Successful Use Of Microcomputers In Classroom Instruction
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"Successful" Use of Microcomputers in Classroom Instruction
A widely shared belief among many policy makers, educators, parents, and the general public is that microcomputers have the potential to help pull U.S. education out of its current state of mediocrity (National Commission on Excellence in Education, 1983), and subsequently improve its quality. A number of barriers, however, impede the widespread implementation of microcomputers in classrooms. Along with cost, the major barrier to full implementation is the lack of knowledge possessed by researchers and educational practitioners alike regarding the nature of the knowledge, skills, and attitudes a teacher must have to use microcomputers successfully in classroom instruction. This paper addresses the standard implied in such an evaluation, that is, the nature of 'successful' classroom microcomputer use that might be embodied in the teaching of widely recognized, expert or master teachers. From the teachers' standpoint, microcomputers are an educational technology used as an instructional tool. Thus, the application of the instruction tool should be central to such an evaluation, within the broader context of ongoing classroom instruction.
How Effective Teachers Use Microcomputers for Instruction
To summarize, cluster analyses of various instructional decisions and tasks employed by 'effective' microcomputer-using teachers revealed four characteristic patterns of use: 'orchestration, ' 'enrichment', 'adjunct instruction, ' and 'drill and practice.' 'Orchestrators' are distinguished by their multiplicity of uses and degree of integration between microcomputer use and ongoing instruction. 'Enrichers' appear to encourage student familiarity with the microcomputer within a less ambitious instructional program. 'Adjunct instroctors' appear to use the microcomputer selectively to enhance conceptual mastery within the subject matter. 'Drillers' seem to provide students with an extensive program of drill and practice on the microcomputer to enhance mastery of procedures.