APPROACHES TO TEACHING

Technology in the service of teaching

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In Steering the Supertanker: Changing Teaching and Learning In: Computers in the Schools: Technology Applications in Education (2005) Ed. Maddux, C., John P. Cuthell writes that “Three powerful elements of ICT provide drivers for e-learning.

  • The first is the quality of ostensiveness built into the system: Young children correlate language with concepts by the act of pointing at things. This reinforces the learning. ICT systems utilize this through the use of the mouse, or, on interactive whiteboards, with the stylus or the finger.
  • Visualization, and the ability to move backward and forward through the different stages of a process or a learning object, enables learners to recall the stages of learning. 
  • The final, powerful, reinforcement is provided by the ludic elements built into systems: Through games, competitive elements, and constant feedback, learning becomes fun. With constant feedback the learner is able to take greater responsibility for improving her or his work by refining and improving at regular intervals.”

Like he added, then “the challenge is to incorporate the affordances of ICT within a new pedagogy for eLearning.”
Model of teaching

Laurillard's Conversational Model of teaching, which focuses on the use of technology in Higher Education (http://tinyurl.com/laurillard), adapted to a primary and secondary school context, is the main methodology that will be used by Connected Schools to guaranty a successful use of ICT. This model will be supported by the outcome of researches on Computer-supported collaborative learning.

For now, the two main sources of good practice are the following Teaching and Learning Research Programmes:

  •  InterActive Education: Teaching and Learning in the Information Age (2000-2004)
  •  Social Networking – Co-construction of Knowledge at a school level

Finally, drama and the methods developed by Jean-Pol Martin, Learning by teaching (LdL) is one of the means used to reinforce learning or even to discover new topics.