Over the past year almost every conversation that I have been involved with around technology in the classroom has led to somebody talking about engaging students. I wholeheartedly agree with the concept of engagement, but I think we need to make sure that we define what that means. In Schlechty’s book, “Working On the Work” he describes five different levels of engagement. The top level is authentic engagement and during this level the work that students are asked to do has meaning and value to them and provides a relevant context. Another very important distinction that Schlechty makes in this book is the difference between the teacher being engaging (performer) and the teacher who provides work and activities for students that the students find engaging. It is obvious to me that there are a tremendous amount of technology resources available to support teachers as they create activities and tasks for students to engage in. There is also a lot of technology to help teachers be engaging as performers. This leads me to the question: Do we want students to perform or teachers to perform?
I would think that there would be a mix of teacher and student performance in the classroom, but we would want the percentage to be much higher on the end of student performance. Given this scenario, I would like to consider two technologies that are currently being purchased for 21st Century classrooms and make sure that our vision aligns with the resource.
Electronic Whiteboards
The first thing we have to agree on is the fact that this technology is being purchased on the notion that it will help provide higher levels of engagement for students. If we agree with this then we need to examine who uses the technology 90% of the time, the teacher. I would argue that we have tried to revolutionize the classroom with technology that continues to put the teacher up in front of the class and asks students to sit and watch as the teacher performs with the new tools. I do belief that it can be implemented in a way that will engage students more authentically, but for that to happen a bigger shift needs to happen in the flow of learning, from teacher-centered to student-centered. Most companies do have slate will allow the teacher to walk around the classroom and have all of the same resources that can be utilized with an electronic whiteboard. This technology will allow teachers to ask students to work in groups and allow the teacher to pass the slate to the students to they can interact with the content in a way that is meaningful.
My point is that engagement with whiteboard technology should be sold as teacher as performer, but can be sold as student as performer if the district is willing to engage in professional development around student-centered learning.
Student Responders
Student responders are an excellent way to obtain formative assessment data and measure how students change their thinking as they study a topic or concept. Thousands of classrooms are using student responders to engage students in learning, but what level of engagement are we talking about? It is true that in many classrooms a small percentage of students are willing to answer a question, especially if they are not sure of the answer, and in classrooms with student responders we get a much higher level of participation. The data is collected to help teachers make instructional decisions, but what happens if we don’t do anything with the data? You see, I think we should always start the conversation about student responders with a discussion about creating engaging questions and using the data from those questions to drive instruction. For example, when studying a current event it might make sense to ask students what they know about the event and what their opinion is about the event. After reading some information and doing some research you should ask some of the same questions to see if student’s opinions have changed and then discuss why. The teacher will have the ability to compare the data from the first time the students answered the question and the second time and the class can analyze the data for reasons that might have caused a shift or why there was no shift in the way the students think.
I also think the software that is available to teachers for presenting should be available to students and as they present their information to the class they should be formatively assessing the group and shifting their presentation based on the data they receive. In the end the level of engagement in a student presentation will be more about the activity that was designed and less about the technology.
I don’t usually create long blog posts, but this topic is becoming increasingly important to me. As you can tell I have put some thought into this, but I want to know what you think. What will it take to authentically engage students in learning and what are the best technologies to help us do this?
Adam is responsible for oversight of Pearson’s technology integration and national professional development program. A former elementary school teacher, Adam has presented at conferences across the country, including Alan November’s conferences and has written articles on technology integration for several education publications. He has been a national consultant on school reform, technology integration, and teaching and learning for seven years. Over the past four years he has provided professional development or managed the implementation of professional development for some of the biggest one-to-one laptop initiatives in the country, including Henrico County and the state of Texas TIP program.
Adam received a BA in Elementary Education from the University of South Florida, a Master’s in Teaching and Learning with a Technology emphasis from Framingham State College, and has a Certificate in Administration and Supervision from Johns Hopkins University.
i am interested in this as i work with small group instructiion....special education-students k-5with mild to moderate needs...i am in a large urban district with english language learners (ELL), multicultural, and students living in poverty and challenging environments...
do you have any suggestions as to where to start with this? i have alot of freedom and flexibility...although lots of technology available- macs - that are broken down
Dear Adam,
This is a subject near and dear to my heart - engaging students in learning, particularly in 6th grade science inquiry. In fact, I just finished my dissertation on this exact subject and included two hierarchies of engagement, one based on the affective domain and one based on the behavioral domain. Since reading your blog, I'm very interested in reading Schlechty's book, "Working on the Work." In a nutshell, I believe the way to engage students is with what I call the 5 C's of Engagement: Cutting-edge technology, Creative Freedom, Collaboration, Contribution, and Communication. I have used this model for the past 3 years and it has really proven to engage students. Look for it soon in the literature!
Best of luck with your studies. Stay in touch!
