I came across an interesting article from THE Journal that began with a discourse: moving teachers from teaching to facilitating. Here is the most compelling part for me:
“…two middle school teachers from Fleetwood, PA, described how last year they began using math and reading benchmark assessments to identify and address areas of need with fifth-grade students. One of the teachers, Patti Herman, said the five classroom teachers turned to the benchmarking function of Web-based software from Study Island to assess the students’ strengths and areas for improvement to help assign specific topics the students would focus on. Teacher Candace Hall said the teaching team set up a six-day cycle of “Target Time” for focused Study Island usage in math and reading. (The software is state-specific, so the students were working on material developed with the Pennsylvania Assessment Anchors in mind.)
“Although the state benchmark is that 76 percent of the students should be advanced or proficient, the Fleetwood team was encouraged enough by the progress they were making with students that they gradually upped the ante to 90 percent, Hall said.
“By differentiating instruction based upon student needs and using the benchmark tests to direct instruction, the school was able to jump from 59 percent proficient at the beginning of the school year to 91 percent advanced and proficient in May 2011, they said. “This gives me real-time data I need as a classroom teacher,” Herman said, “so that I know what to focus on with each student. I know so much more about them.”
"Hall added that administrators and teachers shouldn't have students sit in front of a computer all day. “Technology does not equal a teacher,” she said. “You have to take the time to learn the technology, but you have to maintain your role as an expert on the subject matter and tools.”'
Retrieved from: http://thejournal.com/articles/2012/03/27/technology-moving-teachers-from-fro...
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