Constructivism in Practice

Constructivist learning theories focus around the student forming their own understanding of new ideas and it is suggested that the creation of an artifact should be part of the learning process. According to the constructivist’s view, knowledge is “actively constructed in the mind of the learner”, “they investigate, create, and solve problems”, and “the instructor acts as a facilitator” (Orey, 2001).

This week, in Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works, we read about an instructional strategy that incorporates technology called “Generating and Testing Hypotheses”. This strategy correlates with the principles constructivist learning theories. The process of generating a hypothesis and then testing it helps the student form their own understanding of the information which is what constructivism is about. “Typically, students research a problem, form a hypothesis, and collect data to confirm, deny, or revise their last hypothesis” (Pitler, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007). I think that this is a great way to learn, let the student take an educated guess based on prior knowledge and then either they will be proven to be correct or they will learn from their mistakes—they are forming their own meaning and understanding. The examples given in the course text incorporated technology such as teacher-created interactive spreadsheets, data collecting tools (such as probes and the internet) and web resources (such and games and simulations) to make this strategy even more effective. It “allows students to spend more time interpreting the data rather than gathering the data” (Pitler, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007). All of the ideas presented as suggestions for guiding students to generate and test hypotheses required them to think analytically and critically.

The Project Based Learning (PBL) tools that were explored through this week’s resources offer many ways to use projects as learning experiences. I also think that they are effective because they integrate technology and multiple academic subjects. “Constructionism is reflected in PBL by
*Creation of a student centered learning environment
*Emphasis on artifact creation as part of the learning outcome based on authentic and real life experiences with multiple perspectives” (Orey, 2001).

References
Orey, M.(Ed.). (2001). Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved 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 Cognitive learning theory focuses around how a person thinks. Learning is based on how the brain works when it comes to processing information, organizing it and relating it to something they already know. This week’s resources presented instructional strategies that used technology as a cognitive tool. There were examples where “students learn ‘with’ as opposed to ‘from’ computers” (Orey, 2001). This is an important difference between the behaviorist and cognitive approaches. In Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works, there are two strategies that use technology and correlate to cognitive learning theories, “Cues, Questions, and Advance Organizers” and “Summarizing and Note Taking”. There were ideas for using technology such as word processing, spreadsheets, organizing software and multimedia to give students a way to sort through, organize and process information. Many of the ideas used graphic organizers (such as concept maps) or cognitive tools that “allow students to interact with information in order to acquire, synthesize, create, and share new knowledge” (Orey, 2001). These strategies help to show students how to pull out important ideas, how to make sense out of it, and how relate them to prior knowledge, in other words the strategies help them learn how to think which is a major part of the cognitive learning theory.

In addition to considering how the brain processes information, designing learning experiences is also important in the cognitive learning theory. This week’s resources discussed using virtual field trips which can be a very effective way to allow students to experience what you are trying to teach them instead of just hearing or reading about it. Virtual field trips are a way to bring students places where they may not have been able to go and to become part of the learning experience.

References
Orey, M.(Ed.). (2001). Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved 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

Behaviorism in Practice (EDUC 6711 Week 2)

This week we explored instructional strategies that incorporated technology and we had to consider how they relate to the behaviorist learning theory.

I would like to first mention that I was very happy at the level of math in this week’s resources. The ideas and examples presented were finally using high school level math. It has been rare for me to get examples from class and in books that are in my subject and level. There were ideas presented this week that I could actually take and use exactly how they were described and use them tomorrow in class, no adjustments or modifications necessary, this usually doesn’t happen for me and I am very excited.

The Behaviorist learning theory focuses on rewards/punishments, stimulus/response and stresses the need for reinforcements. One of the strategies that was discussed this week was in the area of practice. The tutorials or guided learning/practice, either on-line or with software, was described in the examples and in the links provided in the resources this week. Not only does this integrate the use of technology but it relates to the behaviorist learning theory. Dr. Orey describes an important part of behaviorism, “As with all teaching methods, success depends on each student’s stimulus and response and on associations made by each learner” (Orey, 2001). The use of multimedia for guided instruction accomplishes this by allowing each learner to work at their own pace, on their own level, use different learning styles and receive immediate feedback and reinforcement. This correlated closely to the behaviorist approach.

Reinforcing effort using spreadsheets was another strategy that used technology and relates to the Behaviorist learning theory. This example allowed students to learn about technology (spreadsheets), content (for me, Statistics), and their own behavior (benefits of effort). Reinforcement is a major idea in behaviorism, if you reinforce a behavior it is more likely that a person will learn it. When a teacher does an activity such as this one, they will be reinforcing effort and the students will see that if they put in the effort then they will succeed. The use of spreadsheets to organize, graph, and analyze the effects of effort on achievement is integrated effortlessly and really enhances the learning experience.
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References
Orey, M.(Ed.). (2001). Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/