Constructivist/constructionist learning theory gives the learner a more active role in their education. With constructionist learning theory, the student produces an artifact that can then be shared with others (Laureate Education, 2009). This artifact can be any number of things from a graph or project to a drawing or movie. In the end, the student is able to show what they have learned by producing the artifact.
Technology can play an important part in constructivist/constructionist learning theory. In their book, Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works, Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, and Malenoski talk about several of the ways that technology can be integrated by having students generate and test hypotheses (pgs. 202-216). The first way they recommend is through the use of spreadsheet software. Teachers can set up documents in advance in the form of templates and allow the students to manipulate numbers and get instant results with the ability to graph. Data collection tools such as digital probes, digital microscopes, as well as the internet itself (through collaborative project Web sites such as Global Schoolhouse) provide easy and quick data collection, giving the learners more time to speculate on the results and perform additional collection. Web resources provide gaming software and simulations that give students interaction to make decisions and test hypotheses in a simulated environment that would be nearly impossible perform without the aid of this technology. Some examples the authors refer to are Smog City, NOVA Building Big, PrimaryAccess, Invention Web Resources, and Practicing with the Catapult. All of these Web sites allow the user to play around and manipulate variables in a simulated environment. This gives the student a more concrete way of looking at how their decisions affect the world around them. There are also Web sites dedicated to helping teachers plan project-based learning experiences. Some of these sites include Project-Based Learning: The Online Resource for PBL, Apple Learning Interchange: Online Project-Based Learning, and Edutopia: Project Learning. These sites, and others like them, have databases of projects to help teachers get started and to share ideas with others.
When using technology to facilitate constructionist learning theory in the classroom, I believe we must once again, make sure that we are being relevant to our students lives. Most students have inquisitive minds and like to see how things would change if they were allowed to manipulate the pieces. Technology gives them the chance to do that while designing a finished product, or artifact, that they can be proud of.
Shannon Eno
Resources
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009). Program seven. Constructionist and Constructivist Learning Theories. Baltimore: Author.
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Cognitivism in Practice (Application 3 for EDUC 6711)
The cognitivist perspective of learning is one where learning takes place thorough the senses and is stored, first in short term memory, and finally long term memory, if the student is able to make connections to other pieces of information they have already stored. In essence, cognitivism makes use of the way we think to understand the way students learn (Lever-Duffy & McDonald, 2008, p. 16).
In their book Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works, Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, and Malenoski (2007) present some ideas to help students acquire and integrate learning. The first set of ideas deal with using cues, questions, and advance organizers (pgs. 73-85). Cues give the student hints about what they will be learning about, and begin to help them organize in their minds what they might already know about the subject. This helps them to make the connections to other subjects already stored in their memory and to help them process the information to enter from short-term to long-term memory. Questions are similar to cues in that they are used to help the student access their prior knowledge and make the needed cognitive connections. Advance organizers can be anything from brochures, rubrics, and articles, to tables and charts to help the student visually focus on the important information they will be learning about. Some of the ways to make use of technology to make advance organizers includes using word processing to have the students make brochures prior to a field trip and making rubrics using spreadsheet software. Another use of technology is to make concept maps using software like Kidspiration to help students visually organize and brainstorm their thoughts as well as the important concepts from the material. Websites such as United Streaming, Google Video, and BrainPOP Jr. also provide multimedia examples of advance organizers in the form of video clips used to help the students think about upcoming material and link it with their prior knowledge. These sites can be viewed at home and allow the families to get involved with their child’s learning, helping to make the learning more meaningful to the student. Virtual field trips can also help students to visually process a location that they are unable to physically visit, such as a zoo, an ocean, or somewhere halfway around the world. Virtual field trips allow the student to begin and make connections that will be more real than simply reading about the location.