Andrea Harmer
We are too much in awe of "teachnology" and too little
in awe of the human mind. Engagement can be
stimulated with novelty, but is sustained only
by the cosntant stimulation of curiosity.
John Holt said it years ago. "Intelligence is not so much you know. It is how you act when you don't
know." We are afraid to ask and the answer the
question, "What is it I don't know?" Then I can answer
the question, "Is that what I want to know?"
Another important statement by Dr. Phil Schlechty is that "Schools cannot be made great by great teacher performances. They will only be made great by great student performances." For profound learning to take place, teachers need to design engaging experiences for students during which they can gather information and ultimately show what they know. I agree that interactive use of technology by students, whether it be with whiteboards or responders, is essential to their developing skills while the teacher can formatively assess the learning that is taking place.
In a district where we believe that the key to increased student achievement is engaging the minds of every student, every day, we are continuing to increase the professional development offerings revolving around instructional technology. What if teachers and students kept track of how much "hands-on" technology time is spent by the teacher performing and how much is spent by the student(s) engaging in work of value and meaning? and how does this impact the achievement of students? I sense some Action Research coming our way! Deb K., St. Lucie County, FL
Right on Garry. I've been working with the technology (interactive whiteboards) for some time and have found that students really embrace the software and the use of the board more readily than watching the magic happen before their eyes. Districts need to place and emphasis on Student learning with the technologies that teachers use... after all they (students) are the future.
I agree with everything you are saying Adam and I'd like to add a few points. I believe the active boards are a terrific way for teachers to transition from "sage on the stage" to "guide on the side using technology". It starts those who are not techno-savvy from a comfortable place. But, yes, then they need to move away from the front of the room ("Sir, move away from that board!") ;-] and give the students control. I've seen some wonderful examples of this where teachers let students create lessons (using the interactive board software and search capability) for each other for use in small groups, where students use the software to create multimedia products, and where students create games for drills. If we let the kids go, it will be fun to watch where they take it! Peg Maddocks
Dear Adam,
I think that your comments are very timely. My district is in the middle of a trmendous academic transformation; and, at the same time we are trying to infuse our classrooms with technology to assure our students have access to the latest electronic tools. Although the research is inconclusive about how technology affects learning, the need to integrate technology is critical for those of us trying to minimize the Digital Divide.
Adam,
Great post! Your thoughts mirror mine with regards to the hardware used in the classroom. I work for a very technology-forward school system in northern suburban Atlanta, GA, and while every classroom in the county has an interactive whiteboard and a set of student responders for every 10 classrooms or so, there is still very much the issue of teachers being able to break away from the teacher-centered model of instruction.
Too often, I see a lot of "how-to" instruction on the technology, mainly because there are so many toys to play with. Our county is already looking at piloting the next generation of student responders offered by our vendor. My concern is that we tend to provide too many toys for the teachers, but without enough 1) instruction on how to use them in a time-effective manner, and 2) instruction on how to get them into the students' hands and have students control the pace of the classroom, I fear that we will have even more underused toys.
A good technology integration plan not only includes the what, but the how and - most importantly - the why.
Good thoughts! I believe I will need to add you to my blogroll!
Jeff
http://www.techieteacher.org
http://techieteachr.blogspot.com
I work in a school district where the purchase of technology exceeds the purchase of Professional Development to help teachers understand how to integrate technology into their classrooms.
The one piece that is sorely lacking is the emphasis on student-centered learning. Everyone says it but very few people actually do it or know how to.
A shift in the teaching paradigm to student-centered learning is, for many teachers and administrators, viewed as a relinquishment of control. The key to excellent student-centered learning is the training of teachers on classroom management that fits that kind of education.
Teachers are unprepared for the shift and are reluctant to give up what they see as control of the learning environment.
I agree that electronic whiteboards and student responders could be put to better use. To achieve this we must first ask districts to re-evaluate what teaching is for the 21st century. The 18th century classroom paradigm just doesn't allow for the proper integration and implementation of technology.
Adam, I could not agree with you more. Who is it we want prepared in the 21st century... The classroom teacher to empower and engage the students or The students to empower the tool and engage in their own learning.
One of the things that I disagree with totally in todays world, is taking the electronics from the students as they enter the schools, while in the real world, we all use those gadgets each day. If a student learns while listening to music as a back drop (Not as a tune my teacher out) device, than why shouldn't they?
We are encouraged as teachers to put music on in the background to boost learning, but what about those that can not handle the distraction? Or those who choose not to listen to my 'kind' of music?
If a student is owning the technology on a level that we would not even fathom (sp?), why not ask them to teach a mini-lesson, using their 'gadgets' on a subject that is less than meaningful to them at their age. It would not only make them owners of the learning, it also helps their peers understand, because they use the same 'language'.
JMHO, thanks for writing another thought provoking blog!
Cheryl
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