In this weeks video, Dr. Michael Orey talks about constructivism and constructionism. Constructivism is a theory of knowledge stating that each individual actively constructs his/her own meaning. With this he gives the example of how people perceive a chair. I might have an idea of what a chair is but someone else might see a totally different type of chair than I do. Constructionism is a theory of learning that states people learn best when they build an external artifact or something they can share with others. Here he has a teacher talk about a book report she has assigned her class. The class needs to create projects to go with their book (Laureate, 2009).
The reading out of Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works gives many good examples using constructionism. Many of the examples used Excel spreadsheets with the students to show their external artifact. One example that I liked was the spreadsheet that was created to help a class realize the different ways to save money and the impact on it. The lesson focuses on compounding percentage calculations and exponential patterns (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007). This is a wonderful example that I can implement into my math classrooms to help the students understand these types of calculations. This allows the students to use a hands on approach rather than me lecturing in front of them. They will learn more from the spreadsheet than they will with me standing in front of them and develop their own interpretation.
One project I have incorporated into my classroom that uses the constructionism learning theory would be having the students take a section of the chapter to teach themselves. I have them group into 3-4 students in a group. From there, they are assigned a section of the chapter to create a lesson with. One part of their creation of the lesson is to incorporate some type of technology into it that would allow the other students to be able to participate with. They have fun with this lesson at the same time learning about the subject matter. This project also implements an aspect of constructivism by allowing the students to construct their own meaning of the material to present to the class.
In most classrooms today, constructionism is being implemented more than constructivism. If both are used, they can result in a good effective lesson with students allowing them to learn at their highest potential.
DVD: Laureate Education, Inc. (2009). “Bridging Learning Theory, Instruction, and Technology."
Pitler,H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works. Denver, CO: McRel.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Cognitivism in Practice
Cognitivism is how someone processes information. In the text, Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works, the authors give many good examples of how technology works with cognitive learning.
In Chapter 4, Cues, Questions, and Advance Organizers, the authors start by explaining what the items of the title of this chapter mean. Cues are explicit reminders or hints about what students are about to experience. Questions perform the same function as cues by triggering students' memories and helping them to access prior knowledge (Pitler,Hubbell, Kuhn & Malenoski, 2007). This chapter tells teachers to use more visuals to help the students understand and remember the material being taught. Teachers need to also use organizers to help keep the information in order. If items are just written randomly with out any organization, the students are going to just become confused and not remember a whole lot of what they have been taught. One way to organize it would be to use a mapping tool. The students can see what items connect to each other. Another good technology items to use would be videos and graphs. I know when I teach math, I try to use as many visuals (graphs, charts, etc.) to help the students to not only visualize the material but to help them remember it better. Virtual tours would be a great concept to use for a visual. The students will be able to see first hand what you are talking about without having to step foot near the place. Chapter 6 goes into talking about summarizing and note taking.
I have learned from students coming into my class that they are not taught how to note take in class. There are some technological ways that can help students learn to take notes and keep them organized at the same time. One way mentioned was having the students blog about the information taught to them in class. Blogging is a way for student to not only talk about the information from class but to do some peer to peer teaching. The text talks about an item to help students understand what they are reading that I was not aware of. They talk about an option in Microsoft Word called auto summarizing. This tool allows the student to input the material that they are reading and with a couple of clicks with the mouse, the program summarizes the material for them. One other technological concept on note taking the text mentioned is the mapping tool again. They state that it is a good tool to use in note taking because it keeps things organized. When using the mapping tool, the student can start with the main idea of the material and then branch off of that the supporting details. The mapping tool will then put the information into an outline making it clearer to the student what to write about.
Technology is a very helpful tool in many ways. I find that the applications that this text mentions to help students with note taking, summarizing and organizing are real helpful one. I want to incorporate some of these items into my own classroom this year. I am even going to share some of these options with my colleagues in case they are not aware of them. It can help them help the students understand better and keep themselves organized.
References:
Pitler,H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works. Denver, CO: McRel.
