In the time of instruction pictured above, students were participating in a lesson that I taught to my third grade class. Students were learning about the difference between inherited and learned traits. Before using the technology to formatively assess student understanding of this knowledge, students individually completed a reading comprehension packet that we went over as a class. Students then were put into teams, or their pods that they sit in, to play Jeopardy. This was done to evaluate their science knowledge as well as the social emotional component of the ability to work collaboratively and positively with one another while demonstrating respect and good sportsmanship. Through this Jeopardy game, students are offered the chance to engage in autonomy as they select which question they would like to answer.
This topic is unique because some students’ baseline knowledge comes from their background knowledge and lived experiences. However, it is important for students to understand it on a larger scale within the lens of science and within their society. Through this lesson, students see “That mediating artefacts are derived from the cultural and physical environment so that cognition is a property of not just the internal processes of the individual but also involves their social and physical context. In this way cognition can be viewed not just as a property of the internal cognitive abilities of the individual but rather as the result of the individual and the surrounding resources that take part in an activity” (Morgan, 2008, 127).
Utilizing this software of Jeopardy and the hardware of the SMARTBoard, it is clear to see that technology has many effects on students and their learning. An effect of technology in this lesson is that students are able to work collaboratively with other students. As it is being presented on the SMARTBoard, it also provides an interactive learning experience for the entire class. An effect that comes with using this technology is that students are growing and affirming their knowledge and understanding by identifying which traits are which.
Within this lesson, students are using a variety of means to demonstrate learning. In Gee it can be read that “Writing, digital computers, and networks each allow us to externalize some functions of the mind.”(James Gee, 2007, 26). In the students’ final assessment of this lesson, they are expressing their acquired knowledge through written form. Through a formative assessment, they are using a large digital computer, or SMARTBoard and the network of Jeopardy to express what they have learned. Within both of these methods, students are externalizing the thoughts that are in their own individual minds through collaboration, written and oral expression.
As previously discussed, through this integration of technology I am able to formative assessment of my students while also monitoring them. Students were highly monitored with this technology as it was only broadcasted on and interacted with on the SMARTBoard. Myself and my cooperating teacher were the only ones who had access to it directly limiting student opportunity for distractions that can occur through the use of technology. This technology also monitored students’ knowledge as it would automatically track their points based on whether or not they got the question correct. As a teacher, this was beneficial because keeping score was one less thing that I had to worry about while monitoring my students and the overall activity.
I would argue that this integration and lesson overall will make students smarter. It allowed students to work independently and to work collaboratively as they shared their ideas and knowledge through a variety of monitored means: Writing, Reading Comprehension, Art, and Technology through Jeopardy. The technology specifically helped to increase student knowledge on this topic as this integration piqued students’ interest and attention. Upon seeing that it was an interactive, competitive game on the SMARTBoard, the students immediately lit up. Every time I have taught in my classroom since, my students have asked me if they were going to get to play Jeopardy again that day. From this consistent question and from their reaction, I know that they learned a lot but also that learning was made fun and memorable for them.
I would further argue that this was meaning in promoting learning as “multimedia-based games, such as board-based or computer-based versions of the popular television game show Jeopardy (Sony Pictures Digital Inc., 2008), can help to address both linguistic and spatial intelligence simultaneously, by utilizing screen elements from a range of media, including text, graphics, photographs, animation, audio, and video” (Gareau, Stephen and Guo, Ruth (2009)).
Gareau, Stephen and Guo, Ruth (2009) ““All Work and No Play” Reconsidered: The Use of Games to Promote Motivation and Engagement in Instruction,” International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning: Vol. 3: No. 1, Article 12.
Gee, J.P. (2007) Good video games + good learning : collected essays on video games, learning, and literacy. Chapter 4: Good video games, the human mind, and good learning. New York : Peter Lang. pp. 22-44.
Morgan, M., Brickell, G., Harper, B. (2008). Applying distributed cognition theory to the redesign of the ‘Copy and Paste’ function in order to promote appropriate learning outcomes. Computers & Education, 50(1), 125-147.
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