This week our text gave us suggestions for generating and testing hypotheses using technology in the classroom. During this week we also have been learning and discussing the theory and practice of constructivism and constructionism and how technology can be used to carry them out.
Dr. Orey from our DVD describes constructionism as a theory of learning that states people learn best when they build an external artifact or something they can share with others. Our text described six tasks that teachers can use to help students generate and test hypothesis and a couple really stuck out with some key phrases that related to the constructivist/constructionist approach that Dr. Orey talked about where students are building their own learning experience. The tasks that really stood out were problem solving, invention, and experimental inquiry. To me these tasks could easily be used for any activities where a teacher was having students construct and discover in a project based environment.
Our test suggested using spreadsheet software when students are developing tests and hypothesis. In this scenario I think technology plays a valuable role of helping students organize their data and predictions to use them for further testing.
Another suggestion for technology tools from our text was data collection tools such as digital microscopes and USB connectible data probes. With these advances in technology students have tools that are more accurate and easy to use than in the past. In a constructivist classroom students need tools to experiment, test, and create with.
In conclusion, this week has provided some great ideas for technology use in my own classroom. I always knew that there are many technology tools available that can help students create things to help them construct their own learning. What I got from this week is that there are also technology tools that can help students to organize data when they are testing ideas and also tools that can help students collect that data to use in their projects or constructions.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Cognitivism in Practice
After reviewing the resources for this week I am realizing that many of the lesson adaptations that I make fall under the umbrella of cognitivism that I was not originally aware of. I often will display pictures or play media related to the topics that I am teaching to enhance lessons. My first goal was to make my lesson more engaging by adding these elements, but I also see now that they can make a lasting impact on how students retain and process the information that I provide.
Dr. Orey, from our DVD, explains how cognitivism looks at how learners take in information and what they are capable of processing, retaining, and using. By looking at how learners take in information, we as teachers, can adapt our lessons so that we are creating learning experiences that address exactly what our students are capable of. You wouldn't try and play a game like Call of Duty 4 on an old Commodore 64 computer, because there is no way that the machine could handle a game like that. Similar with students, by understanding the limitations and capabilities of the learning process we can create experiences that students can get more out of.
One of the main strategies that our DVD and text share for this is through organization. Our text, Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works, talks in Chapter 4 about steps that students and teachers can take prior to learning and lessons that can help organize information. These tools can also help students to refer back to previous learning experiences to continue to build on what they know. One of my favorite suggestions from the text was using multimedia like powerpoints or video clips before a lesson to act as an expository advanced organizer that helps activate prior knowledge and develop a mental model to help them understand new information.
Chapter 6 delves into summarizing and note taking which relates to cognitivism as well since the purpose is to organize learning so that it is more digestible to the human brain. Our text offers several suggestions for classroom technology that can assist students in the art of note taking and summarizing. The one that I could see myself using in my 4th grade class is the note taking template created in Inspiration. I think talking notes is a great skill for students to have and by having a graphic organizer that students can fill in while they are taking notes gives them a framework and helps to keep them organized at a stage when note taking is probably something that they have not had much experience in.
By combining cognitivism with classroom technology we can use software and internet tools to help organize the learning that we want to impart. Many of the suggestions and insights are simple steps that teachers can take that can make the difference of a lesson that goes over students heads to something that they can remember and use for the rest of their lives.
Dr. Orey, from our DVD, explains how cognitivism looks at how learners take in information and what they are capable of processing, retaining, and using. By looking at how learners take in information, we as teachers, can adapt our lessons so that we are creating learning experiences that address exactly what our students are capable of. You wouldn't try and play a game like Call of Duty 4 on an old Commodore 64 computer, because there is no way that the machine could handle a game like that. Similar with students, by understanding the limitations and capabilities of the learning process we can create experiences that students can get more out of.
