Learning and Leading - June/July 2010

administer a pre-assessment to provide feedback to both the teachers and the students about their understanding of core concepts.

Reflect on Practice

Participants have indicated that the game reminds them of the variety of pedagogies and technologies available for the classroom. The game encourages them to reflect on their practice and find fresh approaches to teaching different types of content in new ways.

And, according to the feedback I’ve received, many are doing just that. The technology coaches report that they are using the game as part of their professional development, and it has made them more aware of the importance of content area and teachers’ instructional strategies for determining how to best integrate technology.

I have also heard from teachers
in different grade levels and content
areas about the influence the game has
had on their practice. Here are a few
examples:
An elementary school science
teacher is having her students keep
science journals on a blog instead of
in a paper notebook. Students sum-
marize information and hypothesize
about labs, and, unlike the paper-and-
pencil version, the blog provides a
launching pad for additional discus-
sion. She has noticed that the blog has
given less-verbal students a platform
for participation.

A middle school social studies teacher had his students manipulate a Venn diagram on the interactive whiteboard to review similarities and differences between the North and South in the years leading up to the Civil War.

These educators are developing new ideas for using technology in powerful ways to support learning and teaching in their classrooms.

Find out more about the summit and TPACK in general at the TPACK wiki ( http://tpck.org/tpck/index. php?title=NTLS_meeting%2C_ October_2007).

Karen Work Richardson is an adjunct instructor focusing on educational technology leadership at the College of William and Mary and Virginia Commonwealth University. Her recent dissertation examined how teachers use TPACK as they plan instruction.

What’s New in 2010? Check out ISTE’s newest member benefits!

Outstanding Young Educator Award A new award presented to a young educator (under the age of 35) who demonstrates vision, innovation, action, and transformation using technology to improve teaching and learning.