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.

Voice Thread Post

My VoiceThread post can be found at this link:

http://voicethread.com/share/527384/

Cooperative Learning

Sometimes the best way to learn something is through teaching it.  Every year, as teachers take on new roles and curriculum in the classroom, they struggle to learn the curriculum for the year year, but after that year, they realize they have learned a great deal about the content and can explain it quite well.  The same thing applies for students.  Through the use of technology, teachers have the ability to use social learning strategies to more effectively teach their content. 

One of the ways that teachers can use the social learning strategies is by creating jigsaw group project in which students are responsible for learning a concept in a group, and then teaching it to other students in another group (Laureate Education Inc, 2009).  This lesson style can be done in a variety of ways, by having students not only teach their peers within the classroom, but also teach peers in other classrooms through websites such as ePALS (ePALS.com), or Keypals Club International (www.worldkids.net/clubs/kcl).  Sites like these allow students to communicate with their peers in other areas to work with them to share information and to gain knowledge while potentially spanning the country, or even globe. 

Another way that teachers use social theory strategies and cooperative learning is through the use of webquests.  A great tool that I used this past summer for teaching students math skills while planning a trip across the country.  By using a variety of math skills to create a budget, map out the mileage and also make an itinerary, students were placed into groups based on their strengths and weaknesses so that everyone could help each other out to learn key life skills.  A good webquest utilizes a variety of the basic fundamentals of the collaborative learning theory such as positive interdependence, group accomplishment and team work, and group accountability (Pitler et al. p. 147, 2008).  Webquests are usually easy to create or find, and can be tailored to fit any of the objectives the teacher incorporates into the lesson. 

References:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009). Program seven. Social Learning Theories. 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.

Constructionism

As a teacher of science, creating and testing hypotheses is something that we do from week 1 of the science curriculum.  When possible, I try to incorporate as much technology into my units as I can, because it’s something that not only I find fun, but the students do as well.  In our first real lab of the year, my students begin using computers to create and test a hypothesis. 

Our first lab of the semester, entitled the “Mortality Lab” is based around the question, “who lives longer?”  Students have to devise a plan and investigate the mortality ages of a population from around the country.  The goal is to see which gender lives longer.  During this time, students not only focus on the scientific method, but also how to graph and analyze their own data.  When students are focused on the activity at hand, “they are engaging in complex mental processes, applying content knowledge like facts and vocabulary and enhancing their overall understand of the content,”  (Pitler et al, p 202, 2008).  This activity not only helps them learn the scientific method, but also how to analyze the data and draw conclusions as well.

This lab is a great tool that reinforces the ideas behind the constructivism and constructionism learning theories because it not only helps them build on their knowledge from their experiences, but it also has them create a report that demonstrates their knowledge and documents their experiences.  Dr. Orey commented that these are two main points of the constructivism/constructionism theories (Laureate Education Inc.  2009). 

Using technology in the classroom is a great tool to support constructionism in any class.  Part of what makes the theory effective in the classroom is that students love to create and showcase their work, and by having them create something, whether it be a PowerPoint presentation, movie in MovieMaker or anything along those lines, students love to learn new material through building something.  Students today learn through more technological methods today and expect instant feedback on their work.   One of the most effective tools that can be used as a way to promote this and have students lead a discussion on their own is the use of a blog.  Although students can create their own views and statements or assignments have an interclass critique and discussion about each piece so they can explain themselves.  This is a great tool for students who are creating a piece of literature for an English class, or any other reflective essay. 

Technology is something that is not going to go away, and teachers must embrace the use of it and create lessons that incorporate it into their curriculum.  As they do this, they must also consider the use of the constructionism and constructivism theories to further enrich their teaching strategies. 

References: 

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009). Program six. Constructionist and Constructivist Learning Theories. 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.

Technology and the Cognitive Learning Theory

Using technology, teachers can become more effective educators and convey ideas more accurately and effectively to students by using cognitive learning strategies. This idea is quite beneficial to all teachers, and can be adapted for any lesson or concept.

One of the most effective tools that I have used recently to build on student’s knowledge about the biomes of the world is the use of wikis to act as a virtual field trip around the world. Each group is given a biome, and must present basic information about the biome, its climate, animals, and plants. This way students can learn the basic information, and store it in their declarative memory and be able to recall it when necessary (Laureate Education Inc, 2009a). After doing this type of activity for several years, I have seen that it is quite effective and the students enjoy it because it not only helps them remember the material longer (which is needed for their SOL test in 8th grade), but also allows them to work on their 21st century skills that include skills such as collaboration, creativity and critical thinking.

