Takeaway Teaching

I read with interest a paper by Tom Bryce and Donald Grey (2004). The paper made me realise the real challenge for me as teacher is not in the application of ICT within my teaching. The real challenge I face as a teacher is with respect to biotechnological progress (and any other science field). The challenge is to keep informed with the progress and application of scientific advances. Students have access to all this new information (via Interent and media) and are wanting to discuss issues such as ‘stem cells’ from the technological aspect to the ethical and social implications. 

HERE IS WHERE ICT – IN PARTICULAR THE INTERNET WILL HELP US!!

Bryce, T. and Gray, D. (2004) Tough acts to follow: the challenges to science teachers presented by biotechnological progress. International Journal of Science Education. 26(6), 717-733.

I feel compelled to reply to this blog by Maree as the article referred to elicited a strong sense of nostalgia in me of which I wrote about in a recent blog. I think libraries will endure, but they will have be dynamic and fluid with the demands of the extraordinary pace of technological change that we are experiencing. I don’t know what it will look like, but it will have to meet the needs of the generation it is servicing. In considering how libraries have changed during my time, I think it is interesting to contrast the ‘silence’ of the libraries of old to the constant hum of ‘chatter’ in the libraries of today.

Think Visually, Work Collaboratively, Anywhere, Anytime. The subtitle of Webspiration sums it all up. I was a little apprehensive in trying out Webspiration, but it was so easy – even for a ‘digital immigrant’ such as myself. I found the tool bars very intuitive and in little time was able to create the concept map that I have inserted. Definitely a tool I will be using in teaching science.

Edward Tufte  in his commentary ‘PowerPoint is Evil’ makes a valid arguement that the misuse of PowerPoint renders it to the catagory of a competent slide manager and projector. 

However I would like to focus on a positive aspect of the use of a PowerPoint. In Science, PowerPoint can be used to create an attractive and motivating presentation in introducing a new unit of work. An interactive lesson can be achieved with the clever use of questions to draw students into the presentation. Consideration must be made to create pauses to break up the presentation to involve the students.

I love the scenario presented by Educause with respect to Collaborative Learning. That in the future students will be able to create lecture notes collaboratively, at the same time, by utilising each other strengths to create brilliant leacture notes to share. I could not stop the image of a lecture theatre filled with a massive Amoeba.

The paper explains one of the possible applications of collaborative editing. In the classroom, collaborative editing could be used as a demonstration tool. Students can watch as a teacher edits a document real-time – demonstrating a method of proper revision. This is a useful application that could be incorporated into any KLA and is particularly important for the teacher of today who is faced with students with low literacy levels everyday.

Educause (2005). Seven things you should know about collaborative editing

I appreciate how Sun has contrasted the use of ICT in two different lessons. In one lesson the students were not enganged, and in the other, the students were enganged with the ICT used. This is an important contrast, as it highlights the importance of using ICT thoughtfully rather than using it for the sake of using it. In the lesson in which the students were engaged through graphing, the students were active and constructing; both essential requirements for meaningfu learning as discussed by Jonassesn et. al. (2008) which Sun has referred to. In the powerpoint lesson the students were also delivered a lesson in the medium of ICT, however the main difference being that they were being treated as passive recipients of information.

I have just finished reading, ‘Scientists and 21^st Century Science Education’. What this article has done for me, is made me walk in the shoes of a student in the contemporary science classroom. These students have to deal with an extraordinary pace of technological change, which influences human behaviour worldwide. ‘Science literacy’ is the required outcome of the BOS of Science Syllabuses. This is no mean feat for the student or the teacher to achieve. Our world is dynamic and changing. We as teachers must be dynamic and changing in out teaching strategies. At this time, the incorporation of ICT is vital. With ICT we can teach what is known about the world in manner that inspires, and evoke mystery and awe with respect to what we still have to learn. The paper makes a proposal that students wanting to obtain a PhD in Science – spend some time in a school in providing assistance to teachers to enhance the ‘science literacy’ of the general populace in preparation for the 21^st century economy and general culture.

Have you heard, they have found opals on Mars, which extends the time range for liquid water on Mars, and the places where it might have supported life! How exciting!

Lederman, L. M. (2008). Scientists and 21^st Century Science Education. Technology in Society. 30, 397-400.

I have come to the stage where I am suitably convinced of the benefits of incorporating ICT within my teaching. As a consequence my literature searchers are being dominated by looking for examples of how other, more experienced teachers are using ICT in their science teaching. In the paper referenced below, ‘The Tree of Life’ is described as a useful tool in teaching students the ‘diversity of life’. In teaching this subject, students can become easily overwhelmed by the breadth of the required content knowledge and gaining a perspective of the big picture. In using ‘The Tree of Life’, students can interact with the big picture by building ‘A Tree of Life’ of digital images. Students can use original digital images they have taken themselves, images they have found or teacher provided images to reinforce learning. Through the use of ‘the Tree of Life’ discussions on any aspect can be facilitated as well as providing a framework to make the connections for students to develop relatedness with respect to their learning.

Reference

Staub, N. L., Pauw, P. G. and Pauw, D. (2006). Seeing the Forest Through the Trees. The American Biology Teacher. 68(3). P149-151