April 1998 — Features
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Partners in Learning: Twelve Ways Technology Changes The Teacher-Student Relationship
1. Technology increases student motivation, and motivated students are more receptive, more engaged, and more likely to learn.
"My students are highly motivated when they know we'll be using the computer as part of the day's lesson," reports Cornelia Rogers, 8th grade science teacher at P.S. 22, a disadvantaged, urban school in Jersey City, N.J. "They come in eager to get started, they stay on task, there are fewer behavior problems, and their persistence is much greater than in more traditional lessons." Rogers described one lesson on probability where she combined a hands-on activity to predict the percentage of times a spinner would land on a certain color with a spreadsheet to record and analyze the data and make predictions. "The students were into it. They loved the activity and you could see that the concepts I wanted them to learn were getting through, partly because they were having so much fun."
Fran Kenny, 8th grade science teacher at North Arlington (N.J.) Middle School observes, "Using computers, especially the Internet, definitely affects student motivation, and once students are motivated, they learn more. Using Internet-based tools and lesson activities, I can reach students at the lower achievement levels that don't respond to more traditional approaches."
"Student motivation is heightened because of the technology," notes Al Stein, science teacher at Nathan Hale Middle School, Northvale, N.J. "Using the Internet, students search to find answers and the answers bring up other questions they've never even considered. If a student asks a question, I say, ‘Go find the answer and report back to us.' It changes our roles as teacher and student."
Rosalie Moran, who has been a classroom teacher and now is a district staff developer in the use of technology in the curriculum in Bayonne, N.J., reveals that the motivation factor applies not only to students, but to teachers as well. "Technology inspires a teacher's passion for the discipline, which causes him or her to dig deeper into the subject matter, explore further, and investigate new areas of inquiry. This enthusiasm can't help but spill over to the students."
2. Technology promotes cooperation and collaboration among students and good teachers can capitalize on these opportunities. Cooperative learning approaches with technology give students with different talents a chance to excel.
"Collaboration comes naturally with technology," notes Cynthia Addison, curriculum developer at Co-NECT Schools-GTE. "Group work and problem-solving activities are an obvious application for technology classrooms. Teachers have to modify their approaches, though, to their specific technology infrastructure. It's easier to plan group work with five computers in a classroom than it is with one, but a savvy teacher can also think of ways around their hardware limitations by cycling students through various preparatory and hands-on activities in addition to the computer-based ones."
"The trick is to balance the team," says Willa Everson, science teacher at Tenakill Middle School in Closter, N.J. "You can't have two computer whizzes in the same group or they'll fight for control. I like to assemble a group where students' abilities and learning styles complement each other and fit in with each other's strengths and weaknesses. It helps if the teacher orchestrates the group so all children contribute their own particular talents."