In Chapter 4, Cues, Questions, and Advance Organizers, the authors start by explaining what the items of the title of this chapter mean. Cues are explicit reminders or hints about what students are about to experience. Questions perform the same function as cues by triggering students' memories and helping them to access prior knowledge (Pitler,Hubbell, Kuhn & Malenoski, 2007). This chapter tells teachers to use more visuals to help the students understand and remember the material being taught. Teachers need to also use organizers to help keep the information in order. If items are just written randomly with out any organization, the students are going to just become confused and not remember a whole lot of what they have been taught. One way to organize it would be to use a mapping tool. The students can see what items connect to each other. Another good technology items to use would be videos and graphs. I know when I teach math, I try to use as many visuals (graphs, charts, etc.) to help the students to not only visualize the material but to help them remember it better. Virtual tours would be a great concept to use for a visual. The students will be able to see first hand what you are talking about without having to step foot near the place. Chapter 6 goes into talking about summarizing and note taking.
I have learned from students coming into my class that they are not taught how to note take in class. There are some technological ways that can help students learn to take notes and keep them organized at the same time. One way mentioned was having the students blog about the information taught to them in class. Blogging is a way for student to not only talk about the information from class but to do some peer to peer teaching. The text talks about an item to help students understand what they are reading that I was not aware of. They talk about an option in Microsoft Word called auto summarizing. This tool allows the student to input the material that they are reading and with a couple of clicks with the mouse, the program summarizes the material for them. One other technological concept on note taking the text mentioned is the mapping tool again. They state that it is a good tool to use in note taking because it keeps things organized. When using the mapping tool, the student can start with the main idea of the material and then branch off of that the supporting details. The mapping tool will then put the information into an outline making it clearer to the student what to write about.
Technology is a very helpful tool in many ways. I find that the applications that this text mentions to help students with note taking, summarizing and organizing are real helpful one. I want to incorporate some of these items into my own classroom this year. I am even going to share some of these options with my colleagues in case they are not aware of them. It can help them help the students understand better and keep themselves organized.
References:
Pitler,H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works. Denver, CO: McRel.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Behaviorism in Practice
In the chapter about reinforcing effort from Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works, the authors makes a great statement. They state that "effort is the most important factor in achievement" (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn & Malenoski, 2007). I am constantly telling my students that they need to put forth some effort to get anywhere.
In the text, they show you different ways to get your students to correct their own work so that they can see that effort equals achievement. Many students do not believe that if they work harder that their grades will improve. The rubric that is in the text is a great item to use. It currently shows students how to grade themselves and then they take the information and graph it. I teach math and to have the students look at a graph is a great visual for them to see growth.
"Homework and practice give students a chance to review and apply what they have learned" (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn & Malenoski, 2007). This is exactly the way that I view homework in my math class. When I give an assignment, I give it as practice. This allows the student to work on the material outside of class. If they find that they are not understanding, it gives them an opportunity to come to class the next day and ask questions.
The technology that is discussed in this chapter is a great resource. They correlate to instructional strategies and behaviorism by giving the students another way to learn. One technological item they talk about is using spreadsheet software. Spreadsheet software is a great way to show graphs. If the students take the information from their effort/achievement project, they can use a bar graph in a spreadsheet to get the visual to see their improvement.
Adding technology will help increase the understanding and effort put forth by the students. The more effort you can get from them, the more achievement you will see.
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works. Alexandria, VA: McRel
In the text, they show you different ways to get your students to correct their own work so that they can see that effort equals achievement. Many students do not believe that if they work harder that their grades will improve. The rubric that is in the text is a great item to use. It currently shows students how to grade themselves and then they take the information and graph it. I teach math and to have the students look at a graph is a great visual for them to see growth.
"Homework and practice give students a chance to review and apply what they have learned" (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn & Malenoski, 2007). This is exactly the way that I view homework in my math class. When I give an assignment, I give it as practice. This allows the student to work on the material outside of class. If they find that they are not understanding, it gives them an opportunity to come to class the next day and ask questions.
The technology that is discussed in this chapter is a great resource. They correlate to instructional strategies and behaviorism by giving the students another way to learn. One technological item they talk about is using spreadsheet software. Spreadsheet software is a great way to show graphs. If the students take the information from their effort/achievement project, they can use a bar graph in a spreadsheet to get the visual to see their improvement.
Adding technology will help increase the understanding and effort put forth by the students. The more effort you can get from them, the more achievement you will see.
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works. Alexandria, VA: McRel
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