Over the past six months, I have heard first, second, and third hand from many district leaders across the country who have expressed the need to help teachers get back to basics…
That COVID-19 highlighted how far teachers have navigated from basic teaching principles.
That a shift back to [insert Lucy Calkins/ Marzano/ tier one instructional strategies/ preferred well-known instructional method] is desperately needed and the highest priority for professional development needs for the 2022-2023 school year.
This terrifies me.
While I don’t doubt or question educational leaders across the country for their well-informed assessment of their teachers’ needs (we can all use a reset sometimes), hearing these claims does cause me to pause, hold my breath, and wait for the next anticipated line to drop. They each have their own variation of delivery, but nonetheless, have the same meaning…
“... getting back to basics means we need to shift our focus away from technology.”
There it is. The hard blow that is crux of my entire problem with the statement: we need to get back to basics. The problem is not the intention to hone and solidify the most solid, proven, instructional strategies; the problem is coupling that statement with an automatic separation from technology while attempting to develop “21st-century skills” in our learners nearly a quarter of the way through said century.
Why do we not have a crystal clear understanding about how technology can support our learners and meet their diverse needs? How technology can provide the teacher with instant data about where their students are performing well and where they need additional support? How technology can give our students an opportunity to create and connect in ways I never could have imagined in my grade school days? How technology can be the bridge to close gaps for our students who need the most support, and reach our families who have become the most disconnected?
When I hear school leaders say that their teachers need to get back to basics AND that they need to pause integration of technology, I know that they- the ones calling the shots- may not really understand what good technology integration looks like in the first place.
(The key here being the word ‘and’, signifying that technology must be removed if it is to be good instruction. There are just as many school leaders who have expressed a need for a refresh on foundations who also see the value technology can bring to teaching and learning, especially at this critical time.)
In 2014, Eric Sheninger wrote, “More often than not, the individuals trusted with leading change in the 21st century are the least knowledgeable about the 21st century.”
I still deeply resonate with this line almost ten years later.
I’m not talking about PDF annotation, drill-and-kill tech programs, or death by Kahoot. I’m not talking about the resources that come with a “digital curriculum package” (which are usually primarily digitized worksheets). I’m definitely not talking about putting kids in front of a device all day, every day. These uses of technology should get a pause… or even hit the permanent stop button.
I’m talking about the true transformative uses of technology for our students to provide a modern learning experience. I’m talking about the every day skills that are required to practice for an educator to become comfortable with navigating and using technology in the first place. I’m talking about finally seeing technology as a tool… as the plate that carries everything else… as a meaningful part of the learning experience, instead of this extra thing we think about after the fact to check a box.
Leaders in education should be helping educators understand when, how, and where technology can support teaching and learning, and even make those basics of instruction better for students.
If we can expect our teachers to get back to basics, then why can’t we also expect that our leaders become proficient with technology skills and how true, meaningful, technology integration fundamentally supports those basics... and then some?
While it may be true that we have teachers who could use some support to get back to basics, I believe it’s also true that our leaders need support to get up to speed on how technology can amplify a teacher’s impact and allow our students to create, communicate, and learn in ways that are just not possible without the tech.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I understand that our leaders have an insurmountable todo list with 1,000 competing priorities, and that above all else, we must first make sure our kiddos are safe and fed and loved. I commend school leaders for all that they do for kids and their staff every day. I don’t expect our school leaders to become proficient in every classroom edtech tool that can be used; that’s not where we need them to spend their precious time. I do, however, think those responsible for shaping our education systems should have a very clear understanding of how to support educators with shifts in instruction that directly support these new generations with all the tools and strategies in our tool-belt.
How do we combine the best of our educators’ & leaders’ knowledge, the basics, and technology to achieve all that needs to be done across schools in this country?
Tech To You Later,
-Katie, Ed.D.