Reflecting on Learning Theories

As a teacher progresses through their career, they learn new things, just as their students do. When their newfound knowledge questions their views and pedagogy, they must reflect on and if necessary change their own beliefs. As I progressed through this class, I began to consider new instructional methods and as a result, have changed my way of thinking. From there, I have created some goals to help me integrate my new views into my teaching style.

The first change in my pedagogy deals with the way students learn in my classroom. As a science teacher, I try to have my students learn through activities that are student-centered, but I did not realize how beneficial it is to have them learn by creating an artifact or project to demonstrate their knowledge. Long gone is the ways of teachers lecturing to students, and the students regurgitate the information back through a worksheet, test or quiz. Students learn best through the constructionism theory, which is based on the idea that students need to create a project or artifact that allows them to learn and challenge their current knowledge and views (Han & Bhattacharya, 2001). In order to reinforce this theory of learning, I will implement a few new forms of technology into my instructional methods.

Technology is a very beneficial tool that teachers can use to help facilitate learning within their classroom. Two new tools that I have learned about and will implement in my classroom are VoiceThread and Virtual Fieldtrips. Voicethreads are great tools for students to communicate and collaborate with others while creating a presentation on various topics. A great example of how I would use this would be having students create threads on the various cycles in nature (water, nitrogen, carbon/oxygen cycles), and have them learn and comment on each others thread in order to understand the different cycles. Virtual fieldtrips are also great tools to use in the classroom because they allow students to travel to places that they could not normally travel to. For example, since it is impossible for my students to visit all of the biomes throughout the world, a virtual fieldtrip to them through a place such as Utah’s Education Network’s “Biomes of North America” would be beneficial for them to learn about the various flora and fauna that lives in these biomes. To take this one step further, my students could even create virtual field trips for other students to view from other schools. Within the next school year, I will use both of these tools to help my students learn more effectively.

In regards to long-term changes in my pedagogy, I would like to have more constructionism style of assignments or projects in my classroom. Students learn quite effectively from this style of learning, and I would like to use it more frequently than I have in the past. It is my goal to have a student-centered learning project for students to complete at least once a month for my class. These projects could be technology-based, such as a wiki or a blog, or something more concrete such as a board game or poster about a certain topic we are discussing. Dr. Orey discussed in his lectures that 21^st century learners acquire knowledge through visual cues more effectively than through notes, and also struggle to learn how to summarize what they are learning. In order to strengthen these skills in my students, I would like to adapt my teacher-centered strategies to be more visual, and less written notes than they have in the past. This will allow students to summarize each section in their own words and to create their own understanding of the material we are covering in that particular lesson.

As I progress through my career, I am constantly learning a great deal of material, learning methods and theories, all of which contribute to my style of teaching. By implementing these theories and strategies in my classroom, I am becoming a more effective educator, and my students are learning a great deal of knowledge while having fun in the process.

References

Biomes of North America . (n.d.). Retrieved June 25, 2009, from http://www.uen.org/utahlink/tours/tourFames.cgi?tour_id=14051

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 19 June 2009, from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/

Laureate Education Inc. (2008). “Instructional Strategies, Part One.” Baltimore, MD: Laureate Education Inc.