Reflection Module 2

Using a variety of instructional technology in the classroom today is absolutely essential to creating learners who are prepared to move forward in any industry. Even in McDonald's and Walmart, computers and other technological devices are mandatory parts of the daily routine. For students to excel in fields that will bring them financial security, understanding, manipulating, and keeping up with today's technology goes hand in hand with the content knowledge that used to be the staples of such careers as law, medicine, and banking. In the following video, Chandra Turpen explains some of the results from studies that the University of Colorado has done in regards to the effects of using clicker technology in the classroom.

 

In the Learning Pyramid graphic, the retention rates for each of the listed teaching strategies show that students must be more engaged if teachers are to expect them to retain any of the information that they are being taught. This pyramid is simply a version of Bloom's Taxonomy which gives the teaching elements that apply to each level of the learning structure (if you are not familiar with Bloom's Taxonomy, click here to see some useful information). Within each of these strategies, there is ample room for technology to be integrated with the lessons.

 



In order to adjust to teaching as technology moves forward, teachers must move forward as well. For my classroom, this means being willing to try new things and learn from my students. In the 21st century, a teacher who is not willing to learn from his or her students will be lost as technology advances faster and faster and taking courses or learning at home becomes less and less feasible.

 

Reference:

Chasteen, S. (2009). Clickers in the classroom: The research. do clickers help students learn?. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxKHXyVtVIA on July 10, 2013