Source: Journal of Computing in Teacher Education, Summer 2008
Publisher: Department of curriculum and Instruction Center for Technology in Learning and Teaching.
“I called you at home because I wanted to check with you about what Wes thinks he heard in class today.” This was the start to a phone call I received when I taught junior high school mathematics earlier in my career. I remember this conversation distinctly because as I listened to what Wes told his mother, I remember thinking “Wow—where on earth did he get that idea?” Wes completely misunderstood an important component for the project demonstrating his understanding of the mathematics concept we were studying.
Situations such as this remind us to not neglect the importance of the social aspect of understanding that occurs when dealing with what we might consider commonplace terms or concepts. This incident from my earlier teaching career came to mind after listening to different comments made by colleagues in the college of education where I teach regarding the effective use of technology in our teacher education programs. I began to wonder if we were all operating from the same working definition when we talk about integrating technology into our teacher education program.