Pedagogy Matters

Here’s an example of effectively combining document cameras with modern pedagogy in the kindergarten classroom. The teacher hoped to further both her “students’ emergent reading skills and motivation for reading, incorporating the Document Camera/LCD projector to help students lead shared reading sessions.”  “The document camera/LCD projector enables the whole class to access the text,” she explained.

According to the teacher, “current best practices highlight the importance of multiple readings of the same text to develop literacy.  Educational experts like Richard Allington identify the need for multiple readings of a text.  Multiple readings of a single text is also a component of the current Close reading technique as a strategy not just for English Language Learners, but all readers, in order to improve fluency and comprehension.” She adds: “Shared reading has long been a part of the balanced literacy approach.”  Here is how she implemented this notion, in her own words:

“First I developed classroom library of emergent readers. I included the parents and students in choosing the texts.  The only guideline was that they could read it completely independently and unsupported.  Last year, I had the same program but when students shared they would merely share the book in read aloud fashion sitting in a chair in front of their peers.  The document camera has allowed the students to lead a shared reading that is more interactive and engages the listeners in the learning.  In this way, students that are less active in borrowing and sharing—the more reluctant readers—become engaged and the students participate in a more reciprocal [way].  I see students questioning more and engaging more than when I had students sharing in only a read aloud format.  The students are not only recognizing more words, they are learning how to question at a literal and inferential level.”

What a formula! Technology + pedagogy = learning success. It’s so simple and powerful!