Many students may become frustrated when trying to take new information and summarize it or when searching for the main points they need to know. Pitler et al. also make recommendations on how to integrate technology to help students take notes and summarize text (pgs. 119-138). Using word processers, students can make use of auto summarizing, where the program will look through the typed text and locate the main ideas and key points. Inspiration allows teachers to make guided notes, where the students fill in certain points from a text or video. This can help the student narrow their focus to only the relevant information. Teachers may also choose multimedia technology to have students present notes and summaries. PowerPoint software allows students to create combination notes with main ideas, a multimedia enhancement, and a summary statement. Combination notes are powerful tools that link the text with pictures, auditory stimuli, or video that can help the student make a strong cognitive connection. There are also web resources that help students take and present notes in a collaborative manner including Google Docs, ThinkFree, wikis, and blogs. One of the important things to remember is that students need a variety of formats and options to take notes. The more options they have the more personal connections they can form and the more likely they will store the information into their long-term memory.
Using technology to support cognitive learning will help students of all abilities, ages, and levels. Whether using a simple word processor or top of the line multimedia software, students will enjoy using the technology to create, explore, summarize, and present their new information in a meaningful and motivating way.
References
Lever-Duffy, J. & McDonald, J. (2008). Teaching and learning with technology (3rd ed. pp. 2–35). Boston: Pearson.
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
In their book Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works, Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, and Malenoski (2007) present some ideas to help students acquire and integrate learning. The first set of ideas deal with using cues, questions, and advance organizers (pgs. 73-85). Cues give the student hints about what they will be learning about, and begin to help them organize in their minds what they might already know about the subject. This helps them to make the connections to other subjects already stored in their memory and to help them process the information to enter from short-term to long-term memory. Questions are similar to cues in that they are used to help the student access their prior knowledge and make the needed cognitive connections. Advance organizers can be anything from brochures, rubrics, and articles, to tables and charts to help the student visually focus on the important information they will be learning about. Some of the ways to make use of technology to make advance organizers includes using word processing to have the students make brochures prior to a field trip and making rubrics using spreadsheet software. Another use of technology is to make concept maps using software like Kidspiration to help students visually organize and brainstorm their thoughts as well as the important concepts from the material. Websites such as United Streaming, Google Video, and BrainPOP Jr. also provide multimedia examples of advance organizers in the form of video clips used to help the students think about upcoming material and link it with their prior knowledge. These sites can be viewed at home and allow the families to get involved with their child’s learning, helping to make the learning more meaningful to the student. Virtual field trips can also help students to visually process a location that they are unable to physically visit, such as a zoo, an ocean, or somewhere halfway around the world. Virtual field trips allow the student to begin and make connections that will be more real than simply reading about the location.
Many students may become frustrated when trying to take new information and summarize it or when searching for the main points they need to know. Pitler et al. also make recommendations on how to integrate technology to help students take notes and summarize text (pgs. 119-138). Using word processers, students can make use of auto summarizing, where the program will look through the typed text and locate the main ideas and key points. Inspiration allows teachers to make guided notes, where the students fill in certain points from a text or video. This can help the student narrow their focus to only the relevant information. Teachers may also choose multimedia technology to have students present notes and summaries. PowerPoint software allows students to create combination notes with main ideas, a multimedia enhancement, and a summary statement. Combination notes are powerful tools that link the text with pictures, auditory stimuli, or video that can help the student make a strong cognitive connection. There are also web resources that help students take and present notes in a collaborative manner including Google Docs, ThinkFree, wikis, and blogs. One of the important things to remember is that students need a variety of formats and options to take notes. The more options they have the more personal connections they can form and the more likely they will store the information into their long-term memory.
Using technology to support cognitive learning will help students of all abilities, ages, and levels. Whether using a simple word processor or top of the line multimedia software, students will enjoy using the technology to create, explore, summarize, and present their new information in a meaningful and motivating way.
References
Lever-Duffy, J. & McDonald, J. (2008). Teaching and learning with technology (3rd ed. pp. 2–35). Boston: Pearson.
