Synthesis on the importance of TELE’s

For me this unit was full of new ideas and information and it started with the idea of a TELE – technology enhanced learning environment. Throughout module B I explored a number of theories that surround how we might successfully integrate technology into our Science and Math classrooms.

Please see link below to see a chart comparing similarities and differences of TELE’s examined in Module B.

Post 10 Chart

Synthesis
It has been seven informative and transformative weeks for me. When it comes to the frameworks I feel each may be important at different stages of development and understanding by a student. By my Grade 4 or 5 class I can see the value in using T-GEM as the primary foundational theory in Science. While I have often used the scientific process to have students reflect, and proceed again is an essential skill as identified in the new BC curriculum (2015) “generate and introduce new or refined ideas when problem solving.” Through the use of programs such as the PhET simulator students are able to interact with key concepts and as Khan identifies “[i]n dynamic situations, mental models can be manipulated and transformed on the fly through simulation and provide predictive and explanatory power for making sense of the familiar and the unfamiliar.” (Khan, 2007, p 879)
If I return to my first post in this unit around what technology is and as Muffoletto (1994) states the idea that technologies are a way of acting. I still believe now what I did then that the transformative phase of the SAMR model (2016) is where amazing technology integration happens that supports classrooms that bring authentic and tangible learning experiences for students. As I start to plan for the upcoming year I return to Frederiksen and White’s article and complete my own reflection on the importance of their study and how they note that the “reflective assessment, although helpful to all, was particularly helpful in closing the performance gap between the lower and higher achieving students.” (Frederiksen & White, 2009) While hands on learning has always been a key part of my science classroom as I move into a new year, I want to make reflection both through the process of learning and at the end of a lesson the same value as the concept, not something that is often rushed or forgotten in the time crunch.

References:
All Things SAMR Model by Blanca Lemus. (2016). Thinglink.com. Retrieved 29 May 2016, from https://www.thinglink.com/scene/661408904193769474

“Building Student Success – BC’s New Curriculum.” Curriculum.gov.bc.ca. N.p., 2017. Web. 9 July 2017.

Khan, S. (2007). Model-based inquiries in chemistry. Science Education, 91(6), 877-905.

Muffoletto, R. (1994). Technology and restructuring education: Constructing a context. Educational Technology, 34(2), 24-28.

White, Barbara Y., and John R. Frederiksen. “Inquiry, Modeling, And Metacognition: Making Science Accessible To All Students.” Cognition and Instruction 16.1 (1998): 3-118. Web. 16 July 2017.