My GAME Plan

            In order to best serve our students, as educators, it is our job to prepare them for the world that awaits them.  What makes this aspect of our job so challenging is the ever-changing world around us.  Our students are members of a generation that can be labeled as 'digital natives', meaning that they are growing up in a world in which technology has become an integral part of their lives.  Unfortunately, the vast majority of teachers have grown up as digital immigrants, or a part of generations in which technology has been introduced to once they have become adults.  This scenario of digital natives and digital immigrants has created an ever-changing learning environment that has educators scrambling to educate themselves about technology while creating a new set of standards that addresses the world of technology that their students are growing up in.

            Currently, I am teaching in a grade level and subject area in which state testing is the driving force behind everything that we do within our content area.  Our primary focus, at this time, is on our students performance on these state mandated tests.  While keeping my students' achievement on these tests in mind, my goal for this school year is to incorporate technology within my lessons in such a way that will introduce my students to the idea of becoming self-directed learners.  Self-directed learners tend to develop into creative thinkers who are motivated and more open to ideas in their thinking (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009).  Due to this fact, my goal is to shift my style of teaching from what could be described as a drill and practice style to one that promotes the development of my students as self-directed learners.  In order to achieve this goal, I will strive to "develop technology-enriched learning environments that enable all students to pursue their individual curiosities and become active participants in setting their own educational goals, managing their own learning, and assessing their own progress" (ISTE | NETS for Teachers).

            In order to track my progress in regards to achieving my goals, I will need to set up what is known as a GAME Plan.  A GAME Plan will assist me in creating meaningful lessons for my students that enhance not only their own personal development of self-directed learning, but mine as well.  This type of plan will consist of a goal for my students' learning, taking action through learning experiences, the monitoring of student progress, and the evaluation of the effectiveness of instruction (Cennamo, et al, 2009).  Here is what my GAME Plan looks like.

            Goal:  To develop technology-enriched learning environments that enable all students to pursue their individual curiosities and become active participants in setting their own educational goals, managing their own learning, and assessing their own progress

            Action:  To include one technology based lesson that promotes self-directed learning amongst my students during each different unit of study.  The inclusion of collaboration within these lessons will also promote an environment of self-directed learning as well since this style encourages students to rely on their own recently gained knowledge as they work to solve a problem instead of relying on their teacher to provide the information for them.

            Monitor:  Student progress will be monitored through assessments to ensure that they are learning the needed content.  Student progression as a self-directed learner will be monitored through the quality of work that is submitted upon the completion of each unit's technology activity.

            Evaluation:  Since this will be my first time implementing self-directed lessons with my students, I will constantly be evaluating them to access their effectiveness.  In regards to the quality of the lessons, I will be evaluating to determine whether or not learning goals were met for both content and the mastery of the technology skills utilized within the lesson.  Future lessons will be shaped based on the evaluations that are made for previously implemented lessons.

            In addition, I will also strive to "evaluate and reflect on current research and professional practice on a regular basis to make effective use of existing and emerging digital tools and resources in support of student learning" (ISTE | NETS for Teachers).  While trying to develop self-directed learners, I also want to develop students who are proficient in using emerging technologies.  In order to achieve this goal, I will need to ensure that I am also proficient on these digital tools as well.  While trying to learn and keep up with all of these different technologies, I will try to enlist the help of my colleagues.  I am hoping that my sharing of knowledge about technology will inspire them to adopt this style of teaching within their lessons in order to inspire their own students to become self-directed learners as well.

Cennamo, K., Ross, J., & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach: Mason, Ohio: Cengage Learning.

ISTE | NETS for Teachers. (n.d.). ISTE | Membership, NETS Standards, Books, Journals and Professional Development for Teachers. Retrieved September 15, 2011, from http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-teachers.aspx