My students are first graders, with a wide range of interests, skills, family backgrounds, and current levels of proficiency.
So, how does SITE apply to my students and my driving question? Sociocultural: The "S" in SITE refers to sociocultural. This is the unique social and cultural background of each of our students. In first grade at our private, parochial school, many of our families highly value secular education and technology, while others prioritize the religious education and practice. Some of my students come from very supportive and involved families, and others come from families who are unable to provide educational support for their children. Some students went to traditional kindergarten, some were home schooled. Understanding each of my students’ backgrounds helps in designing instruction, and in setting reasonable expectations and goals for each child. Informational: The "I" in SITE refers to informational. These are “the resources that exist to help the learner employ the ways and means represented by the technical subcontext to achieve worthwhile goals.” It also refers to “the skills and knowledge that learners need to will help them access the principles, rules, guidelines, directions, suggestions, conventions, codes, and so on that will allow them some measure of control over tools, systems, devices, procedures.” For first grade, this includes very basic skills like reading, understanding directions, writing, sharing materials, and using technology. For example, in order for my first graders to be able to play a math game, they need to know how to use the materials. For my math graders to solve a math puzzle, they need to learn to read and recognize directions. To read on Kids A to Z, they need to know how to turn on the iPad. Technical: The "T" in SITE refers to the tools, devices, procedures, systems, strategies, tactics, or techniques that would empower learners to achieve their goals. For first graders, this includes a creating a very relevant context and purpose for the learning, accompanied by plenty of hands-on activities so that they experience the learning as relevant. (The purpose can be something they’re already interested in, or introducing them to a whole new purpose or goal.) It also means recognizing that first graders have a short attention span and need lots of movement. Educational: The "E" refers to educational context. This brings the S, I, and T elements together as just some of the factors that are important in the overall education of a person. For my first graders, this broader definition of education includes social and emotional education, and cultivating an overall love of learning. In fact, in order for my first graders to synthesize the content learning, they need to feel successful and valued as members of our class and as learners. When they feel that they are successful as first graders, then they develop the confidence they need to continue to learn and grow both in and out of school.
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The audience for my research project is teachers. Since my driving question involves using an in-class flipped model to facilitate differentiation, my audience, more specifically, is teachers who are interested in using technology for differentiation.
Based on reading Dervin, Baggio, and Clark, I have several initial thoughts about creating a resource to share knowledge and research.
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Masters in Innovative Learning:
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