Instructional Assistance 1

Educational Leadership Instructional Assistance

Candice Troutman

Educational Leadership, Longwood University

PEDU-671: Supervision Evaluation Program

Dr. Tammy Hannah

March 29, 2021

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Educational Leadership Instructional Assistance

The use of technological tools like Google Classroom, Canvas, FlipGrid and Padlet have

revolutionized the teaching and learning process. Technology that enhances instruction and

engages students is an effective strategy to improve academic achievement. The benefits of

technology in the classroom include opportunities to work in groups, differentiation, and it

makes learning fun. It is especially helpful for students with disabilities who learn differently.

Technology allows students to learn in different formats and demonstrate their learning through a

variety of ways.

New teachers can become overwhelmed at the thought of integrating technology into

their lessons, especially if they lack the skills and training required to maximize effectiveness. In

the traditional classroom setting, its easy to get comfortable with paper and pencil. However,

given the current circumstances of virtual and hybrid learning, the use of technology is required.

Teacher A and I met to discuss the technological tools that are available for use in her classroom.

She is familiar with and currently Google Classroom to deliver assignments and assessments to

students. For instruction, she primarily uses PowerPoint presentations or Google slides. These

tools can be effective for instruction, but they are not interactive. Student engagement is

important to increase learning, so the technological tools should definitely allow students to

engage with the materials and information to facilitate active listening and collaborate with one

another. One of the easier to use interactive tools is Nearpod. An entire lesson can be created on

this platform, including formative assessments. Students can ask questions, answer questions,

view videos, snap photos and post them. They can demonstrate their listening and

comprehension skills throughout the lesson. We viewed sample lessons that have already been

created in Nearpod to get ideas on how to build English Language Arts lessons for Teacher A’s
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special education class as well as lessons for reteaching and review for students in her general

education classes. We determined the best way to begin incorporating it is to create lessons

around short stories or novels. Students can listen to audio versions of the story or novel.

Students will be assigned roles such as the word wizard, the illustrator, the questioner, the

connector, and the profiler while listening to the story. Throughout the story, there will be

opportunities for students to share what they gleaned from the story as it relates to their specific

role. Short formative assessments will also be included. Teacher A will record each lesson so

that we can review them together to assess what works and the opportunities for improvement. In

addition to Nearpod lessons, we also agreed that she would try small group rotations through

Zoom breakout rooms. One of the rooms will allow students to use Kahoot as a fun way to

review while another group will use IXL for independent practice. These small group rotations

will also be recorded and I will join the class one day per week to observe.

The overall goal is to see an improvement in student achievement, however, the primary

goal upon initial integration of this new technological tool is to see students more engaged in the

learning process. Teacher is excited to incorporate different technology into her lessons and I am

excited to observe, provide feedback and see results.