Mrs Gren, Reading in the Science Classroom

In the 1990s YouTube became available as a teaching tool. The US Military was quick to seize upon this new facility when giving instruction in the use of sophisticated weaponry such as missile launchers. Military instructors resorted to this method because, it was argued, many enlisted me lacked the literacy skills needed to read instruction manuals. US football coaches abandoned the whiteboard in favour of using videos when discussing field tactics claiming young players turned off the minute a coach picked up a whiteboard marker or piece of chalk. It’s impossible to accurately assess if, during the 1990s, there was a real decline in literacy skills or attention spans. Either way, videos now play a large part in academic instruction. I’ve witnessed its use in after-lunch classes, where students put on their headphones, sit quietly for twenty minutes and watch the screen. This silent disco of a lesson provides a way to get students on task but it avoids the very real need to put written texts in front of students. Texts which they must process as they strengthen their comprehension skills. In addition to the video, teachers reported using this task to ensure the detailed concepts of MRS GREN are being learned.