The Role of Digital Technologies in Deeper Learning

• In Event: Deeper Learning: How Internships, Civics, and Digital Teaching Platforms Can Prepare Youth for Adult Life

Abstract

A wealth of recent research has shown that, in order to become truly well prepared to succeed in college and careers, young people require not just high-level academic knowledge and skills, but also a range of inter- and intra-personal competencies. These include the capacities to regulate and reflect on one’s own learning, to solve complex problems, to participate effectively in teams, and to persist in the face of challenging tasks. These “deeper learning” skills are increasingly required in a globalized workforce characterized by its diversity, dynamism, and interconnectedness.

This paper/presentation argues that digital technology will be indispensible to the effort to scale up deeper learning in the nation’s high schools. It also argues that to realize the vast potential of digital tools, school reformers will have to rethink their own assumptions about the purpose of investing in such resources. The types of deeper learning that youth most need can only be promoted if the systems, officials, and educators charged with promoting it also engage in deeper analyses of the purposes, practices, and intended outcomes of technology-based interventions.

The author/presenter and colleagues recently completed an exhaustive survey of the empirical research into digital technology’s impact on teaching. They found that technology has been used mainly to automate conventional models of teaching rather than to empower students and engage them in deeper learning. It is no surprise, then, that the results of such interventions have been generally disappointing. The evidence suggests that school and district leaders should think carefully before investing in expensive new devices and software, especially ones that do little more than convert textbooks, worksheets, and rote activities into digital form. At the same time, the research also shows that when technology has been designed to support effective instruction—especially to provide opportunities for deeper learning—then it does tend to yield powerful benefits, suggesting that digital tools can serve as effective vehicles for large-scale school improvement.

This paper/presentation highlights two technology-based instructional strategies that have been found to be particularly effective: 1) using digital teaching platforms and 2) teaching with immersive authentic simulations. After explaining the key components of those strategies and what they look like in practice, the analysis concludes by recommending the establishment of three priorities: 1) staying focused on reducing achievement gaps; 2) building professional capacity to use digital tools effectively; and 3) investing in research and development. Each of these strategies and priorities is grounded in research and targets the products and processes articulated in deeper learning initiatives.

Author

• Christopher J. Dede, Harvard University