Chapter 5: Teaching with Technology

Sandholtz, J. H., Ringstaff, C., & Dwyer, D. C. (1997). Redefining student and teacher roles (p. 76-88). Teaching with technology: creating student-centered classrooms. New York: Teachers College Press.

Summary

            In a technology based classroom, the authors find that the roles of student and teacher begin to blur.  As students quickly become experts with the technology, they lead their classmates and even teachers in one-on-one instruction.  This expertise does not correlate with academic achievement however, as typically low achieving students often become classroom leaders.  Many teachers begin to shift their teaching styles to encourage this classroom partnership and even districts and businesses begin to realize the resource in older students.  The challenge comes however, in assessment.  There is a growing recognition that assessing student knowledge must change to accommodate collaborative learning and classroom leadership, rather than lower order content knowledge.

Reflection

           

            Adjusting to a collaborative classroom is difficult.  A few years ago, I co-designed and taught a science writing course.  Much of our time in class was about giving students time to engage with each other and work through class activities.  To be honest, it made me feel like I wasn't doing my job.  On the other hand, I wouldn't run the class any other way.  The same is true for workshops that I teach now – I really do try to give things over to the students instead of just telling.

            What are often also difficult in my classrooms are student expectations.  In the chapter, teachers identified new students as needing to adjust to a collaborative classroom.  In reality, most students are not accustomed to such a high level of partnership.  With standardized testing, they have learned to be really good listeners and test takers.  Many of my students are often uncomfortable with the level of freedom they are given; their preference is to have very clear and precise expectations.  While this is a challenge, it shouldn't be a roadblock.  As a college instructor, I am expected to prepare them for their career, which will not usually depend on them being a good student, but rather a good creator.

            One of the most amazing active learning classrooms I've seen is at the University of Minnesota.  I had the opportunity to meet with Robin Wright, a biology professor at Minnesota, and what she told me was dumbfounding.  The freshman biology course she teaches in this classroom has over 100 students in it.  Dr. Wright has stopped lecturing on things students can read in their book, instead relying on them to actually do the reading (there are quizzes as an incentive).  In the classroom of over 100 students learning is almost entirely project based, where the instructor presents questions or challenges and the students learn concepts by solving them.  This is revolutionary and the kind of classroom the authors talked about in this chapter.  In my mind, this is what most classrooms should start looking like.  That would be awesome!

This video was originally posted on vimeo by the University of Minnesota, College of Biological Sciences.