Teacher: Martin Palermo

Department: Science

# of Years Teaching: 8

District: William Floyd School District

Location: Mastic Beach, New York

William Floyd High School

ENHANCING STUDENT LEARNING WITH TECHNOLOGY

As new technology and teaching methodologies are introduced, teachers like Martin Palermo

at William Floyd High School in New York welcome the opportunity to adapt their classroom

environment to enhance student learning. Now in his eighth year of teaching Chemistry and

Biology, Mr. Palermo has found ways to increase test scores and prepare his students to be more

successful in their future.

“Technological literacy is one of the most important skills we can teach our students as we

prepare them for future careers in a technological society,” said Mr. Palermo. He said he also

found that using technology in the classroom on a daily basis allows students to become more

fl uent in its use and promote a greater understanding of how to use it effectively.

Mr. Palermo’s fi rst exposure to the effectiveness of technology in the classroom was from a

student perspective while attending Stony Brook University. During a challenging Physics class

in a large lecture hall, Mr. Palermo recalls feeling “more connected” with the use of student

response devices (clickers). It also allowed him to assess his understanding of the concepts or

problems being presented by the professor.

DELIVERING QUALITY INSTRUCTION WITH FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT

In his fi rst few years of teaching, Mr. Palermo found very few teachers using technology to conduct real-time formative assessment during instruction.

In 2007 when his district purchased eInstruction’s CPS™ clickers and offered professional development, teachers began to experiment with the

devices in the classroom. For approximately four years, Mr. Palermo used CPS until switching to the Insight 360 classroom instruction system for its

ease of use and added features such as CueTag™ technology that allows him to easly tag questions from any computer, then launch a question and

collect student results instantly.

With Insight 360, Mr. Palermo is able to gather and interpret student data quickly and effectively, so

instruction can be altered to fi t the needs of students on an individual and class basis. It also allows

him to use class time more effectively to promote learning and understanding of the content.

Insight 360 also changed the way Mr. Palermo teaches and interacts with his students. “My students

are more engaged in the lessons because they are now more connected to their learning and can

contribute to their own learning. The formative assessment aspect of Insight 360 has also allowed me

to determine where students are struggling as well as identify misconceptions.”

MOVING BEYOND THE TRADITIONAL CLASSROOM MODEL

In addition to using eInstruction® technology, Mr. Palermo uses a fl ipped classroom to leverage

learning in the classroom. Students prepare for a lesson at home by watching instructional content

such as screencasts or animations and completing homework questions. They then come to class

with background information on the subject matter or topic.

einstruction.com • 866.496.4949

Driving student engagement and

test scores with Insight 360™

“Technological literacy

is one of the most

important skills we can

teach our students

as we prepare them

for future careers in a

technological society.”

-Martin Palermo,

Science teacher

When arriving in class the next day, students enter their homework answers using Pulse 360™ clickers so

Mr. Palermo can immediately assess their understanding of the content and focus the class lesson around

their needs. Students then work in groups to solve critical thinking problems and with hands-on activities to

achieve a better understanding of the content. Instruction also can be differentiated from class to class and

student to student.

“With Insight 360, I can assess understanding throughout the unit. For example, students use the Mobi™

Learners for assessment of group activities and take online checkpoint quizzes so I can evaluate their

progress and provide additional help or instruction if needed before the end of the unit,” said Mr. Palermo.

MEASURING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF INSIGHT 360

To measure effectiveness of technology and his pedagogy, Mr. Palermo looked at student achievement and the learning environment. With the

implementation of technology and use of a fl ipped classroom, he saw an immediate increase in student achievement by 15 percent on standardized

tests. At the individual level, department exams increased by as much as 30 percent. Through the use of questionnaires, students reported being

less apprehensive about participating in classroom discussions, more connected to the content, and generally excited about the learning process.

OVERCOMING BARRIERS TO TECHNOLOGY USE

Many schools face barriers to bringing technology into the classroom and using it effectively. Mr. Palermo recognizes that technology may not be the

answer to all problems in education, but when used effectively it can dramatically change the classroom learning environment and promote greater

student achievement and learning.

He advises educators seek out grants or contact technology companies directly to inquire about trial software. If support is an issue, online networks

and professional development classes can be benefi cial. Additionally, he suggests reaching out to neighboring schools or districts to inquire if they

are using the same technology and use them as a resource.

EINSTRUCTION

eInstruction is a leading, global education technology company committed to providing interactive teaching and learning solutions that help educators

and students advance learning every day. eInstruction offers innovative classroom instruction systems, student response systems (clickers), fi xed

interactive whiteboards, mobile interactive whiteboards, research-based software, and professional development solutions that facilitate signifi cantly

higher levels of collaboration, engagement, and student achievement across all stages of the learning process.

To learn more, visit einstruction.com or call 866.496.4949.

einstruction.com • 866.496.4949

Driving student engagement and test scores with Insight 360™ • William Floyd High School

Student achievement increased by 15% on

standardized

tests with the

implementation

of technology and

use of a fl ipped

classroom.