Erin’s Educational Technology Journey

The framework of “Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education” by Chickering & Gamson (1987) and Chickering & Ehrmann’s (1996) “Implementing the Seven Principles: Technology as a Lever” are written in a “common sense” style which camouflages the complex pedagogical principles and effective classroom management skills required to conduct “good practice” in an academic setting of any level. Bates and Poole (2003) read more academic, but the SECTIONS framework is deceivingly simple sounding. I found myself nodding my head in agreement with SECTIONS and the Seven Principles (1987, 1996) based on my personal experience. However, “Implementing the Seven Principles: Technology as a Lever” (1996) now seems slightly dated when one reads the examples of technology use, but the principles hold.

Chickering & Ehrmann’s (1996) 3rd principle of Good Practices Uses Active Learning Techniques and Bates & Poole’s (2003) T:Teaching and Learning resonated with me as being complementary and meaningful. I’m an ESL elementary teacher and I apply the SECTIONS “T” : Identifying what kind of learning to facilitate and make meaningful to meet my students’ diverse needs is a key reason I select learning technologies. I feel this technique is complemented by Chickering & Ehrmann’s (1996) 3^rd principle because a thoughtful identification of technology should enhance and support active learning and result in the selection of active learning technologies. For example, an English language wiki project is selected over MS Power Point to encourage ESL students to collaborate using English. I have identified the skill of collaboration using English and I’ve selected an application that requires students to construct knowledge actively.

To keep my post reasonable length, I will briefly state that SECTIONS’ Costs and Ease of Use & Reliability are two areas of ed-tech I feel very strongly about. The principle of prompt feedback is another. I look forward to discussing these with others. Erin

References

Bates, A.W. & Poole, G. (2003). Chapter 4: a Framework for Selecting and Using Technology. In Effective Teaching with Technology in Higher Education: Foundations for Success. (pp. 77-105). San Francisco: Jossey Bass Publishers.

For more information on Bate’s publications, visit his site! http://www.tonybates.ca/tag/poole/

Chickering, A.W. and Gamson, Z.F. (1987).  Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education.  American Association for Higher Education Bulletin, 39 (7), p. 3-7.
http://www.aahea.org/bulletins/articles/sevenprinciples1987.htm
Chickering, A.W. and Ehrmann, S.C. (1996).  “Implementing the Seven Principles: Technology as Lever,” American Association for Higher Education Bulletin, 49(2), p. 3-6.
http://www.aahea.org/bulletins/articles/sevenprinciples.htm
 

Module one introduced me to methods of selecting and using learning technologies based on theoretical frameworks. This is my reflection after posting and discussing the issues with colleagues.

In ETEC 510 I was introduced to the work of Bates and Poole’s  (2003) A Framework for Selecting and Using Technology. In this module for ETEC 565, I returned to Bates and Poole’s framework with five MET courses between my first reading of it ( in January of 2008) and now. My ideas on how to implement SECTIONS have changed dramatically. I realize the importance of considering all aspects of SECTIONS from perspectives beyond that of a classroom teacher. The discussion in 565 reminded me that Cost is, usually, the deciding factor when selecting technology. As much as our 565 discussion applauded the value of Ease of Use, Students and Teaching and Learning, personal experience from colleagues centered on Cost.

This module introduced me to the work of Chickering and Gamson (1987) and of Chickering and Ehrmann (1996). Chickering & Gamson’s (1987) Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education are principles I have seen in great classrooms. Personally, I am a teacher who gives prompt feedback because students are motivated and focused on how to improve their work before it is due. I am also a teacher who considers time on task as essential and I provide time for students to focus on tasks. Chickering & Gamson’s (1987) principle of using active learning techniques has worked for me as both a teacher and a student. When I engage myself in a learning activity, I gain a greater deal of knowledge then if I simply use rote memorization techniques. From my own learning experience, I teach using methods that actively engage students. This point brings me to Chickering & Ehrmann’s (1996) Implementing the Seven Principles: Technology as Lever. The authors discuss the original seven principles in relation to technology available in the late ’90s.  Active learning techniques, prompt feedback and time on task are principles that can be met more easily by technology: open-source software and social networking tools alone can motivate learners and teachers to use these principles at a framework for structuring lessons and selecting technology.

For a better idea of Bates and Poole’s (2003) holistic view on teaching with technology, I suggest their website: http://www.batesandpoole.ubc.ca/index.html where you can view the theoretical foundation of their work in the Resources tab or by clicking on this link: http://www.batesandpoole.ubc.ca/pdf/OPAS.pdf. To see an instructor’s suggestions for implementing the Seven Principles from the classroom perspective of 2008, follow the series of posts titled “Implementing the Seven Principles” here: http://georgeself.wordpress.com/2008/02/08/principle-one/. You can select which principle to focus on, they are organized by number.

References

Bates, A., & Pooles, G. (2003). A framework for selecting and using technology. In Effective Teaching with Technology (pp. 75-105).

Chickering, A. W. and Gamson, Z.F. (1987). Seven principles for good practice in undergraduate education. American Association for Higher Education Bulletin, 39 (7), 3-7. Retrieved May 5, 2009,  from http://www.aahea.org/bulletins/articles/sevenprinciples1987.htm

Chickering, A. W. and Ehrmann, S. C. (1996). Implementing the seven principles: Technolgy as lever. American Association for Higher Education Bulletin, 49 (2), 3-6. Retrieved May 5, 2009, from http://www.aahea.org/bulletins/articles/sevenprinciples.htm