Constructivist/Constructionist Theories of Learning

Constructivism/Constructionism Theories of Learning:

The schools I teach at are big fans of this learning method. Most of our teachers use in one way or another during the school year. It comes up most often in the form of projects and presentations. I have to admit that I am also a big fan of this method as well. I believe most teachers would agree that creating finished projects and presentations helps students use higher levels of thinking and creates more connections in their minds. I think another important factor is that when students are able to show what they have learned, they are motivated to learn more. Positive reinforcement creates a greater desire to learn more, and instills confidence in a students abilities.

Aside from the idea of creating GIS maps that I mentioned in my discussion post, I am a big fan of PowerPoint presentations that were created by the students. Instead of having the students create entire presentations, I usually assign them only one or two slides, and have them work as individuals or in pairs. One of the aspects of their slides must be how it is connected to the other slides that are being created. Then, when they are all put together, we teach each other the lesson. I think this helps the students in many ways. First, they can be proud that they have contributed to the overall presentation in a positive manner. In addition, they quickly learn how important their obligation is to the other classmates to do their work so there is not a gap in the information. Second, it helps the students see the overall picture of a concept or lesson. Finally, having all the slides be related to each other in one way or another is a great way to help students understand connectivity, or causes and effects.

While creating the slides, students are often introduced to entirely new concepts. Before they can share them with everyone else, they need to use assimilation and accommodation techniques to understand the information well enough to teach it to others

Cognitive Learning Methods

Cognitive learning theories and information processing seem to be the next step up from behaviorism and information storage.

Cognitive learning concerns the storage of information in long-term memory along with the ability to retrieve and apply that information properly.

The ability to store and retrieve information in long-term memory relies upon a student’s ability to make many, varied connections between prior knowledge or experiences and new knowledge and experiences.

It appears that the more social or cultural connections a student has to the material being taught, the more likely it is they will retain and apply the new information.

Here is the difference between cognitive and behaviorist learning methods. Cognitive learning methods seek out personal connections between the material and the student. This may not be as efficient as behaviorism, but it appears to create a stronger mental bond with less familiar and more complex materials.

One of the cornerstones of cognitive learning is the construction of little pieces of information into larger concepts. A common belief is that a learner can only process and transfer to long-term memory a limit of seven pieces of information Therefore, in order to teach higher level information, the student must process the seven pieces of information and synthesize them into larger concepts.

The use of technology is a great way to create a wider variety of connections between prior knowledge and new information.

Behavioralism in Practice

Hello fellow bloggers,

I had some technical difficulties with posting- accidentally posted to the wrong blog!
Here are a few of my thoughts on behaviorist learning methods and the use of technology in the classroom.

First of all, as I mentioned in the discussion posting, I completely disagree with the idea that behaviorist methods are antiquated and have no place in today's classroom. I teach elementary school age children, and I actually believe that for the majority of the subjects I teach, behaviorist methods are possibly the best methods. At the very least, they are a major ingredient in the combination of instructional methods.

Behaviorist methods are the most effecient way to lay down a foundation of basic information to build off of. In elementary school people sometimes take for granted that a student can read or do simple math. If they lack these skills, behaviorist methods are a great way to help them learn them. If they lack these skills, it is impossible to reach for loftier goals in the future.

It is important to recognize the use of behaviorist methods in establishing classroom discipline, and individual expectations of effort, attitude, and quality of work.

Of course, educators certainly cannot fully rely on behaviorist methods to teach. If they do, they will never be able to go beyond a basic understanding of simple subjects. In order to fully address the needs of every student, and to lead them in the direction of higher learning and higher order thinking, teachers must use a variety of methods.

I believe that technology and behaviorist learning methods are a good match. Most of us use computer programs that we learned using behaviorist methods, like tutorials. In addition, the computational and statistical nature of computers is a good fit with the desire to assess, monitor, and reward progress towards goals.

