Destination: Triple E Framework
Engagement – Enhancement – Extension
I fumbled.
I spoke of the SAMR model and tried to remember everything that I had ever learned from our school's Instructional Technology Specialist. I did alright but I definitely didn't nail the answer. You see, I have always seen technology and the SAMR method through the eyes of a teacher and how I could implement it to my students. I do believe that I can take a step back and see how I could integrate it with teachers, but I found it a little different.
So, I fumbled. And when challenged with the task of learning more about a framework to evaluate technology I chose to avoid the SAMR model and start all over again.
ENTER:
The Triple E Framework
Fun Fact: I 💜LOVE💜 these words - goals, plan, develop, evaluate, effective, support. So it's no wonder that this framework, developed by Professor Liz Kolb at the University of Michigan back in 2011, stood out to me:- It focuses on the learning goals
- It can be used by K-12 teachers and administrators in lesson plan development
- It can be used to evaluate if potential educational learning apps are effective
- It can be used to evaluate if different tech tools that are being used in lesson plans are effective
- It is meant to be used as a coaching tool to support teachers in choosing technology tools that goes along with their instruction.
- It helps K-12 administrators to use what they are seeing in teacher's classrooms to evaluate the connection between the potential learning outcomes and the technology.
Technology is an amazing and incredible tool that can really take learning to new depths, but it means nothing if it isn't paired with good instructional strategies. It is not the magic bullet for learning. It wont cure every learning gap or misconception, nor will it miraculously take students to new heights. We need the teachers, and the Triple E framework takes that into account by allowing the teachers to be the ones making mindful choices around technology tools in their teaching. It combines instructional strategies and learning goals to help choose a purposeful tool that supports it.
What are the Triple E's?
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| Photo Credit: www.tripleeframework.com |
Engaged Learning
Engagement is more than just being interested in the activity or the bells and whistles of the technology - it is being engaged in the content. Are the students "minds-on"? Are they thinking, reflecting, and challenging their mind? The tool should help focus the student's attention on the learning goals and it should create an environment of co-use or joint media engagement.Possible Instructional Strategies to help meet Engagement:
Guided Practice; Modeling Thinking; Modeling Navigation of the Tool; Software Tour; I do, We do, You do; Teacher Monitoring; Student Self-Reflective Monitoring; Co-use or Co-Engagement; Purposeful Partnering; Gradual Release of Learning; Create a Mentor Text; Share-Aloud; Turn and Talk; Switcheroo; Eliciting Prior Knowledge
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| Photo Credit: www.tripleeframework.com |
Enhanced Learning
The tool isn't just replacing a traditional method of instruction (for example, a worksheet that is scanned in); rather the tool is adding value. It is somehow aiding, assisting, or scaffolding the learning in ways that couldn't easily be done traditionally. The tool is changing how the learning occurs in a more meaningful and personalized manner.
Possible Instructional Strategies to help meet Enhancement:
Active Listening; Switcheroo; Self Reflective Practices; Visible Thinking Routines; Graphic Organizers; Visual Representations of Learning; Reflective Notebooks; Anticipation Guides; Questioning Practices; Predicting; Differentiation; Personalization; Share-Aloud
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| Photo Credit : www.tripleeframework.com |
Extended Learning
Finding ways for technology to help students create real-world connections and extend the learning to outside the classroom walls.
Studies have found that reinforcing knowledge or giving isolated content knowledge did not lead to student achievement gains. For example secondary students using technology for content-specific tasks (such as reading or evaluating primary documents in history class) had no correlation on student achievement, but students using computers for more generic academic tasks in school had positive correlation to student achievement. (Wenglinsky, 2006)
Possible Instructional Strategies to help meet Engagement:
Real World Issues; Partner with Real World Organizations; Connect with Authentic Experts; Engage Students in Authentic Discourse with Others; Pen Pals; Students' Investigate and Direct their Own Project; Role Playing; Use Authentic Tools that are Prominent in Everyday Life
HOW IT ALL COMES TOGETHER
After establishing clear learning goals for the lesson and then determining what technology to be used, you can use the Triple E Lesson Planning Template to evaluate how the 3 E's come into play throughout the lesson. Each component (engage, enhance, and extend) is represented with 3 questions on a 0-1-2 scale where 0 represents "No", 1 represents "Somewhat" and 2 represents "Yes." This gives a maximum of 18 points a lesson can earn.
- 13-18 points means that it meets all 3 E's and is more than likely using technology to enhance and extend learning goals (example lesson: Dog Sleds and Predictions in 5th Grade)
- 7-12 points means that it meets at least two of the three E's. It recommends that you take time re-evaluate the lesson's technology choices and instructional strategies to see if learning can be enhanced or extended further.
