Literature Review
Student Tech Teams in Middle Schools
Literature Review
Nicole L. Lipps
Applied Digital Learning, Lamar University
EDLD 5305 Disruptive Innovation in Technology
Dr. Susan Bedard
November 20, 2022
Despite the obscene list of duties and obligations that teachers face, most teachers try to incorporate technology in their classrooms. While teacher access to technology has drastically increased over the last two decades, the support networks needed to make technology work successfully in schools have yet to follow suit. When classroom technology support is nonexistent, teachers who have invested precious time to develop activities using technology are less likely to continue to invest their energies if they cannot count on their computers, laptops, tablets, and software to run smoothly. If parents have conversations with their children and sense little to no technology use in the classroom, they will be less apt to support district bonds necessary for the continuation or expansion of the district's technology program (Tranchina, 2021, Van Eck et al., 2001). This literature review will explore how participation in student technology teams can significantly impact students' lives by enhancing student leadership capabilities, increasing student autonomy, and student engagement while instilling skills necessary for the 21st-century world of work (Tranchina, 2021).
LEADERSHIP
Dweck’s research highlights the past woes of 20th-century self-serving, fixed-mindset executives that used intimidation and coercion to drive companies into the ground (Dweck, 2008). Leadership in the 21st century no longer corresponds to the performance of a single individual but rather collaborative energies moving toward the future, more about inspiration than coercion and extrinsic motivation (Bowman, 2013). It is essential, therefore, to instill principles and values linked to leadership at a young age. Thus, educators must be facilitators guiding and supporting their students as they undertake leadership roles to build confidence, thoughtfulness, and empathy, which are capacities leading to mental strength. (Grigoropoulos, 2020)
Being True to Oneself Matters
Before one can lead others, one first has to lead oneself (Bowman, 2013).
For middle school students, leadership development begins with discovering of self and their “whys.” Who they are, what you care about, and why they do what you do. Then, to lead others, students must believe that they matter, that what they do in class, school, and community counts for something, and that their words and actions can move and inspire those in their company. Inspiration is a powerful human force, for those in its presence possess a deep purpose greater than themselves as they seek to make a difference in the lives of others (Bowman, 2013).
Purposeful Interactions Matter
With the constant bombardment of information and social media, the fragmented reality of middle school students highlights an opportunity for students to learn to lead through purposeful social interaction. Interpersonal interactions underscore a fundamental leadership skill: being present to others, listening intently to their concerns and issues, and advancing the other person’s interests through dialogue. Middle school students, as serving leaders, have an opportunity to connect to the lives of others in their quest to “give something back” (Bowman, 2013).
For middle school students, being perceived as a trustworthy leader begins with cultivating respect for oneself and opening up to purposeful social interactions for the common good of their classmates, teachers, and community (Bowman, 2013). The role of educators is to function as mentors and facilitators to guide and support their student leaders to reach maturity and grow to be kind, compassionate, and thoughtful individuals (Grigoropoulos, 2020).
AUTONOMY
According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy article on Autonomy in Moral and Political Philosophy, “individual autonomy is an idea that is generally understood to refer to the capacity to be one’s own person, to live one’s life according to reasons and motives that are taken as one’s own and not the product of manipulative or distorting external forces” (Christman, 2020). In essence, autonomy is the urge to be causal agents in our lives and act in harmony with ourselves. In the classroom, a lack of autonomy and lack of acknowledgment of student talents and interests can manifest as student disengagement (Alley, 2019).
Student Disengagement
Transitioning to middle school is difficult for many students and marks a decline in academic performance, motivation, feelings of competence, and relationships with peers and teachers. Some researchers estimate 40% of students show signs of being disengaged (i.e., apathy, not trying, not paying attention, and being uninvolved). Researchers attribute much of this decline in motivation to instructional practices and school environments that are not aligned with student's interests and talents (Alley, 2019).
