Jingwei Viola Liu
Excellence in Professional Practice Indicator D
Indicator D: Stay abreast of educational research and emerging trends regarding effective use of technology and encourage evaluation of new technologies for their potential to improve student learning.
Artifact:
Artifact & Course Description:
Course Title
A305: Deeper Learning for All (Harvard University transferred credit)
Course Description
This course explores the nature of good teaching and learning at the classroom and school level, and encourages students to rethink assumptions and design anew. How districts, states, and countries organize their educational system to aim for high-quality schooling will be reviewed.
Project Description
As a mid-term essay, we were asked to discuss what deeper learning is, and to develop our own personal theory about deeper learning. Next, our essays were to explain why deeper learning is difficult to consistently achieve, and we were told to identify a leverage that could improve achievement of deeper learning.
In the paper, I present my theory of deeper learning as an intersection between the habit of the intrinsic motivation of learning, a pedagogy that crosses disciplines, and technology to support and facilitate learning. Intrinsic motivation confers long-term vision and self-recognition, while a pedagogy that crosses disciplines confers collaboration and autonomy and deals with real-world scenarios. Finally, technology can also support self-recognition, collaboration, autonomy, and real-world application. I indicate that the reason it is so difficult to consistently achieve is that there are so many elements to cover, it is difficult to address them all. I feel that in addition existing educational environments, a leverage to achieve deeper learning could be educational technology.
Reflection
This class gave me an opportunity to develop my own theory; we often learn about the theories of others, but it is important to develop new ones, because the world is always changing. I realized that I feel that technology could really improve the achievement of deeper learning, because deeper learning requires so many different components. It is very challenging to bring all of these components into the classroom all at once, so technology can support education in the classroom by adding more of the components. The hopeful result would be deeper learning.
The emerging trend of technology has forced educators and students to review educational research and develop new theories on how to apply technology. Seeking to develop deeper learning through the effective use of technology is an emerging idea and can be applied and tested. It is important to encourage evaluation of new technologies because they have the potential to improve student learning and to enhance deeper learning.
References
Elmore, R. & City, E. 2011. “Beyond Schools.” Education Week. Vol. 30, No. 31.
Mehta, Jal & Sarah Fine. 2015. The why, what, Where, and How of Deeper Learning in American Secondary Schools. Students at the Center: Deeper Learning Research Series. Boston, MA: Jobs for the Future.
Perrone, V. 1998. “Why Do We Need a Pedagogy of Understanding?” In Teaching for Understanding, ed. San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass.
Savery, J. & Duffy, 2001. “Problem-Based Learning: An Instructional Model and Its Constructivist Framework.”