Summary for Chapter 3, 4 & 5 Teaching for Understanding with Technology

Chapter 3 focuses on the generative topics that the teacher can chose from to develop a unit to teach for understanding. The feature of generative topics are; connect to multiple important ideas within and across subject matters, authentic, accessible and interesting to students, fascinating and compelling for the teacher approachable through a variety of entry point and generate and reward continuing inquiry (Wiske, et al., 2005). There is this great case study about first-second grade teacher who used a Quilt Math project to teach her students to learn how to use mathematics as a language for analyzing and predicting patterns in the world (Wiske, et al., 2005). Dr. Coffman directed me towards this site after the last posting on chapter 2 and when I looked at the site and the pictures and what the students had written I was so excited that I decided to try this Quilt Math idea in my classroom next year because I believe that students get more excited about learning when they can relate the subject to their own life and through inquiry, which this project does very well. The use of technology was another aspect that can help the students look deeper into their understanding and they were able to share it with family and other students. Teachers need to consider what resources are accessible to them and will be useful for the topic they have chosen.

In chapter 4 teachers need to have clear goals that focus on important understandings and then using new technologies to improve the teaching and learning of these educational goals (Wiske, et al., 2005). By using the water habitat project Kristi was able to cover various curriculum standards while her students understood the process of scientific method through reading, writing, observation and communication. The key points are that understanding goals focus on important, rather than trivial, aspects of the subject, target performance-based understanding (Wiske, et al., 2005). It was great reading about Kristi’s students and all the information gathering, analyzing, collaboration and communication going on between the students, community and global classmates. I was able to envision and relate to the students more easily because they are first-second grade students, which is what I teach. The teacher needs to revise the understanding goals according to the students’ needs and achievements. The careful selection of appropriate technology will achieve the most benefits for the students learning.

The key features of performance of understanding are for the students to develop and demonstrate understanding of target goals by using their minds to think beyond what they have been told, build understanding through a sequence of activities that gradually transfer autonomy and responsibility to learners (Wiske, et al., 2005). The teacher used guided inquiry to get the students to connect to the topic, “A Sense of Caring”. She drew upon their personal experiences to engage them in a deeper understanding of the topic. The activity required the students to be active and creative learners by creating and expressing their own ideas about the artwork to demonstrate their learning. Kristi’s “A Sense of Caring” project is amazing just to read and see how much her students were involved in the learning process of the curriculum as well as the use of different technology tools. I was a bit relief to learn at the end of the chapter that it took her a couple of years and a lot of collaboration to develop the project in full and it changes as she learns more about her students’ abilities and understanding. I think that the most important part of teaching for understanding if formulating a clear goal to focus on.

Reference:

Wiske, M. S., Franz, K. S., & Breit, L. (2005). Teaching for understanding with technology: Using new technologies to teach for understandings. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.