My daughters would tell you that chemistry would be a good example of a subject matter that could be taught in a way that would give students “intuition and experience by being able to interact and feel it” (Wolfram) Instead of just learning how to compute the atomic mass of an element, students could concentrate on why certain plastics are harder than others or are considered food grade or how solutions become super saturated. Both are important to know if you like to cook. That being said, it is helpful for students (and parents) to have access to information on the internet that gives students extra support when trying to understand new concepts. YouTube and Kahn Academy are examples of sites that offer video tutorials.
I think ideas from Wolfram’s talk could be very helpful to a Technology Integrator. The questions that poses could be asked of the teachers who are planning their units. What is the importance of what is being taught? What is the over arching lesson? What is the enduring understanding? Wolfram didn’t use UbD language, but to me that is what he was referring to. To collaborate fully, I think it’s important for the teachers and Technology Integrator to share and discuss the end goal. What do they want the students to learn? How does it link to their other learning? This information will help the Technology Integrator focus on the important aspects of the unit and help develop a plan to integrate technology into the unit most effectively.
References
Wolfram, C. (2010). TED Talks. Conrad Wolfram:Teaching Kids Real Math with Computers. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/conrad_wolfram_teaching_kids_real_math_with_computers.html
I really liked you example that you used when you said that "instead of just learning how to compute the atomic mass of an element, students could concentrate on why certain plastics are harder than others or are considered food grade or how solutions become super saturated." I do remember doing many of those calculations when I was in Chemistry class 15 years. It really made the unit very dull and boring. Modern technology has provided us with tools and applications that can immediately compute these problems. If we utilize those tools rather than spending a few weeks on teaching how to do it by the traditional methods, we can enrich our lessons and go deeper into the content were able to before. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI too like your translation of Conrad Wolfram's message to chemistry, or really to any science, as there is a ton of math involved in science. Now, thanks to technology, all of the time that used to be spent doing calculations can now be used for solving problems and exploring new ideas. The same could be true in our schools. Our students could be doing so much more if they weren't required to repeat mundane tasks over and over. Great post!
ReplyDeleteJenn,
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you, except that our standardized tests still assess the basics. They take into account the spelling of handwritten responses. They don't assess on the real-world questions. They want to know if kids can perform specific computations and they want to see their work and the steps they went through to arrive at their answer. The written responses maybe more realistic, but kids see them as word problems and quite often get dragged down by the language.
I also see your point about spelling and the use of spell check, however, I'm amazed as how many of my kids turn in papers and don't even bother to correct the misspelled words. They don't seem to get it when I return their paper and refuse to grade it until they fix the words underlined with red squiggles. I think this is one of those issues we may see fall by the wayside, like handwriting. How do we impress the importance of submitting a final draft piece of work? How do we relay the message that employers won't even look at a resume if there are typos on the cover letter? I worry that the age of texting and acceptable slang may take over. Are these issues really important in this age of technology? I guess that was Wolfram's point.
Great post!
~Megan
Meant to add this to my post regarding issues going by the wayside...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQHX-SjgQvQ
ReplyDeleteEnjoy!