Decision Making
ACTIVITY 2: Some evidence of the standard. ACTIVITY 3: Obvious evidence of the standard.
Using labeled points on a diagram, student teams derive a formula for
calculating the surface area of a rectangle outside a circle.
Class members can paint the arched wall of their classroom any color
they want if they can figure out the actual amount and type of paint they
will need to cover the area, within a budget set by the school. The teacher
encourages them to select and use appropriate digital tool(s) to accomplish
this task.
1. Make sense of problems and persevere
in solving them.
2. Reason abstractly and quantitatively.
3. Construct viable arguments and critique
the reasoning of others.
4. Model with mathematics.
5. Use appropriate tools strategically.
6. Attend to precision.
Because the processes in Standard 4 may involve creativity, collaboration, and information fluency, it is tempting to check off every related indicator under other ISTE
Standards as well. But just because an indicator is related,
it doesn’t mean it overlaps. Students might use a common
information model that addresses effective communication
(Standard 2) without necessarily being innovative or requiring critical thinking. The standards bring out the texture of
a learning experience when they distinguish between the
features that it includes and those that it leaves out.
The ISTE Standards for Students (formerly the NETS) are more
than an abstract framework. Teachers can use them to evaluate
lesson plans and learning experiences. Classroom scenarios for
student standards are free to members on the ISTE Classroom
Observation Tool (ICOT) webpage ( iste.org/icot). Additional
guidance on evaluating learning materials is available in the
NETS Curriculum Planning Tool ( iste.org/store/product?ID=2299).
Please tell us what you think about this column at
www.surveymonkey.com/s/stand4.
Talbot Bielefeldt is ISTE’s senior research associate.
As part of the organization’s program evaluation
services, he has conducted ISTE Standards
observations in classrooms since 1999.
