Week 13: Chapter 3 Discussion

Question: Some people say drill and practice is really "drill and kill." What can teachers do to make sure this kind of use doesn't happen and drill and practice can serve a useful function?

Answer: I believe that many of those individuals who say that drill and practice is really “drill and kill” are speaking from personal experience than anything else. I believe that in the past and in the present and even in the future, the “drill and kill” debate will go on because of the very nature of this topic.

As the book mentions, some individuals have criticized teachers for presenting drills in a long time period or presenting certain types of lesson with drills, which might not be the best way to present that lesson plan. The book mentions an example of certain teachers giving students drill-and-practice software as a way of introducing new concepts rather than just for practicing and reinforcing familiar ones. For that example, maybe a different type of instructional method might be more productive for the student than drilling and practice.

Then you have the criticism by constructivists that argue that introducing isolated skills and directing students to practice them contradicts the progress toward a revamped curriculum in which students learn and use skills in an integrated way within the context of their own projects that require skills. I believe that drill-and-practice should not be ignored or become banned within the classroom. Educators should find ways to identify certain needs that drills can meet and use specific software in productive ways in conjunction with drill-and-practice.

Week 11: Discussion Questions and Answers

Question:

Some educators feel that distance technologies will greatly improve education; some feel education will suffer if they are overused. What are the factors you can cite in support of each of these positions?

Answer:


I believe that there are several factors that each side can cite to support their arguments on the topic of distance technologies and whether or not they will greatly improve education or if education will suffer if they are overused. I think educators on either side of this issue have good arguments on why distance technologies can be a good thing or a bad thing when it comes to education. Is one side 100% correct? I don’t think so. For educators that believe that distance technologies will greatly improve educators, they can have these following reasons on why they feel so strongly on this issue.

They can cite that distance learning courses can be successful if they have enough interaction, good support, and minimal technical problems during the course. So for a student that either has difficulty finding transportation for class or finds that they function more effectively utilizing other communication mediums, distance education courses might be the best option to maximize their education.

On the other hand, those educators who contemplate that distance technologies can hurt the education process of students if they are overused also have some valid points. I believe that in-class; physical presence of the student and teacher still has many benefits that distance technologies do not have. The personal interaction of the teacher and student is something that I do not think distance technologies can match at this point. Also, if the distance technology courses suffer from a lack of interaction and experience many technical issues during the course, the learning experience might actually be detrimental for the students.