Digital Didactics in Social Subjects
-work in progress
Linus Henriksson
Matilda Wiklund
Örebro University, Sweden
Background
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In our survey studies social subjects are among the
subjects were most teachers claim to use digital
technology
Not least for social subjects, digital technology poses
possibilities as well as pitfalls
In a Swedish context, digital technology in social studies
seems underexamined
Motivation
This motivates a study of how digital technology (= use of
1:1-computers) is used and understood by teachers in
social subjects
Empirical material
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Open ended survey case reports of successful (as
defined by the answering teachers themselves)
teaching/education with digital technology from 33
teachers of social subjects in Swedish secondary (y 6-9)
and upper secondary schools (Unosuno schools).
Social subjects – social sciences
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These 33 are selected among the 254 survey answering
teachers due to the fact that they describe teaching
within social subjects
Civics, History, Religious studies,Geography
Digital technology in social subjects
”…digital technology use can be seen as itself constituting
a distinct culture that is more congruous with some
subjects than others” […] ”In some subjects … digital
technologies can be seen as battling with existing, deeprooted norms and values while in other subjects they are
more easily assimilated”.
(Selwyn 2011:96)
Subject conceptions and digital
technology use
This guided our interest towards the ways teachers in
social subjects present their teaching practices when using
digital technology and to relate this to subject conceptions
of relevance for social subjects
Social subjects conceptions
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(1) disciplined civic education/ subject of orientation
(2) participatory civic education/ subject of analysis
(3) critical civic education/ subject of discussion
Levinson, Meira (2007; 2012) Odenstad, Christina (2010) m fl.
Objectives
The aim of our study is to find out how the teachers present
the ways in which technology is at work in specific teaching
practices and how this may be related to content, goals and
traditions of these subjects.
Two points of departure
• To what degree can
the different usages
of technology that the
teachers’ present be
said to change
education practices?
• Enhancement
• Transformation
• Which different
subject conceptions
are actualized in the
different usages of
technology that the
teachers’ present?
Social subjects conceptions and digital
technology use
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How congrous can social subjects, given the teachers’
presentations and the different conceptions, be said to
with the usage of digital technology?
Can digital technologies be seen as battling with existing
norms and values in social subjects, given the teachers’
presentations and the different subject conceptions?
Enhancing or transforming practices
• Using presentation
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software for
presentations, teachers
and student examples
Internet data sources
Communication via
platform
Projecting student
materials
Google earth/Globalis
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Blogging for student
discussions
Presentation software
collaboratively used
Student filming
Wiki/forum publications of
student results
Student creating
computer games
Subject of orientation
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Didactic focus on students aquiring factual subject knowledge for
orientation
Two structuring principles
Teacher centered frontal teaching: human right project
presentation of overview of different living conditions/
presentation of subject moments on platform
Student active information search (more common): fictive travel
through the US, news show filming, collecting online information
about the vikings for computer game making
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Subject of analysis
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Didactic focus on comparison, connections, relations, pro-con
practices.
Structuring principle: teacher introduced comparisons between
different phenomena with internet search, tools and/or presentation
software.
Comparison of different historical olympic games from a list of
aspects.
Comparison of different parts of the world concerning given
factors such as economy, water supply, energy…
Arabic spring comparing present and history
Cause and effect questions about migration
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Subject of discussion
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Didactic focus on students expressing opinions and motivate these.
Mostly involving internet search and/or presentation software or
online tools.
Blogging about income differentiation after youtube input.
Discussing dilemma issues concerning WW2 via Ning.
Future scenario creating and arguing for relevance.
Home paging home town historically
Blog reflections project logg booking
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Concluding remarks
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Most common practices are internet search practices
and presentation software, some examples of blogs,
wikis and digital tools, some creative multimedia, filming,
game making etc.
11/33 presentations transformative (less or more)
Transformative practices means restructuring and more
distinct didactic rethinking, more challenges – less
”successful”?