2.

2 Research-Based Learner-Centered Strategies

Candidates model and facilitate the use of research-based, learner-centered strategies addressing
the diversity of all students. (PSC 2.2/ISTE 2b)

ARTIFACT: Internet Lesson Plan

The Internet Lesson Plan was completed in the ITEC 7430 Internet Tools in the Classroom
course. This artifact was designed using the NETS-S lesson plan template to provide third grade
students with engaging and pedagogically sound Science and English Language Arts (ELA)
activities. The lesson plan showcased the use of Georgia Standards of Excellence for Science and
ELA, ISTE-S standards, a timeline of eight weeks, a list of digital/instructional resources,
instructional plan, management plan, and strategies for differentiation. It was designed for
students to creatively show mastery of being able to compare and contrast Georgia’s natural
habitats through writing an opinion piece. The end goal was for students to share their final
projects with classes in various Georgia regions and to also receive feedback from members of
the Georgia Wildlife Federation. This project was completed independently with the support of
third grade teachers on appropriately integrating subjects.

The Internet Lesson Plan was not actually implemented in a third grade classroom. Its
development, however, provided future opportunities to model and facilitate the development
of such a lesson for teachers at the elementary level. Within this artifact, there were a variety of
research-based strategies that promoted engaging learning opportunities for students. With the
inclusion of the assessment, management, and differentiation section of the plan, students would
receive learner-centered support, such as just-in-time direct instruction, small group guidance
from the teacher , collaborative opportunities, and even real-world connections that reach beyond
their classroom environment. Utilizing these variations of strategies ensured that diversity of all
students were considered and learning modalities were incorporated. As students acquired their
content knowledge throughout various phases of the project, there were various opportunities to
assess their learning through digital tools such as NearPod, Quizlet, Quizziz, and Kahoot!.
Students would have exposure to G Suite Tools for Education to support their writing, and they
would also use Skype or Flipgrid for collaborative purposes. For their final products, the teacher
would model and facilitate the use of Microsoft Sway and Abode Spark Video to provide
students with a choices on what they could use to showcase their learning. The end goal of
incorporating a variety of digital tools was to add to the students’ toolboxes for future work.

As noted, I was not able to fully implement The Internet Lesson Plan into a third grade
classroom. Coordinating schedules as an instructional technology coach in multiple schools
presented a challenge to create space for this opportunity. In hindsight, I am more than capable
of collaborating with teachers to develop a lesson plan of this depth and creating opportunities to
co-teach/facilitate with a teacher. This artifact reminded me of the many nuances that must be
considered when developing a pedagogically sound lesson plan. There must also be room for
adjustments and flexibility as classroom environments shift at a moments notice. As I continue to
coach and support teachers, I would like to seek future opportunities to support teachers with
implementing this project. As a classroom teacher, I struggled with building outside connections
for my students and working through this particular plan with a teacher would allow me to
support an environment by bringing experts into the classroom. If there were one aspect of this
project that I would like to alter, it would be fully implementing this with a third grade
team/classroom and receiving input from both the teachers and students to make adjustments that
fit their needs.

The impact of fully implementing The Internet Lesson Plan would provide teachers with
exposure to creating cross-curricular content for their students. Students would be exposed to
meaningful technology integration, and they would also experience the benefits of connecting
with experts. Facilitating the implementation of such a project would also motivate teachers to
move beyond traditional pedagogy in order to meet the needs of their scholars. Although
teachers and students did not experience this artifact my abilities as their instructional technology
coach were enhanced in that I was able to support them with other projects that allowed me to
tap into what I learned about developing, modeling, and facilitating a sound lesson plan.