The importance of good teaching practices—with and without technology

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Nowadays, there are lots of digital resources available to teachers. Tools such as Teachers' Domain, an online digital library (see "On the web"); interactive whiteboards; computer projection devices; laptop carts; and robust wireless internet services make it easy for teachers to use technology in the classroom. In fact, in one national survey, both teachers and students identified the use of animations, simulations, interactive whiteboards, and computers as essential to quality science learning experiences (Project Tomorrow 2008). However--with or without technology--the principles of good teaching remain the same (NRC 1996, 2000). From digital resources to inquiry-based instruction techniques, what helps high school students learn science? As part of a larger research project, my colleagues and I asked biology students in eight New York public high schools this question. Figure 1 provides information about the teachers and students who participated in our case study. Here, we share the digital resources and other classroom activities students told us they think help them learn science. The results might surprise you: What students want closely resembles research on best practices in science instruction. Over and over, students said they are most engaged and motivated by hands-on activities, group work, and discussions: They value meaningful activities and want more active learning. Digital resources: Fun and visual As one might expect, students in our study said they enjoy learning with computers. Many students said that biology--more than any other class--exposes them to the most digital resources, including short video clips, animations of phenomena not easily observed, interactive models, and activities in which they manipulate variables or pieces of a model. Teachers in our study most commonly used instructor-centered technology practices. Unless a laptop cart or computer lab was available, they primarily displayed digital resources with a projector or interactive whiteboard. Despite this lack of access to individual computers--and occasional technical glitches--students said they appreciate the affordances of digital resources. For example, students said it is helpful to see an animation instead of learning only from words, static images, or a teacher's voice. For digital learning experiences to be meaningful and understandable, our study revealed that teachers must carefully select resources and incorporate them through scaffolding activities. The importance of this approach is evident from student comments. For instance, one student explained that her teacher "usually does not go in depth about videos, [we] just watch [them] . The smarter kids in the class. usually kind of understand . but then everyone else [thinks] 'What's happening? '" A student in another class commented, "Instead of showing videos that are kind of confusing, either [the teacher] needs to explain them more or . not even show the videos. " Integrating digital resources meaningfully remains a challenge for many teachers. However, when teachers weave structured, student-centered activities--based on digital resources--into lessons, students appreciate the result: This more scaffolded approach can help them understand abstract, difficult-to-grasp concepts. For example, one teacher in our case study, Mr. Reid (a pseudonym), used digital resources to support a lesson on DNA and help students visualize the transcription stage of protein synthesis. First, he had students complete an online activity to simulate the transcription stage of protein synthesis. His plan was for each student to work individually using a laptop. He passed out a worksheet that included step-by-step directions for accessing the online material and questions for students to answer during the simulation. However, students ran into an issue during the online activity: Their laptops did not have the correct software. …