"The most important thing that schools can do is not to use technology in the curriculum more, but to use it more effectively."
John G. Palfrey and Urs Gasser
www.geckoandfly.com
Confessions of a Lifelong Learner
As an educator and lifelong learner, I firmly believe that fostering curiosity is the cornerstone of effective education. Encouraging students to question, explore, and seek answers not only enriches their learning experience but also cultivates a mindset of lifelong curiosity and growth. I am passionate about continuous improvement and view discomfort as a catalyst for personal and academic development. Embracing challenges, stepping out of comfort zones, and navigating unfamiliar territories are essential components of the learning journey. Through these experiences, individuals not only acquire knowledge but also develop resilience, adaptability, and a deep-seated thirst for knowledge.
Learning in a Digital World
I believe utilizing digital tools and technology in education has revolutionized the way students learn and interact with course material. These tools provide a dynamic and interactive learning environment, catering to diverse learning styles and preferences. Through educational apps, online resources, and virtual simulations, students can engage with content in innovative ways, fostering deeper understanding and retention. Technology also enables personalized learning experiences, allowing educators to tailor instruction to individual student needs and provide real-time feedback for improvement. Furthermore, digital tools promote collaboration and communication among students, breaking down geographical barriers and encouraging a global perspective on learning. Overall, incorporating technology in education not only enhances academic growth but also cultivates essential 21st-century skills vital for success in an increasingly digital world.
Issues in Education
Think back through your educational journey. As I reflect on my years in the classroom as a student, I remember notebooks filled with facts, step by step directions, and examples of how to approach problems. I remember my teachers lecturing and modeling then expecting us to regurgitate information or solve similar math problems out of textbooks that were similar to the examples solved for us. According to Liljedahl (2022), many students in today's classrooms are mimicking and not thinking. "Thinking is a necessary precursor to learning and if students are not thinking, they are not learning." Many of today's classrooms follow the teacher-centered "I do, we do, you do" model of teaching. If we want students to be innovative thinkers who can solve the problems of tomorrow, we need to provide authentic learning opportunities where students explore their own learning with the guidance of teachers as facilitators.
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In order for our 21st-century learners to fully engage in the learning process, we should help them to be adaptable, flexible, and innovative by creating a significant learning environment (CSLE) (Harapnuik, D. & Thibodeaux, T., 2023). We need to provide student centered learning that offers our naturally inquisitive learners choice, ownership, and voice through authentic learning opportunities. Being a part of a large team, I collaborate with my colleagues to develop lesson plans for our students. There is a significant increase in engagement from when we follow the "I do, we do, you do" approach versus when I have given a thinking task for groups to complete. Take a computational math skill like addition and subtraction with regrouping. Teachers can model, work examples, and have students regurgitate solutions to similar problems. Instead, students can do the heavy lifting where they are given a budget to plan a birthday party. Students can choose to present their plan in a variety of ways, students take ownership in the learning as they decide the purchases that need to be made, and they participate in an real-world situation where they are applying the skills they learn. With the increasing availability of technological tools in classrooms, teachers can more easily create opportunities like this for our learners which better prepare them to think for themselves.​
Experiences in an Elementary Classroom
I have never been the teacher to shy away from learning about new digital tools in supporting the learning process in the classroom. As a fourth grade teacher, I developed personalized learning plans for my students to help prepare them for high stakes testing. Although I could have done this without the use of technology, I was more easily able to implement this plan as well as provide feedback for my students in a more timely manner. Students were provided with mini-lessons to review skills that they needed to show growth in. Since I can only work with a few students at a time in small groups, this opened up the opportunities for students to review skills shown that they needed support with. With technology, students were able to demonstrate their understanding of the content throughout their lesson with immediate feedback provided from the platform being used to deliver the lesson. After satisfactory progress, the learner would follow their plan to the practice opportunities which varied from paper based or digital. With the digital practice opportunities, students were able to complete their practice with immediate feedback to help them determine if they completed the skill correctly or if they needed to try another solution. The immediate feedback provided by the technology used supported their efforts in analyzing their own work for errors to determine why their solution was incorrect. Upon showing mastery of their skills, students would then move on to their next skill.
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Seeing how I was able to reach the many needs of students at different levels with ease, I continue to use technology in the same way on a daily basis and have even adapted this to be used in a second grade classroom. My hope is to continue to share strategies to utilize technology as a tool to reach every learner and provide learning opportunities to help each student grow based on what they need. At the same time, being an educator who sees herself as a lead learner in the classroom, I hope to continue to find innovative ways to leverage technology as a tool for growth in our schools.
References
Harapnuik, D. & Thibodeaux, T. (2023). COVA: Inspire learning
through choice, ownership, voice, and authentic experiences (2nd
ed.).
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Liljedahl, P. (2022). Innovation in the teaching mathematics: Rethinking
the foundational principles that underpin teaching. Proceedings of
the Singapore National Academy of Science. 16(1), 3-
13. 10.1142/S2591722622400014
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TEDx Talks. (2016, March 28). Redefining learning & teaching using
technology. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=AOTEQVYDPpg
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