Running head: STUDENT CHOICE AND TECHNOLOGY 1

Student Choice and Technology

Caitlin Troy

State University of New York College at Oneonta

STUDENT CHOICE AND TECHNOLOGY 2

Introduction

Education is evolving to better support student learning through varying

pedagogy, technology support, and ICT (integrate co-teaching) modalities. Technology is

constantly changing and improving, so there is a plethora of ways that teachers can

implement it into their classrooms to best promote student learning. Technology is

extremely valuable in engaging all different types of students’ learning styles and

preferences. The beneficial aspect of technology is that there are a variety of ways that it

can be integrated into the classroom to promote student learning, as for example through

student choice. This way of implementing technology through choice in lesson materials

will support the students in understanding the content as well as adding meaning to their

learning.

Technology is a vital resource both in and out of the educational setting that can

support teachers in engaging and effective lessons, differentiated lessons for all types of

learners, and it creates an environment of collaboration and communication between

teachers and students alike. It is extremely important that educators design curriculum

and instruction to the needs of all diverse learners. This include students of varying

learning styles and preferences, students with Individual Education Plans (IEPs), and

English Language Learners (ELLs). Technology is a beneficial tool that can bridge the

gap of understanding between diverse students and learning outcomes. In this paper I will

discuss the effectiveness of professional development on teacher ability to implement

student choice in the classroom and on technology skills development for teachers. I will

be discussing the needs and importance of professional development for educators as well

as the importance of adult learning. I will discuss Khan Academy, Desmos, and
STUDENT CHOICE AND TECHNOLOGY 3

EDpuzzle that were the chosen technologies for my workshop. I will also discuss the

workshop design, lesson plan for the workshop, and the actual delivery of my

professional development.

Literature Review

The Need for Professional Development. When teachers engage in professional

development opportunities, students are the ones who benefit. Professional development

creates a space and an experience for teachers to freshen their skills set and learn new

teaching skills. As a math department at my school, I feel that it is extremely important to

explore the ways that we can engage all diverse students in the math classroom. As

teachers prepare students to be college and career bound ready, we want to instill a

confidence in students to become independent learners. We want to develop students’

self-efficacy so they feel persistent to take on challenging tasks without constant

reassurance from teachers. According to Ozerbas (2016), (“Self-efficacy means a

person’s belief in his/her ability to succeed in specific situations” (p. 205). Improving this

belief can have a positive effect on student’s’ cognitive, motivational, and emotional

processes.

Integrating technology into lesson instruction can play a major role on students

who are more visual and auditory learners, can increase students’ motivation, and can

result in overall higher success. Ozerbas (2016) stated that “the research findings show

that the academic success of the students in the experimental group, who learn in a digital

classroom, is higher than the success of the students in the control group, who learn in the

classroom without any digital technologies” (p. 209). For these reasons using technology

in a strategic way, such as through student choice, can positively impact student learning.
STUDENT CHOICE AND TECHNOLOGY 4

When providing this space to adults to learn about these technologies, it’s important to

remember that adult learners need application and action. It’s important that there is a

strong emphasis on how vital of a tool technology can be for both the design of the

curriculum and its delivery, so the participants feel how beneficial of a tool it can be for

student learning. According to Merriam (2013), “Technology has irrevocably affected

how we work, carry out our daily lives, and interact with other people” (p, 17).

According to Reinhart (2011), the author in this journal illustrates the importance of

providing training for practicing teachers on how to use technology to promote higher-

order thinking skills (p. 183).

The Technology Chosen for your Workshop (i.e. Symbaloo). This section of

the design and evaluation paper explores ten different sources that report on results from

research involving educational pedagogy and the integration of technology. The needs of

the students and teachers must be carefully examined when considering what supports are

needed in a professional development. This paper will give an overview of topics that

revolve around instruction and technology which will result in a providing a positive

impact on student learning. This paper will examine ways to cognitively engage all

diverse students in learning through choice and technology. There will also be

consideration of how teachers can develop a classroom culture of problem solving in

mathematics for all diverse learners because of this choice.

