Theories of Critical Thinking

As ideas and concepts in education change and adapt over time, technology must change and adapt too. Technology usage in the classroom is at an all-time high right now. While I haven’t had my own classroom to experience this in, I witnessed it while student teaching and continue experiencing it through many of my colleagues. Students all have different learning needs, and it is up to educators to do their very best to meet those needs. For many students, having access to adequate resources can make all the difference in the world. Lucky for today’s educators, attaining those resources is arguably easier now than it’s ever been with the surge in classroom technology.

All educators are aware of Bloom’s Taxonomy and its importance in our field. Even as vital as Bloom’s Taxonomy is on education as a whole, it has even adapted over time to keep up with the needs of students and educators. In 2001, Anderson and Krathwohl revised Bloom’s Taxonomy to not only fit into modern education better, but also to attempt to make the process clearer to those it applies to. With modern education adapting to more outcome-focused objectives, Anderson and Krathwohl felt that Bloom’s Taxonomy should follow suit (Huitt, 2011). So, they adjusted the level names from nouns to action verbs, as well as switched the highest two levels of the model (Huitt, 2011). As a side note, the most modern national music standards also use action verbs very similar to those brought forth by Anderson and Krathwohl (NAfME standards: creating, responding, performing, and connecting).

Educators and technology professionals in schools are understanding the importance of technology skills play in their students’ success, not just in the school but in their futures. Common Core State Standards Initiative highlights on the importance of adequate technology skills, stating that these skills are imperative “to be ready for college, workforce training, and life in a technological society” (Hobbs, 2011). If students do not gain adequate training at this point in their lives, they are bound to be behind in whatever their futures hold. I was also intrigued with the section of “Empowering Learner with Digital and Media Literacy” where Hobbs discusses the reality that simply providing the latest digital resources for students is not enough. The resources must be understood well by students and teachers must have a solid plan of incorporating the technology into their lessons for it to be effective (Hobbs, 2011). While it is a benefit to get the latest and greatest stuff when you can, educators need to go through a thorough training before teaching the students how to use it (Hobbs, 2011).

When I become a band director, I plan to incorporate music technology into my program. I believe this will open up new opportunities for my students who hope to pursue a career in music. However, I am also aware that music technology only scratches the surface of some programs and digital resources students already use in their other classes. I hope to collaborate with my colleagues and with the other technology professionals in my school to ensure I am incorporating other resources in my classroom that will benefit my students beyond music, and I hope they will consider doing the same in their classrooms.