ICT and VELS: creating independent risk-takers
15 September, 2011
ICT provides a rich and flexible learner-centred environment in which students can experiment and take risks when developing new understanding.
I think that the teaching and learning of mathematics naturally lends itself to using technology to give students autonomy over their learning. While I’ve noticed that some teachers are more comfortable than others with giving students a rich and flexible learning environment, we are all generally moving in this direction aren’t we? Similarly, some teachers seem to integrate technology more seamlessly than others into creating opportunities for students to construct their knowledge. But overall that’s the trend.
There’s a fabulous product (and many now popping up like it) called Mathletics which is an online subscription based tool for students to engage in live math games with students across the world, and to work on online tasks which are set by the teacher. There are vast resources for students to learn from and practice with, the feedback is instant – students are told immediately whether their answer was right or wrong and what the right answer is.
Recently, I was teaching a year 8 maths consolidation class and I decided to give them the freedom to ‘have a go’ at any of the activities on perimeter and area (there were about 10 to choose from). I am going to relate a story about a student in that class, let’s call her Amy. Based on my observations and interactions with Amy so far, I had made the assessment that she struggled to differentiate between the concept of area and perimeter (a common misconception) and in particular, she had some difficulty with calculating the area of circles because she often confused the formula with the one for circumference. When I asked the students in this class to work on any of the activities under the ‘Perimeter and Area’ topic in Mathletics, most students initially chose the easy activities which they felt they would succeed in. Amy – to my surprise – chose the hard version of areas of circles which not only required her to calculate areas of straightforward circles, but also asked her to calculate areas of sectors of circles with specific angles – something which is normally taught at level 6. I explained to her that she may find this one challenging but that if she was up for a challenge I would support her if she needed my help. She was happy with this and decided to persist with the activity.
The majority of students ended up completing about three activities but Amy worked on this one for the entire time I had allocated. She asked me for help, she asked people around her for help. She made mistakes. She learned from them. It was easy to learn this way because it was just her and the computer. When she made a mistake, the computer didn’t judge her, it just told her that she made a mistake and told her what the right answer was. Sometimes she needed help working out where she went wrong, but she was the one calling the shots – she asked for specific knowledge when it was necessary for her learning. She tried the same activity 3 times all up. The first time she got 4/10 correct. The second time she got 8/10 correct. The third time she got 10/10 correct and jumped up and down with excitement.
I was blown away. Amy – for all intents and purposes labelled as ‘weak’ at maths and enlisted to do ‘consolidation’ classes could take charge of her own learning, could take on mathematics that the Curriculum states is well beyond her reach and jump up and down with joy and excitement at her success. All thanks to technology. I can’t think of any other way that Amy would have had access to this kind of freedom, flexibility, instant feedback and power over her own learning. ICT made this possible for her. I’ve focused on her story because it makes my point so well, but all the other students loved every minute of learning through Mathletics.
“The ICT domain focuses on providing students with the knowledge and skills to change how they learn and to enrich their learning environment. Students develop the knowledge, skills and behaviours that can be applied to all learning areas.” (VCAA, 2009)
In that lesson, Amy was an independent, resourceful and creative learner. She persisted with the activity, repeating it (with randomly generated questions every time) until she was satisfied that she had “nailed it”. She sought new knowledge that she required to answer these questions when she realized she needed it. It had purpose for Amy and therefore held more meaning. She never forgot that lesson and went on to teach other students in the class what she had learned. The skills she developed in that lesson will serve her in much more than her maths lessons. I want every lesson of mine to bring students closer to the realization that they are masters of their own learning and that technology is a powerful tool which can assist them in their pursuit of knowledge.
References
VCAA. (2009). Approaches to Information and Communications Technology. Retrieved September 9, 2011, from Victorian Essential Learning Standards: http://vels.vcaa.vic.edu.au/ict/approaches.html
I found what Sabine said in her blog very much resonated with me a teacher in the value of teaching and student learning in ICT. One of the huge advantages is that it lightens the load of the teacher ( not in a negative way). The job or most ict programs is to help the students learn a topic with features that allow students to gain instant feedback something which is not always possible in the classroom as well as allow students to interact with each other to co-explore certain topics. The fact that students feel no little shame in scoring 4/10 in an informal ICT assessment and how it provides them with motivations to do better shows how powerful ICT as a tool, that it gives doesn't discourage them like a pen and paper test does but allows them to want to continue to improve and master a particular concept or topic. This effect can be seen in gaming as discussed in my own blog as it no matter what the challenge is the student can choose to challenges which are withing their ZPD so they could always improve. The role of the teacher is not to be redundant with the use of ICT but instead should guide and scaffold the students when they need it and continue to promote the idea that the students are responsible for their own learning.
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