Monday, November 18, 2013

SAMR & Assessment

Guest Blogger, Kayla Brown (Assistant Principal, Coppell High School) writes: 
Think back to a time in your life when you were a kid in school. Now think about an assessment you took when you were in school or the instruction you received to make that “A” on the exam.

Do you ever wonder whose knowledge was actually tested?! Have you ever wondered what the history textbooks would say if they were written from a different perspective or if a different leader in a major war was quoted in place of the one recorded?! Are we assessing on the standards alone?? Are our learners truly future-ready and who is determining that standard?

Have you ever wondered why the gap is so large between state standardized assessments and our national ACT/SAT assessments?! If you can peel away surface thinking, you can conclude that knowing the state standards alone are not enough to be future-ready in a global society. So, if that is the case, what are we really doing for our future leaders?!

I think back to when I taught Kindergarten Math. I always wondered why kids in China had higher Math scores than US kids when using the same national exam (abcnews video-"China beats US in Reading, Math and Science"). I knew there had to be more to this than me taking the Math textbook, a worksheet made by the textbook company, and my knowledge of the content to prepare my Kindergarten learners to be future-ready in a global society.

I did some research and was fascinated by all the incredible ways to learn Math. Have you ever researched how kids in China learn how to count? For some reason, at 32 years old, I understand something as simple as counting better now than how I was taught many years ago. I wonder how many foundational concepts are lost because we haven’t allowed learners to explore and make meaning of the endless amounts of wisdom and knowledge from the world?!

As an instructional leader, I hear educators express their passion to produce, if you will, future-ready learners that can compete with anyone in any country. We all have the desire and the passion, but the logistics seem to be so overwhelming that we shut down because it is 1. Change and 2. Something that we haven’t had as much training to realize that we “don’t know that we don’t know.”

This is where SAMR comes to the scene. I do not want SAMR to be viewed as “just another thing to do” or “I have no idea what this is, so I am not going to do it.” SAMR, once you truly understand what it looks like in action, will revolutionize your learning environment and will give your learners the opportunity to be future-ready.


SAMR is the tool/rubric for educators to guide instruction and assessment. Instruction and assessment should be aligned. Have you asked yourself, “Is my instruction aligned to my assessments, which are aligned to future-readiness standards?” In other words, are you instructing according to the Learning Framework where your class environment is conducive to risk-taking, your learners are connecting to the world to deepen and enrich their understanding of the learning outcome and by exposing learners to the world, is learning going beyond the standards and the classroom walls? If your instruction is aligned to the Learning Framework, then what does assessment in your learning environment look like?

In, “Assessment and Instruction: Two Sides of the Same Coin,” the author states:

“One of the most powerful features of well designed technology-enhanced learning environments is that they enable us to embed ongoing formative assessment and feedback into the instructional activities themselves. In this way, the student not only gets the chance to practice what they are learning but also receives performance feedback that they can immediately use to tune their learning.”

Because instruction and assessment must be aligned I linked an example of what SAMR looks like in action. SAMR is a guide to identify where a particular assessment/lesson falls on the spectrum of technology integration.
  
Think of assessment strategies you have or are planning on using this year.
Where is that on the SAMR model? What change(s) can you make to that assessment to move it up the SAMR ladder?

11 comments:

  1. I was able to listen to Dr. Ruben Puentedura's Keynote (SAMR creator) at the iPad Summit in Boston recently. He discussed how to use technology as a "curiosity amplifier". Leverage interest of your kids by using the device to connect to those more knowledgeable than you. Force kids to ask questions of the unknown instead of using the iPad as a google search device. We need to focus on experiences that are geared towards learner interest, instead of state or national standards.

    He also discussed the importance of taking advantage of authentic learning experiences to teach kids digital citizenship, such as the difference between plagiarism and re-mixing. Most big projects allow this to happen easily.

