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New Technology Bumps Into an Old Curriculum Does the Traditional Course Sequence Need an Overhaul? by Robert Tinker |
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 curriculum is the topics taught, but also the interdependencies that allow concepts to build on what students have previously learned. But the current use of educational technology in the classroom rarely builds on itself. What is needed is a new K-14 curriculum that incorporates technology-based interdependencies as well.To date, the major implementations of learning technologies have been within the traditional curriculum context: the graphing calculator is used when graphs are addressed in the curriculum, the geometry visualizers are used to improve geometry wherever students usually encounter it, probeware is used to improve conventional labs. Potentially revolutionary technologies have not been used to create fundamental improvements in the traditional sequence of topics For instance, if technology helps fourth grade students gain an understanding of graphs and decimals, then the entire curriculum thereafter should build on that understanding. If calculus is introduced in middle grades, then high school students should be applying calculus to interesting real-world problems. The well- documented capacity of probeware to allow kids in elementary school to interpret graphs should be used to improve and rethink the teaching of algebra. Research is needed to learn more about these interdependencies, so we can create alternative curricula that exploit the power of modern learning technologies. Unrealized Potential Historians of science have revised their view of the progress of science to account for the huge impact of instrumentation on what could be studied. Whole areas of science were slow to develop because there was no way to observe the phenomena. Perhaps what we teach has been similarly influenced by what can be measured, represented, and visualized. Without computers, for instance, it is difficult to measure and record many kinds of change. This may account for the absence of a range of topics involving change in the elementary science curriculum. The "technology" that has been universally available has been the use of theory and abstractions. While powerful, this technology may make many concepts available only to older students. New technologies relying on visualizations, interactions, and kinesthetics can make key concepts accessible earlier. But more often than not in today's classroom, five or more students share a school computer that is unlikely to have network access, and only the most affluent third of students have computers at home. Available computers sometimes do not work and too often they lack a full suite of software. This low and unreliable access to technology means that students do not get enough experience to master complex software tools and teachers cannot assign homework that assumes ready computer availability. Important technology-rich curricula materials are rarely implemented, if at all, because there is insufficient access to technology and schools are unable to rearrange the curriculum to exploit the advantages of these materials. In this environment, the full potential of information technologies in education cannot be realized. Ubiquitous Technology We will soon have student widespread access to technologies that could revolutionize learning. The next decade is certain to see the underlying costs of computation and networking drop by a factor of ten. The ubiquitous availability of computation and networking could make it possible for every student to have full-time access to portable, networked computational resources. When this happens, technology utilization patterns in schools will change dramatically from today's occasional use of simple applications to essentially continuous use of a suite of powerful tools. Widespread use of technology will cause advances in learning that require changes in the structure of curricula. If technology makes it possible to teach difficult central concepts earlier and with greater understanding, then the traditional sequence of topics needs a complete overhaul. This kind of change mirrors the changes technology has caused in business where jobs, organizational structures, and information flows have been altered dramatically. Demonstrated Success
While there are indications of the educational importance of these individual innovations, they are usually studied in isolation from each other and implemented within current curricula frameworks. To fully exploit ubiquitous student access to computers and networking, we need to string computer-empowered units together into strands so that later learning builds on earlier experiences. Curriculum Strands It is unlikely that the entire curriculum would be changed even if compelling research data on the effectiveness of technology were generated. A more flexible and less threatening way of changing the curriculum is to insert technology-enhanced curriculum strands. These strands would involve sequences of activities that span grades and build upon each other. The following are some possible candidates. Macro/Micro Connections We anticipate major gains in science learning by having learners understand the relationship between atomic, nano, and macro views of the same system. If students can build firm, early intuitions about atoms, molecules, and their interactions, huge chunks of later science could fall into place, including chemistry, heat and temperature, gas behavior, state changes, biochemistry, and physical properties. Design Technology intuition and skills can be fostered through models, visualizations, CAD, Logo, Crickets, electronics, and probes. To introduce the technology of measurement, students might start with the idea that many things have numbers associated with them that we can measure. The idea that functional models can be used to construct things can be illustrated by programming, electronics, and building. Design challenges can be based on creating apparatus for science experiments. Exploration Probes interfaced to good software, sensors with logging electronics, image and video analysis tools, and network databases provide unprecedented opportunities for students to learn how scientists explore the world. A host of important investigative skills such as experiment design, data analysis, treatment of deviations, data interpretation, error analysis, peer collaboration, and communication of results all become important and increasingly familiar as students have more opportunities to experiment using networking and technology-based tools. Projecting the Future Students are fascinated by their future and the future of society. With appropriate software tools, learners can investigate population growth, economics, resource limitations, planning, environmental changes, sustainability, and other trends that seem hidden given the scale of the students' age and experience. Simulations, visualizations, and online gaming can give students an intuitive understanding of these issues. Math of Change Early experimenting with rates and flows can lead students to understand key concepts in calculus which are fundamental to much of science. Students who understand the mathematics of change are able to intuitively comprehend far earlier ideas central to most science disciplines. Modeling Increasingly, computer-generated models frame public debates, determine investments, and report scientific discoveries. Students need an understanding of how to use, evaluate, test, modify, and create different kinds of models. Need for Research Over the next few years as learning technologies become more widespread, the disparity between what could be taught making full use of technology and what is actually taught in most classrooms will become increasingly intolerable. The problem is that creating new sequences for teaching is a massive effort that requires a broader research base and extensive experience. The most important finding of the report on educational technology by the President's Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology (1997) was that, while there were many exciting and promising examples of educational technologies, there were insufficient data on which to base a major, multi-billion dollar national effort. The report calls for "early-stage research aimed at developing new forms of educational software, content, and technology-enabled pedagogy." We desperately need research-based responses that are reliable enough to use as the basis for policies that may well influence an entire generation of learners. One cannot experiment casually with what students should learn, for fear of missing critical concepts or undermining student motivation. Yet the research community that has created the possibility of vastly improved learning must undertake this work or see its vision unrealized and the educational potential of technology unused. Robert Tinker is President of The Concord Consortium. Bob@concord.org REFERENCES Horwitz, P., & Barowy, W. (1994). Designing and Using Open-Ended Software to Promote Conceptual Change. Journal of Science Education and Technology. Kaput, J. (1992). Technology and Mathematics Education. In D. Grouws (ed.) A Handbook of Research On Mathematics Teaching and Learning. NY: MacMillan. Mokros, J. & Tinker, R. (1987). The impact of microcomputer-based labs on children's ability to interpret graphs. Journal of Research in Science Teaching 24(4). President's Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology (1997). Report to the President on the use of technology to strengthen K-12 education in the United States. Washington, DC: The White House. Riley, R. W., Kunin, M. M., Smith, M. S., & Roberts, L. G. (1996, June 29). Getting America's Students Ready for the 21st Century: Meeting the Technology Literacy Challenge - A Report to the Nation on Technology and Education. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education. Thornton, R.K. (1997). Learning physics concepts in the introductory course: microcomputer-based labs and interactive lecture demonstrations. In Wilson, J. (ed.) Conference of the Introductory Physics Course. NY: Wiley & Sons. Tinker, R. & Papert, S. (1989). Tools for Science Education. In Ellis, J. (ed.) Information Technology & Science Education. Columbus, OH: AETS. Tinker, R. (1996). The whole world in their hands. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education.
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Researchers exploring the impact of information technologies on learning have many examples of approaches that allow students to learn far more, better, and earlier. Students in early elementary grades can use probeware to learn decimals and to interpret graphs. Important concepts of rate and change can be learned at surprisingly early grades with |
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