Our focus this year has been on disseminating educational
research. And so this month, I have chosen a recently published study (Journal
of Research on Technology in Education, 2019) on the use of
technology within science classrooms. The study is worth examination for
a few reasons. First, it is a qualitative study, which produces a type of knowledge
allowing us to better understand the lived experiences of others. In this
case, we have the opportunity to examine the teaching practices of high school
science teachers and their use of technology in a way that quantitative
research cannot quite get at. Second, I wanted to learn a little bit more
about innovative or interesting technology uses in the classroom. And finally,
I was interested in finding something specific to science.
The study,
completed by Ceren Ocak (University of Georgia, Atlanta) and Evrim Baran (Iowa
State), followed the practices of four high school science teachers at a
private school with a one-to-one computer padlet program similar to our own.
Researchers conducted a pre-interview at the outset of the study, video
recorded classes, and held a post-interview. The object of the study was to
examine how technology was being used, reasons for its use, and an examination
of the effectiveness of that use.
The study
indicated that the most frequent use of technology fit into a number of
categories. Some of them were more low level uses-- like using technology
to plan curriculum or to develop lesson plans. Some were technologies
that have become common place in science classes, like the use of videos to
help students visualize complex concepts.
In other cases, the uses were more
sophisticated, like incorporating a smartboard, filing sharing between devices
and cloud computing. They were employing a course management system as
well, which allowed them to communicate to the class, along with running a
digital gradebook. Some of the teachers encouraged students to use
digital notebooks, where students could organize and maintain their notes for
science an added benefit of which was being able to insert and annotate images.
The more savvy teachers were employing programs for simulations. For
example, there was a physics simulation that allowed students to manipulate
variables of an animated falling object, in order to examine the relationships
between those variables. There was also one teacher who made use of
virtual labs, which would supplement or replace more costly and time consuming
physical labs (with beakers, burners, and various chemicals).
The study identified a few interesting
observations about technology use and preparation. First, the school invested
not only in the technology itself, but regular and ongoing professional
development to help teachers better use the tools they had been given.
Second, early adopters -- or those who were more adventurous when it came
to using technology-- admitted to practicing their lessons before they did them
with live classes.
Some of the file sharing steps and use
of cloud computing seems a little bit dated. Whereas the teachers would
“push” a file, picture, or document out to everyone’s tablet, it would seem to
make more sense to simply post those items in the course management system (ie
Schoology). The teachers also appeared to use more online assessments,
which had the potential for more immediate feedback. They also spoke of the benefits of reducing paper.
The teachers also identified a number
of problems associated with the technology. In reading them, it was
actually interesting to see that they had many of the same concerns we have
experienced as well. For starters, they talked about the struggles of
students using the devices for other purposes-- mostly related to gaming. They also talked about students coming to
class with a device that was dead. Or that they would have struggles with
connectivity. As a side note, the
teacher’s solution in that case was simply to tell students that they would
have to do it later when they could get connected. However, without an adequate back-up, it
feels like the student has little ability to make productive use of their class
time. The school did have software which allowed teachers to take control
of student screens. However, it appeared
that either teachers were not using it or that students found ways around that
feature.
Overall, the varying uses of
technology indicated in the study served a broad range of purposes. Some of them seemed very practical and
meaningful, others (if used too frequently) seemed like they would have made
the learning experience much more passive and sterile. I think of the use
of virtual labs, which I’m sure are great because they require less set-up and
organization, but which also take some of the needed “messiness” out of the
learning process. Having the devices, as the teachers seemed to conclude,
did not mean that they needed to be in use for every lesson. But rather that the devices would be used to
enhance, extend, or even enrich the current practices in order to create a more
meaningful learning experience.
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