Vision Paper!

Stephen Miles Professor Bill Hunter Principals of Learning November 15, 2010 Vision Paper - What the heck is a bbm?

Stephen Miles

What the heck is a bbm? The pace of technology is changing so rapidly that adults, and teachers in particular, are struggling to keep up with the blistering pace. Emergent technologies such as smart phones, SmartBoards, Blogs, Wikis, and countless other Web 2.0 applications are touted as essential teaching tools for preparing students for a technology-rich future. Undoubtedly, the use of ICT in the classroom can enhance learning, engage students, and provide a broader base for content-rich activities. However, teachers are still being trained much the same as they were decades ago in that they believe that in order to transfer knowledge the teacher must rst become an expert, not only in content but in the method of delivery. With the current volume of ICT resources that is constantly evolving, this is no longer possible, so the methodology of teaching must evolve along with it. I believe that the next paradigm shift in educational philosophy in the near future will be the role of the teacher in the classroom. Teachers will become enablers of knowledge instead of transmitters of it, they will guide students to their own learning through exploration and the manipulation of new technologies. The advent of the information society has called into question many of our assumptions about education (Jenkins, 1999) The internet alone has drastically altered the way we communicate, the way we work, and the way we live. Why should the way we teach be any different?

Vision Paper!

Stephen Miles

Traditionally, teachers were trained to follow a behaviourist, teacher-centred approach to instruction where the teacher was responsible for dispensing information to all students regardless of their learning abilities. Students were taught to memorize facts and topics without any meaningful understanding of the hows and whys of what they were learning. This rote memorization method of learning lead to students being passive learners, lacking the ability to transfer knowledge to new situations and think critically about their situation. Under this style of learning, students are usually assessed individually using oral recitation or pen and paper-based tests and assignments. (Dede, 2005) The works of Vygotsky and Piaget largely focused on how students learn which lead to a change in how teaching and learning was viewed. The child-centred approach to instruction was developed and identied the effective teacher as a facilitator of information rather than a dispenser of it. However, Annand (2007) argues that even with new models of learning and a greater understanding of learning, education continues to follow an outdated model. The fundamental means of learning... has not changed in centuries. In fact, it more closely resembles organizational forms common to merchant capitalism rather than those brought about by the Industrial Revolution. Currently, teachers at the elementary and secondary level continue to rely on the direct instruction model of teaching, transferring knowledge to students by standing in front of the class and lecturing. Slowly the repertoire of teaching practice is beginning to change. While teachers are expanding methodology and making efforts to try different ways to impart knowledge in meaningful, authentic ways, the traditional mindset of the teacher as the expert continues to hold. The expectation of the teacher to be the expert

Vision Paper!

Stephen Miles

in all topics and technological tools comes from decades of traditional instruction that is difcult to amend. Most teachers feel that they need more than a casual comfort level with the technological tools they are using to teach a particular topic. In their article on learning to become an expert in teaching, Leftwich and Todd (2007) state that: ... teachers can increase their expertise by learning the skills of an expert. To do so requires two things: (1) knowledge of the skill, and (2) practicing that skill until mastered. Do not be deceived by the simplicity of that statement. Learning the skills of an expert requires extensive knowledge and years of deliberate practice. To begin, a teacher must commit to practicing and refining his or her perceptual skills. Making a commitment to the goal is the first step in learning to see like an expert. While Leftwich and Todd (2007) refer to a holistic approach to becoming a better teacher, many teachers bring this style of thinking to their approach to teaching with technology. I believe that this is the paradigm shift in thinking that is required if teachers are to effectively use ICT as a tool for teaching. Certainly a basic knowledge of using a computer is required by teachers, but becoming an expert in all things technical is not. It is not possible for teachers to become experts in all ICT, nor is it in their interest to do so. Allowing students to learn to use a particular technology is as much a part of learning as producing an end result. In fact, it is the very discovery that is what leads to learning, self-esteem building, and interactivity between students, as well as between students and teachers. It can also lead students to make their own real-world connections and transfer what they learn to a wide variety of situations and subjects.

Vision Paper!

