A meta-analysis of the effectiveness of teaching and learning

Overall I found this article very hard to follow. All of the numbers started to run together as I read. What I was able to gather was that the research seems to support my viewpoint that technology for technologies sake is not an effective way to teach. When technology is used to support or enhance an already good lesson, students learn more.

Principles of Teaching/Learning

Section #5 of Teaching Principles, "Effective teaching involves recognizing and overcoming our expert blind spots", was the part that I related to the most. I often find that I cover material too quickly. I tend to assume that my students have more background knowledge and abilities than they do. This was one reason why I chose to teach high school instead of lower grades - I felt that I wouldn't need to do as much step-by-step instruction and hand holding. This is something that I continue to struggle with today. I am always worried that step-by-step instruction will bore the students and I will lose the ability to capture their interest. It is often hard to find that middle ground that provides ample direction without being too elementary; how do you adequately explain without boring them to death. What do you do with the students who grasp the concepts more quickly and want to move on?