Lorel Preston

PhD; University of Utah
Cultural Foundations of Education
Areas of Specialization: math education, assessment

• Lorel appreciates the technical support from the PT3 Grant. I wasnt really afraid to ask questions once I knew there was somebody there that was willing to help with them. And really what thats related to is a time issue. You can still have good questions, but if there arent people around that are savvy enough and willing to help you while youre in the moment with the question, then it gets put on a To-Do list and often you dont get back to it.
  

• Videos really make an impact on Lorels students. With the videos they get to see students in action learning. I use a variety of videos; some where its an individual student doing individual work, typically in an interview style. So my students can analyze the type of story problem thats being given, they can look at the students solution strategy, and they can assess the level that theyre at.
  In a classroom setting, Ill perhaps show a video piece and have one group focus on the teacher, another on the students, another on the content, and then they share what theyve observed. Its about creating discourse in the classroom. So the videos have been very helpful. Ive even put videos on reserve and given video assignments as homework where they go and are given a job to reflect on something.
  

• Lorel is an example of integrating technology into math curriculum. In addition to the effective use of videos, Lorel uses e-boards, email, Inspiration, the Internet, and PowerPoint, and she has a whole shelf of math software now. She designed a unit on Tessellations incorporating computer software and collaborated with Carolyn Jenkins on investigations with math and science using graphing calculators and motion sensors. At the end of the semester, Lorel burns a CD for each of her students with all the units the class created so each class member has ideas to start teaching with.
  Her students use take photos and scan them into group PowerPoint presentations on specific math concepts. Lorel has made it a goal to use WebCT next semester. Thats definitely a goal for me, to do some of the things Im doing in pieces right now and getting it all in one place!
  

• What has the grant done for Lorel? Thats one thing that the grant has been good about for me; its opened a door and continued on in the direction I was going in with technology, but taken it so much further. The biggest thing has just been the awareness of whats possible. What the grant has helped me the most with is to reflect on my own teaching, and to think about how I might use technology in meaningful ways.