GAME Plans

For this post, I will be developing a GAME plan for my professional growth project which focuses on two indicators from the National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers (NETS T).

Indicator 1b. Engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources

Goal: To help my students become more self-directed in pursuing online inquiry projects that will help solve problems in our community.

Actions:

1. Perform my own online inquiry project to discover problems in our community. My wondering will be What are the major problems in the city of Boonville, Indiana?
2. If there is insufficient information online or to supplement my findings, I will interview community members to gain more information about local problems.
3. Once I have a clear understanding of the major issues in our community, I will complete an online inquiry project to identify potential solutions to our problems.
4. From there, I must learn about strategies to help my students discover our local problems, on their own, and become motivated to solve them in our class projects.
5. During student projects, promote interaction with community members through class visits, field trips and, of course, online communication tools.
6. Promote a sense of accomplishment as my students present their findings, using digital media, to all interested parties in our community.

Monitor: I plan to complete my research (action steps 1 to 4) prior to the end of our first quarter. Then I will be able to implement my strategies in my classes (action steps 5 and 6). To determine the success of my actions, I will keep a record of the number of students pursuing inquiry projects about problems in our community.

Evaluate: The level of success will be identified with a rubric that measures each student’s impact on the community. Ideas for improvement will be explored and new GAME plans may be developed.



Indicator 2c. Customize and personalize learning activities to address students’ diverse learning styles, working strategies, and abilities using digital tools and resources

Goal: For each of my students to feel comfortable and successful when using technology in my class.

Action Plan:

1. Take an inventory of my students’ learning styles, working strategies, and abilities using digital tools and resources.
2. Place each student on a team with peers that have similar learning styles and working strategies.
3. Each team should also have students with a variety of abilities. For instance, one student who is highly proficient with technology, one who is proficient, and one who is a beginner.
4. Complete an inquiry project to discover new technologies and more advanced tools of current technologies. My wondering will be What technologies can support the diverse needs of my students? A subquestion will be How can I use our current technologies to better meet the needs of each student?
5. Integrate these new technologies and advanced features of current technologies.
6. Have each student reflect on their experiences with these tools by completing a post about each technology to their personal blog.

Monitor: Formative assessments throughout student projects will measure student abilities with technology. Student comfort levels and interest in using these technologies will also be surveyed. Student blog posts will serve as evidence for student comfort and success.

Evaluate: This plan will not be successful unless all of my students are passing my class and are comfortable with technology. Success will be determined by the growth shown in formative assessments and in their blog posts.