Showing posts with label Pedagogy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pedagogy. Show all posts

Thursday, November 19, 2015

Tech Geek or Teaching Geek?

I think it was during a Twitter chat I first made the comment that you don't have to be a tech geek to use technology effectively to support learning in your classroom. I later polished the wording a bit and asserted that "Classrooms don't need tech geeks who can teach, we need teaching geeks who can use tech." Several thought-leaders on Twitter have also shared the quote, like most recently @ToddWhitaker.
The message seemed to resonate with educators. But I also received some push back. What's wrong with being a tech-geek? Can we not aim for both? In the end, are the results any different? It seems there is plenty to discuss regarding approaches of using technology to support learning. So I wanted to address these issues and clarify the thinking behind the quote.

 Why teaching geeks?

 1. It's more important to get the instructional design right and develop engaging, highly effective learning experiences, with or without tech. Unless the central aim of your curriculum is technology, the tech should support the learning and not the other way around. It's not good practice to find a nifty tech tool and then contrive some way to get it into your lesson, just to wow or impress. That would be akin to using technology like a cool party trick. Not exactly the professional practice that will develop consistent and quality learning for students.
Retrieved: http://tinyurl.com/q6zw4w3
2. Teaching geeks are concerned with more than technology. A teaching geek will do everything possible to increase learning and help all students be successful. They love to learn about teaching, talk about teaching, join with other passionate educators on Twitter, and just be geeky about all things related to their profession. Most of all, they are passionate about student learning. I love to attend EdCamps because the teaching geeks are drawn to these events. Geeks go to Comic-Con. Tech geeks go to CES. Teaching geeks go to EdCamps!

 3. You don't have to be a technology genius to use tech in the classroom. Many teachers think they can't use technology to support learning because it's not a strength for them. But even if it's not a strength, every teacher can take small steps to utilize technology for learning. Pick just one digital tool that has the potential to enhance your lessons and learn more about it. Our school is in the first year of 1:1 with Chromebooks, so a tool that nearly all of our teachers wanted to learn is Google Classroom. It was a good place to start because it serves as a hub for classroom stuff and allows for increased sharing and collaboration.

 4. Don't wait, start somewhere. For teachers who lack confidence with technology, it's easy to avoid taking steps to learn new ways to use technology. And this is exactly what we don't want our students to do, to shrink back in the face of something that doesn't come easily. I'm very proud of teachers in our building who have stepped out of their comfort zone to learn new methods with technology even though it's not their strongest area. It models the type of growth mindset we want to encourage in students.

 5. Turn the technology over to your students. Even if you don't know all the ins and outs of using technology, many of your students do. If you give students choice about how to use technology to support their learning, you can incorporate tech even though you aren't the source of all the tech knowledge. It's actually a great thing when students and teachers can learn from each other.

 6. So you're a tech geek? That's great. It can actually be very beneficial to your teaching if you couple your knowledge of technology with an array of other tools that are important to effectiveness in the classroom. How do you build relationships, set expectations, empower learning, and support diverse needs? There are so many factors that contribute to an effective classroom. Technology alone won't result in an excellent classroom experience. But if you can leverage your knowledge of technology to support all the other components of an outstanding classroom, you're a top draft pick for sure!

 7. If you are one of the distinguished educators who are both tech geek and teaching geek, you have an obligation to share your knowledge with others. We all want to learn from you.

 Question: What makes you a teaching geek or a tech geek? Respond on Twitter or Facebook.


Posted by at 1 comment:

Thursday, February 26, 2015

20 ideas to make it more about learning and less about the grade

In a compliance driven culture, students are not likely to pursue learning for intrinsic reasons. They have learned to expect compensation for every learning activity they do. It's evident by the questions they ask, "Do we get a grade on this?" Or, "How many points is this worth?" But if we truly desire to help students take greater ownership in learning, we need to develop ideas for motivating students that rely on intrinsic motivation. In the typical school, learning has become a passive experience for the most part. Students expect to be told exactly what to do and when to do it. And, they expect to be compensated with a grade for doing work, even if the work doesn't reveal their learning or is of poor quality.

I've created a list of ideas that can be useful for motivating students beyond grades. These ideas naturally generate interest or curiosity for many students. They are inherently engaging. No grade required. Some of these ideas are simple to implement while others require significant development to be effective. This list is just a starting point. As teachers plan for instruction, it's important to consider how each idea will support learning and generate greater engagement.

It's also important to realize that using a high-interest idea doesn't guarantee learning. Students may be enjoying themselves, but they will need support from the teacher to ensure that the learning goals are being met. I believe this happens from feedback the teacher provides throughout the learning process. The best learning experiences are designed for high engagement and high impact. Teachers are constantly keeping a pulse of learning and making adjustments to help students succeed.

All of these ideas must be used within a framework of solid relationships. Build a relationship with your students and then use your influence to engage them in learning. Students will want to partner with you in learning if they feel you truly care about them.

