As a pre-service teacher the one thing that probably intimidates me the most about teaching my own class is the thought of having to manage any challenging behaviour exhibited by my students. As I brought up in a previous post, the one class that I observed that seemed to exhibit the least behavioural issues was one in which the students seemed to be the most engaged with the lesson content.
But how can I get this engagement in my own lessons?
But how can I get this engagement in my own lessons?
From my observations and research so far, it would seem that some of the answer lies within the creative integration of ICT into my lesson delivery and planning. According to Prensky (2005), the students we are teaching in schools today are among the first generations to grow up with new digital technologies. Our students are ‘Digital Natives’ – they have never known a world without computers, videogames, iPods, smartphones and all the other gadgets of this digital age (Prensky, 2005, p.29). Digital technology is a part of their lives. It shapes the way that they create products, learn information and communicate with their peers (Klopfer, Osterweil, Groff & Haas, 2009). With this in mind, we as future teachers need to utilise these technologies to engage with our students and enhance their learning in new and exciting ways. An example of this type of innovation can be seen in the video below, where teachers at Shelfield Community Academy in the UK have been using 3D technology to engage their students.
In my prac school this seems to be the philosophy of most. When I asked one of my supervising teachers about her opinions regarding classroom management and lesson content her answer was as follows:
“I try to create a preventative environment by creating engaging lessons. For our students technology is a big part of their lives, and it’s up to us to try and tap into that to find new ways to present our curriculum and make them excited about learning by using innovative technologies in the classroom.”
This mindset is supported throughout the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers, particularly “Standard 2: Focus 2.6.1 Implement teaching strategies for using ICT to expand curriculum learning opportunities for students” (BOSTE, 2012, p.11).Throughout my prac school all teachers seem to implementing ICT into their teaching strategies. In saying this, after observing a number of teachers and classes I found myself asking the question:
“Is all use of technology really innovative?”
I observed that incorporating ICT is much more than just plugging in a laptop and showing students a PowerPoint presentation. Rather, it is about finding ways to integrate technology into class activities providing students with a new way of discovering or presenting content. While I observed many teachers using technology within my classroom, in some instances technology was being used merely as a replacement of more traditional tools of instruction rather showing innovation in pedagogy.
I found that the teachers who just used technology as a replacement of the whiteboard (for example projecting a discussion question on the board), did not seem to get higher levels of engagement than those who just wrote questions on the board. However, teachers who used technology to enhance student’s interaction with class content seemed to have much higher participation in their class and seemed to have less behavioural issues. For example, in one Stage 4 class who were studying the religious education unit The Person Of Jesus, students were asked to create and present their own interpretation of Jesus. In doing this, they were told that were free to use the classroom laptops to present their ‘image’ in any way that they liked.
This seemed to encourage maximum involvement throughout the class. Students who weren't particularly good artists, created Wordles, image collages and slideshows and one student even wrote and recorded a rap song. In observing this class it became clear to me that effectively incorporating ICT is about finding ways to integrate technology into the classroom to allow students to access the curriculum in new ways, create an inclusive environment and get excited about the content they are learning.
REFERENCE LIST
Board of Studies, Teaching & Educational Standards NSW. (2012). Australian Professional Standards For Teachers. Retrieved from: http://www.nswteachers.nsw.edu.au/publications-policies-resources/publications/australian-professional-standards-for-teachers/
Prensky, M. (2005) Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants. Gifted 135(February 2005), 29-31. Retrieved from: http://search.informit.com.au/fullText;dn=141401;res=AEIPT.
Klopfer, E., Osterweil, S., Groff, J., & Haas, J. (2009) The Instructional Power of digital games, social networking simulations and How Teachers Can Leverage Them. Retrieved from: http://education.mit.edu/papers/GamesSimsSocNets_EdArcade.pdf
“Is all use of technology really innovative?”
I observed that incorporating ICT is much more than just plugging in a laptop and showing students a PowerPoint presentation. Rather, it is about finding ways to integrate technology into class activities providing students with a new way of discovering or presenting content. While I observed many teachers using technology within my classroom, in some instances technology was being used merely as a replacement of more traditional tools of instruction rather showing innovation in pedagogy.
I found that the teachers who just used technology as a replacement of the whiteboard (for example projecting a discussion question on the board), did not seem to get higher levels of engagement than those who just wrote questions on the board. However, teachers who used technology to enhance student’s interaction with class content seemed to have much higher participation in their class and seemed to have less behavioural issues. For example, in one Stage 4 class who were studying the religious education unit The Person Of Jesus, students were asked to create and present their own interpretation of Jesus. In doing this, they were told that were free to use the classroom laptops to present their ‘image’ in any way that they liked.
This seemed to encourage maximum involvement throughout the class. Students who weren't particularly good artists, created Wordles, image collages and slideshows and one student even wrote and recorded a rap song. In observing this class it became clear to me that effectively incorporating ICT is about finding ways to integrate technology into the classroom to allow students to access the curriculum in new ways, create an inclusive environment and get excited about the content they are learning.
REFERENCE LIST
Board of Studies, Teaching & Educational Standards NSW. (2012). Australian Professional Standards For Teachers. Retrieved from: http://www.nswteachers.nsw.edu.au/publications-policies-resources/publications/australian-professional-standards-for-teachers/
Prensky, M. (2005) Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants. Gifted 135(February 2005), 29-31. Retrieved from: http://search.informit.com.au/fullText;dn=141401;res=AEIPT.
Klopfer, E., Osterweil, S., Groff, J., & Haas, J. (2009) The Instructional Power of digital games, social networking simulations and How Teachers Can Leverage Them. Retrieved from: http://education.mit.edu/papers/GamesSimsSocNets_EdArcade.pdf