In reading chapter one and two in Teaching for Understanding with Technology a key point that stood out to me was the importance of teaching for understanding. Sometimes it seems hard to teach for understanding when you have to worry about certain standards that students must know and test students must pass. Many times teachers get caught up in teaching to help their students pass the test instead of teaching for understanding. Wiske, Franz, and Breit (2005) mentioned that Teaching for understanding involves making learning meaningful for students and helping them make sense of what they learn instead of memorizing facts and formulas. In order to achieve making learning meaningful for students it is important to have clear goals about the topics being address. The topic should be worth understanding and the teacher should figure out exactly what is it about the topic that the students should understand. There also should be a clear way of knowing when the student has gained an understanding and a way for the student to demonstrate that they understood the lesson. By this, there is a shift of attention from what the teacher is teaching to what students are learning. (Wiske, Franz, and Breit, 2005).
Another key point that I got out of the reading was about integrating technology when teaching for understanding. Wiske, Franz, and Breit (2005) mentioned that applying new technology would help enhance the lesson and help teachers teach for understanding. I think it is a great idea to incorporate technology in with teaching for understanding but it may be difficult for some teachers depending on the technology provided and training provided. The school in which I am substituting at has a computer lab but is not often used and there is not a computer teacher there. I think that the computer lab was used more when I was a student there. I remember having computer lab once a week and there was a computer teacher. It surprised me to see the lack of use today especially with the way technology is advancing. With the pressures of standards and tests some teachers may feel that they do no have enough time to prepare students for the tests and other requirement and include technology use.
References:
Wiske, M., Franz, K., & Breit, L. (2005). Teaching for understanding with technology. Market Street, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
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5 comments:
I like your comment that this approach shifts the focus from what is being taught to what is being understood. This is a concept that many have put aside due to our standards but as we will read throughout the semester both can be accomplished.
I am saddened to hear that the computer lab is not being utilized. Hopefully, teachers and administrators will begin to see the importance of these tools and begin the process of discovery to learn best strategies for their use.
Possibly, the understanding by design project that you create in this class will be used in the computer lab at some point during the semester!
I agree with you that a lot of times we as teachers get caught up with the standards and we only teach those to the student. We want them to know the material but we need them to understand it, so that they will be able to apply it in other subjects and in their lives. It's sad to hear that the school your subbing at does have a computer lab that is not being used.
I wish we had a computer lab at our school because it would come in handy to do a lot of lessons or even for the students to look things up at certain websites as a class. I only have 3 computers in my classroom that work when they want. I have been trying to use them but it can become hard at times. I do utilize the smartboard and projectors to have interactive lessons with the students and they love it. My first graders get really excited when the see the projector cart.
I too have noticed, at least this year, there is a push to not have scheduled computer lab time. My school does not use the computer lab as regularly as before. I think part of it is this demand to bring up reading and math scores and teachers are so pressured to fit the core skills in that the computer lab becomes over looked.
One thing that I try to do as often as possible is to use real life examples for the students. You will always have someone ask, "when will I ever use this?" With technology, we use websites, blogs, powerpoints and other applications that can be used in any field. Also, i try to teach for understanding by applying concepts to the lives of the students. Granted, there are some times when it is pretty tough to connect Civics to a 7th grader. Luckily, we are talking about criminal law now and I am being bombarded with "what if" questions.
You're right that it's difficult to create meaningful lessons when there are so many standards that teachers are forced to include in their curriculum these days. However, I think that the teacher for understanding framework provides an easy way for teachers to make sure that they are including all the essential elements within their lesson/unit plans. Although many content area teachers have a lot of information to cover, the framework described by Wiske seems to be designed to allow teachers to link lessons together, so that instead of choppy lesson plans, students are able to see how they all relate. Have you talked with any of the other teachers at the school where you substitute? It's surprising that this school doesn't have a technology resource teacher, especially if it's a public school. There is such a focus on technology being integrated into the curriculum, that I assumed all local schools would be making more of an effort to get students familiar with using the computer. I would imagine that with only one computer lab, teachers would be fighting each other for it. I think that Wiske would be disappointed in your school's efforts to incorporate technology into the curriculum since, "the combination of a guiding framework and a rich toolkit of educational technologies supports continual experimentation, analysis, and improvement in teaching and learning" (Wiske, 2005, p.20).
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