1. Choices. People are motivated by a sense of autonomy. We can't give unlimited autonomy to students, but we can provide the next best thing—choices. Students feel a greater sense of control over their learning when they have some input into how the learning goes.

2. Passions. Find students' passions and then use those interests to generate learning experiences. If students are passionate about something, the grade won't be the driver as they will simply pursue the learning.

3. Student Voice. Most students like to share ideas with one another and communicate about what they are learning. Make learning social and students will become more engaged in the process.

4. Technology. I like to see technology used when it can enhance a lesson. If students are motivated by the opportunity to use the technology, then that is one way the lesson can be enhanced.



5. Movement. Students need to move around during the school day to stay alert and active. When teachers build movement into lessons, that can help students focus more and engage for longer time periods. Get students on their feet and out of their seats.

6. Music. Where would the world be without music? It's a powerful force and can be used in the classroom to enhance learning.

7. Solve Real problems. When students feel like they are solving a real problem, it's easier to see the relevance of learning. It's immediate and the learning is driven by something authentic.

8. Drama. Bring the power of acting and performance to your lesson plan. Throw caution to the wind and develop some crazy accents or wear a costume. You will have their attention!

9.  Film/Video. Videos clips can be used to generate interest or provide information in an accessible way. But it's even more powerful when student directed. Videos can be used by students to showcase what they've learned.  

10. Be creative. Give students opportunities to be creative as they learn your subject. Reward ideas that feature originality or artistic elements.

11. Tell stories. Be a storyteller in the classroom and find ways to use stories to help students connect to material.

12. Get out of the classroom. Take students to a different part of the building or go outside. Move outside the walls of the classroom to keep learning fresh and avoid monotony.



13. Make it a game. Use games to learn the content. Or turn you class into a simulated game with badges, levels, and other gaming principles. This type of approach is referred to as gamification.

14. Have a debate. Debates require students to make a claim and support it with evidence. They have to listen carefully and think quickly. It's a great learning tool

15. Provide real audiences. Have students create a learning artifact that will be presented to an audience outside of the classroom. The audience could be other students in the school, staff members, a panel of guests, or something online that potentially has an unlimited audience.

16. Humor. If you can incorporate humor into your lesson, students will be more interested. I had an amazing psychology professor who told a joke before every class. He often tied the humor into the content for the course.

17. Make stuff. The maker movement is all about engaging students as designers and builders. There are many inexpensive ways to bring making into the curriculum in ways that will support learning goals.

18. Social media. Students love to use social media. Why not use it for learning? Students can use Twitter, Facebook, or blogs to share ideas in all sorts of ways.



19. Food. Incorporating food can be very motivating and can relate to a variety of topics. Of course, this one can be a little tricky since school wellness policies may limit such activity.

20. Experiment. Inquiry is a great way to increase student engagement and stimulate critical thinking. Students develop a hypothesis, design an experiment, collect the data, and interpret the results. 
Posted by at No comments:

Saturday, August 30, 2014

In search of better thinking, not right answers


I shared the following Tweet recently because the embedded paragraph below really encapsulates much of what I believe to be true about what students really need from today's schools. We cannot ignore that the world is a very different place than it was for previous generations. As a result, schools need to think about preparing students not just for today, but for what they will need in the future.

While the argument could be made for completely rethinking the structure and format of our learning systems, that is outside the scope of what most educators feel they control. What is in our control is what happens in our classrooms each day. We can do relatively simple things to cause deeper thinking and help students develop skills as questioners and problem solvers, skills that will be very useful to meet challenges of the future.

Steve Wyborney, who by the way was 2005 Oregon Teacher of the Year, shared this strategy in response to my Tweet. This simple idea doesn't require completely retooling how school works, it can be applied in the traditional classroom.

Here is an excerpt from the article Steve authored explaining this strategy.

Taking the answer out of the equation

Steve Wyborney June 27th, 2014
In the quest to promote deep student thinking, sometimes the answer is the problem.
In the classroom, we can launch a beautiful, rich question only to see students reach the answer – and reach the end of their thinking. After all, why would they think beyond the answer? Isn’t the purpose of a question to lead to an answer? Isn’t the answer also the conclusion? Isn’t the answer the end of the journey of discovery?
No, it’s not.
The purpose of a question is not always to launch a journey toward a single answer. The purpose is often to give students an opportunity to think, to stretch, to learn strategies which they can apply to a wider range of scenarios. When students regard the answer as the end of the journey, they may miss those very growth opportunities. But how can we cause students to reach for deeper thinking when they are accustomed to ending the journey at the point of reaching an answer? A simple solution is to take the answer out of the equation. In other words, when you ask a question, give the students the answer to the question and change their task. Ask them to find as many connections as possible between the question and the answer. Click here to read the entire article on Frizzle.
Posted by at No comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)