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How a computer will help educate a child quicker 計算機如何使孩子的學習效率提高
How a computer will help educate a child quicker 計算機如何使孩子的學習效率提高 By Mark Blacklock Computers in the classroom can help children to learn more than five times faster than normal, new research has revealed. But new technology can only put pupils on the fast track in literacy and numeracy if they have highly－motivated teachers who know how to make the best use of school equipment. The findings of a study by researchers at Newcastle University may reduce fears among some parents that computers might damage children's reading and writing skills. Project manager Steve Higgins said:" With professional support and a focus on clearly identified subject objectives,teachers can use computers very effectively to help raise standards." He and his colleague David Mosley spent almost two years examining the effect of Information and Communications Technology in lessons. They worked with hundreds of primary school pupils aged four to nine at 20 carefully selected schools in Tyne and Wear, Northumberland, Lancashire, Gloucestershire and the West Midlands. The classes were picked because of their teachers' track record in achieving good results from pupils. The children's standards were measured and recorded throughout the study and the methods of using high－tech aids analysed by the research team. In subjects like mathematics, the children were able to pack an average of 2.8 months' work into just one month. In reading and writing the improvement was even more astonishing――5.1 months' progress in only four weeks. At one school, pupils of below average reading ability used software to create their own book, which was then presented to the rest of the class. In another school, a teacher who provided palmtop computers found children enthusiastically redrafting their work with the use of the spellchecker and thesaurus. The teacher said he thought the devices increased the youngsters' motivation to write and revise their work. The project team observed the work of classes using ICT, analysed teaching methods and then interviewed teachers about their techniques. Researchers then undertook development work with groups of the teachers to help build on the most successful methods. By only the second term of the project the children were found to have made significant gains on standardised tests. The group's report says:" Pupils made significant gains on standardised tests in 14 out of 16 development classes." But the researchers warned that not every area of teaching might benefit from the use of ICT, so it is just as important for staff to decide when not to use it as when and how to use it. The research team, which was sponsored by the Teacher Training Agency, concluded that no single approach proved most effective because a combination of different factors was at work. The report, which is available free to schools from the university's Department of Education, concludes: " ICT offers the potential to improve standards of attainment in literacy and mathematics." " The gains made indicate that teachers can raise levels of pupils' attainment when they use ICT to support their teaching in literacy and numeracy and have clear objectives for each subject." But it stressed that it is crucial for teachers to be enthusiastic and to have clear targets. It is also important that both staff and pupils have adequate skills, and that there is enough equipment and corresponding technical backup to overcome any difficulties. [參考譯文] 計算機如何使孩子的學習效率提高 吳潔 摘譯 一項新的研究成果顯示，在課堂上孩子用計算機學習，可使學習效率比平時提5倍以上。 如果教師熱心教學，并知道如何有效利用學校的設備，學生便可借助新技術使讀寫能力和計算能力突飛猛進。 有些父母擔心計算機會損害孩子的讀寫能力。英國紐卡斯爾大學研究人員的一項研究成果也許能減輕他們的疑慮。 該研究項目的負責人史蒂夫·希金斯說："只要有專業(yè)指導，集中精力于明確的課題目標，教師們可以利用計算機很有效地提高教學質量。"這位負責人和他的同事大衛(wèi)·莫斯利花了近兩年時間考察"信息與通訊技術"(ICT)的教學效果。 他們精心挑選了20所英國小學(分別位于泰恩·威爾、諾森伯蘭、蘭開夏、格羅斯特、西米德蘭等地)，將其中4歲至9歲的幾百名小學生作為研究對象。 所選班級有一個共同點，即任課教師的教學效果良好。 研究小組在整個項目過程中檢測并記錄了學生的水平，分析了高科技輔助手段的使用方法。 例如在算術課上，孩子們可以在短短1個月內學會以前平均要2.8個月學的課程。而讀寫課的進展更令人吃驚--學生只花4個星期就完成了過去需要5.1個月才能完成的學習任務。 在其中的一所學校，閱讀能力本來低于平均水平的學生已能利用軟件自己編書供班上其他同學閱讀。 在另一所學校，一位教師讓學生使用掌上電腦，結果發(fā)現(xiàn)孩子們在興致勃勃地用"拼寫檢查"和"同類詞匯編"修改自己的作業(yè)。 這位教師認為掌上電腦激發(fā)了孩子們寫作業(yè)和改作業(yè)的興趣。 項目小組觀察了使用ICT班級的上課情況，分析了課堂教學方法，并對教師就其教學技巧進行了采訪。然后研究人員和教師們一道從事開發(fā)，以期造就最成功的教學方法。 實驗進行到第二學期，孩子們就在標準化測試中取得了很大進步。 研究小組的報告說："16個開發(fā)實驗班中有14個班的學生在標準化測試中取得了很大進步。" 但研究人員同時警告說，并不是教學活動的每一領域都能從使用ICT中受益。因此，教師不僅要知道何時使用及如何使用ICT，而且還要知道什么時候不該使用它。 由教師培訓機構贊助的研究小組得出如下結論：由于是多方面因素共同起作用，因此無法證明哪一種教學方式是最有效的。 各中小學可從紐卡斯爾大學教育系那里免費獲得研究小組的這份報告。該報告的結論是："ICT可提高學生的讀寫和算術能力。" "所獲成果顯示：教師使用ICT協(xié)助讀寫課及算術課教學，又對這兩門課程有明確的目標，就能提高學生的學習效率。" 但報告同時強調，教師熱心教學與明確目標同樣極為重要。 此外，師生都要有嫻熟的電腦操作技能。教室里要有足夠的設備和相應的技術措施，以便解決可能出現(xiàn)的問題。 (《英語文摘》)
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