Digital Didactics in Social Subjects-work in progress

Linus HenrikssonMatilda Wiklund

Örebro University, Sweden

Background

• In our survey studies social subjects are among the subjects were most teachers claim to use digital technology

• Not least for social subjects, digital technology poses possibilities as well as pitfalls

• In a Swedish context, digital technology in social studies seems underexamined

Motivation

This motivates a study of how digital technology (= use of 1:1-computers) is used and understood by teachers in social subjects

Empirical material

• Open ended survey case reports of successful (as defined by the answering teachers themselves) teaching/education with digital technology from 33 teachers of social subjects in Swedish secondary (y 6-9) and upper secondary schools (Unosuno schools).

Social subjects – social sciences

• These 33 are selected among the 254 survey answering teachers due to the fact that they describe teaching within social subjects

• Civics, History, Religious studies,Geography

Digital technology in social subjects

”…digital technology use can be seen as itself constituting a distinct culture that is more congruous with some subjects than others” […] ”In some subjects … digital technologies can be seen as battling with existing, deep-rooted norms and values while in other subjects they are more easily assimilated”.

(Selwyn 2011:96)

Subject conceptions and digital technology use

This guided our interest towards the ways teachers in social subjects present their teaching practices when using digital technology and to relate this to subject conceptions of relevance for social subjects

Social subjects conceptions

• (1) disciplined civic education/ subject of orientation

• (2) participatory civic education/ subject of analysis

• (3) critical civic education/ subject of discussion

Levinson, Meira (2007; 2012) Odenstad, Christina (2010) m fl.

Objectives

The aim of our study is to find out how the teachers present the ways in which technology is at work in specific teaching practices and how this may be related to content, goals and traditions of these subjects.

Two points of departure

• To what degree can the different usages of technology that the teachers’ present be said to change education practices?

• Enhancement

• Transformation

• Which different subject conceptions are actualized in the different usages of technology that the teachers’ present?

Social subjects conceptions and digital technology use• How congrous can social subjects, given the teachers’

presentations and the different conceptions, be said to with the usage of digital technology?

• Can digital technologies be seen as battling with existing norms and values in social subjects, given the teachers’ presentations and the different subject conceptions?

Enhancing or transforming practices

• Using presentation software for presentations, teachers and student examples

• Internet data sources

• Communication via platform

• Projecting student materials

• Google earth/Globalis

• Blogging for student discussions

• Presentation software collaboratively used

• Student filming

• Wiki/forum publications of student results

• Student creating computer games

Subject of orientation

• Didactic focus on students aquiring factual subject knowledge for orientation

• Two structuring principles

• Teacher centered frontal teaching: human right project presentation of overview of different living conditions/ presentation of subject moments on platform

• Student active information search (more common): fictive travel through the US, news show filming, collecting online information about the vikings for computer game making

Subject of analysis

• Didactic focus on comparison, connections, relations, pro-con practices.

• Structuring principle: teacher introduced comparisons between different phenomena with internet search, tools and/or presentation software.

• Comparison of different historical olympic games from a list of aspects.

• Comparison of different parts of the world concerning given factors such as economy, water supply, energy…

• Arabic spring comparing present and history

• Cause and effect questions about migration

Subject of discussion

• Didactic focus on students expressing opinions and motivate these. Mostly involving internet search and/or presentation software or online tools.

• Blogging about income differentiation after youtube input.

• Discussing dilemma issues concerning WW2 via Ning.

• Future scenario creating and arguing for relevance.

• Home paging home town historically

• Blog reflections project logg booking

Concluding remarks

• Most common practices are internet search practices and presentation software, some examples of blogs, wikis and digital tools, some creative multimedia, filming, game making etc.

• 11/33 presentations transformative (less or more)

• Transformative practices means restructuring and more distinct didactic rethinking, more challenges – less ”successful”?