Educational Technology and Science Teaching. Reading Assignment Chapter 13 in Teaching Science to Every Child: Using Culture as a Starting Point

Teacher’s Skeptical Optimism Findings show that teachers are both skeptical and optimistic about technology in the classroom. As teachers, when it comes to technology, we all are slow and deliberate before adopting new things believe it is effective if it can be implemented successfully have the opportunity to be learning facilitators instead of information providers But, we question if technology enhances professional development helps accommodate students’ personal learning styles may reduce the number of teachers employed in the future

Instructional vs. Educational Technology Instructional Technology (IT) covers the processes and systems of learning and instruction. Technologists apply research in learning theory, psychology, and emergent technologies to solve instructional and performance problems. Four performance areas of IT: Design of instruction Production of instructional products and events Management of instructional settings and resources Evaluation of instructional programs Educational Technology (ET) includes other systems used in the process of developing human capability. ET includes, but is not limited to, software, hardware, as well as Internet applications and activities. ET provides active leadership, quality support, and valuable resources to students, educators, parents, and communities, which improve academic achievement and teacher effectiveness through the use of technology.

Definitions Classroom Management: the set of strategies used to ensure a productive, harmonious learning environment Classroom Organization: the ways teachers structure time, space, and classroom interactions to promote learning Discipline: any action taken by the teacher to directly control student behavior Punishment: a form of discipline entailing either withdrawing a privilege or subjecting the student to unpleasant consequences Culture: the shared values, beliefs, and ways of knowing and living of a group Culturally Responsive Classroom Management

Management and Organization: Part of Culturally-Responsive Pedagogy

To support diverse recognition: Provide multiple examples Highlight critical features Provide multiple media and formats Support background context To support diverse strategies: Provide flexible models of skilled performance Provide opportunities to practice with supports Provide ongoing, relevant feedback Offer flexible opportunities for demonstrating skill To support diverse affective learning: Offer choices of context and tools Offer adjustable levels of challenge Offer choices of learning context Offer choices of rewards Culturally Responsive Classroom Management

Urban middle school students have spoken-out on effective school practices. They prefer RIGOR. Raise your expectations. Involve your students. Guide your students. Open -end your activities. Rigorous Engagement

ELEMENTS OF COOPERATIVE LEARNING Under certain conditions cooperative efforts may be more productive than individualistic efforts. Those conditions are: Clearly perceived positive interdependence Considerable face-to-face interaction Clearly perceived individual accountability and personal responsibility to achieve the group’s goals Frequent and regular group processing of current functioning to improve the group’s future effectiveness

Utilizing a WebQuest A WebQuest is an inquiry-based activity in which most or all of the information used by the students is drawn from the Internet. They are designed to focus on using information rather than looking for it, and to support students' thinking at the levels of analysis, synthesis and evaluation, while staying on task. Instructional and cognitive practices supported by WebQuests include: critical thinking authentic assessment schema theory novice/expert models cooperative learning technology integration scaffolding constructivism

Some Drawbacks of WebQuests lack of student thinking and relatively narrow focus difficult for students with no technology skills expending a lot of time just playing with technology items long time to access sites on the Internet; computers are not always working properly time taken to create a quality one, and will it work once we get to school.