I was a Social Studies teacher today and the 9th grade classes (there were two doing this today) were working in the library Mac lab. I was stoked to hear that a subject commonly thought of as removed from technology (much like English), was utilizing the power of the web for learning. My hopes and dreams at the possibility of this beautiful junction were quickly shattered. A detailed account of my crash follows:
There were about 25 kids in each class. They were working in groups of 4 or 5 and each had a specific task they were to complete before collaborating to complete the project (a brochure for a country in Africa...hopefully more detailed and nuanced than a common tourist would want). Each student claimed they had already done their part...and proceeded to surf around on the Internet. There was no academic focus visible! I literally spent all of my time in these two periods walking around the computer lab making sure they were doing something at least partially academically related. There was no collaboration evident, though I reminded them that this was a group assignment. Out of each group, there was one studious, dedicated person who was assembling the information that they and their group had gathered on their specific country. In addition to forcing them to steer clear of sites that they were clearly not getting information from (web games, searching iTunes for a song they wanted, or viewing the latest upload to YouTube) I had my hands more than full trying to keep them from playing bumper chairs!
I am seriously hoping that this level of disobedience and lack of excitement about working in the computer lab using technology to learn, was simply due to the fact that I was a sub and therefore, didn't need to be respected. With the way that we have been talking about technology in classroom, I was really expecting that the kids would be chomping at the bit to research and learn on the web. But all they wanted to do was waste time and differ responsibility.
I guess that it does all come back to if they actually WANT to learn whatever the subject is...and apparently, they had little to no interest in learning about the countries in Africa. This teacher's idea was pretty cool and allowed the students a fair amount of creative freedom, but the kids were still not incredibly responsive. How can we as teachers instill in the students a sense of responsibility over their own learning, especially when we are allowing them to take more control?
Can any of you share your experiences with this sort of project and/or situation? Do you think they were being crazy difficult simply because their "real" teacher wasn't there?
P.S. Luckily, I had three other classes that went very well and I was also able to listen to a very interesting political debate during two of those three, or I would be thoroughly bummed.
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9 comments:
Hey Charm,
Sorry about this experience. The situation you describe reminds me of the conversations that have been going on about ownership on our the class blog. Basically, if the kids feel they are part of the learning then they will be more motivated to learn/succeed/create a meaningful end-product/complete the assignment. It just goes to show that throwing technology at them doesn't make the project more meaningful to them. I suspect that a little more time invested in the subject matter might have helped them to be more invested in a culminating project.
crap. i thought i clicked preview, but there is my unrevised comment.
Well, at any rate, I had something else to add/ask. It sounds like the main technological aspect of the assignment was Internet research. Were they constructing the brochure in PowerPoint or even Word? Along these lines, was each student responsible for a component of the brochure - or just the research? Maybe more specific guidelines for the creation of the brochure would have helped them be more involved and focused.
On the other hand, the substitute teacher aspect of the situation is something to be taken into consideration. When I subbed, I always left notes for the teacher about how the class did. (I always appreciated this as a teacher, too.) By doing this, you keep the students accountable for what they did (or didn't do). Now, if/when the kids say, "The sub didn't tell us...We need more time..." the teacher has your notes to refer to. Finally, as you sub more frequently, you'll get a reputation as a sub who actually has high expectations for her students.
Anyway, it was nice to see you, today. It's always fun to see a friendly, familiar face.
I think that these kids do just what we do. When we, as graduate students, could be doing research or working on something productive, given the chance, wouldn't we surf or check email or blog (this can be academic, but it can also be wasting time!) ?
I mean, why not?!
We are no different than the students we will be teaching, so why kid ourselves?
~Dawn
Sarah,
The main aspect of the project was internet research. There was no specifications about what program they should create the product in. Several used Word and others used Publisher. Both of these programs seemed pretty infamiliar to the kids too, so I showed them how to make columns in Word and helped with other basic format issues. The way these kids were acting, they hadn't received any guidance in these programs.
Regarding the sub issue - I always make sure that I leave as detailed a note as possible, so the teacher is aware that they were having trouble focusing and staying productive.
Dawn,
I can't really think of a response for this. I guess you are right, but when we have something that we have to do, I think we can show a little more self-control and focus than what they were demonstrating. If they had being doing the things you mentioned in a more controlled manner, I would have accepted that they didn't need the time to work on the project. Several of the kids who were productive were obviously disrupted by the other students and that is not acceptable. I know that many times we hope and expect a lot of our students and I don't think that it's a bad thing.
The dialogue you women are having needs not addiitonal comment!! You've got it. K
This mirrors my own experience in the computer lab working with Seniors on non-AP thesis papers, which are based on current event topics of student interest. Many students seemed to have picked topics irrelevant to what they feel passionate about...thus, the irrelevant websurfing, solitare games, etc. They seemed suprised when I suggested that they take the website they were visiting and turn it into a topic for their paper (what a concept!) The same went for another class I worked with who were writing papers on self-chosen pictures/political cartoons found online. ("What?! Write about something I enjoy?! What would the teacher say?!?")
T, Your post sums up a lifetime of shifting the emphasis from me to students' "work." Yes, imagine, researching a topic one is interested in..that is, really interested in!! How novel an idea. You are on the right track to success with engaging adolescents in real work in ELA classrooms, work that is an extension of who they are and who they are in the process of becoming.
Hi Charm, hoped to read about NYSCATE here..just browsing for new content. K
Charm, I agree with Dawn...we are of course more motivated than the majority of our students to complete meaningless tasks for the sake of a degree and hopefully a job. But creating a brochure sounds pretty boring and it would probably only provide a superficial "covering" of some sort of topic. You know, squeeze Africa into a whole three-page brochure. I don't mean to sound pessimistic for once; I just agree with Sarah that a meaningful assignment makes all the difference.
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