In education, there is a constant conundrum: does technology enable excellent pedagogy or does excellent pedagogy complement technology? Ultimately, I think this fairly common binary (this or that thinking) isn't helpful in ensuring all students receive an excellent education. It is my deeply held belief that technology won't help students learn when a teacher has no clue how to teach in alignment with rigorous content. Therefore, this blog will explore just how technology and pedagogy can go hand in hand in make sure all students master rigorous academic content.
First, it's pivotal that teachers deeply understand what mastery looks like for each objective taught. Without exemplar responses to objectives, teachers can fall into the pitfall of lower expectations for what student responses should be. After this exemplar response is determined, then teachers can begin exploring how they want students to engage with the material. One additional pitfall I see beginning teachers fall into is plan the activity without spending time deeply understanding what mastery will look like at the end of each day. Don't do this- it makes your life and your students' lives more stressful.
After determining and knowing deeply the objective, teachers can then begin to explore the methods in which their particular students will learn best. It could be a self-paced online module, it could be a group activity in which they use research skills to determine and synthesize the information on their own, or it could be basically anything as long as its done with alignment and purpose to the objective.
Ultimately, I think about this quote from an anonymous person, "pedagogy is the driver and technology is the accelerator" is poignant. A teacher must consistently ask and know what students must master and then figure out which technology best suites their particular group of students. When these things merge, student learning and student academic outcomes will accelerate.
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