In general, I found the
survey results to be similar to what I expected. Like most teachers surveyed, I
agree “search engines have conditioned students to expect to be able to find
information quickly and easily.” This condition, called the “Google effect”, is
making it harder for teachers to actually get their students to retain
information. This can be counterproductive for students because they begin
relying on transactive memory, more so than explicit memory.
Being a millennial who has
grown up with ever-changing technology, I am very comfortable using different
forms of technology. I think this will benefit my teaching abilities, as
technologies become more and more prevalent in the classroom. I use different
platforms of technology when TAing, because it allows the students to learn the
information different ways. I need to improve on my reluctance to use
technology in certain circumstances. I have found that sometimes it helps if
students use more analog methods of learning, like pen and paper or opening a
book, but this all depends on the student.
Based on my experiences throughout
high school I found the teacher responses to be fairly accurate. My
high school is in a fairly affluent area, but the director of technology
believed in a more traditional method of teaching and learning thus was a bit
behind the curve on many things. For example, the campus was outfitted with
Wi-Fi just two years ago. I did not seem to have a problem with this, but I
think more integrated technology would have improved learning, especially in
traditionally harder subjects such as math and science.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteChris,
ReplyDeleteAccording to the Pew survey, you do fit the model of a “younger” teacher who feels “very confident” about their technology skills, as compared to “older” teachers. You are part of a new generation of teachers who will be entering the profession with a powerful skill set. As you continue to move forward in your coursework, think about how you could share your knowledge with colleagues who may not be as technologically adept. I would also encourage you to begin thinking about how you could win over "older" faculty by assisting them with their tech skills. In return, they could offer you effective pedagogical strategies that you could "turn digital." Just some food for thought!
I agree that there wasn't much in this survey that was surprising, and I even admit that I've fallen guilty of the "Google effect" where after a couple minutes of web-searching I find myself getting frustrated if I haven't already found the answer. I'll even admit that many of the things I learned by "googling", I'll forget a few moments later, so I'm definitely not retaining it. I'm also like you in that I find that the traditional paper and pen methods work best for me in retaining a lot of information. I would be interested to know though, within your experience of TA'ing, did you find that most of your students were better using technological methods as opposed to analog?
ReplyDeleteThe 'google effect' doesn't sound like a very positive thing, but maybe in a sense it is. If we know we don't have to retain all of the information we hear maybe it leaves more room for bigger concepts and the big picture. Maybe by relying on google for quick answers to things we forget, it's because more important information was retained. Who knows. All I know is that the google effect doesn't seem likely to disappear anytime soon, as it is a fact that we rely on the internet for quick answers all the time.
ReplyDelete