Students and Learning

After reading the USA Today article, Scientists ask: is technology rewiring our brains, I have to say that I agree that students are different. From my training experience, I teach employees over the age of 18, many that have been “digitally wired” (Dovarganes, 2008). Many of my students have extreme difficulty sitting still for more than 45 minutes, all my lectures have to be very short or they lose concentration. As a whole, they do not have proper reading skills, poor spelling ability and their handwriting is not legible. Our employees frequently tell me they have ADHD and that is why they cannot sit still; however, I do not know if this is a medical diagnosis, or just a common statement they have heard to explain their behavior. When I began in the Department and grading assessments, I began to recognize common banking words that were being spelled phonetically versus the correct way as written in the text. In order to overcome this, I made a point to write each of the words on the board and have everyone write it in their books spelling the word. It has improved the assessment scores. I segment all of my learning to make sure that I talk for no more than 20 minutes before changing the pace. I also provide long pipe cleaners in my classes, and find that my students twist, bend and create which improves their ability to pay attention. For classes that last several days, I have different toys that I bring for each day to add to the pipe cleaners to keep bringing something new. Keeping their hands busy appears to be a requirement to listen and learn, which has become so prevalent in their life with communication by text. Socially, I believe that they would rather text someone, than talk to them. Actually, just last week that was a topic in the classroom on a break; students were sharing the fact that they don’t like to talk on the phone to people, but they would be happy to sit and text for hours. This new group of learners, do not perform the traditional “deep reading” skills (Dovarganes, 2008); it appears they “skim” information and create their own conclusions. When I was taught there were long sessions of lectures, note taking, and requirements to sit still. My employees would not be able to perform through those conditions, they have to be taught in short segments, with lots of movement and frequent breaks to check their mobile devices or a physical withdrawal sets in. I am curious about the new wave of medical diagnosis that must be on the horizon due to the use of mobile technology. As educators are we prepared to identify the signs of internet addiction?


References

Dovarganes, D. (2008). Scientists ask: is technology rewiring our brains? USA Today, Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/2008-12-03-digital-brain_N.htm