WEEK #1- EDUC 5313

Mini-Bio

My name is Tiffany Kilcoyne, and I currently teach 7th grade English in the Hurst-Euless-Bedford Independent School District (HEB ISD).  Our district is located halfway between Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. 

I love teaching in the classroom, but I also have a passion for creating engaging and effective curriculum, so becoming a Curriculum Coordinator is my current professional goal.  However, I served as a Language Coach in France with the International Mission Board; that experience was so rewarding that I am also considering becoming an Instructional Coach for educators.  For now, I am content to teach my students and learn everything I can in my graduate courses at Southeastern Oklahoma State University.

ISTE 1.3 and TEKS 7.12

The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Standard 1.3 Knowledge and Constructor indicator asks that "students evaluate the accuracy, validity, bias, origin, and relevance of digital content" (2024). In our age of information overload, it is incredibly important for students to learn how to evaluate the information they read and use.  By focusing on the ISTE Standard 1.3, we can encourage students to assess their sources and information.

In my 7th Grade Advanced Academics English classroom, we address the ISTE Standard 1.3 and the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) ELAR Standard 7.12 by conducting research over a student-chosen topic.  The ELAR standard outlined in the TEK 7.12 states that students should engage "in both short-term and sustained recursive inquiry processes for a variety of purposes"  (TEKS, 2019).  We spend an entire day in our school library looking at the resources available to us.  These resources include databases, encyclopedias, and internet sites. Our librarian walks students through how to find sources that are relevant, valid, free of bias, and accurate. 

Our librarian also stresses the importance of looking at the origin of any source that a student would like to use for the research project.  We look at reputable publications and how to vet websites.  For this particular project, students choose between doing research over the history of the number 7 and research over designing a dream garden.  

Triple E Framework

The Triple E Framework is a tool created by Liz Kolb to help teachers select effective technology tools (Kolb, 2020).   The framework helps teachers find the best technological aids to meet their learning goals, and the first questions in the framework focus on the assignment itself.   Does the tool help students focus on the task? In the context of our research project, the answer is yes.  The learning goal found in the ELAR TEK 7.12 is directly related to inquiry and research.  Research is the task.  Other questions involve scaffolding, the ability for the technology tools to help the students in ways that traditional tools cannot, and the opportunity for these tools to help students outside of the classroom.  The research tools we use for this project answer all of the framework questions in a positive light.

References  

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Chapter 110. Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for English Language Arts and Reading Subchapter B. Middle School. (2019). https://tea.texas.gov/about-tea/laws-and-rules/sboe-rules-tac/sboe-tac-currently-in-effect/ch110b.pdf

International Society for Technology in Education. (2024). ISTE standards: For students. ISTE. https://iste.org/standards/students

Kolb, L. (2020, December 9). Triple E Framework. Triple E Framework. https://www.tripleeframework.com/

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