Middle School Science for the Future!

This is horrible to admit, but I just rediscovered this blog.  I have been teaching at a middle school in Urban Phoenix now for a year and a half.  I have learned many new things, but have not been able to make technology any more available for my students than it was.  I find my new district has even more policies restricting student computer use.  We control every minute of my students’ time at school.  We control what they see, what they do, what they say and what they create.  In the beginning I felt that this was a really good thing.  It was nice to be in an environment where student behavior was so rigidly controlled.

This district has a very well defined goal.  That goal is to perform well on state and other assessments of progress.  These assessments include the A+ school rating AIMS scores as well as less tangible measurements of success including implimenting new reading programs and being one of the few schools in the area to consistently take in refugee students from out of the country.  The students are required to perform on a consistent basis and because that performance is measured by multiple choice questions given in a paper test environment students are not often encouraged to think creatively or to use technology to solve problems.

No expense is spared in getting technology into the hands of teachers for the use of presenting and assessing curriculum, but student use of technology is limited to what can be controlled and used for assessing student knowledge of the proscribed curriculum.  It is not that the school and district are not open to new ideas, but that any idea posed must meet the needs of ensuring student performance on state and local tests.  Only about 10% of students have access to computers or the internet from home so it is hard to assign student use of computers as homework.  The tech that most students have access to is gaming technology as well as cell phones and/or mp3 players.

It is hard to know how to proceed from the place I am at to begin helping students to be familiar with technology, but also more importantly with creative thought process.  I feel it is necessary that students begin to re-invent their thinking processes in order to be able to compete in this emerging economy.

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