Amber Rutan

Unit 3 Assignment: Identifying Instrumental and Missional Thinking

2-17-13
(REVISIONS)

In an effort to ensure that all educators are maximizing student learning when using
different technologies, schools are looking to offer new types of professional development
focused on reestablishing technology usage for current teachers. What type of
technology and student learning focused professional development would you most
benefit from? Before looking outside the school districts for grants and hired specialists,
schools should also see what free opportunities can be created within their own educational
school community. Because of the rise of technology in both the personal and educational
world, technology training needs to occur to better help teachers understand how and why
they use technology and if that technology enhances student learning. Which type of
technology training would you find most beneficial and helpful to encourage deeper
student learning for yourself and your district?

POSSIBLE RESPONSES: please check all that apply
I would like to participate in this new type of technology training once a month,
during staff meetings, to learn and evaluate several types of technology and how
they can enhance my instruction as well as serve as a tool for students deeper
learning.
I would like to participate in this new type of technology training, for several hours
during our designated professional development days, to learn and evaluate several
types of technology and how they can enhance my instruction as well as serve as a
tool for students deeper learning.
I would want to lead and organize the professional development (staff meetings
and/or designated professional development days) by sharing my own successes
with technology as a tool to aid class lessons and assessments.
I would like to lead a small evaluation team to critique, revise, and then create more
meaningful curriculum (over the course of the school year) that allows technology to
enhance teaching instruction and would later like to share that with larger
departments and the district.

REFLECTION:
The revisions I made reflect many of the lessons I learned in Stanley Katzs (2011)article,
Dont Confuse a Tool with a Goal, and David Nagels (2011) conference Bringing
Teachers Onboard with Tech. My first revision was the opening sentence because
Edutopias original statement said that educators needed to keep up with technology,
making technology the main focus and goal; thus, creating a limiting instrumental
concentration for the rest of the paragraph. My revision focused on the more missional
thinking goal of maximizing student learning when using different technologies. The focus
in my paragraph is student learning, and the technology should be an aid to reach that
goal. My changes continued with my first bold question and my refocus for this survey. I
Amber Rutan
Unit 3 Assignment: Identifying Instrumental and Missional Thinking
2-17-13
looked at professional development (PD) and asked teachers what type of training would
help them with responses that push away from technology as the end result, and more
towards using the technology as a tool (Katz, p. 47). My focus on PD came from Nagels
argument that teachersneed professional development that helps them learn to explore
technologys possibilities (p.1) and as a teacher myself, I couldnt agree moreteachers
need exploration and experimentation, which is what I tried to create in the possible
responses. The middle of my paragraph offers some general discussion of where to find
these professional development opportunities and states the schools could look outside
their community for grants and specialists but also mentions ideas from Nagels
arguments, which is having staff within the district share and celebrate what they do. At the
end of my paragraph I, once again, restate my missional thinking question that focuses on
technology as something that encouragesdeeper student learning to keep from
confusing tools with goals (Katz, p. 48). My responses are the best at keeping the
missional thought process. My first two responses focus on teachers who want to learn
about technology, but as a tool and an enhancement for student learning and instruction. I
wanted to make sure all of the responses focused on technology as a TOOL, or an
instrument to help reach a goal, but not be the goal. The first response goes back to
Nagels ideas of using staff meetings to share and celebrate technology (p. 1). My third
option still keeps the integrity of missional thinking and also mirrors Nagels ideas once
again by having experienced teachers act as mentors for others within their community. My
fourth optionone of my favorites when considering missional thinkingoffers PD where
teachers can ensure that technology serves higher educationby thoughtfully
consideringfundamental education goals and how technology can serve those goals
(Katz, p. 50). This option, in a subtle way, acknowledges the instrumental thinking errors
that may be going on, and seeks to push technology as more missional by reviewing and
recreating curriculum to use technology to support learning, but not be the learning goal.
Ultimately, the best way to revise an instrumental mindset is looking at what, why, and
how you are using technology. If the technology is the main focus, or the end result, then
you are falling into the instrumental thinking trap; however, it can amended by reestablish
your goals to focus student learning instead.