Social Constructivism in the Classroom

According to Kim, “Social constructivism emphasizes the importance of culture and context in understanding what occurs in society and constructing knowledge based on this understanding” (2001). Social constructivism is important because I believe it is one of the more important ways that we as teachers teach out students. Maybe not the most important, but it is important because it is something that we as humans are most connected to, being social with each other.

Social constructivism is based on three main assumptions that have to do with reality, knowledge, and learning (Kim, 2001). “Social constructivists believe that reality is constructed through human activity” (Kim, 2001). One of the main premises of social constructivism is that what we see as our world is based on the different activities that we go through in out lives. The activities experienced by people will change how they view the world and what they believe in this world. The second assumption has to do with knowledge. “To social constructivists, knowledge is also a human product, and is socially and culturally constructed” (Kim, 2001). People who subscribe to this theory believe that the knowledge we have comes from what we experience in our lives as well as the people we interact with. The third assumption has to do with learning. “Social constructivists view learning as a social process. It does not take place only within an individual, nor is it a passive development of behaviors that are shaped by external forces” (Kim, 2001). One of the main cruxes of social constructivism is that learning happens when we are put into social situations. I see this in my own classroom when I give the students group work to do. The students enjoy working together and they seem to learn more about the topic when they are working together.

Overall, I do tend to subscribe more to this type of learning in the sense that I like to give the students chances to work collaboratively. According to Pitler, “When students work in cooperative groups, they make sense of, or construct meaning for, new knowledge by interacting with others” (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007). This is something that is really helpful for the students because they are able to use all the knowledge from all the people they are interacting with, and not just from their own experiences. For example, I recently had my students complete a cell city project where they had to write a song about a cell and sing it in front of the class. This was an example of a social constructivism because the students worked together in groups for about a week, and then had to present their projects. This works into the assumption of reality because it focuses on the activities the students need to complete.

Along with this, I am also including my link to the voice thread I created. It has to do with cell phones and how we as teachers can work to make sure the students are not using them in classrooms when they are not suppose to. Here is the link: www.voicethread.com/share/3148494/

References

Kim, B. (2001). Social Constructivism.. In M. Orey (Ed.), Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved <insert date>, from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/

Pitler, H., Hubbell, Kuhn, Malenoski. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, Va: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Constructionism in the Classroom

According to Dr. Orey, Constuctionism is “A theory of learning that states people learn best when they build an external artifact of something they can share with others” (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011). This is something that I know I strive to do in my classroom each time I look to start a new unit. I try to find something that the students can create, whether that is an artifact, as you would do in product-based learning, or a solution to a problem, as you would do in problem-based learning.

I think one of the more interesting recommendations given to us this week in our resources is this, “Use a variety of structure tasks to guide students through generating and testing hypotheses” (Pitler, Hubbel, Kuhn & Malenosk, 2007). I teach science to four different grades, including the junior high grades at my school. In science, we really touch on the importance of the hypothesis, but something we do not do a lot of making sure the students are able to come up with their own. What I mean by that is I tend to lean more towards the directed inquiry learning method, and I believe that one of the aspects that I need to be teaching in science in more of an open-inquiry method. I believe that this idea of being able to come up with a hypothesis and then test it is really important to the development of the students, as well as the development of the ideas if science in their heads.

I believe this sort of teaching and learning also leans more easily into the idea of teaching from a more constructionist viewpoint. What I mean by that is by giving the students the chance to come up with their own hypothesis, we are allowing the students to say, “This is the problem that needs to be solved. Here is what I think we should do to solve it.” This can then lead the students to do a few different tasks. One task could be trying to create a prototype that would achieve whatever goal the student is going for. This lends itself to the teaching model of product-based teaching. The students create a product that puts the “emphasis on artifact creation as part of the learning outcome based on authentic and real life experiences with multiple perspectives” (Orey, 2011). Another possible task is the students creating a spreadsheet that leads to the discovery of something. According to Pitler, “Using spreadsheets to generate and test hypotheses is already common in science class, with students making informed predictions, collecting data, analyzing the data for patterns, and revising their original hypothesis or coming up with a new one” (2007). The spreadsheets give the students a chance to explore a problem and see if they can find solutions. This would fall more under the problem-based learning because the students are not necessarily required to create an artifact. The spreadsheet is their final goal.

