Connectivism and Social Learning in Practice

Social Learning is definitely important in today’s classrooms. Students can be actively engaged in learning while collaborating with others and working with technology. The text, Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works, provides many web collaborative links including a link called JASONS Project that focuses on hands-on science activities for students (Pitler et al., 2007). Even though I teach first grade and the text suggests using this link for students grades 4-9, I still thought this site was really cool!

A major theorist in social learning is Lev Vygotsky. Vygotsky believed in the “Zone of Proximal Development” and believed that children should learn age appropriate information then have support of their learning through others. He called these “others” in learning the “More Knowledgeable Other” (Laureate Education Inc., 2009). To me, that means that I am a “More Knowledgeable Other” for my students. I feel it is my duty as an educator to provide as much knowledge to my students as possible and to create meaningful learning experiences so students retain information while working together, exploring, and having fun.

One of the ways I plan to continue to create meaningful learning experiences is by incorporating the interactive Voice Thread. I think this could be a very powerful tool for my students. It may take time for my young students to be able to create and use this, but I am up for the challenge. I created a Voice Thread for my students like Mrs. Kathryn Arnold suggested for Application #5. Here is the link to my very first Voice Thread: http://voicethread.com/share/1184881/.

In conclusion, I feel that educators can use so many social learning ideas in the classroom. There is so much learning that occurs when working with others and allowing students to work with and teach each other is priceless.

References:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Bridging learning theory, instruction, and technology. Baltimore: Author.

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

Constructivism in Practice

The constructivist theory is a theory based on the original ideas of Jean Paiget. In a constructivist theory, "students are engaged in learning and the process of creating an artifact" (Laureate Education Inc., 2008). Robin, a fellow Walden student stated, "Project based lessons are a fantastic way to integrate this theory" (Stimpson, 2010, May 26). I completely agree. I also found that the more I read about the constructivist theory, the more the wheels started turning in my head started turning as I started thinking of the endless ways to incorporate this into my classroom.

One of the supplemental resources for this week explains several thoughts about what a constructivist classroom should look like. The link is as follows: http://www.sedl.org/scimath/compass/v01n03/1.html. Ideas as simple as asking open-ended questions and encouraging dialogue between students are just a few of the thoughts on this website.

The chapter text, DVD, and many of my classmates express their interest in using technologies such as Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, and Microsoft Power Point to have students create projects and complete assignments. I think I would also start introducing technology and designing classroom assignments that involve students using these technologies.

Finally, our instructor, Kathryn Arnold, provided a very helpful website on her personal website. The link to this website is as follows: http://webquest.sdsu.edu/designpatterns/all.htm. This website gives ideas for using WebQuest focusing on higher level thinking.


References:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). BRidging learning theory, instruction, and technology, Baltimore: Author.

Stimpson, R. (2010, May 26). Constructivist/Constructionist Learning Theories. Message posted to EDUC 6711 discussion board, Week 4.

Cognitivism in Practice

Cognitive learning, according to Dr. Michael Orey, “revolves around information processing” (Laureate Education, Inc.,). I feel this statement is very true and Chapter 4 and Chapter 6 in the text Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works have many strategies that allow students to process information in different and engaging ways.

Chapter 4 titled Cues, Questions, and Advance Organizers gives advice on how teachers and students can use spreadsheets, rubrics, Kidspiration, and Inspiration to create organizers to collect information for learning. The chapter also provides many multimedia options such as BrainPOP, PBS, and United Streaming that provide another strong visual to aid in cognitive learning. These technologies, “provide you with editable visual aids and multimedia resources that appeal to a number of learning styles” (Pitler, et al., 2007). To me, it is so important to have a technology-rich classroom that provides learning opportunities that meet the needs of every learning style.

Chapter 6 titled Summarizing and Note Taking gave me a chance to learn about a few technologies that I was unfamiliar with. “Track Changes” in Microsoft Word was a feature to the program that I was unaware of. I think that this would be a very useful aid when teaching students how to summarize. I also was impressed with the “Note-Taking” feature in Inspiration. This would be a really great way for teachers to share their notes with students. The text states, “Technology can scaffold, or provide support, while students are learning the summarizing process” (Pitler, et al., 2007). I agree with this statement because I believe that if teacher’s model how to summarize and model summarizing often then students will learn to summarize and will be able to store it into their long term memory.

Finally, I wanted to add a link to an article I found by Cara Bafile. The link to the article is http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech164.shtml. The article discusses concept mapping. I thought it was a really informative article and I plan to use it as a reference.

References:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Bridging learning theory, instruction, and technology. Baltimore: Author.

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

Behaviorism in Practice - Week 2 Application

I have many mixed thoughts about behaviorism. To begin, I would like to share a video that I found on YouTube about a Psychology student named Linda and her dog, Milu. Through Operant Conditioning she is able to train her dog. I found this video to be quite cute and it really depicts B.F. Skinner's theory of Behaviorism very well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhmONAl6Yiw&feature=fvw

I feel as though behaviorism is still necessary in classrooms as well as in life. This video clearly shows how after reinforcement an animal can do trained to do pretty much anything. This is similar to the "Skinner Box" where the theorist B.F. Skinner used various animals and trained them by controlling their environment.

Behaviorism is used in the classroom more than maybe some teachers think. I feel that teachers should use some behavoristic techniques to teach classroom procedures and promote good choices. Dr. Michael Orey states, "Reinforcement is more powerful than punishment" (Laureate Education, Inc., 2008). My first grade students know that if they make positive choices there will be a reward. If students do not follow classroom procedures or demonstrate undesirable behavior, there will be a consequence.

Now, here are my mixed feelings. I do not feel that behaviorism should be used to "drill and kill" information. In many schools, teachers are required to use specific software programs in order to raise and improve student achievement. To me, this does not seem like an effective way to teach students and I do not feel as though students would be very motivated to try their best.

I think the best way to teach students it to model, give students hang-on materials to manipulate, and create a positive classroom environment. I strive to accomplish these factors everyday.

I look forward to hearing from my classmates and their thoughts.

References:
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Bridging learning theory, instruction, and technology. Baltimore: Author