McKay School of Education > Alumni > Stir Up Your Professional Side

Faculty Research and Related Readings

Research:  To Inform as Well as Reform

Applying the results of  research in one's instruction or administration can be challenging. Those who desire to do so should undersand that research has a variety of goals. The general goal may be to add to the body of knowledge if research is not yet applicable to practicioners. The Alumni Website presents a wide range of research and other articles both to inform  McKay School alumni and to invigorate their practice if applicable.

Diversity: An Important Area of Research

Every day educators interact with a diversity of cultures, learning styles, individual personalities and educational philosophies. The David O. McKay School of Education is dedicated to preparing its graduates in all disciplines to work effectively in a diverse society and to promote respect for individual differences.

To read the official statement of the BYU Educator Preparation Program click on "Valuing Diversity, Aiming for Unity."

Issues on diversity in education can be explored in depth by visiting the Diversity Website located at http://education.byu.edu/diversity.

Technology and Teaching

Andrew S. Gibbons, Chair of the Department of Instructional Psychology and Technology, elaborated on the use of technology in the teaching process.  In an article titled, "More Than a Computer: the Technology of Instruction", he wrote the following:

"A definition for technology might be 'the capture, storage, transfer, and transformation of natural energies and information to achieve human purposes.' Since instruction is a purposeful human activity, the same principle applies: human teachers harness, enlist, divert, and transform the ever-present natural energies of learning in order to influence the knowledge, values, and actions of others. Instruction is technological in its very nature.

This idea clashes with the popular notion that modern instruction simply applies scientific knowledge to bring about learning. The educational enterprise has been under way since Adam and Eve, but today's science hasn't always been available. In its absence, teachers and instructional designers have proceeded anyway, informed by the best knowledge and sources of the day. All designed instruction, therefore, embodies a mixture of practical and scientific wisdom.

The unique perspectives here are (1) that instruction is a technological enterprise, (2) that the technology of instruction can be carried out without modern hardware or software inventions, and (3) that this view best typifies the phrase 'instructional technology.'  Just as people wrote books before the days of the word processor and the high-volume printing press, teachers from any age could teach without hardware and software devices. This is not to say that technology can't assist instruction, but emphasizing instructional technology does refocus our attention back to the essentials of powerful instruction. High tech or not, all instruction involves the application of some kind of technology, and that means something other than just computers and software.

With this in mind, let's consider some of the less visible technologies we use to promote learning but may not often think of as technologies. I will describe four: social means, teacher skill, spiritual sources, and hardware/software assistance. First, however, I want to emphasize that human learning is a constant, ongoing process. There exists in some a subtle but harmful misconception that teachers turn the learning processes on and off. Remember the irrigation metaphor-teachers only influence the flow and direction of the natural energies of learning. They do not control them." 

Link to Learn more about social means, teacher skill, spiritual sources and hardware/software assistance.

Gadgets and Gizmos: Digital Native or Digital Immigrant

Roxann Johnson from the McKay School Public Relations Office spoke of the emerging digital age we now live in:

"According to Delly Tamer, CEO of LetsTalk, more than 200 million people in the U.S. now have cell phones. That’s
a lot of ringtones. For the average person, use of technical gadgets is now a way of life. Most people have a computer
in their home. Wireless “hot spots” are popping up in grocery stores to accommodate laptops, iPhones, and personal digital
assistants (PDA). Words like blogging, podcast, and Web 2.0 are being dropped into conversations with the assumption that
everyone knows what the terms mean. In reality, many adults over 25 may not know the terms or the technology they represent.
Many adults feel like they are playing digital catch-up. On the other hand, youth live technology. They are creating
entire vocabularies for text messaging. Children routinely mention TiVo in the same sentence as their favorite show.
Interactive video games played with out-of-state opponents are routine. Sometimes the term digital age doesn’t seem strong
enough to address the impact that technology gadgets have had on the life of an average young person." 

Link to read the rest of this article and figure out where you are in the digital revolution.