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Jay C.(2021) Knilt [photograph]. https://knilt.arcc.albany.edu/File:Learningheader1.jpg#filelinks
Teachers who have been studying education must be familiar with Bloom’s Taxonomy (Benjamin, B. 1956). From the bottom to the top, there are remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, and create. It is a great reminder of how human beings acquire knowledge and how the world changes. Through Bloom’s Taxonomy, we can think about: what pedagogical methods are most conductive to students’ learning, help students understand the content, and make conceptual changes? What methods are not? Furthermore, we will know what kind of educational technology truly helps teachers and students to complete the interactive between teaching and learning, internalize knowledge, and finally reach the top of the pyramid——create.
Armstrong, P. (2010). Bloom’s Taxonomy. Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching. Retrieved 2022 from https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/blooms-taxonomy/.
Pam M. (2011) [photograph] https://childdevelopmentinfo.com/learning/language-immersion-programs-is-it-right-for-my-child/
First of all, the teaching language and methods used in the classroom must be closely related to students’ everyday life. As a first grade teacher in a Chinese immersion program, I often think about these three questions: 1.Can students understand my language? 2.Are my class activities relevant to students’ life? 3.Does the teaching methods I use help students learn the subject knowledge through Chinese? If this is your first time hear language immersion, it refers to learning subject knowledge through a foreign language. For example, Chinese immersion means using Chinese as instructional language to learn mathematics, social studies, science, art, etc. 90% of my students are from non-Chinese background, which means they expose to Chinese 100 % at school, but 0% at home. Any teacher from immersion programs must face these three questions every day! Regarding the first question, whether the students can understand my language, the teacher needs to check for understanding at all times. In every 2 to 3 minutes, I do several ways to check such as thump up, partner sharing, questioning, or observation. When students are puzzled or look around other than to pay attention, this signal tells the teacher they don’t understand.
The second question is whether my class activities are relevant to students’ everyday life. No matter how abstract or difficult the content is, teachers should rack their brains to make the knowledge itself closely related to life, and fun to learn. In the book How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School (2000), “the teacher must actively inquire into students’ thinking, creating classroom tasks and conditions under which student thinking can be revealed. Students’ initial conceptions then provide the foundation on which the more formal understanding of the subject matter is built. Teachers must teach some subject matter in depth, providing many examples in which the same concept is at work and providing a firm foundation of factual knowledge” (John, Ann, Rodney, et al., 2000). To sum up, teachers should focus on students’ thinking, not only the content itself. Combining concepts with real life examples builds solid foundation of students’ understanding. It sounds a bit idealistic, but if teachers put efforts into daily teaching and keep trying, the rewards students give us are beyond our imagination. Technology is also a great tool to find authentic learning materials, or help with classroom management. For example, I use IChineseReader for Chinese guided reading, ClassDojo for classroom management, and Wordwall for reviewing activities. Considering these fundamental ideas like how to actively inquire into students' thinking, helps teacher to pick the most efficient technology to use in their class.
The third question is whether the pedagogical methods I use help students learn the subject knowledge in Chinese. There is no doubt that learning with a second language is much harder! The way of teaching is particularly important for students’ success. Teaching becomes an art when conducting class activities aligning with appropriate methods——learning from the teacher, whole group activity, small group discussion, writing reports, self-evaluation, peer revision, learning centers, lapbook, etc. Not only the subject knowledge need to be applied to life, but also the language. “Experts understand how context, or the situation, matters. Instructional methods that decontextualize learning, require little understanding of when, why and how to apply knowledge undermine the development of this critical aspect of expertise” (D2L, 2022). Thus, as a language immersion teacher, we should always reflect on ourselves about how efficient the instructional language we use in class, how the activities we pick support students to reach their personal goal, and how the teaching methods help students understand the content knowledge.
Robert L. Unsplash [Photograph] https://unsplash.com/s/photos/us-flag
Second, in order to achieve the goal of applying subject knowledge to real life, the process from learning, understanding, changing, and creating requires teachers to break down the scaffolding step by step. In the book How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School (2000), it mentions “Research has indicated that transfer across contexts is especially difficult when a subject is taught only in a single context rather than in multiple contexts (Bjork and Richardson-Klavhen, 1989). When a subject is taught in multiple contexts, however, and includes examples that demonstrate wide application of what is being taught, people are more likely to abstract the relevant features of concepts and to develop a flexible representation of knowledge (Gick and Holyoak, 1983).” Memory is deepened when knowledge is acquired in multiple contexts. It is easier for students to integrate knowledge to multiple scenarios. First graders learn about “represent”, which is pretty abstract and hard to understand for 6 years old kids. We learn “represent” by studying the American flag. The 50 stars represent 50 states. The 13 strips represent the 13 earliest colonies. The red, blue, and white also have their meanings. In order to deepen students’ understanding of “represent”, I ask students to design an animal country flag for their favorite animal. For example, the flag of the Rabbit Country—the carrot represents their favorite food; the red represents their eyes; and the green represents their home on the grass. Through this activity, students fully understand “represent”, and complete the process from initial learning, to understand, to application, and then to create. This activity also makes abstract content concrete and vivid. Learning in multiple contexts, American flag and animal country flag , makes memory more profound. Teachers also have more opportunities to explore multiple contexts when applying technology to the class. For example, YouTube videos can be used as authentic materials; Flip or Seesaw can also be good platform for community learning.
Last but not least, I believe educational technology can make the process of acquiring knowledge more efficient and interesting, and help teachers and students to complete the interaction between teaching and learning, internalize knowledge, and finally achieve “create” on the top of Blooms’ Taxonomy. My online dancing class could be a good example. I have been doing ballroom dance for 6 years. When the pandemic started, I had no way to attend class in person, so I took the class online. At beginning, I didn’t believe I could be motived by this format, because I couldn’t receive prompt feedback from the coach. I gradually found that technology makes dancing class very enjoyable! First, the class is from basic steps to combinations. Second, if I need more practice, I could constantly replay the part; or if I already know, I could skip the part directly. It is not possible for in-person class, and it does make my overall learning very efficient. I also need to turn in homework by uploading practice videos to an online group, and the coach will give timely feedback. Through technology, the coach and I completed the interaction of teaching and learning.
As a graduate student studying Educational Technology, knowing the process of knowledge acquisition allows me to use the right technology at the right time, help me interact with students, and help students complete challenges. Technology can also make the class more interesting and efficient. When I use Kahoot! as a game to check students' background knowledge, Jeopardy as a reviewing game, Hanzi Monopoly as a memorization game, etc., I see there has also been a marked increase in students' engagement. I hope that through the study of the course, I can make my class more active, and make the interaction more interesting!
References:
Armstrong, P. (2010). Bloom’s Taxonomy. Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching. Retrieved 2022 from https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/blooms-taxonomy/.
Bransford, J., Ed, C. R. R., & Ed, B. A. L. (2000). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school. expanded edition. National Academies Press.
Jay C.(2021) Knilt [photograph]. https://knilt.arcc.albany.edu/File:Learningheader1.jpg#filelinks
LucyLovesTeaching, April 13, 2022. 【拉丁舞阶段成果展二】肉眼可见的进步啦！|一镜到底挑战！YouTube. URL.
Master of Arts in Educational Technology (2022, Fall Semester). Unit 2: Learning, Understanding, and Conceptual Change. Michigan State University, CEP 810: Teaching for Understanding with Technology. http://d2l.msu.edu
Pam M. (2011) [photograph] https://childdevelopmentinfo.com/learning/language-immersion-programs-is-it-right-for-my-child/
Robert L. Unsplash [Photograph] https://unsplash.com/s/photos/us-flag
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