Teaching for Understanding with Technology
Chapter 1 What is Teaching for Understanding? and Chapter 2 Teaching for Understanding with Technology
Chapter 1 and 2 focus on explaining the process of teaching for understanding and how important it is to use in the classroom. New technologies offer significant potential for supporting this kind of teaching and learning (Wiske, et al., 2005). Teachers need to understand the framework behind it. There are five key features to the framework; generative topics, understanding goals, performance of understanding, ongoing assessment and reflective collaborative communities (Wiske, et al., 2005). If a teacher of school wants to use the framework, it does not need to be followed in order. Taking account of the key features of understanding goals assures teachers that their plans for integrating technology will advance students’ mastery of important curriculum objectives (Wiske, et al., 2005). Educators need to keep in mind that the main focus of the framework is the students’ understanding.
When I was reading this chapter I kept thinking about the way I teach and how my school is trying to use the ongoing assessment, understanding goals and reflective collaborative communities to enhance, improve, and change what we are teaching as well as how we are teaching. I teach first grade, so I teach for understanding not for memorization or the SOL’s. I teach the curriculum so that they understand the big picture. The only hard part is integrating technology within the framework of teaching for understanding. I have done some interactive activities with the smart board, but I really don’t think that is enough. I feel that sometimes it is a lot easier with the upper grades to establish methods of inquiry and reasoning, and asking questions because of their oral language.
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.
3 comments:
The smartboard is a good start for any inquiry activity. It provides opportunities
of manipulating information and thinking about information in different ways.
Providing a mind map activity by brainstorming, making connections, and changing
perceptions is one extension to this tool.
Our author can be found highlighting another idea at the Usable Knowledge Web
site. Take a look. What do you think?
http://www.uknow.gse.harvard.edu/learning/LD2-5.html
I think that it is good that you point out the most important thing is that the students what they are learning.
I am only a substitute now but I can see how it may be difficult for teachers try and incorporate technology into the lesson. Especially when there are already many demands on the teacher.
Wow! That was awsome to see and to read about the students' ideas and how the teacher was able to use technology not for the specific math lesson but to get them thinking about the process and what they were learning. They also use the teachnology to write their ideas. I think I might even try this now and see where I can take. Thanks for the info. I am always looking for new ideas to use technology in my classroom.
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