Is your instruction crossing the "Red Line"

Over 65 years ago, the Bloom’s Taxonomy challenged teachers to move their instruction

beyond lower-ordered thinking. Today, educators are tasked with a similar challenge

concerning instructional technology. The Substitution Augmentation Modification Redefinition

Model offers a method of seeing how computer technology might impact teaching and learning.

It shows the typical progression that adopters of education technology often follow as they

progress from novice to expert in their use of technology and instruction. Learning in the

substitution and augmentation phase uses technology to accomplish traditional tasks. Only

after students engage in learning experiences that could not be accomplished without

technology, does the instruction move into modification and redefinition. Read below to see

how Ms. Clark crossed the “Red Line” in her class to redefine a writing assignment.

Substitution

Students in Ms. Clark's class use a word processor for writing.  They can easily edit and format their work and print their papers instead of hand write them.  Students are able to save drafts and can easily make multiple copies of their finished product without a photocopier.

Augmentation

Students improve their writing skills by utilizing the embedded tools in the word processing software.  They easily check their spelling and grammar and use the built-in thesaurus to find new descriptive words.  They are able to insert clip art, photographs and graphics into their documents and can choose from multiple page layouts and designs to enhance their final product.

Modification

Ms. Clark modifies the writing assignment to be collaborative.  Working in small groups, students use online wikis, conduct peer editing and comment on each other's writing.  Work on the projects can be done synchronously in and out of class.  The final works are shared electronically through the class website or blog.

Redefinition

Ms. Clark's class collaborates with other local or global classrooms on a common problem.  The curricular project allows students to demonstrate their strengths and work with students in other classrooms.  Using a variety of multimedia, students collect, communicate and distribute their findings

This post was taken from the D50 Newsletter- SAMR Model