STAR
Tech Components
1:1
Assistance
As
beneficial as a learning community is to teachers—by helping them
think deeply about curriculum, instruction, technology, and assessment—this
powerful process is not enough to ensure that teachers will actually
begin to use high-tech tools within a high-performing, inclusive classroom.
Teachers need personalized and sustained assistance from an expert to
explore the potential of technology tools.
The component of STAR Tech called 1:1 Assistance gives teachers the
help they need in translating ideas generated at the STAR Cycle team
meetings into practice, particularly those ideas that involve high-tech
tools.
STAR Tech ensures that teachers have individualized, classroom-based,
hands-on help for integrating high-technology tools into the curriculum
from an expert such as an external or internal change agent, a staff
developer, a technology/media specialist, a special educator, or another
teacher.
Teachers need help in understanding the features of a tool, determining
how it aligns with the curriculum, learning how to operate it, and figuring
out the logistics of its use (when, where, and with which students).
We found that when providing 1:1 Assistance, experts need to consider
the following:
- The teachers'
questions, interests, and concerns
- The teachers'
background experiences
- What technology
tools the teacher has access to
Training should
be hands-on, divided into chunks, and connected to the classroom experience.
If possible, experts should carry out an inquiry process with teachers
where they collaborate to plan, implement, and reflect on the integration
of technology into the curriculum.
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