Constructivism

This week, we read about constructivist strategies. I was most interested to read the section of the online textbook by Michael Orey that discusses the instructional model set forth by Kayla Johnson. It was obvious that she as using the constructivist theory. Her presentation was completely learner centered, rather than teacher centered. The learners were actively constructing meaning, instead of her just lecturing them on what they needed to know. I was impressed that she was so prepared that she was able to anticipate her students’ needs and behavior. She already knew that her participants might be tired after lunch, so she started the afternoon out as an interesting activity to re-engage her learners. The text mentions that Kayla received good feedback from her students: they were happy to do their own projects instead of having a project forced upon them by a teacher.

The reading from this week in the Pitler book is about generating and testing hypotheses. I feel that the activities described in this chapter fall under the category of constructionism. The best of which is the one by Mrs. Omar. I really like how she created an interactive spreadsheet for her students to use. Having the formulas already in place makes the assignment easier, and allows the students to see the differences certain changes make in the final outcome. This assignment takes the focus from the actual computation of the formulas, and places it on the outcome. This makes the whole project more meaningful to the students, because they are able to see a real-world application of their math skills, without being bogged down by calculation. I was, however, a little disappointed with this chapter, because I did not learn how to implement generating and testing hypotheses in my English classroom. Does anyone have any ideas?

Resources

Orey, M. (Ed.). (2001). Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Main_Page

 Pitler, H., Hubbell, E. R., & Kuhn, M. (2012). Using technology with classroom instruction that works (2^nd ed.). Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Cognitivism Strategies

According to “Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works,” cues, questioning, and advance organizers “all focus on enhancing students’ ability to retrieve, use and organize information about a topic (Pitzer, et al. pp 91). They can be used at the start of a unit to narrow students’ attention to make them more receptive to the new information they are about to receive.  Cues are clues as to the information to come. Questioning “helps students deepen their knowledge by requiring the use of critical thinking skills.” Advance organizers can pique students’ interest in the topic.

I was particularly interested in the section in the text about instructional media. This section mentions using online discussion forums to use cues and questions. In the example of how this is used, the teacher, Mr. Hiser posted a video for students to watch online. As cues, he included the time stamps for the sections of the video he wanted his students to pay special attention to. Having the cues makes it easier for the students to focus on the information they will need to understand the key concepts of the lesson.

The Pitzer, et al. text asserts that “summarizing and note taking focuses on enhancing students’ ability to synthesize information and distill it into a concise new form” (pp 147). In order to summarize and take notes effectively, students must be able to determine what information is most important for the understanding of a certain piece of information. One strategy I really liked from this chapter was the note taking template where students write facts about the topic on the left side of the paper, and draw a picture on the right side. This is helpful for visual learners, because they now have a visual aid that they can link to the facts on the left, so they can better retain the information.

Concept maps, outlined in the article “The Theory Underlying Concept Maps and How to Construct and Use Them,” are also useful tools for learning. The maps are a great visual representation of the hierarchy of information on a given topic. Viewing a concept map on a topic can be more informative than reading the same information in paragraph form, because the map flows from the bigger ideas of the topic to the smaller details. This helps the learner organize the information in his mind, thus making it more memorable.

All of these cognitivist strategies are helpful for today’s learners. Each of them helps students focus on the information to be learned, and allows them to organize the information in such a way as to help them remember it more readily.

Resources

Novak, J.D., and Canas, A.J. (2008). The theory underlying concept maps and how to construct and use them., Technical Report IHMC CmapTools 2006-01 Rev 01-2008. Retrieved from the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition Web site: http://cmap.ihmc.us /Publications/ResearchPapers/TheoryUnderlyingConceptMaps.pdf

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E. R., & Kuhn, M. (2012). Using technology with classroom instruction that works (2^nd ed.). Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Behaviorism REVISED

This week, I read two chapters of the book “Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works” by Howard Pitler, Elizabeth Hubble, and Matt Kuhn. The first chapter that I read, “Reinforcing Effort and Providing Recognition” describes a practice that I would describe as being behaviorist (2012). One important point in this chapter is that of providing recognition. Providing recognition is a positive reward for students, as described in the online book “Emerging Perspectives on Learning, Teaching and Technology.” The Pitler text states “Most people like to be recognized for their efforts, whether the recognition comes in the form of praise or something more concrete.” The text goes on to say that in order to be effective, praise must “promote a mastery-goal orientation,” be “specific and aligned with expected performance and behaviors,” and ‘use concrete symbols of recognition.” This criteria ensures that the praise lets the student know exactly what he is doing right, so he can continue doing the right thing. When false praise is given, the behavior that is occurring is being reinforced, even if it is an undesirable behavior. Because of this, teachers have to make sure that they are using praise to reinforce the behaviors they desire.

Homework and practice can also be effective tools in the classroom, when used correctly. According to the Pitler text, “At its best, homework can provide opportunities for students to familiarize themselves with new concepts as well as to practice, review, and apply what they’ve learned.” Sometimes though, teachers use homework and practice as busywork, and do not provide adequate or timely feedback. Homework and practice should be used for students to practice applying skills learned in class, not just the same problem represented fifty times over in the same manner.

After reviewing this week’s resources, I have come to the conclusion that there may still be a place for behaviorism in today’s classroom. Praise can be a very effective motivator for most students, if used correctly. Homework is effective when it is used as practice in applying skills, but not when it is given as busy work or punishment.

Resources

Orey, M. (Ed.). (2001). Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Main_Page

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E. R., & Kuhn, M. (2012). Using technology with classroom instruction that works (2^nd ed.). Alexandria, VA: ASCD.