Constructivism and Constructionism in the Class

According to Dr. Orey, constructivism is the idea that individuals construct their own meaning. The constructionism approach is where individuals learn through building or creating and sharing with others. The authors of Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works, identified the strategies of generating and testing hypotheses, which correlates with the constructivist theory. Students who generate hypotheses are enhancing their understanding of the content by using a complex mental process.

I learn best through building and constructing things in order to grasp what is being taught. When someone is trying to lecture me I tend to zone out and not pay attention. However when I am able to construct something and bring meaning to the lesson I tend to grasp the concept much more. When students are able to build on the information that they are being taught their understandings of the material is better grasped.

Technology allows for students to be involved in the learning process. Students are able to create wikis, blogs, power points etc. These projects allows for the students to build projects that enhance their learning while working with others. When teachers have engaging interactive lessons students are more likely to be attentive and willing to participate and be engaged. For a field trip that my class recently went on I had my students use flip cameras to understand how we are helping the Chesapeake Bay. With the help of the flip cameras students were able to document what they learned on the field trip to make a movie. This now has not just become a lesson that they learned on a field trip but something they can keep with them.

Technology is a great way for students and teachers to create lessons that are meaningful. With technology lessons can be more meaningful and interactive. The constructionism theory allows for more participation and engagement in the classroom.

References:
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD

How Do The Instructional Strategies Tie Into The Cognitivist Perspective?

Using different instructional strategies that Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, and Malenoski suggest help to incorporate the cognitivist approach into the classroom. With these strategies teachers are able to use different strategies along with technology to make learning more meaningful. With the help of technology students are able to learn new concepts and understand that there are more than one way to learn something.

Cues, Questions, and Organizers are a great way to help students think at a higher level. By using questioning during a lesson students must now think instead of giving one word answers. One way to do this is to allow students to use and organizer. Many students may want to say more to the question being asked but may have a difficult time getting their thoughts out. With an organizer it will reduce the one word answers and allow the students to think more and lay their answers out so that they can see what they are answering. Using Technology with Classroom Instruction That Works suggest using United Streaming. They say "use this educational video collection to create an advance organizer at the onset of a learning activity (2007, p 83). This will allow visual learners to see what they are discussing through an organizer rather than trying to collect their thoughts in their head.

Summarizing as described by the authors of Using Technology with Classroom Instruction That Works is where, "teachers work on helping students separate important information from extraneous information and state the information in their own words" (2007, p119). With this students will be able to get what is important out of the information rather than sit there and reiterate everything the teacher just stated. Using technology for summarizing and note taking is a great way for students to get the idea of keeping the important details. For instance on page 129 of Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works a character trait note-taking template was created. This allowed for students to focus in on what they needed to know i.e. different traits and examples from the book, instead of having students write a lot of information that would not really be helpful. By having an organizer to take the notes their note taking would be more beneficial in the long run when the teachers ask them questions or they have to complete an assignment on it.

References:
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Behaviorist Learning Theories in Today's Classroom

Behavior learning theories are still with us as educators today. The behavior learning theory is where a reinforcement and punishment technique is used to get the desired outcome. Two strategies that Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, and Malenoski established were reinforcing effort and homework and practice.

Reinforcing effort strategy discusses student’s attitudes and beliefs about learning. If a student has the attitude that they do not want to be in school than their work is going to show that they do not want to be there. If their attitude is more of a positive manner than their work is going to show that they care about what they are learning. As Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, and Malenoski suggest, “the instructional strategy of reinforcing effort enhances students’ understanding of the relationship between effort and achievement by addressing their attitudes and beliefs about learning” (2007, pg 155). Although the student needs to place some effort in their learning the teacher as well needs to make the learning …… As teachers we need to understand what the students interest are so that we can incorporate that into our lessons. With this the students will be more interested in the material being taught and instead of thinking they are learning they will be having fun!

The other strategy is homework and practice. Homework is a tool for not only practice for the students on the lesson that was taught but reinforcement for the teacher that what was taught was understood by the student. Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, and Malenoski state, “As an extension of the classroom, homework provides opportunities for students to deepen their understanding of the content and to gain proficiency with their skills” (2007, pg 187). Students are able to practice what they were taught in the classroom at home to reinforce the skill. But with that the teacher needs to make a conscious effort to keep track of what they students did at home in case the student has seemed to misunderstand how to complete the task. “Because it is easy for errors to slip in when students are practicing, teachers should give feedback as quickly as possible” (Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K., 2007).

