In an article discussing the integration of Interactive White Boards (IWB) in Australian classrooms, the conclusions drawn indicated that overall teachers did not pedagogically change their instruction. They successfully integrated the IWB into the ways they already taught, but it didn't drastically change anything about the teaching.
I wonder how much we, at Stateside Elementary, are changing our pedagogical practices? I know I have stated before that I had felt that I had really only integrated the Promethean into our regular classroom practices. How am I making a significant postive impact on learning with the Promethean? How have I changed my instruction in a way that impacts students more than when I didn't have it?
I think I fall somewhere in the middle. While I am still figuring out how I am changing my instruction, I still struggle with creating lessons that are truly different. I did already attempt to make lessons that got the kids out of their seat and moving (mostly since they can't stay in their seat already!) and things that could be classified as "interactive". Now I use the Promethean to aid in those activities or to create them. Do I always use it in this way? No. There are times that I am flipping through the slides and charting the student's answers. That can not be classified as interactive, and is something I did occasionally already within Power Point. But how can I say I have changed pedagogically? I'm not sure, but I can say my classroom instruction and routines have changed. I can say that the students get excited to use the board and react to the lessons used on it. I can also say that as I continue to learn and try to incorporate the board in many ways, I learn and change more. So maybe I'll be able to say someday that I have pedagogically changed and be able to show how.
How about you?
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