This was the introduction I wrote:
More and more teachers are using technologies in their classroom. These days you would be hard pressed to not find a classroom using some form of digital technology. But the question then becomes could digital technology replace the teacher? When speaking to staff members at our school, it becomes apparent that there is a lot of programmes, both free and purchasable that offer the teaching of academic knowledge to students. Many teachers are setting work from these programmes, putting a computer in front of the students and leaving them to it. The students themselves have indicated that this is great and they learn a lot but we are questioning whether it is developing critical thinking and the other 21st century skills that education should be?
This is very close to home as it is definately what i see happening in classrooms around me. Teachers are becoming excited by the new resources they see online and are putting their students infront of them and leaving them to it. Another thing I see far too often is just scanning paper based resources and saving them as a digital copy with the impression they are now digital. However, they still can't be used in this way and often the quality of the copy is very poor. I struggle to see how that is going to improve the engagement of those students let alone develop more of the 21st century skills.
From the reading that we (LAW and MOR also) did for the research assignment we found 3 common themes that we highlighted. These were around:
Critical thinking and collaboration
Self efficacy in students and teachers &
Student teacher relationships and connections.
The overall message we took from these themes was as follows:
Through what we already know and the research carried out we know that the 21st century skills for learners are important. Rather than focusing on all of them, we want to look at critical thinking and how the teaching of this can be better facilitated by us, as teachers. The reading has shown that through collaboration we can look at achieving this, and that using the tools that the digital platform provides us with, we are able to enhance this further.
The continued development and innovation associated with integrating digital methods of teaching and learning provide many challenges for students and teachers. Research shows, as previously stated that one's self-efficacy can have a detrimental impact on the success of such approaches. There are clear links to building and enhancing self-efficacy through a collaborative approach to learning thus improving the effectiveness of digital initiatives in the classroom for teachers, Furthermore, the teachers ability and confidence whilst delivering such a method of learning can influence the effectiveness and future delivery. As identified by staff at our school, many teachers have low levels of confidence using technology, therefore influencing the level of success achieved in doing so. It is also important for educators to find the right balance between connecting with students, and, connecting students with digital learning tools. In particular their ability to maintain and enhance teacher - student relationships through the use of technology. Supplementing a collaborative approach, connectivism in the classroom leads to the development of meaningful and thought provoking learning experiences. Thus allowing for conditions to support inquiry learning and the development of critical thinking skills.
Where to next.... that is the question and what the next assignment is on. How are we going to look into this further and answer the enquiry question of:
Does digital collaboration with peers and the teacher, allow for critical thinking in Year 10 students?