With all the diverse students that could be in one classroom, it is important for

teachers to match each individual student to different activities that suits the students’

needs and abilities. According to Nunley (2003), the importance of this practiced is

discussessed, “When curriculum is layered, assignment choices are used to gain student
STUDENT CHOICE AND TECHNOLOGY 5

attention and ownership, as well as allow for the huge variety of brains in the classroom”

(p.31). Providing student choice has been proven to have a significant positive effect on

student motivation and engagement in the classroom.

In further support of this finding, the academic journal discusses the many

benefits of incorporating choices into classroom activities. Teachers have always been

taught not to only to teach students, but to motivate them to learn. According to

Thompson (2015), “Offering choice in the classroom is one way to increase student

motivation by appealing to students’ needs for autonomy and competence” (p. 111).

Thompson continues to discuss that in order for choice to be authentic and beneficial to

student learning, there must be variation in the choice that is provided.

Options in classrooms on how students choose to cognitively engage in the

material can be supported with various technologies and resources. An option of non-

traditional ways to engage students could be the use of educational computer games.

Maskek (2017) discusses a study involving the correlation between a science video game

and student learning. In this study participants completed a diagnostic test before the trial,

and again at the end, designed to assess competence in the fraction concepts targeted by

the game. The result showed that students who had access to the game scored higher than

a group who did not according to Maskek (2017), “looking at just students who started

with a lower level of fractions skills, greater improvement was seen in those that had

access to the game” (p. 33).

Another option on a way to best support student learning could be the

implementation of instructional online videos. Khan Academy is an online platform

offering educational videos and exercises around various math concepts. According to
STUDENT CHOICE AND TECHNOLOGY 6

Light (2014), the journal studied five schools where teachers used Khan Academy. The

studied stated according to Light (2014), “we found that the way Khan Academy

functions as a digital learning environment changes the ways and the degree to which

students engage with and are engaged by the math content; it also changes the way

teachers and students interact with each other” (p. 111). This differentiation, while

keeping in mind student choice, can support students by providing them a deeper

understanding on math topics.

A final example of non-traditional activities that could be used as student choice

are virtual manipulatives that support students in exploring math concepts. According to

King (2017) around this idea of choice, “giving them (students) varied opportunities to

foster a positive and successful approach to the study of mathematics is critical, and can

help them appreciate the relevance, usefulness, and creativity of the subject” (p. 171). A

tool that can be used to engage students in an innovative manner is the software Desmos.

Desmos is a free online graphing calculator that runs as a browser application or a mobile

app. Desmos can graph equations and inequalities, as well as other computational

features like lists, plots, regressions, graph, restrictions, and other graphing tasks. There

are many benefits to Desmos. King (2017) further states, “its emphasis on creativity,

initiative, inquiry, exploration, and independent work—all features of enriching tasks—

can captivate students’ interest and it certainly encourages a deeper understanding of

some mathematical concepts” (p. 173). There are many ways that technology and student

choice can be integrated together to maximize student learning and provide a high

cognitive engagement for all diverse learners.

STUDENT CHOICE AND TECHNOLOGY 7

Adult Learning. Working with adult learners is vastly different from working

with adolescents or student learners that many educators are trained for. Because of these

differences, it’s important to have a clear understanding on characteristics of adult

learners. Adults who participate in professional development opportunities come with full

maturity, their own unique backgrounds and experiences, specific goals for learning, and

appropriate concern about the information that is being presented. This section of the

paper will discuss many ideas and themes around the impact of adult learning in today’s

world.

One theme regarding adult learners is that adults need to understand why

something is important to know or to do. As stated earlier, non-traditional students are

more likely to question and show concern to what information they are learning. Adult

learners are unique in that they step into a classroom with a desire to learn and a need to

obtain more information. They have the drive to learn something new on particular

information, which can be not as common with traditional students. Holmes (2014)

states, “This principle is not about why adults are sitting in your class looking to feed off

of your knowledge, but rather why each component of the class you’re teaching is an

important part of the learning process” (p. 72).