However, just like traditional teaching environments, it is important to recognize that behaviorist methodology in combination with technology can only take a student so far, at which point it is necessary to move away from behaviorist methods, not move away from technological assistance.

unpacking

Reflection

I have learned to relax and ride the technology wave in my Impact of Technology on Education, Work, and Society class. My focus has been on teaching informational literacy this year. I now know to speak to Online Safety regularly in the class and I have focused on basic research skills and PowerPoint this year. Instead of assigning the students a state to present on, as I have done in the past, I have opened it up to open-ended inquiry based on each child’s interests. I think it is important for students to enjoy creating a multi-media project in third grade but this year I am more comfortable with having the students lead the topic choices with a more open-ended learning and sharing because I now know that student choice and self-direction are critical to the process. Deciphering what internet tools work best for which kids is an ongoing process and I am still learning how to evaluate these. I am in a good habit of adding my essential sites to my webpage and have the kids use it in class to get them in the habit for home use.
It is important to me that the students have a sense of healthy skepticism about information and people online. I see the need to make sure that they are exposed to the idea that information needs to be verified. I had my third graders look up the “tree octopus” which led some to realize that the animal is a hoax, despite the beautiful webpage and links. I feel that this class has confirmed for me the need to embrace and be an advocate for making technology a high priority in education. Speedy access, shared lesson plans, and updated equipment are necessary.
I now know that the student should be at the center of the learning process and this is made easier with the level of engagement and individualization that is possible with the vast resources including games, videos, and blog expression that can increase the learning. My class has been a big reminder that kids thrive in creativity and expression and technology has immense possibilities for both.
My perspective on this learning process is changing as I am still learning with my class as I continue to experiment with new technologies and modes of expression with them.
Technology can be a big piece of the puzzle in providing an unlimited knowledge base as well as a chance to be a critical thinker, a creative thinker, and have fun all in one fell swoop. I have gone from being intimidated by the idea of making a podcast to popping out a g-cast in a moment’s notice! My overarching goal is to be a facilitator of learning to adults- by finding and sharing new applications with co teachers and by creating and contributing to professional wikis. I also want to give my primary age students the foundations for informational literacy and making learning relevant and fun with the tools available to us. One goal I want to commit to is to continue to take advantage of training and exposure to quality technology tools, contacts, and opportunities. Our state of South Carolina is lucky to have many initiatives and resources for technology and one is ETV, our public television and radio endowment. In addition to many webpages with standards-based links and games and streaming video on thousands of topics, they offer free training for teachers on a variety of technology applications and I plan to attend the next one on March 17th. I am also thrilled to continue working on my master’s degree through Walden. My favorite thing I learned to do in this class, subscribing to reader feeds, has transformed the way I gather new websites, games, and activities for my class and school. Now I get new ideas and premium sites delivered to me. This makes it so much more efficient and I have been able to share many ideas with all types of teachers from the school- from ESOL to literacy, science, and math coaches.
My primary long-term goal for transforming my classroom into a student-centered, tech-savvy classroom is to incorporate blogging and webpages into the lives of each student. Although I have utilized Thinkquest.org in the past and it was a wonderful tool, I am going to make it a goal to use this site on a deeper level. I want to interact with students online, allow them to take surveys they have created, and post work that they choose that is important to them. I am going to allot more class time for this and emphasize student expression online.
Through the readings and videos of this class, I have realized the potential of Web 2.0 for increasing the individuality and creativity of the students’ work. Courses like the one I am completing now have pushed me to try many new things like wiki’s and podcasting that I would have been reticent to try otherwise. I will now work to incorporate these tools into my classroom and make them easily accessible to all teachers in my district. Fortunately, our district allows Teachertube, Blogspot, and access to wikis. We also have websites for each teacher to blog and share information. I plan to begin utilizing all of these resources to the best of my ability while continuing to reflect and adjust on my teaching students to use these tools in the most effective manner. I will begin to make utilizing these tools a weekly habit.
While comparing my answers at the end of the course to my initial checklist, I noticed some evolution in my level of understanding and reflection about how to gradually hand the responsibility of learning over to the student. I have begun to use technology to create an environment that in inquiry-based, creative, and interactive with the use of new Web 2.0 capabilities. I am excited to continue and expand my efforts in this area and create an exciting and relevant classroom environment for my students.

Mississippian Era

Today I filmed one of my groups with a flip camera. They had been able to come up with a skit about the Mississippian Indian Era of the Southeast. The kids had a great time writing skits and incorporating the main ideas of their assigned time periods.

Happy Valentines Day-

Enjoy a reading of "Somebody Loves You Mr. Hatch" or "Romeow and Drooliet" with your students. Best on the IWB:
http://www.storylineonline.net/index2.html

"Sophies' Masterpiece is another good one for me to show- as then I can keep myself from crying while reading.




Here is an interesting Mr. Hatch activity that shows stakeholder viewpoints:
http://www.geocities.com/mrmooresclassroom/dramamrhatch.html