THE SAMR MODEL

The SAMR model is a great way to reflect as a teacher on your style/level of technology integration. There are 4 levels in the model: Substitution, Augmentation, Modification and Redefinition. All 4 have their place in the classroom but it is my belief that teachers should strive to reach redefinition

There have been very few times that I have felt that I have reached the redefinition level in my classroom. The most memorable was last year when I decided to try the asynchronous flipped-classroom model in my Chemistry class. I was unable to continue using it this year because I do not teach that class anymore but I feel that it was so successful, I have started preparing the materials to “flip” my physics classroom next year.

For my Chemistry class last year, I created a list of competencies based on the science standards used by my school. With the skills that every student needed to show mastery of the content knowledge, I built a set of assessments (online quizzes, virtual labs, exercises) to test those competencies. At the beginning of the school year, I gave each student an ordered list of tasks that they needed to complete. I also gave them access to a course on our MOODLE site with videos I recorded going over the content, short readings on all the topics and practice problems. I told students, they could go at their own pace as long as they completed everything by the end of the semester.

I loved this format. Though it took a lot of upfront work over the summer to get things ready, it gave me a huge amount of time during the year to work with individual students. Students who moved more slowly were able to get the help they needed and I feel reached a level of understanding that my lower students had never reached before. My faster students were not held back by their slower peers and when they finished, I encouraged them to continue studying topics they had covered that sparked an interest.