Technology and classroom practices in international education

¶ … articles as well as an analysis of the three articles that have been chosen. There will also be a reflection on the connections that these three articles have towards the best practices in the social studies context and field in general. The three articles to be reviewed and analyzed are;

"Technology and classroom practices: An international study." By Robert B. Kozma

"Using poetry in social studies classes to teach about cultural diversity Social justice." By Ava L. McCall.

"How to teach thinking skills in social studies and history." By Barry K. Beyer.

Technology and classroom practices: An international study. By Robert B. Kozma

The main focus of the paper is how technology is used in classrooms all over the world and how it has changed the practice in class and general approach to learning by both students and teachers. According to the article the use of technological tools in classrooms is mainly by students for information search, product designing and publishing of results. On the other hand teachers use technology for creation of structure, giving advice and monitoring the progress of students. Apart from the practices that have been exhibited the article also shows specific patterns that are more likely to be associated with reports of specific student outcomes that are desirable. The writer also highlights the facts touching on the similarities and differences within the patterns of teachers, students and practices and the ultimate outcomes of technology. The main focus of the article is the pattern of the innovative classroom practices which are usually supported by technology for instance the impressive findings that saw the use of technology to be instrumental in increasing participation of students in class activities with a record high of 83% participation when technology was employed in the class activities among students. Posted here also is the significant increase in the teacher collaboration with others from 59% to 95% upon employment of technology in carrying out instructions to students on projects. The central research questions effectively addressed are; practices of teachers and students in technology supportive of classrooms, roles played by students and teachers in these classroom activities supportive practices, the role of ICT, the similarities and differences found among these practices and finally if patterns associated with other factors like outcomes as indicated. The article gives findings from 174 case studies dealing with practices of innovative pedagogy from technologies in 28 participating countries taking care of the international set criteria with local concerns.

The research was carried out to establish the relevance of technology in classroom setting to both the instructor and the students and how technology supported innovation in classrooms from both students and teachers perspective. The article hence effectively portrayed some of the common trends in classrooms when it comes to technology which are; teachers engaged in advice and guidance to the work by students as part of innovation, students collaborated with each other, students became more innovative, the students achieved much more through the use of technology such as productivity tools, web resources and emails. The article clearly demonstrates that technology supported innovative classroom practices in many countries in the world and they have most of the qualities in common. The implication of the findings is that teachers in many countries are now beginning to use ICT so as to change classroom setting. With this trend, teachers will continue to incorporate technology in their curriculum. The article is therefore a wake up call showing how technology use in classrooms can improve innovation and learning in classrooms.

How to teach thinking skills in social studies and history

The article is centrally based on the teaching of social studies and history with the primary focus on how students can be aided in understanding and appreciating the importance of these subjects. The approach in ensuring there is an in-depth understanding of the subjects is based not only on the classroom understanding but mainly on the application of the analytical skills and decision making process inculcated by the subjects as taught in class. The author emphasizes on skill application in the daily life of the students. Being novices in this field, however, the students are given numerous chances to engage their decision making skills impacted on them in class with the hope of achieving the desired effect of ultimate independence at the end of the rigorous process. The author however decries the rampant failure of these critical thinking skills approaches due to the inconsistency and persistence and the lack of focus on how to directly apply these skills in daily life.

In light of the failures above, the author strives to give significant guidelines that are portrayed as central and significant in achieving the critical thinking capability among students as the teacher engage in teaching social studies and history. First step is the essential teaching of thinking skills, the procedures, rules and information on the same. This is significant since in many instances it is taken fro granted that the students will learn on their own such a central skill. Secondly these skills, procedures, rules and information should be made clear and explicit for the students to see each time the applicability shows up in the process of teaching. Thirdly there is need to have a new skill introduced in a new lesson and focus to be maintained on the skill exclusively in order not to mix various skills in one and at the end confuse the students. Lastly the teacher should guide as well as support continuing skill practice among the students without isolating it for the lessons or the particular topics only. This is the only way through which the students will be in a position to imbibe the application of critical thinking in their daily studies of history and social studies.