My questions to leave with is whether or not this is something that can be sustained throughout the entire course of a school year. I love the idea of giving student product-based assignments. I believe they test students knowledge much better than a paper and pencil test could, although not in all cases. I am wondering though if this is something the students would get sick of after a few of them. I know for me, the website project is going to be something I do with all my grades only once a quarter next year. It is a new type of assessment, and I do not want the students to get sick of it. What are some other examples that we could use in our classrooms that would give us different assessment options for the students?

Reference

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011). Program seven: Constructionist and constructivist learning theories [Video webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Retrieved from http://laureate.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=5700267&;;CPURL=laureate.ecollege.com&Survey=1&47=2594577&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=0&bhcp=1

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., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Denver, CO: Mid-Continental Research for Education and Learning.

Cognitive Learning Theories in the Classroom

The main ideas of the cognitive learning theory (CLT) says that it starts with a sensory input of the information (Laureate Education Inc., 2011b).  Looking at the resources we explored this week, this is one area that was really hit upon.  We looked at this idea of a virtual field trip and what that might mean for the students.  This covers the first step to the CLT.  It gives the students a way to get information into their heads in a sensory sort of way.  There is a visual aspect to a virtual field trip, while there is also the potential for a sound aspect to come into play. 

From the sensory input, information goes into the short-term memory portion of the student’s brain (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011b).  To get it to go towards the long-term portion of the brain, we need to start looking at different ways to get the students to rehearse the information they learned.  This can be picked up through a few of the different techniques we read about.  We learned about “Cues, Questions, and Advance Organizers” (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007).  In this, they say, “Teachers can use expository, narrative, and graphic advance organizers alone or combine them to form compelling introductory materials that will help students focus on the essential concepts and themes that will prepare them to learn” (2007).  Here is a great example of a way to use technology as well as get the students to work on their rehearsal.  Teach the students a new concept, and then have them rehearse it through writing. 

One of the other methods we looked at was “Summarizing and Note Taking” (Pitler et al, 2007).  In this, we learned about three main recommendations for note taking.  Those recommendations are as follows:

1. Give students teacher-prepared notes.
2. Teach students a variety of note-taking formats.
3. Use combination notes (Pitler et al, 2007).

This is supporting CLT because it is encouraging students to do more than just copying notes down.  It teaches the students to actively think about what they are doing while writing those notes.

With all this in mind, I know that as a teacher, my goal is not to just spit information out at students and have them be able to regurgitate it on a test.  I am hoping that the students not only know the information, but they can understand what it means.  This is important so that it can be applied to their lives outside of school.  This means I need to find ways to teach for understanding.

I think that one of the best tools we learned about this week as far as teaching for understanding is going to be a virtual field trip.  This is something that the students are able to see and possibly hear.  It connects their brain and, as we learned earlier, “Learning is making connections between thousands of neurons and strengthening them” (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011a).  By connection all these neurons during a virtual field trip, the students will have a better chance at storing that information in their long term memory.

Looking at note taking, this is a skill the students really do need to learn.  I teach at an age level where they have already gone through the basics of it, but they are trying to refine their skill in it now.  Teaching for understanding with taking notes is a little more of a challenge because I still get questions such as “Do I need to write that part down?” or “Is that something that is important to include?”  To me though, this shows the students are taking notes for the purpose of understanding.  They want to know whether or not what they are writing is something that will be necessary to know.  They are just in the process of learning how to summarize and choose what to write.  I did a little more research on this topic, since I tend to give a lot of notes in my classes.  Here is an interesting website I came across I thought I would share: http://libweb.surrey.ac.uk/library/skills/Leicester%20Study%20skills/page_19.htm

This last idea for teaching towards understanding is using “Organizing and Brainstorming Software” (Pitler et al, 2007).  In this they discuss different ways to organize or brainstorm ideas.  I really like this idea as far as teaching for understanding because it can be a way to help a student that struggles with organization to get his/her thoughts down on paper.  Using the software I am going to use later to make a concept map would also incorporate this idea of technology in a meaningful way for the students.