As discussed briefly earlier in the paper, it needs to be emphasized to adult

learners the “why” of the content they are engaging in. Adult learners, especially

teachers, are extremely busy and their time is limited in what extra-curricular educational

opportunities they can engage in. It’s important to utilize adult learners’ time and give

them concrete steps and action to take into the classroom. When working with adult

learners in this professional development, the importance of technology and the benefits
STUDENT CHOICE AND TECHNOLOGY 8

it has on student learning need to be expressed clearly and explicitly. According to

Reinhard (2011) it is discussed within the journal that training for practicing teachers on

how to use technology to promote higher-order thinking skills is crucial (p. 189).

A final idea that should be addressed regarding adult learners is that they are

similar to the traditional students where it’s important to instruct with a combination of

all three learning styles (visual, auditory, and tactile). According to Vandenberg (2008),

adult learners learn best when “the learning taps into a mix of learning styles that fit their

preferences and stimulate their ‘multiple intelligences’” (p. 109). All students alike,

including adult learners, learn best when multiple means are used to represent the

material being learned. It is the job to facilitate learning, and we want to make sure the

participants learn what we want to teach them. All the themes that have been mentioned

in this section of the paper are based on years of research in adult learning.

Workshop Design

Needs Assessment. The specific questions of the needs assessment with

participant answers provided in Appendix A. I received 6 responses from all the math

teachers at my school for my needs assessment. This was very helpful and insightful for

me to understand the adults who will be sitting in on my professional development.

Response
n = number of participants (6)
# Question
Using a scale of 1-5, with 1- being
strongly disagree and 5- being strongly
agree
1 2 3 4 5
1 How comfortable are you with using
technology in your classroom? (0) (0) (0) (4) (2)

2 How motivated do students seem to be 1 2 3 4 5

when working on tasks in your classroom?
STUDENT CHOICE AND TECHNOLOGY 9

(0) (0) (5) (1) (0)

1 2 3 4 5
3
How many classes do you teach that is ICT?
(40%) (20%) (20%) (20%) None

4 What technology do you have access to in
your classroom?
5 How often do you use technology in your
classroom? If so, what do you use it for?
If you use technology, how does that
6 -
support students being cognitively engaged
in your lesson(s)?
- Smarboard (6 participants
indicated yes)
- Laptops (4 participants indicated
yes)
- Chromebooks (5 participants
indicated yes)
- iPads (1 participants indicated yes)
- Scientific calculators (5 indicated
yes)
- Graphing calculators (3 indicated
yes)
- Rarely
- Everyday
- Daily
- 2-5 times a week. Calculators
almost everyday, laptops a couple
times a week as an option: quizziz
or kahoot
- Sometimes
- Offering students an opportunity to
preview lessons in order to engage
in inquiry work before we go into
new content
- Differentiated learning in place of
taking notes, lectures, etc.
- Students can use laptop to watch
videos to help support the lesson
and research
Differentiation with quizziz and
kahoot allows students to decide
how they want to practice the
content and adds an element of
competition, which engages
students.
- Depends on the assignment.
Sometimes the provides a model
students to use to explore.
Sometime it is used for research,
and so on.
STUDENT CHOICE AND TECHNOLOGY 10

- When I use technology in the

7 - We utilize google classroom
How do you typically differentiate your
lessons?
8 If you provide options for students in your
lessons, what does that usually look like?
9 Do you ever assign classwork or homework
that deviates from a traditional worksheet?
classroom students are being asked
to show their current knowledge in
a specific concept of skill in a fun
way. That is, fun-learning-
assessing.
- Most often
- Various options for product.
Technology options are always
provided
- Content and process
- I usually provide options for
students
- Lesson are designed to meet low
level students
- Leveled worksheets
- Different level of work available
for practice
- I give level assignments so student
work on the skill they need
- Sometimes they have options for
level of difficulty, sometimes
format of practice, sometimes type
of assessment
- Depends on the lesson
- This semester I have not given a
lot of options, when I do they are
given different tasks without labels
Yes No Maybe
(83.3%) (0%) (16.7%)

