Quality Over Quantity: The SAMR Model

What is SAMR?

    The SAMR framework is a model designed to guide educators in effectively integrating technology into their teaching practices. Developed by Dr. Ruben Puentedura, SAMR stands for Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition. Each level represents a different level of technology integration, ranging from simple replacements or substitutions to larger, more transformative changes in how students use technology to learn and engage with educational content. 

    In the first level, substitution, technology directly replaces a traditional educational tool without functional change to existing practices. This could look like providing students with the opportunity to type a response that they would normally hand write. In the augmentation stage of SAMR, technology still replaces a traditional tool as it does in the substitution stage, but is improved to enrich the learning experience for students. With augmentation, students might have enhanced features at their disposal, such as spell check, grammar check, or text to speech functions to help them accomplish tasks in the writing process with greater ease than just simply typing up their work as opposed to handwriting it. Modification is where we begin to see more substantial changes and impact to classroom activities. In this stage, educators must rethink how to best present and complete tasks and in some cases, alter learning outcomes of a lesson. For example, modification in the SAMR model could look like a teacher redesigning a lesson or activity to be more collaborative in nature, where prior to modification, students would have been required to work independently. There are many tools and websites that teachers can utilize that allow students to collaborate. Check out this short video to learn about Canva Whiteboard, one such tool that can be used for student collaboration on projects and activities! The final stage of SAMR, redefinition, involves using technology to create new educational experiences that couldn't have been possible without the selected piece of tech. In doing some reading, I sense there is a growing trend of using virtual reality (VR) to accomplish redefinition and truly transform the educational experience. Even as recent as this past Spring, current students in the Education Department at University of North Georgia had been afforded the opportunity to use VR headsets in their online class on middle grade science education. In this online class, future educators got to truly experience what it was like to have the world in the palm of their hand and see first hand how integrating technology can transform their teaching.

Image Source: PowerSchool

SAMR in My Classroom

    When I think about the SAMR model, the first thought that pops into my head is "quality over quantity". It's one thing to have many technology options at your disposal. What is more important is how you as an educator uses the tools you have to make a true impact on your students' educational experience. While I would love to be the kind of teacher who can comfortably place herself in the "redefinition" stage 100% of the time with 100% of the subjects I teach, I realize that it isn't a realistic expectation to set for myself. With the tools that I have available to me and depending on the subject I am teaching, I feel that my place in the SAMR model ebbs and flows. For example, in my math class, I would probably sit mostly in the substitution stage. Students have the opportunity to use online platforms such as Reflex to practice their fact fluency, but this platform is just simply replacing the use of flashcards or worksheets and using gamification for students to grow in their fact fluency. However, if I were to focus solely on my use of technology in my Science class, I feel I would fall in the redefinition category, specifically when students get to do guided online science labs through the Gizmos platform. While it's not an Occulus headset, students use their iPads to step into different ecosystems, test engineering design concepts to build storm-proof homes, and even conduct chemistry experiments without leaving their desks. This platform is one of my greatest assets to help make my science class more hands-on and make the heavy content of our curriculum more understandable and exciting for my students.

    With time, effort, and creativity, I feel that I could potentially move into a more consistent position within the SAMR model. Specifically in my math class, I am excited to challenge myself to use the math side of the Gizmo platform to assign lessons that would extend my students' learning outside of our textbook. While it wouldn't quite move me into the redefinition category, I feel that using Gizmo lessons for math concepts like number sense, geometry, and measurement could move me from substitution into augmentation. These lessons would provide great enrichment opportunities and make learning more interactive and engaging. For example, one of my math groups is currently learning about decimals on a number line. On Gizmo, I was ecstatic to see that there is a "treasure hunter" activity, where students "drive" a desert highway searching for buried treasure. They have to use the car's tens, ones, tenths, and hundredths gears and a GPS system (number line) to find the right place to "dig". As I type this, I've already mentally added it to my lesson plans for tomorrow- stay tuned to see how the activity plays out with my students!