    My big take away from his presentation was that his model was not a ladder to be climbed, but instead a web to improve learning experiences. He showed a few examples of how he would use the model in class, and most examples started at the substitution level and the lessons built upon that until the learners were taking what they had learned and creating new content from their own knowledge, reaching the redefinition level.

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    1. #1, I am so jealous that you got to listen to Dr. P in person! How cool! #2, awesome perspective on a web vs. ladder - makes a LOT of sense!

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    2. I was able to be here as well...Dr. P was spot on and allowed me to see that the iPad is a CURIOSITY AMPLIFIER. When you call the iPad that, you can use the SAMR model most appropriately. I was able to discover a new approach to use in my classroom for this week! My students in a sense are using this "web" to use their learning to reach to that redefinition level. The excitement today has been great and I can't wait to see the great things they come up with in their quest for curiosity!

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    3. I'm really excited to begin using the phrasing from Dr. P - "iPad as a curiosity amplifier" with my elementary educators. There are so many discussions in K-5 right now about how we can design experiences based on and around learner passions and their natural curiosities about the world around them--this fits perfectly! I think it will really hit home with even my iShy educators.

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    4. I like hearing the thought about using authentic experiences to talk to our learners about digital citizenship!! I am working on gathering resources for our educators and will begin having some conversations with our educators to see how we can make the discussions in Coppell more authentic!

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  2. I teach 7th grade mathematics. For a lot of our lessons, we incorporate flipped videos. To help assess if they understood the concept, we often use an Edmodo Poll at the beginning of class. This tells me quickly if the class understood the concept or not, which seems to fit in the modification level of SAMR. I'm not sure about ways to move it to redefinition since the purpose of this short assessment is to get a snapshot of the class before we move on.

    Another assessment we've done is we worked in teams to create news reports on an investigation we were doing in class. This investigation followed a group of fictional college students who were starting a business, using tables, graphs, and equations to help them analyze variables and data. To write the script for the news report, they all shared a google document. They all shared it with myself as well. I was able to monitor how the learners progressed, as well as leave comments in the chat section to offer suggestions or ask clarifying questions. Once they finished their script, they created a video for their news report. This appears to be on the modification level of SAMR as well. To bring this up to redefinition, we could have found someone who started a similar business (bike tours), shared our videos with them, and have a skype session to hear what other variables had to be considered to start the business.

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    1. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the idea of bringing in the outside evaluator and creating a Skype session with them to hear different perspectives!! Great idea!!

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    2. I, also, think the connection with an authentic audience in the community is a fabulous idea! The Skype session could either take place at the end or even during the process to help build on to the ideas the learners have already come up with. I love it! Thank you, Brian!

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  3. I am new in the district and really excited about the easy access our learners have to technology. My first new way of assessment was the quiz feature on Edmodo, which I now understand is at the Substitution level on SAMR, but a step forward for me. Then, I thought, I can push this further. So, I set it up as a discussion thread with short answer type reflections where learners could read each other's comments and reply. The engagement was higher and the thinking was deeper. I'm not sure where this falls on the SAMR Model, but I think it's at least Augmentation. :-) The next thing I tried was having learners respond to a video and article using the Croak It! ap and then they shared their links on Edmodo so they could hear eachother. We all liked this feature, because you could hear the voice and inflection of each learner - getting more meaning than just the words they typed. Again, I'm not sure if this is considered Augmentation or Modification, but I am enjoying trying out new tools and trying to push my students and myself to use more technology to enhance our learning opportunities.

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    1. I love that you are looking at the SAMR model to inspire more freedom in how you are designing experiences for your learners! And it sounds like you are getting feedback from them about their experience, which is AWESOME. You aren't just moving up a ladder...you are changing instruction and the opportunities your learners have to communicate what they know and how they know it! That is an amazing thing...celebrate your efforts!!

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    2. I love your idea of using Croak.it as a way for the learners to be able to talk through their answers and use inflection when they speak! It's great to hear that once you changed the way you were assessing that the engagement was higher and that the thinking was DEEPER! Great job! It is inspiring to hear about all the ways you are trying new things in your classroom!

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