10 Have you ever used videos to teach or Yes No Maybe

introduce a new math concept? (100%) (0%) (0%)

11 Do you ever given choice/options in lessons Yes No Maybe

to support student learning? (33.3%) (0%) (66.7%)

The results of the needs assessment can be found in Table 1 above. I learned that a lot of

the teachers are very comfortable with implementing technology in their lessons. I also

learned that a lot of teachers do differentiate in lessons and provide opportunities for
STUDENT CHOICE AND TECHNOLOGY 11

student choice. However, I learned that a lot of the teachers reported the choice they

provide is usually the same type of learning activity for the same type of learning

style/preference. For example, the teachers said they will provide different levels of

worksheets for choice. This informed the creation of my workshop by showing me that I

don’t need to spend a lot of time during the professional development on how teachers

can incorporate choice in lessons, as they all indicated that they do provide choice. This,

however, opened my eyes to how I need to educate the participants on how to make each

choice different and applicable to various learning styles. This also informed the selection

of my materials as I educated the participants on Khan Academy, Desmos, and

EDPuzzle.

Lesson Plan. The lesson plan (Appendix B) was designed with the themes

discussed in the adult learning section. I strove to create a professional development that

was informative, current, and applicable for the participants. The needs assessment

guided my instruction to provide the best learning environment possible.

Workshop Delivery. The objectives for the workshop were the following:

1. The participant will be able to identify places in lessons where choices could be

integrated.

2. The participant will be able to plan for differentiated learning activities that integrate

technology and student choice.

3. The participant will be able to improve student learning by providing opportunities for

choice in lesson activities.

STUDENT CHOICE AND TECHNOLOGY 12

It was interesting to take the professional development opportunity myself to step

in a new role as working with adult learners versus adolescents as compared to my

normal classroom. There are six math teachers at the Facing History School, and all were

invited to take part of the professional development. The workshop was conducted with a

total four participants. The workshop began with a do now that consisted of short math

puzzles for the teachers to complete. There were three options of puzzles: one with

manipulatives, one that is a word problem, and one that is more visual. This lead to a

great discussion on the benefits of student choice for different styles of learning, and how

we as teachers should strive to incorporate options in our classroom activities.

I then introduced Khan Academy, Edpuzzle, and Desmos to the participants. I

demonstrated the advantages of these three technological tools and how these three

platforms can be integrated easily into classroom activities. I also demonstrated how

these tools can be implemented in place of traditional math worksheets and teacher-led

lectures. I also described how these tools can be used as choices in lesson activities, and

how these choices are beneficial to student learning by catering to learning preferences

and styles. The workshop concluded with teachers analyzing a lesson plan without

technology and student choice. The post-test measured how well teachers changed the

lesson plan to provide opportunities for student choice and technology that was

demonstrated in workshop.

Workshop Evaluations

Table 2: Content Knowledge Post-Test

Question Participant 1 Participant 2 Participant 3 Participant 4

STUDENT CHOICE AND TECHNOLOGY 13

Participant
successfully
indicated 2/2 2/2 2/2 2/2
opportunities for
student choice.
Participant
created lesson
activities that 2/2 2/2 2/2 2/2
were student
centered.
Participant
implemented
2/2 2/2 1/2 2/2
Khan Academy
into lesson.
Participant
implemented
2/2 1/2 2/2 2/2
EDPuzzle into
lesson.
Participant
implemented
1/2 2/2 2/2 2/2
Desmos into
lesson.

Total Earned
Points 11/12 11/12 11/12 12/12

0 – Did not meet benchmark

1 – Met benchmark
2 – Met benchmark with a demonstration of mastery

As shown in Table 2, all the participants demonstrated a strong understanding of

content knowledge in the post test. Seventy five percent of the participants earned at least

11 points out of the 12 possible points earned. One hundred percent of participants

successfully indicated opportunities for student choice within the lesson plan.

