.

(Spante, Vea Karlsen, Nortvig, & Christiansen, 2014)

As I continued thinking about how to incorporate technology into my lessons, I read an article by my learning circle member Katie, titled, Cross-border collaboration in history among Nordic students: A case study about creating innovative ICT didactic models.  It talked about the TPACK (Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge) model that we talked about in the class discussion for this module.  It helped explain the model and how it could be used in my classroom.  “The TPACK model separates three specific skills of teachers, linked to pedagogical (PK), content (CK) and technical knowledge (TK) in learning situations within given contexts.” (Spante, Vea Karlsen, Nortvig, & Christiansen, 2014)  This article helped me think about different ways to incorporate technology into my lesson.  It made it clear that I should look for where technology could fit into what I am already doing.  As I work on my lesson plans for the coming weeks, I will be looking for where I can add technology into my lessons.  I will look for places students can use technology to aid in the learning, assess their learning, and/or give feedback on a lesson.  I will also be looking for where I can use technology with the whole class.

After my research, I feel confident in my ability to try out some of the different technology strategies I found.  I am going to try incorporating more technology based formative assessments and looking for where I can enhance my current lessons with technology.  Some questions I still have are, how to I make sure all students have access to the formative assessment technology, how can I help students access the technology resources offered at home, and what are some ways to bring technology into my classroom on a daily basis to help students connect with the math?

Works Cited

• Beatty, I. D., & Gerace, W. J. (2009). Technology-Enhanced Formative Assessment: A Research-Based Pedagogy for Teaching Science with Classroom Response Technology. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 18(2), 146-162. doi:10.1007/s10956-008-9140-4
• Spante, M., Vea Karlsen, A., Nortvig, A., & Christiansen, R. B. (2014). Cross-border collaboration in history among Nordic students: A case study about creating innovative ICT didactic models. The IAFOR Journal of Education, Volume 2 Issue (2), 55-85.
• Mote, C. W., Kafai, Y., & Burke, Q. (2013, December). EPIC WIN Inspire Engagement through Online Competitions and Collaborations. Learning & Leading with Technology, 16-21.

About Me!

Hi! I'm Michaela Clark.  I grew up in Marysville, WA and attended SPU for my undergraduate mathematics degree.  I swam competitively from age six through high school, played soccer for nine years, did gymnastics for four years, and pole vaulted in both high school and my first two years of college.  I grew up doing sports, going on vacation with my family (both of my parents are teachers), and enjoying time outside.  I still enjoy playing sports and enjoying time outside.  I have been married for three years to my husband Peter.  We met our freshman year of high school and started dating our junior year.  A fun fact about me is that my roommate from SPU was randomly chosen for me by SPU and we are now great friends.  She was the maid of honor in my wedding.

My college roommate (on the right) and I at Disneyland.

My favorite vacation location!

I have always wanted to do something with math.  For a long time I thought that was going to be with me as an engineer.  Now that I am in my fifth year of teaching I can't imagine doing anything else.  This is my fifth year at Renton High School.  I teach geometry, International Baccalaureate Math SL year 2, AB Calculus, and BC calculus.  I am also one of the math department chairs.  I love my students and the department I work with.

Module 1 Blog Post: Integration of Technology in a Low Tech Classroom

Through my five years so far at Renton High School, the integration of technology has been slow.  More and more of our textbooks have online components but our classrooms do not have a growing amount of technology.  Every year we are asked and expected to use more technology with our students and within our lessons.  This is where my triggering question for the ISTE Standard 1 came from.  How can I better integrate technology into a classroom with minimal technology available in a key way to advance student learning and creativity?  I feel that I work hard to facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity but I don’t use a lot of technology within my classroom.  We have a limited amount of technology available for classroom use.  I am looking for ways to incorporate technology into my classroom that are easy to implement and do not need to be done every day to be successful. 

