SAMR Model

 Technology Enhanced Teaching - Learning : 2 

The SAMR Model

                         Good technology integration is not about using

 a model or framework like TPACK

but it’s about awareness of teachers regarding the available range of options

and picking the right strategy to improve student’s participation in the learning process.

Let’s discuss one more model i.e. SAMR model,

The SAMR Model

This model was proposed by Dr. Ruben Puentedura.

Technology has the power to transform students' learning. But you might observe that in many places technology is available but it is not transforming students' learning.

The SAMR Model will help us to transform the teaching-learning process as it provides different approaches about integrating technology into teaching,

 “SAMR” is an acronym where

S stands for Substitution

A stands for Augmentation

M stands for Modification,

And R stands for Redefinition.

The SAMR model provides a technique and strategies for moving through degrees of technology adoption to find more meaningful uses of technology in teaching. This model supports and enables teachers to design, develop, and infuse digital learning experiences that utilize technology.

The SAMR model suggests four aspects to integrate, modify and transform traditional lesson plans with an effective adaptation of technology.

Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition

are four thought pillars of this model

where

Substitution and Augmentation are considered as "Enhancement" steps,

while Modification and Redefinition are termed as "Transformation" steps.

 

1.    Substitution means replacing traditional tools with technology. For example, Instead of a paper-pencil test, I started using Google form.

2.    Augmentation means the addition of traditional tools to enhance learning. For example, in school there are display boards, we can ask students to create virtual bulletin boards—using an app like Padlet.  

3.    Modification means using technology to redesign your lesson instead of just modification. For example, for resource management, we have to define a structure for filing worksheets, question papers, and storing videos but we can start using Google classroom to organize our resources. Instead of replacement or enhancement, Modification is an actual change in the design of the lesson and its learning outcome

4.    Redefinition means creating a novel experience at the pace of a traditional task. For example,

o   A. It is possible to organize new innovative experiences due to advancements in technology. We can ask students to write their reflections on bloggers or to create a film to document their project work.

o   B. 30 years back  students could study the internal structure of an organism by dissecting the organism. But due to environmental hazards and awareness, there is a ban on the dissection of animals. But nowadays we can work with students to do virtual dissections. Here technology is helping teachers to design new activities.

Learning is fundamentally transformed at the “redefinition” level, enabling activities that were previously impossible in the classroom. Technology leads to the creation of new activities.

Let’s discuss an example, how a teacher can modify and redesign his lesson by using the SAMR model

In history, we teach about events. To understand an event one has to understand the course of the event, its reference with time, place. One has to understand chronological continuity to explore the cause-effect relation about the event. For this history teachers always ask students to create a timeline.

A timeline is a display of a list of events in chronological order with graphics that helps a learner to understand historical events and trends associated with the event.

SAMR model helps me to modify my lesson plan by incorporating technological aspects.

Let’s discuss SAMR with one example

The topic is Second World War

If I ask my students to submit chronology written in a word document format instead of a handwritten document in a notebook, here I am substituting traditional tools with new technology tools.

But technology tools help students to organize and present the timeline in an organized manner. This is augmentation as per the model as Students can prepare Timeline using graphic organizers in PowerPoint and words document. Such graphic organizers help students to enhance learning.

After substitution and augmentation, the next thread to do the analyze as per the SAMR model is the modification in the traditional lesson plan. Earlier it was very difficult to organize the study of multiple timelines about different war theatres in second world wars such as the European war front, African war front, Asian war front, and Indian freedom struggle. The events are from the same period of the Second World War but places are different. Visualization of different timelines is essential for a holistic understanding of the event.   By adopting proper technological tools and applications like Padlet boards I can ask my students to collaborate to develop multiple parallel timelines on Padlet board timeline templates.

And the last aspect of this model is Redefinition

At the redefinition phase learning is fundamentally transformed to enable new activities. Organizing new activities was previously impossible in the classroom. The novel learning experience is a product of technology.

Due to virtual reality applications now new websites and applications are coming up. I can organize a virtual tour to different battlefields from the Second World War or can organize a virtual tour of war museums and 360 degree guided tours of historical places associated with the war. Such experiential learning activities are totally a new learning experience which can be possible due to development in technology and was not within the scope of teacher before the technological development.

In this way the SAMR model can help us to match our lesson plans with Bloom's digital taxonomy that is setting learning objectives from low order thinking skills to high order thinking skills where  

Substitution corresponds to Remember and understanding

Augmentation corresponds to Application

Modification corresponds to Analysis and evaluation

And

Redefinition corresponds to Create production

From Bloom's taxonomy.

 Teachers can take help from such models to rethink and redesign their lesson plans to integrate technology into the teaching-learning process.

You can think of a 5 E-learning model which focuses on allowing students to understand a concept through a series of established steps as of the learning cycle discussed earlier. The 5 E’s of this model stand for engage, explore, elaborate, and evaluate. 

Digital education is nothing but the innovative use of digital tools and technologies during the teaching and learning process. The learning process in this mode is called technology-enhanced learning and the role of a teacher is to organize these 21^st-century learner-centered technology enhanced learning experiences. So Digital teachers of the 21^st century need to upgrade themselves so that they can navigate the learning process using the technology tools and design technology-based instructions.

As Digital teacher presenting 21^st -century teaching-learning process  we should always keep asking one question ‘how I can use technology to engage students in rich learning experiences where they can think to form low order thinking skills to high order thinking skills, verbal experiences to audio-visual experiences to simulated experiences to dramatized experiences to real-life hands-on participatory experiences.

 How technology can be used not just as a way to deliver content, but also to strengthen relationships with your students.

Teacher should keep asking three questions 

·       How can my lesson be improved using technology?

·       How can I engage and empower students through technology?

·       How can online learning more closely resemble authentic, real-world learning?

Teaching has always been as much about what we do as how we do it.

Teaching is about asking the right questions, using the right tools,

and igniting students’ curiosity to engage them with content.

                                Prashant Divekar

                                                Jnana Prabodhini, Pune