With legions of students performing below grade level, the search for new instructional techniques is ongoing. One relatively new approach to teaching is the Modern Classroom Project (MCP). Currently being implemented at select middle and high schools, MCP’s goal is to improve student learning through teacher created videos. The approach aims to replace live lectures with videos, differentiate instruction based on student needs, and assess students on understanding. A 2019-2020 survey of 60 teachers and 700 students conducted by the Harvard School of Education states that the MCP approach shows promise.
Though MCP’s primary goal is to improve student learning, the survey cited improvement in another area. When comparing MCP classrooms with traditional classrooms, 75% of teachers in the MCP classrooms reported improved student behavior compared to 21% in the traditional control group. (1) Since learning through videos reduces student interactions, it stands to reason that reducing student interactions also reduces the likelihood of student misbehavior.
The reality is that classroom teachers are increasingly relying on electronic devices to help maintain classroom control. When it comes to behavior management, teachers readily admit that increasing technology use in the classroom has proven to be a game changer - and not just in middle and high schools. Walk the halls of elementary schools and you will likely see students at all grades with chrome books in hand throughout the day, even at the kindergarten level.
With student misbehavior cited as one of the top reasons that classroom teachers leave the profession, it is understandable that technology has become as much (if not more) of a behavior management tool as a means of enhancing student learning. But there is another reality that cannot be ignored. While teacher-created videos and interactions with electronic devices might support learning and manage student behavior, they do not foster internal self-control.
Many educators recall that when cell phones and other handheld devices became popular, school districts banned students from using such devices while riding a school bus. However, due to safety concerns, untold numbers of bus drivers disregarded the directive in order to keep student misbehaviors at bay. With large numbers of students failing to appropriately self-regulate while on the bus, districts were forced to turn a blind eye or alter their policy.
The MCP method emphasizes helping students develop self-directed learning skills, skills linked to self-regulation. Research indicates that by the age of seven, children's ability to regulate themselves resembles that of adults (though their reaction time may continue to improve). As such, by the middle and high school years, the emphasis should be on helping students expand their knowledge, explore personal interests and talents, engage in meaningful discussions, and enhance enthusiasm for learning (and more).
Concerned, well-intentioned educators developed the MCP approach. As with other instructional approaches, MCP may eventually be implemented at the elementary level. Despite the undeniable benefits of technology, the belief that early exposure to technology is beneficial in the long run is ill-conceived and lacking in sound reasoning.
In order for children to develop self-control skills and achieve sustainable academic learning, it is essential for parents and educators to recognize and embrace the importance of the crucial period from birth to age eight. These critical years serve as the cornerstones for cognitive, emotional, and social development; their importance cannot be overstated. Though already late in the game, with behavior concerns abounding, it is vital that the utilization of technology in schools be thoughtfully reassessed, beginning at the elementary level.
Using technology to manage student behavior is like applying band-aids to a wound that could potentially be life-threatening. Eventually, the bleeding will become excessive.
© Sharon Knapp Lamberth, September 2024
(1) Nour Habib, The Virginian Pilot (New 'modern' technology approach shows promising education results in Chesapeake); September 11, 2024
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