Hello, and thank you for joining me today to discuss evaluating lesson plans with SAMR. Today's essential questions that we will be able to answer by the end of this tutorial are, how can I evaluate a lesson plan using SAMR levels. And what does this evaluation look like?
To recap, SAMR stands for Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition. And it's the way that we integrate technology into the current level of learning in the classroom.
Substitution and augmentation are meant to enhance, while modification and redefinition transform a lesson. Teachers can be at any one of the rungs on the SAMR ladder, starting with substitution, which is essentially where you substitute something that you've traditionally used in the classroom-- for example, a pen and paper for a word processor. Then we work our way up to something like redefinition, which is where you re-imagine the entire lesson based on technology that you have available to you.
The goal with SAMR is to push ourselves as teachers to move up the next rung of the ladder. This is the evaluation process for SAMR. As you can see, it consists of several questions that you can ask yourselves. I encourage you to pause this tutorial and write the questions down, or at least read them. We'll highlight just a few.
Question number 3, does the technology level address the many levels of thinking skills in my students? I think this question is an important one to consider because we want to make sure that we are differentiating. We can't just say, I'm using technology, so all of my students are accounted for. We have to take into consideration, what are their thinking abilities and what are their skill levels. And we have to match the technology with that, which means we might have an assignment that involves technology, but the technology might be different depending on student's needs.
Next, does the technology support the needs of the individual learner? This is, again, differentiation. Teaching is never one size fits all. So we have to make sure that the technology is not one size fits all either.
And does the technology level align with appropriate technology standards at my grade level? Am I asking my students to do what's grade level appropriate with using technology? Or am I asking too little of them or too much? That goes back to the Goldilocks rule of, is it too much tech, too little tech, or just right.
The same thing applies here. We're not just going to use tech for tech's sake. We're going to make sure that it's meaningful and is aligned with the skills of our students.
So when you're evaluating a SAMR lesson, you can use any of the guiding questions we've just talked about and these two additional guiding questions.
One, if the teacher is at a particular stage in the SAMR model, does the task fit that level? So as you'll remember, SAMR stands for Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition. If I'm at the modification level, am I actually using a task that fits the level, or is the task really just an augmentation? We have to be able to evaluate that.
And second, what can we do to transform by moving to the higher levels of SAMR? So if I'm only at substitution or augmentation, how can I move to modification or redefinition with this lesson?
We are going to evaluate SAMR lesson plan. The overview is that biology students have collected water samples and viewed them under a microscope to determine levels of contaminants.
We're at a SAMR level of redefining. Students create and share videos with others in different areas of the country. And they discuss their findings in real-time and brainstorm ways to address contaminant problems.
Let's look at the guiding questions and assess whether or not we're meeting these with the lesson.
Guiding question 1, is the technology level I am using closely aligned to the intended instruction and assessment of learning? I say that, yes, it is. The intended instruction and assessment are that students are going to take these samples. And they're going to show their work. They're going to prove their work.
But I also want them to engage in the scientific model of what are some solutions for contamination in water samples. So they're doing this whether or not it's with kids in their own classroom or kids in a small group or with kids across the nation.
Next, we've guiding question 2, does the technology level I'm using address many levels of thinking? And, yes, the technology does address the many levels of thinking and the many skills of my students, because I'm not going to just do one-size-fits-all technology.
Some students are going to be able to use laptops to record their work. Some students are going to use a tape recorder. Some students are going to use GoTo discuss things in real-time. Some students are going to use Google Docs to discuss in real-time. It's whatever the comfort level is of the students.
But I also want to teach my students the skills that they need. So some students might be extremely intimidated by creating videos or doing real-time discussions with people across the country. But I'm going to teach some of the skills they need to be successful at it.
And guiding question number 3, does the task fit the redefinition stage of the SAMR model? I say yes, it definitely fits the redefinition stage of the SAMR model. In the past I would have definitely had them write out their findings and make a hypothesis about why these findings have occurred, maybe generate some ideas about how we could fix the contaminant problem.
But I've redefined the task by incorporating a video compilation of the data and having them discuss with others in other parts of the country in real-time the contamination problems, and then brainstorming with those students. So they're still participating in the scientific process. That hasn't changed. But the way we've done it has changed. So it has redefinition.
Let's reflect for a minute. What level of SAMR are you using for your current lesson or unit? Create one guiding question you could use for your current lesson or unit plan?
Today, we talked about how we can evaluate a lesson plan using the SAMR levels and what this evaluation looks like. As you reflect on how this new information can be applied, you may want to explore the Additional Resources section that accompanies this video presentation. This is where you'll find links to resources chosen to help you deepen your learning and explore ways to apply your newly acquired skillset.
Thank you for joining me, and happy teaching.
Overview
(00:00-00:14) Introduction
(00:15-00:59) SAMR Recap
(01:00-02:17) Evaluation Process
(02:18-05:11) Evaluating a SAMR Lesson
(05:12-05:29) Reflection
(05:30-05:56) Conclusion
Laptops and Learning: Levels of Implementation - SAMR
This site provides several SAMR resources, including a SAMR lesson planning template. In addition, there is a helpful video on SAMR from Dr. Puentedura.
https://sites.google.com/site/laptopsandlearning/21st-century-teaching-learning/levels-of-implementation
Ruben R. Puentendura's Weblog (Official SAMR Website)
This site offers articles, research, and resources for teachers on implementing both SAMR and TPACK. In addition, Dr. Puetendura's SAMR model is explored in depth. This is an essential website for anyone interested in implementing SAMR in their design and instruction.
http://www.hippasus.com/rrpweblog/
Rubric from Midway School District
This rubric supports teachers as they evaluate their lessons for the use of SAMR levels. This rubric can also be used in backwards design for the development of lessons that clearly and effectively consider the SAMR levels.
http://www.midwayisd.org/cms/lib/TX01000662/Centricity/Domain/278/SAMR%20Lesson%20Examples.pdf