Running head: INSTRUCTIONAL ASSISTANCE 1

Instructional Assistance

Katie Wissman

Longwood University
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Technology is an excellent resource for enhancing lessons and making content accessible for all

students. However, teachers are often cautioned to ensure technology is being used within the

curriculum and not being relied on in place of the teacher. In our building, all students are equipped

with a Chromebook and access to multiple resources provided by the school. In this case, Teacher A is a

first year Math 6 teacher. One main goal the teacher has for her students this year is to increase their

number sense. To achieve this, students need to be able to manipulate numbers in their minds

accurately, which means they need to be proficient and fluent when it comes to basic math facts. As this

is an area many students still struggle with, Teacher A would like to use technology as a way to help

improve students’ basic math fact abilities and increase engagement in her lessons.

Upon discussion with Teacher A, several options were brought to the table. We discussed the

use of different programs to allow for quick and fun practice that students could work on at home or in

the classroom. Programs such as Quizlet or IXL allow for teacher created/assigned but student driven

practice that is both fun and engaging and can be used in or out of the classroom. Other programs such

as Kahoot or the use of Pear Deck when presenting new information allow students to engage in lessons

within the classroom. In terms of how the programs can be incorporated on a day to day basis, Teacher

A and I discussed using student driven programs for early finishers, as an independent station, or for a

daily warm up at the beginning of class. It could also be assigned as at home practice or linked on

Teacher A’s Canvas page in the review section so students can go back and access the resources and use

them to practice later on when they feel they need it. Using online resources such as these allow the

teacher to tailor instruction to specific student needs. She can assign different levels of practice for

students with different abilities without others knowing to avoid student embarrassment. It also allows

for easy translating for ELL students who may need it. For teacher led programs, such as Kahoot or Pear

Dek, these could be used occasionally to enhance lessons and check for student understanding. As

Kahoot is played as a whole class game, it could be a Friday incentive or quickly at the end of a lesson to
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assess student understanding. Pear Deck could be used during a lesson to check students are grasping

material before moving on.

To monitor the use of these different technology options, Teacher A and I discussed check-ins

during planning. As we have a common planning time and space, this is easy to do daily, specifically

when new lessons are being planned for the week. We will look at her weekly plans and see where

technology can be incorporated to enhance student learning. Once the technology is being incorporated

regularly, we will look closely at student progress both on the programs they are using, as they track

student progress, and on the weekly quizzes that they take. Together we will analyze student data and

determine the success of the institution of technology. If it proves to be improving student quiz grades

and progress is being made efficiently through such practice programs, we will know it is effective. If

student quiz grades remain the same or decrease and progress is not being made on the programs, we

can determine that either students are not getting enough practice or the materials are not useful for

their needs. From there we can reassess and determine the next course of action. This may include the

finding and implementing of different programs, or providing more opportunities in class as opposed to

outside of class for students to practice and use these technology opportunities.

Overall, Teacher A feels comfortable using technology as it is easily accessible to all our

students. She is familiar with the programs and says she can easily find time in her day to allow students

to practice, particularly early finishers or during warm up times as she does not feel they will be likely to

do much practice on their own at home. She is excited to explore new programs as well to see how else

she can support students in her classroom.

I have neither given nor received help on this work, nor am I aware of any infraction of the Honor Code.
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References

Teacher A (2019, April 3). Teacher interview [Personal interview].