Stephen Miles

The direct instruction model continues to be prevalent in elementary education in part because it allows for the most efcient form of behaviour management. Young children at school are learning curriculum and at the same time developing social norms. It is argued that the teacher can better manage behaviour with authoritarian rule for the safety of all students. Teachers with a less diverse program that have fewer opportunities for students to express their understanding of what is being taught, more often use an authoritarian, direct-instruction approach. Those teachers with more diverse programming have an easier time with behaviour management because students actively participate in the lesson and are engaged in what they are learning. Using ICT in the classroom becomes a win-win scenario for teachers. It engages students by appealing to their interests, it allows the students to control the pace of their own learning, and allows the teacher to collaborate and guide students instead of having to become experts in the method. In the connected classroom the teacher no longer controls what happens, and loses the monopoly of authority. The teacher becomes leader, helper, partner and evaluator, combining the traditional role of subject expert with that of a manager. (Jenkins, 1999). Initially teachers will be concerned about the effect that their new role will have on behaviour management, but as they see the effects that ICT can have on engaging students, it will become clear that issues of behaviour and motivation will fade as students learn to take ownership of their own learning and take responsibility for their own education. Using ICT as a teaching tool not only actively engages students in learning, it allows for collaborative activities between students, and perhaps most importantly, it creates a new relationship between the student and the teacher. Relinquishing the control of learning will be the key to changing the mindset of future teachers. By doing so teachers

Vision Paper!

Stephen Miles

will become more active participants in the learning process as they work collaboratively with students.

Barbara Rogoffs theories of guided participation and community learning closely resembles how I envision the future of education in combination with an ICT approach. In particular, her views speak to the evolving role of the teacher as more of a guide, a collaborator, and a co-learner. Children take part in the activities of their community, engaging with other children and with adults, in routine and tacit situations, as well as explicit collaboration (both in each other's presence and in otherwise socially structured activities). A child is prepared for participation in future events through the process of participation.(Rogoff, 2006) In order to prepare students to be active, participatory members of a future society and prepare them for jobs that do not yet exist, the focus must be on teaching students to effectively collaborate and problem solve using a variety of ICT formats.

The word educate comes from the Latin educere which means to lead out. 1 With this in mind we examine the role of the teacher in the classroom. A fundamental tenet of modern learning theory is that different kinds of learning goals require different approaches to instruction; new goals for education require changes in opportunities to learn. (Bransford et al., 2000. p.131). It is in our best interests as educators to allow for a variety of opportunities that students can use to express their understanding but this will require a major shift in our approach to teaching. In the future, educators will need to see

Vision Paper!

Stephen Miles

themselves not as experts, but as guides, mentors and collaborators who will lead students into self-actualized learning. As Socrates once said, I cannot teach anybody anything; I can only make them think. To prepare students for a wired world, we must allow them to guide their own learning, collaborate together on projects that can be connected to real-world experiences, and encourage them to solve problems using a variety of technological resources.

Vision Paper! Work Cited

Stephen Miles

Jenkins, Janet (1999). Teaching for Tomorrow: The Changing Role of Teachers in the Connected Classroom. Janet Jenkins Consultancy in Distance Education. Retrieved from http://www.eden-online.org/papers/jenkins.pdf Dede, C. (2005). Planning for Neomillennial Learning Styles. Educause Quarterly 28(1). Retrieved from http://www.educause.edu/EDUCAUSE+Quarterly/EDUCAUSEQuarterlyMagazineVolum /PlanningforNeomillennialLearni/157325 Annand, D. (2007). Reorganizing universities for the information age. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning. Retrieved from http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/372/952 Leftwich, Ottenbreit and Todd, Anne (2007). Expert technology-using teachers: Visions, strategies, and development. Purdue University. Retrieved from http://gradworks.umi.com/32/87/3287284.html Jenkins, Janet (1999). Teaching for Tomorrow: The Changing Role of Teachers in the Connected Classroom. Janet Jenkins Consultancy in Distance Education. Retrieved from http://www.eden-online.org/papers/jenkins.pdf Rogoff, Barbara (2006). VELS Level 3 Zone of Proximal Development and Scaffolding. State of Victoria, Department of Education. Retrieved from http://www.education.vic.gov.au/studentlearning/teachingresources/english/literacy/conc epts/2L3_ZPD.htm#top

1. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/educate

Bransford, John D. [et al.] editors (2000). How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School. Committee on Developments in the Science of Learning and Committee on Learning Research and Educational Practice. Page 131.