Constructivism in Practice

From this week’s resources, I have learned new strategies that correlate with constructionist/constructivist learning theories and embed technology. Constructionism as Dr. Orey explained, “is a theory of learning that states people learn best when they build an external artifact or something they can share with others” The instructional strategies presented in this week’s readings provide educators with valuable tools that allow students to learn through generating and testing hypotheses. The six tasks that can be utilized by teachers to help students generate and test hypotheses as presented by (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, Malenoski, 2007) are: “systems analysis, problem solving, historical investigation, invention, experimental inquiry, and decision making. “ (p.203) When students are engaged in one of these six tasks, they are actually, “engaged in learning and the process of creating an artifact.” Moreover, generating and testing hypotheses is correlated with Project-Based Learning that was explained by Han, S., & Bhattacharya, K. (2001), “Project Based Learning is a teaching and learning strategy that engages learners in complex activities.” Also, (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, Malenoski, 2007) stated that, “when students generate and test hypotheses, they are engaging in complex mental processes, applying content knowledge like facts and vocabulary, and enhancing their overall understanding of the content.” (p.202)

This week’s readings provided us with examples of how to implement the strategies in our classrooms. One of the examples that attracted me is the example by Dave McDivitt. In this example, students investigated the causes that led to the war by using web resources and gaming software in the form of interactive applets and simulations (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, Malenoski, 2007) Each student takes on the role of a country leader who makes policy decisions for the country his/her are leading.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Program seven. Constructionist and Constructivist Learning Theories[Motion picture]. Bridging learning theory, instruction, and technology. Baltimore: Author.
Han, S., and Bhattacharya, K. (2001). Constructionism, Learning by Design, and Project Based Learning. In M. Orey (Ed.), Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved May 27, 2009, from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt.
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Cognitivism in Practice

The instructional strategies: “Cues, Questions, and Advance Organizers”, and “Summarizing and Note Taking correlates with cognitive learning theories. The components of cognitive learning theories as stated by Dr. Orey (Laureate Education, 2009) are: Limited short-term/working memory, Elaboration, Dual coding hypothesis, and Network model. Cues and questions replicate elaboration method. Questions as explained by (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, and Malenoski, 2007) “perform the same functions as cues by triggering students’ memories and helping them to access prior knowledge.”(p.73) The elaboration method, Dr. Orey said it builds numerous connections to stored information. Moreover, advance organizers according to (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, and Malenoski, 2007) “help students focus their learning.”(p.73) This instructional strategy replicates the dual coding hypothesis that was explained by Dr. Orey (Laureate Education, 2009).
Summarizing and note taking instructional strategy according to (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, and Malenoski, 2007), “focuses on enhancing students’ ability to synthesize information and distill it into a concise new form.”(p.119) One of the tools that helps students to summarize a lesson is the concept mapping tool. Virtual field trips are also helpful for all learners. With virtual field trips, students can have the same experiences they would have on actual field trips. Virtual field trips are very helpful in social studies and science lessons; students will be engaged in many activities that provide critical thinking.
References
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Program number 5. Cognitive Learning Theories[Motion picture]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Baltimore: Author.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Program number 6. Spotlight on Technology: Virtual Field Trips [Motion picture]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Baltimore: Author

Behaviorism in Practice

The reading of this week enriched me with many instructional strategies that entrench technology and correlate with the principles of behaviorist. While I was reading, I came across many strategies that attracted me and made me think of how I will implement them in my classroom.
Many students do not see the connection between effort and achievement, thus many students who do not put effort into their work end up as low achievers. Students who struggle in certain subject areas, blame it on many other factors; for example, some students will say I am not smart, therefore they will not put any effort. Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, and Malenoski (2007)pointed out that, “Many attribute their success or failure to external factors.” (p.156) Students need to understand the importance of correlating effort to achievement. Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, and Malenoski (2007) stated that, “effort is the most important factor in achievement” (p. 155). There are many instructional strategies that reinforce effort and help students understand the relationship between effort and achievement. One of these strategies is creating a rubric that helps students understand the meaning of effort using spreadsheets such as Microsoft Excel. When students look at their charts, they can clearly see the correlation between the effort they put and the results of their achievements. This strategy also relates to behaviorism because it reinforces the behavior of putting effort. In addition, homework and practice is another example of behaviorism because students that do their homework and practice, achieve better and score high on their tests; whereas students who do not do their homework or practice, usually score low on their exams. Moreover, students who do their homework are usually rewarded extra points while students who do not do their homework are often punished. For example, students that do not bring their homework will lose their recess for the day. Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, and Malenoski (2007) point out that, “Having students practice a skill or concept enhances their ability to reach the expected level of proficiency.” Practicing what students learn is very important and plays a role in their achievement. Using technology can utilize and provide students with the opportunity to practice the skills they learned in the classroom. The reading for this week provided a great amount of web resources that enhances students’ learning.