The first article I looked at to help answer my triggering question was 50 Alternatives to Lecture by Alexandra Pickett.  This article was one of the class readings.  In this article a list of activities you can do in your classroom besides lecture were given.  One of the ideas I found particularly interesting was when students were given a list of solutions and were asked to create the corresponding problems (Pickett, n.d., p.3).  This idea struck me as a way to bring technology into the classroom in a low stress way.  Students would work with their teams to create the questions to go with the answers they were provided.  I would then have them create a google doc they can share with me.  Once I have all of the responses we can make a class list of the different questions that all have the same answer.  This article gave me one idea of how to bring technology into my classroom even though technology is scarce.

After looking at the class articles I began researching for more answers to my question.  I have not yet found an article that fully answers my question but, I have come across some helpful articles and Tedx Talks that provide partial answers and ideas.  The first resource I found pertaining to my triggering question is from Stanford University (https://edpolicy.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/scope-pub-using-technology-report.pdf).  It is titled Using Technology to Support At-Risk Students’ Learning.  In this article my desire for more technology in my classroom and ideas for how to utilize the technology I have become more profound.  This article emphasizes the idea that technology can help close the achievement gap if used correctly alongside quality teaching. (Darling-Hammond, L., Zielenzinski, M., Goldman, S, Using Technology to Support At-Risk Students’ Learning, 2014)  Working in a low income, high needs school, the gap in achievement between my school and the other two high schools in the district is apparent.  I am hoping I can find a balance in my use of technology, student directed group work, and teacher time that can help my students close the gap.  The second resource I found helpful was a TedxRainier Talk by Jessie Woolley-Wilson titled Blending Technology and Classroom Learning (https://youtu.be/o0TbaHimigw).  She talked about the importance of quality education being available to all.  Her big question was how do we make that happen?  She talked about the idea of blended learning and using adaptive learning programs in classrooms.  This talked left me with the question, is there an adaptive learning program for high school math?  From these two resources I am still wondering how I can use the technology I have available to enhance my students learning experiences?

As I was continuing to look for relevant articles pertaining to my triggering question, I was reading an article my classmate Conrado found titled “U.S. Educational Secretary Announces Guidance to Ensure All Students Have Equal Access to Educational Resources” written by the U.S. Department of Education.  This article states, “All students- regardless of race, color, national origin or zip code- deserve a high-quality education that includes resources such as academic and extracurricular programs, strong teaching, technology and instructional materials, and safe school facilities” (“U.S. Educational Secretary Announces Guidance to Ensure All Students Have Equal Access to Educational Resources,” 2014).  I truly believe this to be true.  The math department I work in is working to bring equity to our students.  This year we were able to get the district to purchase brand new graphing calculators for each classroom.  I have already seen the effect this has had on our students.  When it comes time to use the graphing calculators they get excited.  Our new calculators graph in color and for the students it is a whole new world.  Another piece of the article Conrado found that struck me was, “Despite major progress in some areas, many students, especially students of color, continue to lack the opportunity of a quality education” (“U.S. Educational Secretary Announces Guidance to Ensure All Students Have Equal Access to Educational Resources,” 2014).  As a teacher in a low income school I experience every day the hardships my students face when it comes to education.  I also notice it when talking to the math department chairs from the other two high schools.  Their “problems” are different than ours.

My triggering event questions of, how can I better integrate technology into a classroom with minimal technology available in a key way to advance student learning and creativity, is still a question I am trying to answer.  After my research, I am going to look into a blended learning structure for my classroom, if there is an adaptive math program for high school, and how I can use my computer to aid in a more interactive technology based classroom.  Some questions I am still grappling with are, what are simple technology activities students can do in class with phones or COWs, how can I bring at least one technology element into each lesson, and what can I do to help bring more technology to my school and classroom.

