Abstract
A great irony in this age of information technologies is that communication skills for many people have atrophied. Students take low levels of communication and high levels of information overload for granted. This state of affairs has dire consequences for education, where clear, cogent communication is a prerequisite to learning. While it is tempting to “get with the times” by reducing communication to brief, sloppy exchanges, our challenge as teachers is to contradict these trends by modeling formal communication and information skills. This chapter begins with a description of an effective teacher to remind us that teaching involves a wide range of dispositions, knowledge, and skills. The remainder of the chapter focuses on demonstrations, lesson planning, and instructional objectives. Lesson plans and objectives are fundamental tools for demonstrating the applications, explanations, and implications of technologies to your students. Demonstrations are the single most effective method for technology teachers. Organization and communication are the keys to effective demonstrations. The intent of this chapter is to provide you with the instructional tools that ground the practice of teaching technology studies. Communication, demonstrations, and lesson planning. These are the tools that will help you to immerse yourself in the craft of teaching. Recalling the model of reflective practice explained in the preface, this book takes the form of cycles that begin with you as a teacher. Over the first four chapters, you will be challenged to identify with certain instructional practices and techniques, and to choose among those with which you most identify. This chapter provides the tools for scaffolding a wide range of curriculum and instructional dispositions, knowledge, and skills. The operative word in this chapter is practice. Practice, practice, practice!