Module 5 EDU 776: Educational Technology and Research
I took some time to read through and process the research and data from Project Tomorrow's Speak Up report. I specifically chose the 2021 report entitled Empowering and Engaging Student Voice to Create Equity in Education. I found the data rather eye opening about how students perceived the remote learning experience compared to how principals and district leaders interpreted it. One staggering finding was that 90% of principals claimed that the reason that students did not like virtual learning and were not engaged was that virtual learning did not promote enough social interaction with their friends. In contrast, when students were asked only 56% found that to be true, most of them interacted with their social group via social media platforms regularly (p.17). The longing for interaction perhaps was something an older, less technologically advanced age group was projecting onto this younger Gen Z group.
Yet another eye opening piece of information, seen in the chart above, was that regardless of whether students were fully remote, hybrid, or in person full time last year during Covid, it did not change their view in the statement, "I am interested in what I am learning in school" which stayed in the low 40s for all three categories. Students were just as engaged or disengaged whether they were online or not.
What was very sad to see was the data from the chart below about how students felt about school. Our students of color almost across the board felt less engaged, and less cared about compared to their white counterparts. This did not surprise me, but it saddened me and stiffened by resolve to continue to work to improve the learning conditions of our students of color.
I also conducted a deep dive of the Pew Research Center's Teens, Social Media, and Technology 2018 and their report What We Know About Gen Z So Far. This research had the opposite effect on my psyche. I'm really looking forward to a nation transformed by Generation Z. In almost all areas, Gen Z are more politically and socially progressive and see racial diversity as a good thing and less likely to think that the United States is somehow superior to other nations.
One example of this is their perception of gender neutral pronouns. As we make a larger push at my school to ask students for their preferred pronouns and create a more inclusive space, it's good to know that Gen Zers are going to have an easier time adapting to this change compared to generations before them. This is evident by the chart below which illustrates that Gen Zers are more likely to know someone with a gender neutral pronoun compared to the boomers who are about the retire from teaching.
However, teens also expressed concerns over the effect that social media was having on people their age. Although they are more connected to the world around them than any other generation, technology does not come without struggles. One in four teens expressed that social media had a negative effect on them with issues like cyber bulling, having a unrealistic view of others, and a major distraction. I think this is important to remember when discussing the advantages to technology. Yes, technology is awesome, but teaching digital literacy and digital citizenship is critical if we want every generation to have a good experience online.
Hi Kassandra!
ReplyDeleteI loved and echo your positivity about Gen Z and how as a generation they are aware and inclusive. As a literacy teacher, I am always picky, in a good way I'd like to think, about selecting diverse and socially and culturally relevant texts. One area that I'm specifically working on right now is read aloud choices with characters that use they/them pronouns. This year, I am teaching my first (openly) non-binary student who uses they/them pronouns. The rest of my students are wonderful, inclusive, and respectful of their pronouns, and I really love the way that it's not a big deal at all (since it shouldn't be) in our room. I love how their generation is breaking down walls and stereotypes and I think *some* credit to that goes to Millennials for helping to educate Gen Z to do so.
So much to unpack with research! Remote learning wasn't 'worse' for all students- some actually flourished. Your statistic about how being remote didn't affect student levels of engagement is one of the findings we need to pay more attention to- it says a lot about the way content is presented to them. I echo the positives of Gen Z! They are a fun group to talk about!
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ReplyDeleteHi Kassandra,
ReplyDeleteI feel like last year wa such a weird school year. I find it interesting that groups of students in this area were not engaged in remote learning because of their peers. I tried so hard to get them engaged with each other, but it just did not pan out for me. For me, this was the most frustrating part of remote learning. Many of my students are students of color so it is disheartening to see that they felt not as engaged and as if their teachers did not care for them. This is difficult for me since I try to make a connecting with all the students Interact with. You never know when you will be the one educator who will make the difference in their life.
-Katie McBride
Kassandra, this was a very interesting blog to read. I was really drawn to the part when teens expressed the negative impacts of social media. It's great that we can be so connected and that we have so much technology at our finger tips, but I do see these negative impacts. Even as an adult, I have to remind myself that there are a lot of unrealistic views on the internet! You did a nice job on breaking everything down.
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