Admin of LT Week 2

This week, I collaborated with a peer to develop their SMART goal. The content of this blog will be focused on the following SMART goal:

By the end of the semester, my 5th-grade students will work in teams to design and document a STEAM project (such as a bridge design or coding activity) using a shared Google Slides presentation.  Each student will contribute at least two original elements (such as data charts, design sketches, written explanations, pictures/video, or reflections), and all students will provide constructive feedback on at least two teammates’ contributions. Success will be measured with a rubric assessing collaboration, accuracy of STEAM content, and effective use of technology tools.

While working with my peer, we decided that an area of weakness involving technology is using it meaningfully when students are providing constructive feedback to each other. Students are probably familiar with using Google Slides individually, but they may have never used it in collaboration with their peers. This type of collaboration should also provoke the use of high-level thinking skills and real-world applications to STEAM. Last week, I took a deeper look into Kolb’s Triple E Framework. According to Kolb (2011), technology should engage, enhance, and extend students' learning rather than be used as a substitute. With that in mind, it must be ensured that students are not only using Google Slides to create a product but also to appropriately collaborate with their peers and reflect on their own work. 

The following is an outline to help my peer attain their SMART goal:

1. Model- The teacher should model the expected and appropriate use of Google Slides to ensure a common understanding between all students. They should also provide a lesson on how to properly give constructive feedback to a peer. 

2. Scaffold the Project- The project should be broken down into achievable pieces for the students. For example, give an allotted amount of time for the project design, then give a few days/weeks to complete the data collection portion, and so on. Breaking this down for students can help them feel less overwhelmed about the overall project. This will also allow for time to check in with groups to see where they are with their projects, and feedback from the teacher can be provided if needed. 

3. Provide Time for Peer Feedback- When students get to a good point in their project, the teacher should hold a reflection day/time. During this time, students are commenting on their teammates' slides to provide them constructive feedback. At this point in the project, the teacher has already modeled how to give constructive feedback, but can also provide the students with sentence starters to get them going. 

4. Allow Opportunities to Reflect- From time to time throughout the completion of this project, the teacher should provide a time for students to reflect on their own work. The first time, it should be modeled, just like giving feedback had been. Students should be thinking about how the use of technology in this project has required them to be critical thinkers. 

As mentioned above, Kolb’s (2011) framework emphasizes engagement, enhancement, and extension of student learning when using technology. The following describes how each of these pieces supports the attainment of my peer’s SMART goal:

• Engagement- Students will be actively involved by working together to create meaningful work. 

• Enhancement- The use of Google Slides will enhance students' knowledge of multimedia elements that can be used within their slides to present their findings in their project. 

• Extension- This STEAM project will extend learning beyond the classroom by promoting the use of peer collaboration and problem-solving skills. Both of these skills can be carried over and utilized in the real world, especially in a future job setting for these students. Being able to work with peers and problem-solve are two qualities all students should leave the classroom with. 

The action steps I have provided to my peer align with this framework because they ensure that the use of technology is not being used as a tool to keep students passively busy, but rather deepens their engagement to keep them actively engaged with a purpose. As a result, students will learn how to collaborate effectively and learn how to apply skills learned in the classroom to the real world.

The Student and Educator ISTE Standards that address the SMART goal and action plan are the following:

ISTE Standards for Students (2025):

• 1. Empowered Learned- Students are responsible for their contributions to the project as well as the reflection in their own work. 

• 6. Creative Communicator- Students are allowed to demonstrate their learning and findings from the project through the use of different media techniques (charts, pictures, visuals)  within their Google Slides presentation. 

• 7. Global Collaborator- Students work together through the use of technology to work effectively and provide each other with constructive feedback.

ISTE Standards for Educators (2025):  

• 2. Leader- Teacher model the appropriate use of technology, constructive feedback, and reflection throughout the course of the project. 

• 4. Collaborator- Teacher is checking in with students frequently during the project to provide feedback and work with students on what can be improved. They are also providing students with an authentic project-based learning opportunity that can be applied to the real world.

• 5. Designer- Teacher designs a project that keeps students engaged in their work by using technology in a meaningful way. 

As a facilitator in this peer learning process, I have learned a lot that I can apply to future projects like this one. By supporting my peer in aligning their SMART goal to Kolb’s Triple E Framework and ISTE’s Student and Teacher Standards, I have addressed the following ISTE Coach Standards (2025):

• 4.3 Collaborator- I worked with a peer to increase the effectiveness of instructional practices and learning outcomes. 

• 4.5 Professional Learning Facilitator- I provide an educator with an evaluation of their SMART goal and feedback on how technology could be improved upon within their goal. 

Insights: From this experience, I have learned that technology will always be most impactful when students are engaged in a meaningful way that will help them reach the intended learning target set. Technology should not be used passively. When used that way, students are not engaged, it won’t enhance their learning, and they won’t be able to extend their learning beyond the classroom. As a facilitator, it is not our job to rework our peer’s idea. Instead, we can work together to improve and extend the ideas by asking questions and providing reasonable resources to them that they may not have had to begin with. 

ISTE Essential Conditions: ISTE’s Essential Conditions (2025) provides support to improve my peers’ SMART goals as well. Projects should be designed around student-centered learning to have the best outcome for students. Even with the use of technology, students should be doing the heavy lifting and the critical thinking of the project, NOT the technology. To be able to do this, all students should have equitable access to the tools needed to complete the project. My peer works at a school that is 1:1 with iPads, so this is achievable at their school. 

References:

International Society for Technology in Education. (2025). ISTE standards: For coaches. https://iste.org/standards/coaches 

International Society for Technology in Education. (2025). ISTE standards: For educators. https://iste.org/standards/educators

International Society for Technology in Education. (2025). Essential Conditions for Effective Tech Use in Schools. https://iste.org/non-essential-conditions-for-effective-tech-use-in-schools 

International Society for Technology in Education. (2025). ISTE standards: For students. https://iste.org/standards/students 

Kolb, L. (2011). Triple E Framework. Triple E Framework. https://www.tripleeframework.com/