Some of the biggest problems in education occur in the classroom and consequently, are issues that need to be sorted out by teachers. These issues broadly fall into two categories: student problems and parental problems. Did you know that EdTech can help to resolve many common in-classroom problems? No matter what type of problems you are facing in the classroom; EdTech can assist in the following ways.
- Inattentive or bored students: Technology, particularly EdTech has the potential to transform the in-classroom experience for students. Students become ‘bored’ either because they have already acquired mastery over the subject matter being taught or because they don’t understand the subject matter being taught because it is too complex. Appropriate EdTech can resolve both problems by using techniques such as gamification or immersive learning and virtual reality to make learning fun and by providing expanded and relational/contextual learning for those who have already grasped the core of a subject. Having an interested class automatically cascades into a solution to discipline issues and other classroom management issues that stem from a bunch of bored students.
- Students making repetitive errors: This often stems from a lack of conceptual clarity. EdTech makes personalized learning possible – the real power of which is to tailor a curriculum to a student’s ability to learn. This kind of learning technology is diagnostic, in that it bases itself on how much a student knows and works with the student at their level. Personalized learning is offered through a variety of EdTech enabled curricula to provide the same learning advantages as a personal tutor would.
- Unprepared students: This problem is something of a combination between a lack of enough exercises or application avenues to practice learned skills to a lack of motivation in students. Just like cycling or swimming, new knowledge needs a continual application to be learned. EdTech can help your students do this by applying any number of machine-led algorithms to produce worksheets and practice material for basic mathematics, drawing exercises and even advanced calculus.
- A lack of collaborative learning: This is a parent-led problem, often the result of high competition and intense academic pressure that discourages collaborative learning and teaching. The outcome is unfortunate because most jobs and real life requires successful partnerships and teamwork. EdTech can help you encourage collaboration and help you create a great collaborative learning environment, that allows for classroom interaction and group projects.
- Taking Ownership: It is common knowledge, that one of the toughest things to accomplish in the classroom is to get students to take ownership of their own education and learning. One of the most transferrable skills for students, in this age of applied knowledge, is knowing how to learn and then executing. EdTech can help with that too – using self-paced learning programs; students can often become the architects of their own learning journeys, with teachers only needing to facilitate exploration.
- Overcoming a lack of parental involvement: For many educators, a lack of student performance is often the result of a lack of parental involvement. The lack of parental education or just uninterested parents who aren’t able to be involved in their children’s education are major roadblocks to a student’s academic success. While EdTech cannot compensate for a lack of parental involvement, many EdTech ventures exist to help parents connect with teachers, to help children with school work under parental supervision and even to help parents encourage educational activities at home.
EdTech can provide new ways for teachers to overcome persistent classroom challenges centered around motivation, engagement, and connectedness at school. It is easy to adopt these technologies and build them into your existing curriculum. Let us know if you have found additional EdTech resources that can help educators deal with classroom problems and issues.
This article was originally written by Matthew Lynch and the original version can be found here – https://www.thetechedvocate.org/how-to-solve-6-of-the-biggest-classroom-problems-with-edtech/