Interest and Talents
Educators and administrators need to consider ways to foster middle school students’ sense of autonomy by developing curricular activities and tasks that acknowledge the interests and talents of our middle school students. Wrahatnolo’s research spoke of student's demands for intellectually challenging real-world work that they care about, which included (1) analyzing and solving problems, communicating ideas and information, planning and organizing activities, and collaborating with others; (2) fostering confidence, optimism, and commitment through personal excellence; (3) becoming confident, creative, and productive in using the new technology and to understand the effect of technology on society (Wrahatnolo & Munoto, 2018). To develop this environment, teachers must create a safe space for students that includes joint decision-making opportunities and positive relationships with peers and their teachers (Alley, 2019). Additionally, school leaders should offer diverse extracurricular activities for students and regularly adjust these offerings with the ever-changing educational, social, and technological landscape (Tranchina, 2021).
Sense of Belonging
Students' emotional reactions to teachers, classmates, academics, and school is tied to a sense of belonging and feeling valued and important (Alley, 2019). This may be due to the understanding that humans need to form and maintain strong, stable interpersonal relationships, as Baumeister and Leary (1995) established in their belongingness hypothesis. Students’ sense of belonging is positively associated with their health, social well-being, and academic achievement. Likewise, students’ sense of belonging is negatively associated with dangerous, at-risk behavior such as smoking, drinking, and the tendency to be absent from school (Tranchina, 2021). Regarding extracurricular activities and clubs, the belongingness hypothesis suggests that students who join a club or extracurricular activity benefit from simply being group members. By participating in a group, students experience positive emotions, which is one possible solution to the problem of low student engagement in school (Tranchina, 2021).
Schools should consider leveraging students’ interests and talents as digital natives by creating student technology leadership clubs. These clubs can improve student autonomy and increase student engagement while providing much-needed support to school technology programs (Tranchina, 2021).
21ST CENTURY SKILLS
The invention of the steam engine led to factories and the dawn of the first industrial revolution. The second industrial revolution arrived with the invention of mass production and assembly lines. The third industrial revolution resulted from computers and the digital revolution. We are at the dawn of what some call the "Fourth Industrial Revolution" ( 4IR). Emerging technologies, such as robotics, genetic modifications, driverless vehicles, artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), nanotechnology, 3D printing, and biotechnology, will again revolutionize how we live and work. As reported in 2016 by World Economic Forum, 65% of children entering elementary school will have jobs that do not yet exist (Lewis, 2020). Because the transformative nature of technology will lead to jobs with new skill structures yet to be determined, it is impossible to identify specific skill sets (Wrahatnolo & Munoto, 2018, Lewis, 2020). Research suggests that robots will replace low-skilled repetitive tasks in the workforce, but the need for a set of critical skills due to the changing nature of work (Lewis, 2020).
Critical Skills
Although we cannot predict what skill will be needed in future decades, the common theme is an increased need for skills that cannot be replaced by robots. For example, AI and robots may be better than humans at making specific data-related decisions, but they cannot explain their reasoning. In 2018, the World Bank Group identified advanced cognitive skills, socio-behavioral skills, and skills predictive of adaptability as three critical skills for human workers in the twenty-first-century (Lewis, 2020). The table below highlights some of the subcategories of these critical skills, as presented by Lewis (2020).
Table 1
Critical Skills Needed in the 21st Century
Advanced Cognitive SkillsSocial And Emotional SkillsAdaptabilitycritical thinking problem-solvingdecision-makingreasoning creativity teamwork collaboration curiosity empathy conflict resolutioninnovationemotional intelligence (EI)flexibilityself-efficacy
Listening and Communication
One skills component that needs to be taught and developed is listening. Without good quality reciprocal listening, successful communication is virtually impossible. Without communication, there is no productive collaboration, practical problem-solving, or positive movement toward a shared vision. (Grigoropoulos, 2020)
Social scientists say we now live in a “flat world” since human relationships have been “flattened” through technology. Our diverse nation and this “flat world” demand strong abilities to collaborate and communicate; therefore, students will need a broad and expanding array of communication skills to be successful in a 21st-century world of work (Deering et al., 2016). As mentioned in the leadership section of this literature review, a core student skill involves being present to others, listening intently to their concerns and issues, and advancing the other person’s interests through dialogue. Creating opportunities for middle school students to feel a need to dialogue regarding common issues enables students to experience the dynamics of leadership firsthand (Bowman, 2013).
