February 2001 — Features
Print this articleClick here to receive your FREE subscription to T.H.E. Journal
Assessing the Impact of Instructional Technology on Student Achievement
- Apply technology in assessing student learning of subject matter using a variety of assessment techniques.
- Use technology resources to collect and analyze data, interpret results, and communicate findings to improve instructional practice and maximize student learning.
- Apply multiple evaluation methods to determine students' appropriate use of technology resources for learning, communication and productivity.
Rockman (1998) suggests that "A clear assessment strategy that g'es beyond standardized tests enables school leaders, policymakers, and the community to understand the impact of technology on teaching and learning." RMC Research Corporation's extension of the Sternberg model can be used to organize and interpret a variety of student self-perceptions, teacher observations of student learning processes, and teacher-scored student products. It captures the overlapping kinds of expertise that students developed throughout their technology-related activities.
One of the greatest challenges facing the Technology Innovation Challenge Grants and the Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers To Use Technology (PT3) grants is to make a link between educational technology innovations, promising practices for teaching and learning with technology, and increases in student achievement. We believe that this model may be replicable in other educational institutions, including schools, districts, institutions of higher learning, and grant-funded initiatives. However, to use this model, participating teachers must be able to clearly identify the standards they are addressing in their instruction, articulate the specific knowledge and skills that are to be fostered by using technology, carefully observe student behavior in creating and refining their work, and create and benchmark rubrics that they intend to use to evaluate student work.
Lorraine Sherry
Shelley Billig
Daniel Jesse
Deborah Watson-Acosta
RMC Research Corporation, Denver
X@XOpenTag003References
X@XCloseTag003Marzano., R.J., Pickering, D., & McTighe, J. 1993. Assessing student outcomes: Performance assessment using the Dimensions of Learning Model. Littleton CO: McREL Institute.
Rockman, S. 1998. Communicating our successes: Issues and tactics. Unpublished manuscript.
Sternberg, R.J. April, 1998. "Abilities Are Forms of Developing Expertise." Educational Researcher, 27 (3),11-20.X@XOpenTag004
The WEB Project is a five-year Technology Innovation Challenge Grant that was completed in September 2000. The purpose of this project was to infuse standards-based instruction in multimedia, digital art, music composition, and online discourse into the general arts and humanities curricula of Vermont K-12 schools. Multimedia technology was incorporated within six academic content areas: art, music, technology, history/social studies, English/language arts, and interdisciplinary studies.
Students shared their works-in-progress with a virtual community consisting of other students, teachers, digital artists, traditional artists, musicians, composers, Web page designers and other experts.
