Reasons for Learning

Bud Hunt, who teaches high school language arts and journalism, made an excellent point in his K-12 Online Conference 2006 presentation Journey through the Week as I Journey Up (or Down) the Road . Bud stated “I guess one of my concerns about technology in the classroom is that it (the discussion) quickly becomes about the computers. ‘What are we going to do with the computers?’ We teach the processes of communication rather then the reasons for the communication...What I think they should learn first is why they should be connected to anyone else first…. Then they have a real reason to know (how to use the technology).”

In the same vein, David Jakes in a Techlearning blog answered the question “What factors contribute to the sustainability of an innovation in the classroom?” David suggests that one factor is “The innovation clearly adds value to an instructional process, and extends student learning to a new place that could not be achieved unless the innovation was present.” Another factor is “There are visible and tangible results as a result of the innovation. Teachers need to see that the innovation improves what he or she does and makes a difference for student learning.”

Teachers are pragmatic. The philosophy of a new teacher quickly becomes “If it helps me to do my job better by helping my student learn better, I’m for it”. People who don’t take this path can’t distinguish the wanted from the unwanted, relatively valueless material in the blizzard of pedagogic material hurled at teachers and get snowed under fast.

Therefore, once teachers see a value in trying something different in the way they help kids learn, they are much more willing to try it. Whenever I work as a consultant with individual teachers, I try to ask “What are you teaching?” This begins a discussion within the framework of what teachers feel they need. Sometimes the situation is obvious, such as when a class went on a field trip and the teachers was very happy to learn how to use our school’s digital camera, download and manipulate the images. Another situation was when our school got a subscription to United Streaming downloadable videos and teachers discovered that they could improve reading comprehension by giving students a conceptual framework by first showing a movie relating to the reading topic. In this case teachers were demanding tutelage on downloading and using streaming videos as well as a discussion on best teaching practices in using the videos. A third situation was when a teacher was looking for a way to have her students mentored by others who were outside of the classroom and couldn’t be physically in the class. In this case, she was excited about the potential of using a blog (Blogmeister) and is presently working on it.

If a need is felt for the communication and publishing by both teachers and students, and if the structure and guidelines of the learning exercise are optimally planned for, the activities can be wonderful learning events. Then the required technology will be felt as a necessary component (just in time learning), and not as an unwanted add-on to be resisted or ignored by teachers.

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