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Behaviorism in Practice (Application 2 for EDUC 6711)
Behaviorism has become something of a dirty word with many educators today. I do not consider myself to be a behaviorist, and yet to dismiss the ideas behaviorism presents means having to do away with strategies that are proven to work along with a lot of great technology. Every day I use rewards and punishment in the classroom. I also use drill and practice sessions to help my students master the skills they need to be as independent as possible in the community. To this end, I try to make these sessions as interesting and motivating as possible by using technology. One example is through the use of a computer program that my speech therapist and I designed to reward correct responses from the student with music and a short video, which are very motivating to my students. In their book, Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works, Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, and Malenoski (2007) talk about using technology to help students reinforce their effort and when doing homework and practice sessions (pgs. 155–164 & 187–201).
When reinforcing student effort, behaviorist theory would have the student keep track of their achievement based on effort to see that when they put more effort in their achievement improves. Pitler et al, suggest making this easier by using spreadsheets and data collection tools such as online surveys using Survey Monkey. When students see that their increase in effort leads to higher achievement it helps reinforce the effort and becomes self-motivating.
Some skills lend themselves to needing more than just a memorizing of facts. These skills such as learning to do addition problems require repetitive practice for the student to become efficient. For years, teachers made dittos for students to get this drill and practice to ensure that students would be able to perform the skill proficiently. While this practice can be dull and non-motivating for most students, there are many technology options available that can make this practice more fun and exciting. Pitler et al, recommend the use of word processing applications, spreadsheets, multimedia resources, Web resources, and communication software to help increase the student motivation to practice and do homework, thereby increasing their efficiency at completing the task. Word processers can help students analyze their writing and offer suggestions at making it more sophisticated. Spreadsheets allow students to manipulate and graph data in different ways leading to a better understanding of the concepts they are learning. The use of software that allows students to make multimedia projects can be highly motivating and rewarding for students while also giving them the opportunity to become proficient with tools they may need in the workforce. Web resources can help replace drill and practice dittos with online educational games and can be done from both school and home. Some of their examples include BrainPop, BBC Skillswise, and IKnowThat.com. A Google search will turn up hundreds more, some better quality than others. By using communication software students can work together on a shared document by using any computer with Internet access. This promotes team work and collaboration. Online software includes Writeboard, Google Docs, and YourDraft. This can also be done using a wiki service such as Wikispaces.
With all these wonderful resources available, it is easy to see that behaviorism in the classroom can be a beneficial and positive thing.
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
When reinforcing student effort, behaviorist theory would have the student keep track of their achievement based on effort to see that when they put more effort in their achievement improves. Pitler et al, suggest making this easier by using spreadsheets and data collection tools such as online surveys using Survey Monkey. When students see that their increase in effort leads to higher achievement it helps reinforce the effort and becomes self-motivating.
Some skills lend themselves to needing more than just a memorizing of facts. These skills such as learning to do addition problems require repetitive practice for the student to become efficient. For years, teachers made dittos for students to get this drill and practice to ensure that students would be able to perform the skill proficiently. While this practice can be dull and non-motivating for most students, there are many technology options available that can make this practice more fun and exciting. Pitler et al, recommend the use of word processing applications, spreadsheets, multimedia resources, Web resources, and communication software to help increase the student motivation to practice and do homework, thereby increasing their efficiency at completing the task. Word processers can help students analyze their writing and offer suggestions at making it more sophisticated. Spreadsheets allow students to manipulate and graph data in different ways leading to a better understanding of the concepts they are learning. The use of software that allows students to make multimedia projects can be highly motivating and rewarding for students while also giving them the opportunity to become proficient with tools they may need in the workforce. Web resources can help replace drill and practice dittos with online educational games and can be done from both school and home. Some of their examples include BrainPop, BBC Skillswise, and IKnowThat.com. A Google search will turn up hundreds more, some better quality than others. By using communication software students can work together on a shared document by using any computer with Internet access. This promotes team work and collaboration. Online software includes Writeboard, Google Docs, and YourDraft. This can also be done using a wiki service such as Wikispaces.
With all these wonderful resources available, it is easy to see that behaviorism in the classroom can be a beneficial and positive thing.
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
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