As teachers, it is important that we identify the need for observation and reflection of our practice, which aids in the construction of positive and negative feedback. This feedback can form the basis for further suggestion for our own benefit or the benefit of our peers and fellow teacher colleagues. This reflection post will consider the design and delivery of a whole unit of assessment within Business Management for VCE Year 11 – ICT in Small Business. This unit is available on this website in the form of a Unit Outline (posted below) as well as attachments of teaching resources complementing the delivery of this content. This reflection essay will also consider aspects of pedagogical importance such as the delivery of content, identifying the development of key knowledge and skills and the application of pedagogical theories.
Technology is very much part of the everyday lives of young people, however there is a considerable difference between young peoples ability to operate technology and their understanding of how it actually works and its role in society, especially in the world of business and economics. Hadjerrouit (2008) in studying the delivery of secondary education in Norway, suggests “despite the importance of ICT as a school subject in secondary education, there is a lack of an integrated ICT pedagogy that is elucidated within a broad framework of educational practice…to realize the potential inherent in ICT, there is a need for innovative ICT pedagogies in secondary education”.
While this particular study may be based in a different country, its application draws many comparisons to our own secondary system in Australia. Miliszewska and Moore (2010) highlight the challenging issue of teaching ICT in secondary education effectively, suggesting there is also be a gender element, “…as governments, higher education providers, industry, and the voluntary sector complement each other in their search for effective solutions to a dilemma that is increasingly recognized as being much more complex than a simple dichotomy of gender and technology”.
In the initial stages of framing this unit of work for Year 11 VCE, understanding students could have differing levels of prior knowledge surrounding this topic was critical to success. While most students have some knowledge in the operation of everyday technologies, such as mobile technology - SMS (short message service) and MMS (multimedia message service), social networking and Internet web browsing, not all students have the same level of interest, or may not have the same level of access according to their lifestyle. Striking a balance between the delivery of new content for those students lacking technological experience, whilst at the same time engaging and keeping the interest of those who had vast previous knowledge, was critical to success and the internalisation of key knowledge and skills.
Internalisation refers to a key concept in constructivist theory, pioneered by Lev Vygotsky, a Polish born Psychologist circa 1930’s Russia. Students ‘construct’ knowledge from their own experiences. In his work, Vygotsky emphasises how “historical, social and cultural factors predict cognitive development” (Kozulin et al. 2007). Cognitive changes occur…as teachers and learners share cultural tools, and this culturally mediated interaction produces cognitive change only when it is internalized in the learner (Schunk 2008). As I could identify a strong link between the different stages of development in key knowledge between the students due to their background, constructivist theory played a big part in developing the different methods of delivery of this unit of work
In delivering this content, I decided to use modern day language/slang for the different types of technology, i.e. young people calling Facebook as ‘Facey’ and SMS also being known as ‘Texting’. This was a contributing factor to the development, facilitation and overall success of this VCE unit. Vygotsky himself emphasized the importance of language as a major, if not the primary mechanism of the internalisation of experiences (Kozulin et al. 2007). Language in all forms, is an essential method of communication, collaborative dialogue and communication between teacher and student or student and peers, is instrumental in creating a successful learning environment (Schunk 2008).
One final strategy, contributing to the success of this unit, is in the preparation of content and additional resources, helping to sustain the engagement levels of the students. “Holistic teaching does not necessarily require sacrificing content, but it does involve structuring content differently” (Schunk, 2008). I identified that many of my students were ‘visual’ in their learning style, meaning they constructed understanding and the internalisation of knowledge though experiences using visual stimulants such as pictures and diagrams. Within the PowerPoint slides, I included humorous visual stimulants pertaining to the specific content focus, i.e a picture of a solider, when exploring the use of Internet security, viruses etc. Using this method as a engagement strategy, I found students were very responsive and an enthusiastic to learn, filling gaps in knowledge for those students who had little previous knowledge, while holding the attention of those whose technical experience was vast.
In concluding, while the creation and delivery of this specific unit of work was very successful, it’s important to be mindful that there are many variables, which may influence a student’s social and academic interaction. There is no ‘one way to teach for all’ strategy and successful teaching should be about a continual state of development, with forward planning and goals. In keeping with Vygotsky’s social constructivist view, teachers should structure the syllabus and learning environment so that students can construct their knowledge as explained in my example.
References
Hadjerrouit, S. (2008) Using a Learner-Centered Approach to Teach ICT in Secondary Schools: An Exploratory Study. Issues in Informing Science and Information Technology. Volume 5. Pg 1 -27.
Kozulin, A., and Gindis, B. (2007), Sociocultural Theory and Education of Children with Special Needs: From Defectology to Remedial Pedagogy, The Cambridge Companion to Vygotsky, (eds) Daniels, H., Cole, M., and Wertsch, J.V., Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 332-36
Miliszewska, I. and Moore, A. (2010) Encouraging girls to consider a career in ICT: a review of strategies. Journal of Information Technology Education 9 (2010): IIP-143, 24
Schunk,D. (2008) Chapter 6 “Constructivist Theory”. In Learning Theories: An Educational Perspective. 5th edition. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson, Prentice Hall
Thune, T. & Welle-Strand, A. (2005) ICT for and in internationalization processes: A business school case study. Higher Education. 50: 593–611
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