Reflection January 16, 2015

This is my first reflection piece after reading “Beyond Technology Integration: The Case for Technology Transformation” and “Of Luddites, Learning, and Life.”  I found that I both agreed and disagreed with comments from each.

     In the Transformation article, a couple of points caught my attention. The first was the assertation that in our current educational system, we divide students into large groups and teach the same content in the same amount of time in order to sort them into laborers and managers. I would disagree with this. The biggest reason I see to teach large groups at the same time is for efficiency. In my experience of classroom teaching (group) and 15 years of homeschooling (individual), it is much more time effective, for example, to teach 30 students how to do double-digit addition at once rather than one at a time.  I would, however, agree with their opinion that we should hold achievement constant at the mastery level, by allowing children as much time as they need to reach those standards. In over 25 years of teaching, it has never ceased to amaze me how teaching the same concept is learned so differently by students. There are always those who pick it up the first time, those who take a few practice rounds, and those who continue to struggle unless there is time-consuming, repeated exposure and intervention.

     In the Luddite article, again, I found myself both agreeing and disagreeing with the author. On one hand, I concur with his belief that sometimes because the technologies are there, we often invent problems to justify using them.  Several years ago, I was discussing with my principal how much a smartboard would add to my teaching. Now mind you, I had taught those same concepts successfully for years without one, but just knowing that they were available made me feel as if I needed one. On the other hand, it felt slightly like an affront when the author claimed that the information-giving function of schools was rendered obsolete long ago. Really? Had the author’s child been sitting in my classroom this morning learning about topics ranging from phonics decoding skills to how to multiply, I think he may have felt differently.