There are many ways for students and teachers to keep track of homework and progress throughout the year. Technology is a great way to have students keep track of their homework and test progress. With a spreadsheet students can calculate their averages. Students could also use blogs or websites for ways of communicating homework issues or questions to the teacher and or other students about concerns with topics discussed in the classroom. This would allow the teacher to reinforce those students who look not only to her for help but to others in the classroom and also to those students willing to help others out.

Reference:
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Final Thoughts on Last Class

Well the 8 weeks for my Understanding the Impact of Technology in Education, Work, and Society is coming to an end. With the course ending I have realized how much of an impact technology has in our society. With activities such as podcasting, blogging, and creating a wiki I have become more efficient in technology myself. I am now more aware of how to incorporate technology into my lessons in my classroom and how to relate to my students more with technology. I was very impressed when I did my podcasting that many 3rd graders are very comfortable with technology. My students are comfortable in using technology and yet I am still learning some of the devices that they use. The world is changing quickly!

One way that I plan on increasing student achievement is to talk to my students. The students are the ones who know how they learn best. I am going to talk with my students about what they would like to see in the classroom. I want to get their take on what I should be doing in my teachings. Not only can my students learn from me but I can learn from my students as well. It is naieve of me to think that only teachers have great answers. My students have taught me a lot over this course about technology. With that in mind I am now going to foster their knowledge into my lessons.

Two goals that I have for the next two years is to try to get more technology for my school. We only 2 computers per class and a limited amount of Elmo's. In order to get more technology for my school I plan on writing a grant with some of my coleuages in order to get the technology that we need for our students. It is sad to see that our students are not able to learn by using some of the greatest technology. I also plan to incorporate more technology within my lessons. I plan on having a blog next year for not only my students but for my parents as well. I feel that with a blog both parents and students can be discussing things that go on within the class not only during the school year but over the summer as well. For instance if a student (or should I say a parent) would like some extra practice over the summer I can easily send them links or work with them through blogs. There is no reason that learning can not take place just because school is not in session.

You Tube Video Regarding My Students Technology Experience

Here is a video where I ask 3 of my students questions about the technology that they have access to.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHENjR2J6R0

Feelings About The Partnership for the 21st Century

After viewing the site for The Partnership for the 21st Century I started to think about how great this would have been if this was around when I was in school. I look at the focus topics that they discuss and it goes deeper than just the basic subjects. It goes into the economy and how to think in diverse situations. Education today is lacking so many of those skills I feel like students are not prepared for what lies ahead of them career wise because they have not been equipped with the information yet. It is great how a program wants our students to succeed not only in the classroom but in the future as well. With this program you can really see how students can benefit in school and when they are out of school as well. As a teacher I would feel more confident that my student can make it out in the real world.

One thing that surprised me about the website was that my state was not listed for State Incentives. It is funny how the state wants a push for education and technology to work together and how just the other day I had to take a technology survey to see where I stood with technology for the state but we are not incorporating programs such as this to help our students out? We talk about how our students in my county are not living up to their potential or are not making it past high school. Did we ever think maybe it was because of what and how we were teaching the students? My brother who was an average student in high school went to college for maybe a week and quite. When I asked him why he said it was too hard and too much work. So what is wrong with this picture? Wasn’t high school supposed to prepare you for this? After that my brother went and got a job as an electrician, and still hated working and hated the hours but of course loved the money. He would complain about never getting to see his friends because he had to work all the time. What did he think life was a big party? If we are not teaching students that they need to work hard in order to achieve in life, what are we teaching them? This website showed me that there are ways to prepare our students for the future but it is up to us as educators to make that happen.

http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/index.php

How Can I Use This?

Taking a look at how easy blogging is I would love to start using it in the classroom. I thought that this would be a great opportunity for me and my colleagues to create a blog to exchange lesson plans and ideas on certain issues. This would be a great way to discuss a lesson with someone in a different state that may have some new interesting ideas. We plan as a team in my school but it is always good to get new ideas!
Since I teach third grade many of them are limited at home on what they can and cannot use. So having them complete homework or assignments online through a blog may not work very well. If I taught high school or maybe even middle and think this would be a great opportunity for students to discuss issues and comment on each other’s work. For my classroom with the limited internet access that my students use I would have to use the blogs in my classroom. My class has to complete a research project on a subject that the whole class will vote on. Last year my students researched Egypt. I would use the blog as a place for students to share what information they found while researching. For my classroom blog I would have the students submit post based on the research that they found. I would have students pick a certain topic to research on Egypt so that everyone is participating. One student would be the expert on the food, one person the expert on the education ect. This would allow them to complete a group assignment but still independently doing their own work.
I never really thought about blogging before but it is a great way for educators to get students actively participating. If you have any ideas on how I could incorporate blogging more into my classroom please feel free to share your ideas. I am always looking for new ideas!