Works Cited

Pickett, A. (n.d.) 50 Alternatives to Lecture, SUNY Learning Network

“U.S. Educational Secretary Announces Guidance to Ensure All Students Have Equal Access to Educational Resources,” 2014, U.S. Department of Education

Woolley-Wilson, J., Blending Technology and Classroom Learning, 2012, TedxRainier

Darling-Hammond, L., Zielenzinski, M., Goldman, S, Using Technology to Support At-Risk Students’ Learning, 2014, Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education

Initial Reflection

I began teaching four years ago.  My classroom my first year looked different in many ways than my classroom now.  My core ideals of teaching haven’t changed but my delivery has. As I have grown in my practice and learned more about the students I am working with, I have tailored my instruction accordingly.  I am constantly reflecting on my practice on my own as well as with my Professional Learning Community.  When I am reflecting on my practice there are a few key things I do.  I use what I did in my previous years to help guide and influence how I will teach the same content this year.  I look at my old plan books to help remind me of how lessons went, how long lessons took, and how my students did.  In order for this to work I also make notes when the lessons occur.  If a lesson went particularly well I write myself a reminder of what worked and if a lesson didn’t go particularly well I will also note what didn’t work.  If it was a lesson that didn’t go as planned, I write down ideas of how I could make it better next year or if it just needs to be completely rethought.  I also reflect throughout my day.  Just because I taught the lesson one way in my first period does not mean I will teach it the same way in my sixth period.  If a portion of a lesson didn’t go was planned the first time I teach it, I will make adjustments for the next class.  The individual reflection helps me when I work with my Professional Learning Communities.  As a member of a Professional Learning Community, I am also able to reflect with my colleagues.  We talk about student growth, how the class went last year compared to how it is going this year, and how our students are performing.  We use this time to look at our test scores.  We talk about how to bring the lower grades up, how to push our students who are getting perfect scores, and how to bring our classes to the next level of understanding.


Consistent reflection has helped me realize my strengths and challenges as a teacher.  Over my first four years I have noticed my ability to think on my feet, engage my students and connect with my students on an academic level as strengths I bring to the classroom.  Throughout a lesson I am able to improvise and make changes as I go if students aren’t getting the information I need them to get.  I work with students to make sure lessons are being delivered in ways that are helpful, engaging, and designed in a way students can connect with the math.  I also work hard to connect with my students.  I want them to know that I care about them and their success.  I am able to get students to do work in my class when they wouldn’t necessarily do work in their other classes.  They know that my classroom is a safe environment and it is low risk for them to participate.  I have also noticed some key things I struggle with in my every day teaching.   I have a hard time scheduling my period, pushing students to go the pace I want, and getting all students involved with their varying learning styles.  I always know what I want to get done in a period but I don’t always have realistic goals.  I will frequently plan more than will fit into a single period.  Since I do this, it makes daily closure of activities difficult.  It also doesn’t give my students a sense of urgency.  Since they don’t have a sense of urgency it is hard to get my students to work at the pace I am looking for.  The other struggle that I am constantly working to remedy is getting all students involved.  I know there are varying learning styles in my classroom and I am consistently trying to make sure my lessons address as many learning styles as possible.


I worked on the above weaknesses with my administrator when I was on the comprehensive evaluation plan under the Danielson Framework.  The Danielson Framework is made up of four domains, planning and preparations, classroom environment, instruction, and professional responsibilities.  You are evaluated on a four-point scale from unsatisfactory (1) to distinguished (4) and required to provide evidence for the individual components within each domain.  In my district there are two categories of teachers when it comes to evaluations.  There are teachers who are evaluated on a comprehensive evaluation or a focused evaluation.  If you are on the comprehensive evaluation form you are evaluated on every component of the Danielson Framework.  You are expected to provide evidence for everything that cannot be observed.  Administrators are also expected to observe you at least twice during the year.  There is also a group of teachers who are on the focused version of the evaluation.  For this, teachers pick a component within one domain of the Danielson Framework and collect evidence for that one component.  If you are on the focused evaluation the administrators will spend sixty minutes between the evaluation and meetings with the teacher.  Every teacher must have a goal for the year and a goal for a specific class.  Comprehensive teachers will also pick a sub group.  You are expected to collect data on your specific goal to help show your growth as a teacher over the course of the year.