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

Reflection on Implementing Technology into the Classrooms

Understanding the Impact of Technology on Education, Work, and Society ( EDUC-6710I) course a M.S. in Education program at Walden University has deepened my understanding of technology, which was limited prior to taking this course. I used to hear about blogs, wikis, podcasts, and RSS feeds, but I never had any experience in using them. I had always wondered what the RSS button on my browser toolbar was, but now my question has been answered and I have gained experience on how to use it. My use of technology was limited to internet navigation, emailing, using Microsoft word, and PowerPoint to create slides. Moreover, technology integration in my classroom was not efficient; however, now I am implementing technology into my lesson plans more effectively and efficiently to engage my students in my lessons. This course has also enriched my knowledge with the 21st century skills. It is helping me move away from the traditional teaching style – which used to be effective when I was a student more than a decade ago, to the 21st century style that helps me prepare my students for the future. Prior to taking this course, I had my students use the computers only for research papers; after I learned about the web 2.0 tools, my students started to use blogs for many of their assignments. Now, I am planning to use podcasts and wikis more often in my classrooms. My students are very excited about using podcast.

The articles that I read and the experience I had in this course, changed my perspective of being teacher-centered to learner-centered. The students of today are “digital natives” while we educators are “digital immigrant” as pointed out by Prensky (2001). Today’s students have been exposed to technology from birth; technology is the tool that motivates their learning ability, thus, I have a duty toward these students, which is learning how to use the technology tools in order to prepare them for the future. In addition, 21st century skills is a vital part of students education, which develop students’ skills such as problem solving, collaborative work, critical thinking, etc.. All educators need to be familiar with these skills and implement them in their classrooms. For this reason, I am using these skills more often in my classroom. I have my students work on solving real math problems in groups, and then present their work in front of their classmates.

I have set two long-term goals for the future. My first goal is to have the students use the portable computer lab more than once a week. I will request from the administration or the district to provide our school with more laptops, which will give my students an opportunity to use the laptops twice to three times a week. My second goal is to start attending workshops about using technology in the classrooms so I could remain updated on new information about technology so I could keep up with my “digital native” students.

My overall experience in this course was very exciting. I am more excited to learn about the use of technology than before. This course has helped me provide my students with an enthusiastic learning style that prepares them for the work place in the future.

Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants. On the Horizon, 9(5).

My First Podcast!

This week's assignement for my technology class was really challenging for me since I am a "Digital Immigrant". However, I overcame my challenges and finally created a podcast. Here is the link to my podcast http://www.archive.org/details/Use_of_Technology

Partnership 21st Century Skills

The Partnership for 21st century Skills website provides a massive amount of information in the area of teaching 21st skills to our students. It is organized and has many links that give us access to other websites. While I was exploring the “Tools & Resources”, under ICT Literacy link, I came across many websites that provide free courses and lessons for people around the world who want to learn about using the computer in many different ways such as using softwares, designing websites, computer programming, etc. Moreover, what delighted me most are the examples and the videos or “snapshots” of 21st century skills that took place in some classrooms. In addition, I could not find anything on the website that I could disagree with. My duty as an educator is to start incorporating the 21st century skills, which provide the students with the necessary skills to collaborate with other groups from around the world.

I encourage everyone to visit this website http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/ and explore it.

Use Blog in the Classroom

After I gained knowledge about blogs, I found it as an amazing tool to use to post homework assignments, school/ class events, or any class-related information. That would leave no excuse for students not to do their homework if they are absent from school. In addition, it is a useful tool to involve parents in their children’s lives because high elementary students and so forth do not usually involve their parents in their school lives or what they learning about in their classes. Moreover, blogging enhances communication between teachers/students or among students. Blogging helps the teachers learn how their students think because some students are too shy to share their ideas in front of their classmates. If I had a permanent teaching job, I would use blog to provide my students with links to appropriate sites to use for research projects, to post prompts for writing, and discuss or express their opinions on any topic that was covered in the class.