On the Trails

On my web site, I have a slogan that says:

Teach People HOW to Learn and not What to Learn

Those words are core to my teaching philosophy and are synonymous with the mission statement and core values of many schools.  Three ideas are central to this statement: self-directed, empowerment, and high expectations. I would like to comment on those three below as they apply to my technology integration model, METSS.

As a technology integrator, my job was to guide teachers toward the three above-mentioned ideas so that they could turn on their students.  I did this through the development of METSS, over the course of seven years.  This model brought out the three concepts in a slow, deliberate, confidence-building way.

I first Modeled technology instruction so that teachers know what to expect a good lesson or unit to look like.  As teachers began to feel comfortable, I Enabled them to co-plan lessons with me; they brought me their own objectives that I taught. This action empowered them because they could see how technology fit into their curriculum.  As the teacher’s confidence grew. I watched Teachers teach their own objectives with technology, while I offered support in the form of planning or resource finding.  Teachers were now self-directed, they knew what to do and this led to them flying Solo, teaching with technology alone. In an effort to show best practices, promote my staff and publish student work, I Showcased their work on our district web site.  This cycle repeated itself as new technologies emerged.

The METSS model has led to an increase in teacher web site activity, an increase in mobile lab purchases and unit and lessons that differentiate instruction using the Universal Design for Learning principles.  My teachers know HOW to teach with technology so that they can now teach kids HOW to learn with it!

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