Leveraging Digital Tools to Design Authentic Learning

MSCIN Leveraging Digital Tools to Design Authentic Learning Introduction In this paper, I will submit a lesson plan that uses the gradual release process and two digital tools to be able to answer a essential question and two student outcomes of active, deep learning. I chose to use Kahoot and SeeSaw for this lesson to promote thinking critically and communicating effectively with peers. I will discuss how the digital tools help to answer the essential question and how the digital tools promote the two identified student outcomes. Digital Tool Lesson Plan The lesson plan below is for Mathematics on a first-grade level. The lesson plan utilizes two digital tools: Kahoot and SeeSaw. The essential question for this specific less out of the unit is: “What does it look/sound like to summarize a graph?”. This corresponds with the Alaska State Standard shown in the left column that reads: “1. MD.7 Organize, represent, and interpret data with up to three categories. Ask and answer comparison questions about the data” (Alaska Department of Education and Early Development, 2012). The Kahoot digital tool is used to practice analyzing graphs in a small group setting while the use of the digital tool SeeSaw is used to organize, represent, and interpret data while practicing digital exchanges between classmates. Essential Question For this lesson, the essential question is “What does it look/sound like to summarize a graph?”. The use of a Kahoot during the guided instruction (we do) piece helps students to practice analyzing graphs, answering questions about displayed graphs, and using the data displayed in graphs to make summarizing statements. The Kahoot questions will show bar graphs and will ask the students in the small-group progressively challenging questions. Questions in the beginning might be as simple as “Look at the graph, how many students prefer pizza?”. As the questions for analyzing graphs get more challenging questions might say, “Look at the graph. Based on the information presented would you throw this class of students a pizza party or a popcorn party?” The use of the Kahoot presents practice for analyzing data in graphs in a fun way so that students can gain experience with making informed decisions about summarizing graphs per the essential question. Not only does the use of a Kahoot prepare students to summarize finding in graphs to exposes the students to a variety of different ways in which a bar graph might be set up (horizontal, vertical) (species of salmon, favorite foods, preference on extracurriculars, etc.) and shows them examples of how bar graphs can be used for several topics. This fact further prepares students to answer the essential question by putting more tools and past experiences with graphs in their pocket to draw from when needed. The use of SeeSaw in this lesson also helps to prepare students to answer the essential question “What does it look/sound like to summarize a graph?” in several different ways. First, students will be using SeeSaw to upload the graphs they create in the collaborative (we do together) portion of the lesson. Students will then write a summary of their data to upload following the upload of their pictural graph. Writing a summary down successfully helps students to answer the essential question because they are participating in doing the activity that the essential question asks of them. Next, students will have access via SeeSaw to view their peers work and summaries. The use of SeeSaw as a digital tool in this way enables students to view others work in a critical way. Students might think, “oh I wouldn’t have used that information in my summary” or “that’s a good idea I might think about including that in my summary”. The ability to view their peers work through the digital tool helps students answer the essential question by further digging into what a good summary looks like. Finally, the use of SeeSaw as a digital tool enables students to practice digital exchanges with their peers. Students will be asked to comment on at least one of their classmates work. The use of the digital tool in this way helps students to answer the essential question by processing what their peers have done with their data in different ways and formulating a response to what they did. This allows for even deeper thinking as responses will need to be meaningful for their peers. Active, Deep Learning The use of both digital tools (Kahoot and SeeSaw) maximizes active, deep learning for the student outcomes of thinking critically and communicating effectively. The student outcome of thinking critically is supported using the digital tool Kahoot. When students are participating in the Kahoot during the guided instruction (we do) piece of the lesson students are activating critical thinking skills. Students are activating critical thinking skills when they are presented with similar but different graphs and must apply what they have learned to a new idea. Students will be thinking about how they are answering for the questions in the Kahoot to score the most points. The Kahoot will help students practice constructing further knowledge and understandings about graphs in a fun and engaging way. Because students will be exposed to different (horizonal, vertical) bar graphs involving new topics, this requires them to deepen their understandings about looking at graphical data and will allow them to think critically about how data might be represented in different ways. The second digital tool, SeeSaw, efficiently maximizes active, deep learning to achieve communicating effectively in the less. SeeSaw is used to have students practice effective summaries of data from a graphical point of view. Students post their final summaries on the SeeSaw platform and can see their classmate responses as well. Because students can see their peers work, they are able to compare answers and make valid comments to their classmate’s work. In first grade, we will use sentence frames often to support students in having meaningful conversations with their peers. With the digital tool, students are actively thinking about the best response they should post for their friends to see. They are making deeper connections to the content when they are reading their peers responses. Students are also making active and deep connections with how to appropriately respond to their peers’ work, have an online conversation, and give valid and productive feedback to each other. The practice with using this digital tool to promote communication is preparing students for real world digital applications, retention of information, and experience with collaboration and teamwork.