At a Glance
The drafting instructor at Clearfield County Career and Technology Center utilizes Google Classroom to implement practices that bring together a wide variety of resources and activities into a highly structured and organized curriculum delivery method.
Overview
Since he began teaching in 2000 the drafting instructor at Clearfield County Career and Technology Center (CCCTC) has used a server to make all digital resources including texts, classroom notes, drawings, rubrics, and reading assignments available to students. In 2012, he began recording his instruction with Camtasia screen capture software and a Qview visual presenter. As he created each new video lesson, he would archive the files and make those available to students as well. He began using Google Classroom (login instructions below) in 2014 to bring all of those resources together to complement his instruction.
The drafting curriculum is project-based and a typical Google classroom is setup to correlate with one single project but often encompassing several units of instruction. Assignments within the classroom require research from both directed and non-directed sources. Many assignments require students to contribute to shared documents and slides to promote greater understanding through reflective writing and group discussion. Multiple images and YouTube video instructional playlists are available to students for examples or step by step instruction on an as needed basis.
Student work is submitted, reviewed, and critiqued by the instructor both online and within the physical classroom. Students receive grading checklists with each assignment so they have a clear understanding of expectations and learning outcomes. Upon completion of the assignment students must do an online self-evaluation of each competency within the project.
All student input is organized by user and competency within an automatically generated spreadsheet. The data for each student is reviewed by the instructor and then discussed with the students individually. Further instruction or practice is given to students as needed.
Origin / Implementation
The drafting instructor began incorporating technology tools into his curriculum because he didnt want to spend all of his time with the highest or lowest performing students while overlooking students in the middle simply because there isnt enough time in the day. His goal was to provide each student with the best educational experience possible and for them to be given the opportunity to achieve at their highest possible level.
According to the instructor, there are many purposes for the practice of using Google Classroom for organization and curriculum delivery. The initial effort to record lessons had two purposes. First, it gives students that have difficulty learning material quickly the opportunity to see demonstrations again and to follow along at their own pace. They can watch again and again and eventually transition to being able to perform the required tasks on their own. It is also a tremendous help to students that were absent when the demonstration was initially given to the class.
The greatest motivation to move towards Google Classroom as an organization tool was to provide a solution to educational deficiencies caused by the cognitive diversity typically found within a physical classroom and to support all students regardless of their individual learning styles, cognitive and physical abilities, ambition, home life, support systems, and subject interest.
Utilizing Google Classroom and the associated tools allows the instructor to effectively handle unexpected issues on a daily basis such as students held at sending schools for testing, varied start and end times, and delays and absences. Learning tools and resources such as instructional videos, example images, focused reading, evaluation checklists, classroom notes and group discussions are able to live in one place and be utilized easily.
Results / Impact
The instructor reports that the most noticeable impact is student performance. More in depth understanding and learning occurs at all levels when students are able to work at their own pace and have easy access to learning resources. Classroom time is also utilized more efficiently. He now has the opportunity to spend more time with each student evaluating their understanding and providing help where it is most needed.
Supporting Resources
Google Classroom Instructional Delivery
Class Code: yrcped5
(must logon with a .edu email address)
Logon: aguidance@hs.ccctc.edu
Password: 100k1ng 0k
Contact
Clearfield County Career and Technology Center
Brad W. Dixon, Drafting Instructor
Email: bradwdixon@outlook.com