Every week, I write a short blurb about teaching and learning for my school’s parent newsletter. I’ve decided to post old ones on this site from time to time (Here is the archive). If you’re interested in hiring me to lead PD for this or next year, please get in touch.
– Dr. G
Can Computers Teach Better Than Humans?
Parents sometimes ask me whether it would be better to give students computers that personalize their learning rather than relying on whole class teaching methods. The benefits of computer-based instruction are numerous. For one, you can ensure that every student is receiving instruction at their level, which is difficult to do with whole class teaching unless you split students up into small groups. The challenge of small group teaching is that only the group that is with the teacher will receive supervision and instruction, unless the rest of the class is on computers.
Another main benefit of computer-based instruction is that it gives students a high dosage of the ingredients that we know are effective for learning. Computers are good at giving instant feedback on right and wrong answers, even though they are not very good at giving more elaborative feedback on open-ended questions. This is changing already with AI. Most computer programs will also give students lots of opportunities to respond (OTR), which means tons of practice and assessment data. With all these benefits of computer-based instruction, why don’t we just go fully computer-based?
Well, it wouldn’t be the worst idea in education, but it also isn’t the best. The pandemic response to COVID shed light on the problems of computer-based instruction, including its effects on attention and motivation. While some students might thrive independently, others need the close supervision of a “warm demander” to ensure they make their best effort. In my dissertation research, I found that students often don’t use computer programs as they are intended, such as clicking through to the end and avoiding the help channels the program provided. For me, creating a classroom culture around hard work and success is only possible whole class, in dialogue with the children. Maybe I’m old school, but if whole class and computer-based methods were shown to be equally effective – and I had to choose one! – I would go with whole class teaching any day of the week.
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