Today’s students have no memory of the world before access to their digital devices or the internet. They live in a world that is changing as fast as they are growing. Thus, as educators, we must prepare students for the realities of living their lives as continuous learners, gaining skills and competencies to prepare themselves and others for the unknown future (Grigoropoulos, 2020, Wrahatnolo & Munoto, 2018).
STUDENT TECHNOLOGY TEAMS
As reported by Van Eck (2001), the start of formal student technology teams can be traced to the spring of 1989 when Mike Bookey, a parent of a middle-school student in the Issaquah School District, agreed to help his daughter's school with a computer problem. Issaquah is a suburb of Seattle, Washington, home to many families working for Microsoft and other high-tech companies. Yet the schools were, according to Bookey, reminded him more of his 1960s ventures into Communist China, like "a tribe cut off from the outside world for so long that they didn't know about telephones, voice mail, computers, e-mail, television, Internet and other tools of the information age" (Van Eck et al., 2001).
Unlikely Team Members
One false assumption about creating student technology teams is that they require a highly skilled corps of students. Student technology teams are most successful when they are open to all students, especially students with little technical skill, lower socioeconomic status, academic and behavioral issues, or who are marginalized or feel alienated (Jansen & Kiefer, 2020). As noted in Demski’s research (2010), "We're not screening students for their knowledge, necessarily--although that's a plus--but for their hunger to learn and grow both individually and collectively," says Katherine Flori, the school's Mouse Squad (student technology team) faculty adviser. "I normally select the kids who are having academic deficiencies or behavior issues," she says. "The kids who are technology savvy have the technology at home; they're really good in academics, so they really don't need my assistance or the program itself. Many kids also have behavior management problems, so the technology calms them down and keeps them busy."
When students participate in the student technology team, they will likely learn from each other and from the training they receive. Students who enter the program later are trained faster and often "invisibly" by their peers (Van Eck et al., 2001). Students also develop an increased sense of belonging because the student technology team teacher values them as honest, dependable, and committed to their success by investing time to train and support the team members (Jansen & Kiefer, 2020).
Through the student technology team, we can also combat the digital divide faced by students with little access to technology. The divide is not just who has and does not have access to technology but the gap between students with access to assistance, knowledge, and productive digital habits and those without. Three-quarters of children in the United States have access to mobile devices at home (Roswell et al., 2017). However, Shyam (2020) has contended that many students have access to physical technology but have few opportunities in class to fully experience and engage in online interactions that foster critical thinking about their lessons and the world around them (Shyam, 2020, Roswell et al., 2017).
The Benefit of Student Technology Teams
Reverse Mentoring. According to a Generation YES survey, 95 percent of the teachers said that working with a student was a good way for them to learn about technology. In fact, more than 95 percent of them also said they preferred working with students rather than getting trained by adults (Demski, 2010).
Autonomy and Ownership. Members of student technology teams feel empowered to try and solve issues or reach out to someone who can, resulting in minimal computer downtime. As a result, teachers are more accepting of technology in the classroom (Demski, 2010). Teachers in Tranchina’s (2021) research explained detailed encounters of student technology members stepping up to help in class during regular instructional activities when help is often needed most. Research and experience indicate that teacher training and technology support are often best when they are ongoing, job-embedded, and within a teacher’s classroom (Tranchina, 2021).
Improved Culture and Sense of Belonging. Santiago (2016) commented that members of his student technology team greeted each other like family. As a unit, they wanted to be known as distinguished students who represented the entire school and held each other accountable for the team's success. When younger students struggled academically, older students would tutor the younger ones, and conversations about math and science among them were the norm. Tranchina (2021) identified a sense of belonging as the dominant theme in the data for all student interviews. Student participants cared deeply about having a social group that makes them feel accepted in school. The high frequency of this theme in the transcripts suggested that the sense of belonging was of the utmost importance (Tranchina, 2021)
CONCLUSION
To effectively incorporate technology in the classroom, teachers need embedded and consistent support. Parents need to see their children actively using and benefiting from technology integration if districts expect to receive funding for the continuation or expansion of the district's technology program (Tranchina, 2021, Van Eck et al., 2001). This literature review has explored how participation in student technology teams can significantly impact students' lives by enhancing student leadership capabilities, increasing student autonomy, and student engagement while instilling skills necessary for the 21st-century world of work (Tranchina, 2021).
