Implementation Plan Reflection

        Over the course of this semester there have been many changes and adjustments that have happened in my classroom. I am grateful that I was able to take the time to implement a personal digital inquiry project into my fourth grade class. My students and I learned more than I could have ever hoped for, but I feel I learned the most. I was able to learn from the practical side as well as the individual moments of observation that required me to make quick changes and reflect over the effectiveness of my lessons. 

        When I look back on the strengths of implementing my plan I consider the actual plan to be a great resource. I was able to quickly use the plan for a guide and utilize it to assist students during their group work.  It allowed me to take more time to have a basic view of what the lesson should be like and plan for the flow of the project. You can view my implementation plan by clicking this link. (https://docs.google.com/document/d/17gRZ4KT6mKFti5SWynrmjRoZVJoLkqvCLbSWRJ7hJ84/edit?usp=sharing) I also believe that I found the consistent feedback aspect of inquiry to be a strength. As I went through the plan with my students I realized very quickly how important monitoring and providing students with adequate directions was to the success of this project. During the first lesson I took this for granted and it resulted in the students getting off task and not focusing on the assignment. The picture below shows how easy it is for students to find different uses for the digital tools that are integrated into lessons.

        Personal digital inquiry made my students more motivated and engaged to learn. So much so that they would even challenge my suggestions, extend their questions, and create a product that mattered to them. It also made it easy to incorporate literacy skills, curriculum materials, and learning goals. I was able to utilize the librarian, online content, and my school's social studies textbook in a combination that encouraged student learning. The students found more use for the curriculum materials and I was able to provide more instruction on the use of literacy strategies to comprehend text online. My students still have a ways to go in mastering these skills, but the amount of effort that students placed into the project made me feel proud. 

        With all the strengths that I have thought about, there were also many weaknesses. I should have took more time to evaluate and think more about what my students were able to do. This would have helped me plan to spend more time on teaching the students how to use the internet efficiently. There were many tips, tricks, and basic navigation tools that my students needed to learn and should have been given a separate lesson to practice. I also should have considered collaboration to be more essential in my plan. During my implementation I realized its importance and started providing my students with more opportunities to collaborate and share their interests more often. As a teacher

this project has shown me that a large portion of learning comes from when students are able to interact with each other. I also feel there was also a weakness in my description of the digital tools. During the final portion of my implementation plan, I caused students to have self doubt that they could complete what I had planned for them. This caused me to realize that when things are new to students and teachers it is best to have a completed model or representation that the students can view and base their project on.

        As a teacher I learned more than I expected to learn. Of course I knew that plans do not always go as you planned, but I learned to put more trust in my students. Spoon feeding students and not allowing them to learn and discover on their own is detrimental to their improvement. I also learned the importance of reflecting more after each lesson and then taking time to read over those reflections before the next lesson. When teachers take time to reflect it gives us the opportunity to think about the changes that need to come. In the future I would like to include more opportunities for my students to reflect throughout the personal digital inquiry project as well. In my plan I originally only planned for the students to spend one lesson reflecting and synthesizing their information. I am hopeful to implement another personal digital inquiry project into my classroom next semester and make changes

based on what I have learned during this inquiry project.  

If you would like to try to implement personal digital inquiry or my personal plan, please read through some of my suggestions:

• Include more opportunities for students to collaborate and self reflect. 
• Be prepared to change the lesson based on the needs of the students. 
• Provide consistent and targeted feedback to all students and monitor their progress.
• Be prepared to extend time and make sure the students do not feel rushed. 
• Have a model representation that shows the expectations for a completed project. 
• Include multiple formats of text and resources for the students to use. 
• Encourage students who feel discouraged, as well as yourself. Things may not always go as you or your students planned for them to go. 
• Create and maintain a learning environment to engage students in the process for the entire project. 

Digital and Disciplinary Literacy

        As a teacher it is even more important to acknowledge the digital expectancies of the classroom.

There is a need for teachers to purposefully integrate technology that supports students' learning.

When considering the aspects of digital tools and the web, teachers should consider the amount of

literacy that goes into students reading, analyzing, and comprehending content online. This played

into how I considered teaching the social studies unit in my classroom covering the northeastern

states of America. I wanted my students to be able to learn how to use digital tools while also ensuring

that I was teaching the curriculum. Implementing an inquiry practice into a classroom is a great way for

teachers to teach digital and disciplinary literacy. Before truly understanding digital inquiry can be

effective, I believe it’s important to know how digital and disciplinary literacy instruction can support

each other. 

        There is a synergy that should be acknowledged between digital and disciplinary literacy.

According to Manderino and Castek (2016) disciplinary literacies are the literacy practices used to

engage in disciplinary inquiry, while digital literacies represent the use of digital tools to consume and

produce knowledge. Teachers can aim to engage students in intellectual practices of inquiry, reading,

and building knowledge through exposure to online resources and tools. Using digital formats of

materials enables teachers the ability to provide students with access to additional content related to

disciplinary content. Teachers can view digital literacies as literacy that can be shaped by disciplinary

learning (Manderino & Castek, 2016). Teaching with digital literacy prepares students for their future

participation in society as digital technology in itself is an evolving society. Chase & Laufenberg (2011)

state that many teachers can confuse digital literacy with new literacy, cautioning teachers to

understand that digital literacy is simply reading and writing in a digital environment.

        Bruce (2011) states that digital literacy can have a beneficial influence on the practices in schools across all grade levels. Mentioning that digital technology and tools are a part of  students’ everyday life and experiences. As teachers, it is imperative that we consider the amount of technology that students use daily and will be required to use as they move throughout grade levels. Which presents the need for teachers to feel more comfortable with implementing digital literacy in their classrooms. There should be a pedagogical approach to how teachers select and implement technology (Casey & Bruce, 2011). The digital tools that are selected should directly correlate to what the teachers expectations are for students, their learning, and the practice of selective skills regardless of district purchases or affordances of technology. Evaluating and carefully selecting digital tools can help teachers begin to become more comfortable with their integration. 

        Incorporating digital and disciplinary literacy into one instructional practice produces the best results. According to Bruce (2011) digital literacy encompasses the purpose, setting, and practice in which technology is used to convey meaning and understanding. Citing that the inquiry process is the best way to expose a cycle of learning that can inform and guide learners through digital and disciplinary learning experiences (Bruce, 2011). During the inquiry cycle, shown below, students inquire, research, collaborate, present, and have opportunities to reflect on their learning (Chase & Laufenberg, 2011). The goals of the inquiry process can be directly related to the content of a specific discipline, which allows teachers to ensure students are building knowledge over time. With careful selection of digital tools, the learning operations evolve as students are offered a variety of ways to create in spaces that allow them to express themselves at any age level. Spires et al., (2016) sees disciplinary literacy as highly complex, including instructional approaches that differentiate literacies by content domains. In disciplinary literacy students are using reading, speaking, writing, and listening to learn and form content knowledge. The inquiry process is a perfect way for teachers to begin to implement digital technology and teach appropriate strategies and disciplinary concepts. 

References: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FQ7mCW7aX9efEVTP1k-ZrhJ9EdG

zK2qzLJxqUofhF9A/edit?usp=sharing