Another aspect of the technology that I really think is beneficial is the ability to take virtual field trips within the confines of the classroom. My school is fortunate because it is located in the Washington D.C. suburbs, and have a wide variety of resources available to us as a result, however, it is not something everyone has access to nationwide. Using virtual fieldtrips are quite beneficial in that they help students see and experience things they normally would not be able to. Case in point, students learning about the assassination of President Lincoln may not be able to visit Ford’s theater, but they can see the setup and pictures from the theater from their classroom using computers. This way they still can make a connection with the events that occurred there, but did not actually visit it. By creating connections, students can store the information they gained through episodic memory, and have a better chance of recalling it later, and generating opinions and views on the history being taught (Laureate Education Inc, 2009b).

The cognitive learning theory is something that is quite beneficial in the education system, and is crucial to strengthening student’s knowledge and learning skills. Regardless of the strategy being used, students gain more knowledge, experiences and critical thinking skills from using technology to strengthen cognitive learning, ultimately making it a more enjoyable lesson for the students, and the teacher as well.


References:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009a). Program five. Cognitive Learning Theories. Bridging learning theory, instruction, and technology. Baltimore: Author.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009b). Program six. Spotlight on Technology: Virtual Field Trips. Bridging learning theory, instruction, and technology. Baltimore: Author.

Technology and Behaviorism

Often times when students get their tests back in my class, they are surprised at their scores. Usually it is not in a good way. They expect to do a lot better than they did on the test, and as they are grumbling about their grades, I ask them, “How much did you study?” I usually get the response of “a lot,” which after some discussion usually ends up totaling around 5 minutes. I had only imagined that I could arrange it so that I could graph their effort and their scores to show them the correlation. After reading the section on Mrs. Powell’s math class, I feel inspired to follow her strategy. In order to show this correlation, she had her students graph their effort and their grades to visually display their effort and their scores to find the relationship. Ultimately, most of her students saw, by creating this excel file, that the more effort they put into their work, the better they did in the class. (Pitler et al., p. 156 -157, 2007). As a teacher of seventh graders, this is a concept most of them do not realize. I often see them expecting “A’s and B’s” but are frustrated and confused why they did not get them. By doing this, students should be motivated to work.

Another way that behaviorism is enforced in education is by utilizing technology both in and out of the classroom. By using tools such as a wiki, students can work on building a project outside of class, which promotes team collaboration, critical thinking skills, and also reinforces the content discussed in class. “Technology facilitates homework and practice by providing a wealth of resources for learning outside of the classroom making it easy to work on collaborative homework assignments and providing drill and practice…” (Pitler, et al, p. 189, 2007). When students were to learn about biomes this past semester, I had my students use wikispaces.com to create interactive presentations about each biome that they could then references for later assignments. They created amazing projects, and really enjoyed working on them. This was intended to be an in-class assignment, but my students took it upon themselves the first night to work on the projects outside of class. It worked out extremely well, and the students were quite motivated to do their work.

As we continue to move through technology age, students will have access to a great amount of technology, and in order to utilize it as an effective tool, teachers must be creative and design lessons that allow students to use it within the classroom. From my experiences, any time a student has access to technology in school, they jump at the chance, and ultimately use it as an incentive for learning the content. This idea, which is very simple in reason, is the primary belief behind behaviorism, which is an effective process in the classroom.

References:

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

Random Thoughts

People say "The short weeks are the longest."  I agree with that totally.  Although it was not a horrible week, it seemed like it would never end.  I did realize quite a few things this week that I am glad that I did, which ultimately put a great deal of my life into perspective.  

I am coaching the baseball team at the middle school for the again, which brings about an entirely new sense of worth in the school.  I coached it my first year with a bunch of people, and although I was paid as the assistant coach, all I really did was keep the scorebook.  The two people in charge did not care that out of the four of us, I was the only one who actually played baseball outside of high school.  After spending two years as head coach on the JV team and not being able to have a team this year due to lack of players, it is nice to get back to the basics, and teach the team how to play the right way.  I watched the Varsity team play this past week, and I realized why I dreaded the high school season.  Not so much for the sport, but rather for dealing with the parents and the head coach of the varsity squad.  To be honest, I know he is trying really hard and puts a lot of time into the game, but he needs to let the other coaches do their job too.  He is a micromanager, who does little to let us do our job.  In retrospect, it is a very good thing that I am not doing high school ball this year, and maybe won't do it again.  Only time will tell.