Additionally, all participants created lesson activities that were student centered that

differed from the original lesson plan. Participants had the opportunity to integrate

technology that was introduced in the workshop and was not evident in the original

lesson plan. Seventy five percent of participants implemented Khan Academy as a

STUDENT CHOICE AND TECHNOLOGY 14

student choice driven opportunity. Seventy five percent of participants implemented

EdPuzzle as a student choice driven opportunity. Seventy five percent of participants

implemented Desmos as a student choice driven opportunity. I believe that based off this

data that the quality of the instruction was high for the participants and that the

participants met the objective of my workshop.

Table 3: Pedagogical Content Knowledge Post-Test

Question Participant 1 Participant 2 Participant 3 Participant 4

How can
2/2 2/2
choice 2/2 2/2
Options allow Choice allows
cognitively Students take Students have
students to for higher
engage ownership of power in how
pick an activity order thinking
students in work. they learn.
for their activities for
learning?
learning style. students.
2/2 2/2
What are the 2/2 Students are Technology
benefits to Students are more can allow
2/2
using much more comfortable teachers to
Students are
technology for excited about with technology explore
more engaged.
student learning with as the world different ways
learning? technology. becomes more to teach
technological. students.

0 – Did not meet benchmark

1 – Met benchmark
2 – Met benchmark with a demonstration of mastery

According to Table 3, all four of the participants demonstrated mastery of

pedagogical content knowledge. Participants explained their thoughts very well on the

desired learning objectives for the workshop. They exceed the benchmark for their

explanation on how choice can cognitively engage students in learning. One hundred

percent of participants noted that choice allows students to take ownership of work,
STUDENT CHOICE AND TECHNOLOGY 15

allows them power in their learning, gives them the opportunity to pick activities for their

learning styles, and provide higher order thinking. One hundred percent of participants

demonstrated with mastery on their explanation on the benefits to using technology for

student learning. Participants described that students are excited about technology in the

classroom, that students can become more comfortable with technology when it is

implemented often, that students are engaged when technology is used, and that

technology can allow teachers to explore different ways to teach students. The results in

Table 2 indicate that the workshop was successful and was helpful to participant’s

learning. The results also indicated that the workshop met the targeted learning objectives

from the presenter.

Table 4: Workshop Effectiveness Survey

Response
n = number of participants (4)
# Question
Using a scale of 1-5, with 1- being
strongly disagree and 5- being strongly
agree
1 2 3 4 5
1 The objectives of the training were clearly
defined. (0) (0) (0) (0) (4)

1 2 3 4 5
2 Technology helps students be cognitively
engaged in the lesson. (0) (0) (0) (1) (3)

1 2 3 4 5
3
The topics covered were relevant to me.
(0) (0) (0) (0) (4)

1 2 3 4 5
4 The content was organized and easy to
follow. (0) (0) (0) (0) (4)
STUDENT CHOICE AND TECHNOLOGY 16

1 2 3 4 5
5 Participation and interactions were
encouraged. (0) (0) (0) (0) (4)

1 2 3 4 5
6 Opportunities for student choice should be
evident in lessons. (0) (0) (0) (0) (4)

It is understood how the information 1 2 3 4 5

7 presented in the workshop could be used to
positively impact student learning in your
classroom.
8 What did you like most about this
professional development?
9 What aspects of the professional
development could be improved?
How do you hope to change your practice
10
as a result of this professional
development?
(0) (0) (0) (0) (4)
- “The opportunity to explores
choices in classroom and how it
can help students”
- “Learning about technology I
haven’t seen before”
- “The chance to talk to others about
what they do in their classrooms”
- “Learning something new and
helpful”
- “More time to explore the tools”
- “More information on different
learning styles”
- “Nothing”
- “More use of desmos”
- “Incorporate more choice”
- “Use technologies presented
today”
- “Learn more about edpuzzle.
Never heard of it before today”
- “Try more student centered
activities as oppose to teacher led
activities”

