Connectivism and Social Learning in Practice

The social learning theory states that students learn best when they are engaged socially in their learning. To learn they need to interact and collaborate with others (Laureate Education, n.d.). This weeks instructional strategy was cooperative learning. Cooperative learning fits perfect with the social learning theory.

Cooperative learning is a strategy where students interact in many different ways that can enrich their learning. Students can work with classmates or people in a real-world context to bridge learning and the real world (Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K., 2007). As you can see, cooperative learning is a social style of learning in which students interact with each other to learn new material. I feel that cooperative learning is a major component of the social learning theory.

Technology has brought the social learning theory and cooperative learning to a new level. Technology opens up the classroom to areas that classrooms of the past could not go to. Students are able to collaborate with people all over the world to learn new materials. Technology has allowed students to get involved in their learning and get a clear answer to why they are learning the material.

I have included my link to my voice thread for the week. This voice thread is an introductory to a cooperative learning project my students will be completing this year.

https://voicethread.com/share/3266250/

References:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (n.d). Social Learning Theories. [Video webcast].Retrieved from http://www.courseurl.com

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD

Constructivism in Practice

 Almost every class I have taken at some point talks about the fact that students learn much better from hands on experiences instead of being lecture to. The constructivist/constructionist learning theories help provide these hands on experiences to students. These learning theories are learner centered. Students are able to construct their own meaning behind certain concepts by using hands on activities. (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010). This week we learned about a few resources that perfectly correlate with the principles of constructivist/constructionist learning theories. 

Web resources and gaming software, in the form of interactive applets and simulations, allow students to use background knowledge, make decisions, and see the outcome of their hypothesis, often in virtual situations that would be impossible or financially unfeasible in real life (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, and Malenoski, 2007). All of these aspects are key components of the constructionist learning theroy. Web resources and gaming software is an area I use all the time in my classroom. One of my students favorite math gaming sites this past year was www.arcademicskillbuilders.com. This gives students to practice different math concepts in a game format. Www.Hoodamath.com is another place that I used, but as time has past this source has added more and more games that I question their math content. Anytime I can bring games into my lessons students get very excited. A lot of times they do not even realize they are doing math, they just want to complete the challenge at hand. 

In math, I can certainly see myself using spreadsheet software and data collection tools. This is an area that I have not transitioned to a technology format yet. I am excited to try some of the resources mentioned in the text this week. I also am interested to hear about any successful resources others have used in their classrooms for spreadsheets and data keeping.

I truly believe the constructivist/constructionist learning theory needs to be present in modern day classrooms. With the use of this theory and technology, students can get hands on learning experiences that are meaningful and engaging. Hopefully through this process students will then truly learn the material and use in their lives.

References:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2010). Constructionist & Constructivism Theory [Video Webcast]. Retrieved from http://www.courseurl.com

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD

Cognitivism in Practice

 This week we have learned about the cognitive learning theory. The cognitive learning theory revolves around information processing. There are three stages of information processing: sensory, short term memory, and long term memory. (Laureate Education, Inc., n.d.). In the classroom, our ultimate goal is to store our content into the students long term memory. In order to successfully complete this goal, we have to make sure we are integrating multiple senses. When you integrate multiple senses you improve the chances of students be able to recall the knowledge on a long term basis (Laureate Education, n.d.). This week we learned about two different teaching methods that I believe are successful cognitive learning strategies.

The first strategy is cues, questions and advanced organizers. The main purpose of this strategy is to help students organize information so that they can more easily retrieve it and use it at a later date (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn & Malenoski, 2007). Cues and questioning allow students to take their current understanding and reinforce it by connecting it to questions being asked. This method can also challenge students to dig deeper and learn more about the topic. The advanced organizers are a great tool for students to use to make a visual of their understanding of the topic. It takes the words they are processing in their head and outlines it in a visual that explains their individual understanding.

The second strategy is summarizing and note taking. Summarizing and note taking focuses on enhancing students' ability to synthesize information and distill it into a concise new form (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn & Malenoski, 2007). When taking notes or summarizing my hope as a teacher is that my students are putting the information in a useful format that will help them recall it at a later date. The data can be used as a trigger to help students quickly recall what they had learned. I have used summarizing in my classroom through journaling and blogging. This has been productive because it gives students a condensed version of what they learned. I feel that the advanced organizers can be a powerful tool to enhance note taking and give a quick visual to trigger the information. This coming up school year I plan on using a lot more organizers in place of long written notes.

References:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (n.d.). Cognitive Learning Theories. [DVD]. Baltimore, MD: Author.

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

Behaviorism in Practice

 This week we have studied the behaviorist theory and the instructional strategies reinforcing effort, and homework and practice. After learning about the instructional strategies, I feel that they share a lot of commonality with the behaviorist theory. The behaviorist learning theory is made up of three parts, operant conditioning, programmed instruction, and behavior management (Laureate Education, n.d.). Both of the instructional strategies can fall under at least one of the three parts of the theory.

The first instructional strategy is reinforcing effort. This strategy reinforces the students understanding of the relationship between effort and achievement by addressing their attitudes and beliefs about learning (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, Malenoski, 2007). This strategy in the classroom involves teachers stress the importance of effort and students tracking their efforts. Students take charge of their efforts and look at the data to see what they achieve with the amount of effort they give. I feel that this strategy can fall under the behaviorist theory of operant conditioning the only difference is the students are the ones setting the boundaries. Through this strategy, students will learn that the reward to positive behavior and effort is a better final product. Students may even make the connection that the more effort they give not only the better final product but they may also complete it in less time. Another positive outcome is with students keeping track of the data it will be very simple for the teacher to sit down and discuss efforts and behavior with the students. If a student is not doing what is expected, the teacher can talk with them about the data and discuss the punishment or actions that will be taken. This shows that not only does reinforcing effort fall under operant condition it also falls under behavior management.

The second instructional strategy is homework and practice. In this strategy, students are given the chance to complete meaningful tasks at home and also given time to practice new understandings. Multiple exposures to material help students deepen their understanding of content and become proficient with skills (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, Malenoski, 2007). This strategy clearly falls under the programmed instruction part of the behaviorism theory. Dr. Orey discusses that programmed instruction involves students getting multiple experiences to reinforce the material (Laureate Education, n.d.). Homework and practice does just this; it gives students multiple opportunities to practice their learning and clear up misconceptions.

The behaviorism theory is present in education today. Teachers may not even realize they are using parts of it, but I guarantee it is present in some form. The two strategies that we discussed this week are just two of several that have adopted parts of the theory.

References:

Laureate Education, Inc. (n.d.). Behaviorist Learning Theory. [Video webcast]. Retrieved from http://mym.cdn.laureate-media.com/Walden/EDUC/6711/02/downloads/WAL_EDUC6711_02_A_EN-CC.zip

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