more work. ese are a few examples of
the ways that the improved curriculum-writing process integrated the e orts
of specialists to improve instruction,
co-teach lessons, develop and purchase
resources, design assessments, and enhance students’ learning in all classes
across all grade levels.
Learning Alongside Students
On another level, classroom teachers
learned new technology and information literacy skills alongside their
students. Teachers became emboldened to ask, “Where else can we employ new technology for more dynamic learning?” It didn’t take long before
teachers began to improve and adapt
the integrated technology to new
learning situations. Fourth and h
grade teachers were eager to use video
cameras, Photo Story, Inspiration,
Moodle, and other tools because their
students were already familiar with
them. ey saved class time because
they didn’t have to teach students
how to use the technology.
Here are some examples of how
teachers adapted their lessons:
Podcasts. Using Audacity to create podcasts for end-of-unit social
studies assessments gave Ben Hart, a
grade three–four combo teacher, the
idea to use the same technology to
have his students record re ections
from their writing conferences. Hart
prompts his students to record their
thoughts about how they are improving their use of the writing process,
what they are working on as writers,
and the next steps they plan to take. It
provides him with instant feedback as
he listens to the sound les from the
writing conferences.
Mind maps. David Navis, a h grade
teacher, has expanded upon how Inspiration mind maps are integrated
into the social studies and science
units of previous grades. Students are
provided a mind map template with
the essential questions for the vari-
ous units. ey start the units with
a pre-assessment and respond to the
essential questions by adding new concept bubbles to demonstrate their expanding understanding. As the school
emphasizes inquiry, the students add
any questions that come to mind in
the “parking lot” section of the mind
maps. As the units progress, students
continue their re ection to further develop their responses to the questions.
Navis has students use set colors
for their new concept bubbles at each
MyDragonN et
is an online curriculum-mapping tool
that also provides a
classroom management system.
Using the
myDragonNet
curriculum-mapping
tool, curriculum teams
can track whether standards and benchmarks
are being met.
stage of re-
ection (blue
symbols for the
start of the unit,
gray for the middle,
green for the end of the unit) to push
the process to deeper student re ec-
tion and learning. Navis says, “Once
the diagram is complete, I switch to
outline form on the class projector
using an example from one of my
students with his/her permission.
It becomes very evident how their