According to Table 4, one hundred percent of participants found that the

objectives of the training were clearly defined. A goal of the workshop was for

participating to see that technology can support students being cognitively engaged in the

lesson, where seventy five percent of participants agreed. one hundred percent of

participants found that the topics covered in the professional development were relevant

to their learning. It was also seen that one hundred percent of participants felt that the
STUDENT CHOICE AND TECHNOLOGY 17

content presented in the workshop was organized and easy to follow. Regarding the

pedagogy of the workshop from the facilitator, one hundred percent of participants

agreed that participation and interactions were encouraged. After the workshop was

presented, participants showed that they all agreed that opportunities for student choice

should be evident in lessons (100%). It was also recorded that participants understood

how the information presented in the workshop could be used to positively impact

student learning in the classroom (100%). The rest of the questions in the survey required

short answer responses from participants. Participants gave feedback to the presenter on

what was most enjoyable about the workshop. Most of the replies indicated that they

enjoyed the workshop and learned something new and valuable to their teaching practice.

The responses on what could be improved were all positive. The responses ranged from

nothing to providing participants more time to explore the three technology tools.

Participants indicated that because of the workshop they were going to strive to

incorporate the technology introduced in the workshop into their practice and also

implement more student choice as to positively impact student learning. The results of all

three tables indicated that that the workshop was successful and impacted the particpant’s

learning.

Reflection

Based on the results from the participants on the three surveys, I feel that the

workshop was overall beneficial for my participants and that they have a concrete and

abstract plan for their classrooms that can positively impact student learning. The results

informed me that although the content was effective for the participants, but that I needed

to manage the time of the workshop activities better. With exploring the topics of student
STUDENT CHOICE AND TECHNOLOGY 18

choice and three different technology tools, I overestimated how much time I had. In the

future, I would consider picking less technology tools and going more into depth with

that one or few. Since the purpose of this workshop was to create authentic learning

choices that integrate technology, I think it was important to cover a couple options and

the participants did agree as demonstrated in their overall surveys. In conclusion, one of

the objectives that I was hoping for participants to master was that they will be able to

improve student learning by providing opportunities for varied choice in lesson activities.

Based off the surveys, it was evident that my goals and learning objectives were met.

Overall, this experience allowed me to work with a different group outside of my

comfort zone: adult learners. It was intimidating to think about beginning the process, but

that I am the end of this experience I carry a confidence to assist adult learners in future

work. I would love to deliver another professional development in the future. My school

allows for plenty of professional development during our weekly staff meetings, and my

administration is open to teachers running a workshop for the whole staff. Now that I

have the experience and confidence of working with just the math department, I feel that

I can use the skills I have developed this semester and apply them to benefit the learning

of my whole staff.

Summary

When teachers participate in activities to better their pedagogy, students are the

ones who end up benefiting from this learning. The workshop introduced teachers to

three various technology tools that can be utilized to provide authentic learning activities

through student choice. The technologies are Khan Academy, Desmos, and EDpuzzle

that participants were exposed to. When working with theses specific participants, it’s
STUDENT CHOICE AND TECHNOLOGY 19

important to keep in mind that these learners are different from those that I am used to

working with at the high school level. Working with adult learners is different than

traditional learners, and it’s important to have a clear understanding of these

characteristics as to provide the best learning environment possible.

The workshop design provides an analysis, rational, and a “behind the scenes”

view of how the workshop all came together. In the workshop design is an overview of

the needs assessment, lesson plan, workshop delivery, and three workshop evaluations

and analysis. Student choice and the integration of technology is extremely important for

teachers to understand as the science of teaching revolutionizes, and I am pleased that I

was able to create a space and experience for the professionals in my school to explore

these ideas.
STUDENT CHOICE AND TECHNOLOGY 20

References

Holmes, Talisha. (2014). 5 Principles for Teaching Adult Learners. Retrieved from

https://generalassemb.ly/blog/principles-teaching-adults/

King, A. (2017). Using Desmos to draw in mathematics. Australian Mathematics

Teacher, (2), 33.

Light, D., & Pierson, E. (2014). Increasing Student Engagement in Math: The Use of

Khan Academy in Chilean Classrooms. International Journal Of Education &

Development Using Information & Communication Technology, 10(2), 103-119.