- 0-6 points means that only one of the three E's have been met and you should reconsider whether technology should be used for this lesson. (example lesson: QR Codes for Discussion)
WANT MORE TRIPLE E RESOURCES?
- Evaluation Rubric for Designing Lessons
- Rubric for Evaluating Lessons
- Triple E Lesson Planning Template
- Sample Lesson Completed using lesson Planning Template
- Triple E Coaching Tool
- Rubric for Evaluating Educational Applications
Is your brain on fire like mine is?! I feel as though I have come to find something that can be applied as an instructional coach when working with teachers as well as a teacher when creating his/her lesson plan. It keeps what we all know is true to our core: teaching is the most important, and technology is a way to support it.
If I consider lessons that I have created myself, I would say that my lessons probably fell pretty low on the ranking. I could create the learning intentions and goals that supported all three of the E's, but I struggled with finding the right technology tool to support it. Now finding ways that I can use the instructional strategies and then to connect the technology tool to it seems easier for me and one that I would like to use as I approach working with teachers. Those who struggle with technology may find it an easier entry point into using different tools in the classroom.
So if I was asked the same interview question again, I would smile and say: I follow the model of determining the learning goals first, the instructional strategies that promote the achievement of those goals, and the technology to extend it. I believe in using technology to provide students with opportunities that take them outside of the classroom and textbook and into the life where they can apply the learning goals. I believe in the Triple E Framework.
Resources
- Triple E Framework Retrieved from https://www.tripleeframework.com/
- The Triple E Framework: Learning First, Technology Second Retrieved from https://literacyworldwide.org/blog/literacy-daily/2017/08/04/the-triple-e-framework-learning-first-technology-second
- Triple E Framework by Ann Oro Retrieved from https://annoroteaches.com/2017/09/14/triple-e-framework/
Thanks for the fantastic post on the Triple E framework! I appreciated seeing you break down all 3 "E's" and include instructional strategies that accompany them. The infographics for each are a newer addition but very helpful to get a quick sense of what to look for. It's a bit difficult to see how this ties into coaching but you did a nice job of explaining how your thinking has changed. At some point you should consider finding one of your teachers that is strong in technology integration and introduce them to Triple E!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing such a personal note about you. Leaving a district is not an easy decision to make. Once you are in a new district, things can go both ways; either one, it turns out to be better than before, or two you can actually find your self in a similar situation as before. Just remember that things happen for a reason and that your Marquardt Family is very lucky to have you! On a different note, I liked how you presented the Triple E framework through a coaches perspective. I totally agree with you that it can be difficult sometimes to not view things from a teacher's lens vs. a coaches lens. I am definitely going to use your ideas for when analyzing my own planning as well as teachers.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the explanation of the Triple E Framework along with all of the links you included to lesson templates and rubrics. I also liked the instructional strategies you included for each area of the framework. Do you think you will encourage teachers to use the Triple E Framework? The lesson plan rubric you refer to would be a great resource for teachers to evaluate where they are at and how they can improve their use of technology in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteYour honesty and transparency is so appreciated! Putting yourself out there is just one of the reasons you do such a fabulous job as a coach, educator, and person! Thank you for sharing! When you spoke of the framework, I love how you stated that technology can be an incredible tool, but it cannot replace good instructional strategies. Some programs are too often used to replace teaching that a framework like the Triple E is so important. Your thoughts on the engagement piece of the framework is what stood out to me. "Are the students minds turned on?" Exactly- are we truly getting our kids to think critically while using different technologies? The rubrics and opportunities for planning and reflecting the Triple E Framework provides will be a great resource to share with your teams. Hopefully, it is received enthusiastically by your teams!
ReplyDeleteAs already noted by those who replied before me, I really appreciate your honesty in your post. I like that you are not afraid to be vulnerable because that is a part of growing as an educator! In terms of the model you addressed, I like that you included ways to meet the three E's. We talk so much about the "what" in education, but I think thinking about the "how" and the "why" when it comes to content can be tricky. I think you gave great strategies for educators to use in order to really implement the three E's. When I was researching and assessing myself in the Triple E Framework, I noticed that "extend" was the hardest for me to achieve. I like your ideas of role playing and bringing in experts to talk with kids. I think these two would be very doable, especially when it comes to our engineering units this year. Students should be reminded that they too are in the role of engineers! I think reaching out to those who are in the field to virtually speak about the position, or even come in to talk, would also help to extend the learning to outside of the classroom.
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