In summary, student technology teams are the ultimate everybody-wins solution: Schools have a team of eager troubleshooters who work for cheap (free), teachers get job-embedded technical support, and students acquire a foundation of technology skills with academic and real-world benefits.
References
Alley, K. A. (2019) Fostering middle school students’ autonomy to support motivation and engagement, Middle School Journal, 50:3, 5-14, DOI: 10.1080/00940771.2019.1603801
Baumeister, R. F., & Leary, M. R. (1995). The need to belong: desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation. Psychological Bulletin, 117(3).
Bowman, R. F. (2013). Learning leadership skills in middle school. The Clearing House, 86(2), pp. 59–63. http://www.jstor.org.libproxy.lamar.edu/stable/43999318
Christman, J. (2020, June 29). Autonomy in moral and political philosophy. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved November 20, 2022, from https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/autonomy-moral/
Deering, P.D., Martin, K.L., Buelow, S.M., Hoffman, J.T., Cameli, S., Matt Martin, Walker R. E.,& O’Neill, T. B., (2016) Preparing young adolescents for a bright future—right now!, Middle School Journal, 47(1), 19-26, DOI:10.1080/00940771.2016.1059726 https://doi.org/10.1080/00940771.2016.1059726
Demski, J. (2010). They’re taking requests: Student techs command the help desk. T.H.E. Journal, 37(8),36–40. http://thejournal.com/articles/microsites/classroom-magic_10a/theyre-taking-requests-student-techs-command-the-help-desk.aspx
Downes, J. M., Bishop, P. A., & Nagle, J. F. (2017) Tapping the experts in effective practices: Students as educators in middle grades professional development, Middle School Journal, 48(4), 27-35, DOI: 10.1080/00940771.2017.1343057
Dweck, C. S. (2008). Mindset: The new psychology of success. Ballantine Books.
Grigoropoulos, J. E. (2020). How can manifesting leadership skills infused with ethos, empathy, and compassion Better prepare students to assume leadership roles? International Journal of Progressive Education, 16(1), 54–66.
Jansen, K, & Kiefer, S. M. (2020) Understanding brain development: Investing in young adolescents’ cognitive and social-emotional development, Middle School Journal, 51(4), 18-25, DOI: 10.1080/00940771.2020.1787749 https://doi.org/10.1080/00940771.2020.1787749
Lewis, K. (2020). Technology in the workplace: Redefining skills for the 21st century. The Midwest Quarterly, 61(3), 348.
LoBouono, D. L., Leedahl, S. N., & Maiocco, E. (2020). Teaching technology to older adults: Modalities used by student mentors and reasons for continued program participation. Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 46(1), 14-20. DOI: 10.3928/00989134-20191118-02 https://doi.org/10.3928/00989134-20191118-02
Rowsell, J., Morrell, E., & Alvermann, D. E. (2017). Confronting the digital divide: Debunking brave new world discourses. Reading Teacher, 71(2), 157–165.
Santiago, J. (2016). Masters of tech. Literacy Today (2411-7862), 34(3), 12–13.
Shyam, S. (2020). Digital divide: Have’s and have not’s. International Journal of Engineering and Advanced Technology 9(4), 512–515. https://doi.org/10.35940/ijeat.d6737.049420
Tranchina, D. (2021). SWAT team: A student leadership club to support student school connectedness and teacher technology use. Proceedings of the 2021 AERA Annual Meeting. https://doi.org/10.3102/1686882
Van Eck, R., Marvin, E., Burr-McNeal, B., Jones, M., & Lowther, D. (2001). Student technology assistant programs. https://search-ebscohost-com.libproxy.lamar.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=ED470193&site=ehost-live
Wrahatnolo, T., & Munoto. (2018). 21st centuries skill implication on educational system. IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering ; Volume 296, Page (012036) ,; ISSN 1757-8981 1757-899X. https://doi-org.libproxy.lamar.edu/10.1088/1757-899x/296/1/012036