Chapter 1 & 2: Teaching for Understanding with Technology

My interpretation of the key ideas in chapters one and two of Teaching for Understanding with Technology by Wiske, Franz, and Breit are as follows:

Chapter 1 Summary: Defining what it means to "understand" in an educational-technological context, exploring how the process of understanding works (an active process), and how teachers can pass this type of knowledge on to our students.

Civic preparation, cultural assimilation, and academic achievement are all admirable benefits of education (Wiske, Franz, and Breit, 2005) however ultimately the purpose of the traditional teacher-pupil relationship is to pass on knowledge. The increasingly complex nature of society, technology, and educational philosophies these days has made the process much more complex and difficult. How do we know if our kids really understand what we're teaching?

The authors define "understanding a topic" as "being able to perform flexibly with the topic - to explain, justify, extrapolate, relate, and apply in ways that go beyond knowledge and routine skill" (Wiske, et al., 2005) - which to me basically means education as a whole is an ongoing evolving process, not a cut-and-dry, black-and-white concept. There are many more options these days in terms of what to study and how to deliver content. We need to "cut the fat" to determine what is worthy of understanding, define what students need to grasp from a topic, and come up with an ongoing assessment that can authentically demonstrate their understanding (Wiske, et al. 2005). The chapter closes by outlining the framework for this Teaching for Understanding model, which follow five steps: Finding topics that are authentic and engaging, clearly defining goals, active creating/thinking that demonstrates understanding, and ongoing assessment with collaborative/shared reflection.

In terms of my own experiences, looking at the five steps outlined in the chapter, I have applied some of the concepts in my classes. Fostering intrinsic motivation is a goal for me in every lesson. I always try to create frameworks that offer relevance and authenticity (current and/or real world events, popular cultural icons, etc). I also make sure that my kids understand WHY they are going to perform a task or complete a project, so they understand it is not busy work.

Typically the next phase for me is to let the kids explore and go their own routes to finding answers. I act as a guide or reference and I allow them via trial and error to come up with solutions (to me this is active/creative thinking). Allows me room to differentiate or customize a lesson if a student is having difficulty achieving the objectives.

As for assessment, I usually assess my students in two ways: 1) did they participate in the "process" and buy into the lesson and 2) did their final product reflect the goals of the assignment. To me this would be ongoing assessment (at least the process grade is) although the authors might argue my second form of assessment is too narrow.

Finally, I typically have my kids performing different reflections during the process - usually during and after. An example of ongoing-reflection would be my Humanities classes that are currently completing group film projects (either stop-motion animation, a silent film short, or a mini-documentary). Each class I ask every individual (not group) to complete a reflection that asks various questions about the day -- might be what they accomplished during that class, their goals for the week, vision behind their film, or about the characters/settings they will be using. It covertly forces the groups communicate and ultimately streamlines their process to achieving their goal on time (the finished film).

Chapter 2 Summary: Defining "new technology" in the schools and what the "new technology" classroom looks and feels like.

The authors define new technology as "any new tools for information and communication beyond the ones traditionally used for teaching and learning" (Wiske, et al., 2005). The authors note that the classroom that utilizes this type of technology is quite different from the classroom of old - not only visually, but also procedurally as the focus turns from textbooks and worksheets to the students' experiences and interests (Wiske, et al., 2005).

IMHO a lot of the information in this chapter is obvious for anyone that has worked with technologies in the classroom. Textbooks, for example, in which every student has the same information presented in the same model, are nowhere near as flexible as the same information presented over different databases using different perspectives to appeal to different learning styles. That's more or less common sense. While there still may be room for some textbook activities (in-class readings for my English classes come to mind), ultimately the times have changed with advent of new educational technologies and our educational philosophies and techniques need to reflect and embrace those changes.

Resource:
Wiske, M.S., Franz, K.R., & Breit, L. (2005). Teaching for Understanding with Technology. SanFrancisco: Jossey-Bass.