Maskek, M., Boston, J., Lam, C. & Corcoran, S. (2017). Improving mastery of fractions

by blending video games in the Math classroom. Journal Of Computer Assisted

Learning, 33(5), 486-499. doi:10.111/jcal.12194

Merriam, S. B., & Bierema, L. L. (2013). Adult learning : linking theory and practice.

Retrieved from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com

Nunley, K. F. (2003). Layered curriculum brings teachers to tiers. Education Digest. (1),

31.

Ozerbas, M. A., & Erdogan, B. H. (2016). The effect of the digital classroom on

academic success and online technologies self-efficacy. Educational Technology

& Society, (4), 203.

Reinhart, J. M., Thomas, E., & Toriskie, J. M. (2011). K-12 teachers: Technology use

and the second level digital divide. Journal of Instructional Psychology, 38(3-4),

181-194.
STUDENT CHOICE AND TECHNOLOGY 21

Thompson, M., & Beymer, P. (2015). The effects of choice in the classroom: Is there too

little or too much choice? Support For Learning, 30(2), 105-120,

doi:10.111/1467-9604.12086

Vandenberg, Lela. (2008). Facilitating Adult Learning. Retrieved from

http://www.canr.msu.edu/od/uploads/files/PD/Facilitating_Adult_Learning.pdf
STUDENT CHOICE AND TECHNOLOGY 22

APPENDIX A

#
Needs Assessment Questions

1
How comfortable are you with using technology in your classroom?
2
How motivated do students seem to be when working on tasks in your classroom?

3
How many classes do you teach that is ICT?

4
What technology do you have access to in your classroom?

5
How often do you use technology in your classroom? If so, what do you use it for?

6 If you use technology, how does that support students being cognitively engaged in your
lesson(s)?
7
How do you typically differentiate your lessons?
8
If you provide options for students in your lessons, what does that usually look like?
9
Do you ever assign classwork or homework that deviates from a traditional worksheet?
10
Have you ever used videos to teach or introduce a new math concept?
11
Do you ever given choice/options in lessons to support student learning?
STUDENT CHOICE AND TECHNOLOGY 23

APPENDIX B

Workshop Lesson Plan

Learning Objectives:

- The participant will be able to identify places in lessons where choices could be

integrated.

- The participant will be able to plan for differentiated learning activities that integrate

technology and student choice.

- The participant will be able to improve student learning by providing opportunities for

varied choice in lesson activities.

Task Analysis:

1. Teachers will start by answering a “Do Now” on the smartboard. The do now will be

three short math puzzles for the teachers to complete. There will be three options of

puzzles: one with manipulatives, one that is a word problem, and one that is more visual.

2. After the teachers are given 5 minutes to complete their puzzle, we as a whole group

will have a discussion around the do now. I’ll ask them why they picked the puzzle they

choose. We will discuss the differences amongst those three choices of puzzles and why

the choices were helpful for the teachers to engage in the do now. We will also discuss

how this can relate to providing students choice in the classroom.

3. I will then give a mini-lesson on the benefits of choice in classroom activities and how

those choices we use can be integrated with technology. I will show teachers Khan

Academy, Edpuzzle, and Desmos. These three platforms that can be integrated into the

classroom activities fairly easily.

STUDENT CHOICE AND TECHNOLOGY 24

3. I will then demonstrate how these three platforms can be used in a lesson in place of

traditional worksheets or teacher-led lecture. I will give an example of what I commonly

do in my algebra classroom. I will have the teachers choose from either a Khan Academy

activity, a Desmos activity, or an Edpuzzle video with questions which are all on slope

and linear functions.

4. After teachers complete their activity, we will discuss how they felt about their choice

and how these choices can be beneficial to student learning. We will also discuss how all

three of these options cater to different learning preferences and styles.

5. I will then ask teachers to think about a lesson they are teaching in the next 2 weeks. I

will ask teachers to begin to brainstorm opportunities for technology (demonstrated

today) and student choice in their lesson.