RAT

The Replacement, Amplification, Transformation (RAT) framework is a technology integration model and assessment tool that instructors can use to critically consider how their integration of technology in their classrooms serves their students and themselves. Originally developed by Dr. Joan Hughes in 1998, the RAT model aimed to study how teachers developed and integrated technology for teaching, learning, and curriculum development (Hughes, 2022). Hughes, Thomas, and Scharber (2006) further positioned the model as a framework for self-assessing technology integration "as a means to some pedagogical and curricular end." In her RAT Question Guide (2022), Hughes provides suggestions for extending this self-assessment to the school/district level. There are three primary purposes for technology integration outlined within the framework: to Replace existing, often non-digital, practices; to Amplify existing practices; and to Transform teaching, learning, and curricular goal development through digital practices.