References

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011a). Program one: Understanding the brain [Video webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Retrieved from http://laureate.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=5700267&CPURL=laureate.ecollege.com&Survey=1&47=2594577&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=0&bhcp=1

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011b). Program five: Cognitive learning theories [video webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_550904_1%26url%3D

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E. R., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Denver, CO: Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning.

Behaviorism and Technology

This was an interesting week for me because I am always looking for new and effective ways to introduce technology into my teaching. I am also always looking for ways to make homework an effective tool to use in the classroom, and not just something the students dread being handed at the end of class.

We read about two different technologies this week from Using Technology with Classroom Instruction That Works. The first was a discussion about reinforcing the effort the students have in the classroom. The second had to do with homework and how we use it in the classroom. Looking at both of these, I can clearly see the ideas about behaviorism playing a role in them. As Dr. Orey says, behaviorism is something that many people looked down on and think is out of date, yet it is something that we always seem to use in out classrooms (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011).

Behaviorism is simply a punishment and reward based system where the goal is to be able to do more rewarding than punishing. The students understand this idea because it gives them immediate feedback from a behavior or action they did. That is why this is something that is practiced in classrooms all the time.

In the first area we read about, reinforcing the effort of students, we learn about using a behavior modification chart for all students. It allows us to “Explicitly teach students about the importance of effort (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn & Malenoski, 2007) and it gives student the chance to “keep track of their effort and achievement” (Pitler et al, 2007). This gives us a couple of opportunities to allow students to grow and learn in this area. They can see for themselves where they are in the rubric and that will allow for immediate feedback, but they can also see where they can work towards. This would work well to implement technology because the students could do something like this online. I know for our school’s grading program, there is a section where we can fill in behavior and study skills. Using technology, the students could track their own behavior and compare it to both what the teacher sees, and where the student would like to get.

The second area we read about what making homework that is meaningful to the students. This is something that teachers across the country use, homework, but it is hard to find good ways to encourage the students to do the homework. Usually, when the homework comes out, the students start to groan. This system of homework really plays right into the ideas of behaviorism. If the students do well on the assignment, they get a good grade. If the students do poorly on the assignment, they get a negative grade. I also believe that technology is a really important aspect to all assignments. Pitler says:

Technology facilitates homework and practice by providing a wealth of resources for learning outside of the classroom, making it easy for students to work on collaborative homework assignments and providing “drill and practice” resources that help students refine their skill (2007).

I tend to be a teacher that gives a lot of technology related homework in my classes. For example, we are working with a Wiki project right now where there are groups of students creating a web page discussing the different forms of rocks. To me, this sort of project does bring out some of the stronger points of behaviorism. The students get immediate feedback from not only their teacher but also their peers. It also teaches the students how to give this feedback to them.

Technology has created an interesting opportunity for teachers. We live and teach in a world right now that, although the popular belief is that we do not like the idea of behavorism, it is almost one of the most prevalent thoughts out there. Whenever we hear of students wanting that immediate feedback on the assignment they are taking, they are exemplifying one of the main principles of behaviorism. This idea of getting your feedback quickly is very much along the ideas of a rewards/punishment system.

This brings me to a question to think about. I am a major pusher of technology at my school. I believe that since this is what the students are used to and all about at home, we should strive to make sure we try to use it at school. My area of concern is when I have an older teacher I am working with that will flat out refuse to let the students use things like Wikipedia.org, or even the Internet. Should this be an area that we are being a little more forceful with the teachers that do not want this change to happen? I imagine that within this class, there are mostly students that either use technology as best they can, or are looking for ways to use it, and I believe that we should be striving to do that more in all the subjects we teach.

References

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011a). Program four: Behaviorist Learning Theory [Video webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_550904_1%26url%3D

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E. R., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Denver, CO: Mid-Continental Research for Education and Learning.