Standard+4

Home Standard 1 Standard 2 Standard 3 Standard 4 Standard 5 Standard 6 Standard 7 Standard 8 Standard 9 Standard 10

** Standard 4 ** ** Teachers know how to teach. **  The teacher understands and uses a variety of instructional strategies, including the use of technology, to encourage children's development of critical thinking, problem solving, and performance skills.

Evidence: How-To Lesson Plan

Rational: I used this lesson with my 5th grade students for their how-to papers. Using Vuvox, students created a multimedia presentation to depict the steps of an everyday activity. Students used critical thinking and problem solving when breaking down the steps of completing a task and creating images to compliment these activities. Also, students needed to find a way to communicate these steps and in an easy to follow and sequential way. Students enjoyed the use of Vuvox in creating their presentations. Taking pictures of the activity helped students to break down the steps to their tasks. This multimedia presentation made it easy for students to write the written form of their project. I learned that using technology such as digital images and a timeline presentation tool such as Vuvox, helped students organize their thinking, while at the same time motivated them to complete the task.

4.K.3 The teacher knows how to enhance learning through the use of a wide variety of materials and technological resources (e.g. computers, audio-visual technologies, videotapes and discs, local experts, primary documents and artifacts, texts, reference books, literature, and other print resources).

To complete this how-to project, students utilized digital cameras, computers, and multimedia software.

4.S.4 The teacher varies his or her role in the instructional process (e.g. instructor, facilitator, coach, audience) in relation to the content and purposes of instruction and the needs of students.

During the process of this project, I started as the instructor, giving instructions and mini lesson on how to use the technology involved. I then became more of a facilitator, keeping students on task and helping when questions arrive, and lastly I was part of the audience, when students shared their projects.

4.D.1 The teacher values the development of students’ critical thinking, independent problem solving, and performance capabilities

Through this project I was able to assist students while they were using critical thinking skills in discovering the steps needed to complete a task. Students then problem solved how they were going to share the information in their presentation.