One of the main strategies that our DVD and text share for this is through organization. Our text, Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works, talks in Chapter 4 about steps that students and teachers can take prior to learning and lessons that can help organize information. These tools can also help students to refer back to previous learning experiences to continue to build on what they know. One of my favorite suggestions from the text was using multimedia like powerpoints or video clips before a lesson to act as an expository advanced organizer that helps activate prior knowledge and develop a mental model to help them understand new information.
Chapter 6 delves into summarizing and note taking which relates to cognitivism as well since the purpose is to organize learning so that it is more digestible to the human brain. Our text offers several suggestions for classroom technology that can assist students in the art of note taking and summarizing. The one that I could see myself using in my 4th grade class is the note taking template created in Inspiration. I think talking notes is a great skill for students to have and by having a graphic organizer that students can fill in while they are taking notes gives them a framework and helps to keep them organized at a stage when note taking is probably something that they have not had much experience in.
By combining cognitivism with classroom technology we can use software and internet tools to help organize the learning that we want to impart. Many of the suggestions and insights are simple steps that teachers can take that can make the difference of a lesson that goes over students heads to something that they can remember and use for the rest of their lives.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Behaviorism in Practice
This week we have been reading, discussing, and exploring some methods for incorporating technology in the classroom. We also have been looking into the behaviorism and its practice in the classroom.
In Chapter 8 of our text we looked at reinforcing effort and some methods for incorporating technology to do this. The book offered a great suggestion of giving students a rubric and having them grade their own effort from week to week. The book made the suggestion of having students create graphs from their results to see the trend in their personal effort. I think this correlates with behaviorism by giving student a good grade or positive reinforcement for showing effort and a poor grade or negative reinforcement for not showing enough effort. The student should want to put in effort for there own personal motivation so I think that using behaviorism strategies are not the best for reinforcing effort.
However, I think that the homework and practice discussed in chapter 10 have much more applications for the behaviorism model to be put into practice. Dr. Orey from our DVD describes the behaviorist learning theory as reinforcing positive behaviors and punishment for undesirable behavior. Homework and practice can provide great opportunities for reinforcement. Many of the homework assignments that I give to my students are directly related to the lessons from class to let students practice or continue to develop skills on the subjects we are working on in class. Technology is a great asset for homework and practice and our text offers some great suggestions for using word processors, spreadsheet software, multimedia, and web resources to practice, review, and apply their learning. In my 4th grade class I often will offer websites that correlate with the lessons in class that students can explore at home with their parents. At this point in time I do not assign homework that requires students to access the internet since not all students have computers or internet as a resource. It is my hope in the future that this could be a possibility and that all students can have and use this technology outside of the classroom.
In Chapter 8 of our text we looked at reinforcing effort and some methods for incorporating technology to do this. The book offered a great suggestion of giving students a rubric and having them grade their own effort from week to week. The book made the suggestion of having students create graphs from their results to see the trend in their personal effort. I think this correlates with behaviorism by giving student a good grade or positive reinforcement for showing effort and a poor grade or negative reinforcement for not showing enough effort. The student should want to put in effort for there own personal motivation so I think that using behaviorism strategies are not the best for reinforcing effort.
However, I think that the homework and practice discussed in chapter 10 have much more applications for the behaviorism model to be put into practice. Dr. Orey from our DVD describes the behaviorist learning theory as reinforcing positive behaviors and punishment for undesirable behavior. Homework and practice can provide great opportunities for reinforcement. Many of the homework assignments that I give to my students are directly related to the lessons from class to let students practice or continue to develop skills on the subjects we are working on in class. Technology is a great asset for homework and practice and our text offers some great suggestions for using word processors, spreadsheet software, multimedia, and web resources to practice, review, and apply their learning. In my 4th grade class I often will offer websites that correlate with the lessons in class that students can explore at home with their parents. At this point in time I do not assign homework that requires students to access the internet since not all students have computers or internet as a resource. It is my hope in the future that this could be a possibility and that all students can have and use this technology outside of the classroom.
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