Constructivism in Practice

This week I took a look at Generating and Testing Hypotheses.  This is an approach to learning that goes hand in hand with the constructivist's viewpoint.  When I think of generating and testing a hypothesis, I think of a scientist diligently working away in his lab seeking a solution to a problem.  One of the main points of constructionist theory is that students are actively involved in creating something (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007).  According to Dr. Orey, this idea, moreso than just being an active learner is what sets constructionism apart from other learning theories (Orey, 2001).  Other theories place emphasis on the active learner, but constructionism also places a large emphasis on the process of constructing an artifact.

This leads to the idea of project based learning (PBL) within the method of generating and testing hypotheses.  In PBL students are the center of the learning process (Orey, 2001).  There are a number of ways that generating and testing hypotheses may take shape in the classroom.  Some of the web resources that were looked at in the course this week demonstrated how it may play out.  One of the examples from this week (http://www.edutopia.org/start-pyramid) talked about a class that designed a new high school for the year 2050.  This would definitely involved making some hypotheses and then proving them.  For example, students would have to begin with ideas of how much the project would cost, what materials would be needed, or what resources would be needed in 2050.  Then the students would have to investigate the facts and validate their hypotheses.  All this was done in the framework of PBL in which the students created a rendering (this would be their authentic artifact) which was judged by a real life architect.  This is one example, but the options for a real life encounter with learning in which the students work towards a product are endless.  And whereas teachers were once limited to how many real life experiences they could create in the classroom, technology has opened a door that brings the real world into the classroom and allows students to explore learning in way that puts them in charge of the learning process while working on authentic issues and using real life situations.

It seems to me that PBL and generating and testing hypotheses are really inseperable.  While the approaches may vary, the end goal is the same.   Teachers want students to walk through the process of investigation and end up with a tangible product that demonstrates learning and understanding. 

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010). Program seven. Constructionist and Constructivist

      Theory. [Webcast]. Bridging Learning Theory, Instruction, and Technology.  Baltimore, MD: Author.

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

Retrieved from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Main_Page

 

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with

classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Cognitivism in Practice

This week I explored two instructional strategies.  Those were cues, questions, and advance organizers and summarizing and note taking.  Both of these strategies put an importance on the student’s ability to sift through information and do something with it that will make it meaningful to them.  This idea ties in with cognitive learning theory.  According to Dr. Orey, (Laureate Education, 2010a) one of the main thrusts of cognitive learning is that the learner constructs knowledge in a series of networks.  These networks can be strengthened by making connections with previous knowledge. 

Using cues, questions, and advance organizers is one method to help build these connections that the brain needs to learn.  By using this method, the brain is able to better sort, recall, and use the information that has been processed (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007).  Organizers give the student a way to scrutinize all of the material that they encounter and pare it down to the information which they need.  This could be accomplished by using a simple flow chart drawn by hand.  However, there a number of useful softwares and applications which help to bring technology into the process.  Concept mapping software allows students to do this process of sorting through the information using a computer.  The structure of the concept map puts the main concept at the top and then the sub-points are branches off of the main concept (Novak & Cañas, 2008).  This structure helps the student to understand the relationship between the different points and to create connections in learning.

The other strategy from this week also incorporates cognitive learning theory.  Summarizing and note taking puts an emphasis on getting rid of the nonessential information and focusing on the necessary points (Pitler, et al., 2007).  This strategy is certainly one that has been implemented in classrooms for many decades.  However, technology can now aide the process.  One strategy that would help the student hone the skills of summarizing and note taking is the virtual field trip.  Certainly the virtual field trip has other benefits such as helping the mind to create episodic memory (Laureate Education, 2010b) and bringing the student into an active role in learning.  But, it is certainly an opportunity for summarizing and not taking.  For example, a classroom participates in a virtual field trip to the running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain.  Before participating, the teacher poses this question to the class: “What are the traditions in which the running of the bulls is based?”  As the students then participate, they must take notes and sift through the information presented.  Of course they will encounter much more information, but will need to in the end get rid of the extraneous information and summarize the field trip to answer the question that was given to them. 

Both of the strategies - cues, questions, and advance organizers and summarizing and note taking – provide for development of essential cognitive skills that will result in learning.  They also provide for a chance to integrate technology into the classroom to make learning more fun, effective, and meaningful. 

 

Novak, J. D., & Cañas, A. J. (2008). The theory underlying concept maps and how to

construct and use them, Technical Report IHMC CmapTools 2006-01 Rev 01-

2008. Retrieved from the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition Web site:

 http://cmap.ihmc.us/Publications/ResearchPapers/

TheoryUnderlyingConceptMaps.pdf

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

Retrieved from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Main_Page

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with

classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010a). Program five. Cognitive Learning Theories. [Webcast]. Bridging Learning Theory, Instruction, and Technology.  Baltimore, MD: Author.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010b). Program six. Spotlight on

Technology: Virtual Field Trips. [Webcast]. Bridging Learning Theory, Instruction, and Technology.  Baltimore, MD: Author.

Behaviorism and Classroom Practice

The two teaching practices that were discussed in this week’s reading were homework and practice and reinforcing effort.  Both of these teaching strategies line up with behaviorist theory, and both offer a great opportunity for technology integration.   

First of all, let’s take a look at homework and practice.  According to Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, and Malenoski (2007), the idea behind homework and practice is to have the students take another look at the material they have already learned.  Hartley stated that one of the key principles of behaviorist theory as it pertains to education is that repetition necessary (as cited in Smith, 2009).  Homework provides students with varied repetition that is necessary to develop the desired response, which is mastery of the material.  In addition, Smith (2009) states that the behavior is more important in the behaviorist model than the underlying thought behind the behavior.  Homework and practice also lines up with this principle.  When looking at homework, what to teachers usually look at?  They check to see if the students have developed the behavior which is the correct answer.  The process whereby the student derived the answer is pushed to the background. 

When considering homework and practice, one of the ideas that makes learning prevalent is that the practice is done in a variety of ways.  This is an obvious place to utilize technology.  As an example, I will use a Spanish 1 assignment.  When learning to conjugate –ar­  verbs, I could assign my students a series of verb charts that they must fill in.  Or, to be more effective, I could have them complete an online activity, practice verb conjugations with various apps on their iPod, or have them collaborate through a wiki to develop a guide to conjugating –ar verbs.  Technology gives the teacher options that will allow the practice to be varied and effective. 

Reinforcing effort also demonstrates a parallel to behaviorist thought.   According to Standridge (2002), consequences and reinforcement are two essential elements to behaviorism in the classroom.  Some students do not realize that effort is essential to learning (Pitler et al., 2007).  Because this is true, the behaviorist ideals of using reinforcement can be utilized to develop a student’s understanding of effort.  For example, when a student asks the inevitable question “Why should I do my homework?”, I could offer negative reinforcement and tell them that if they do complete all of their homework assignments then they will be given an advantage on the exam. 

Technology can be greatly utilized when attempting to help students recognize and record effort.  A simple spreadsheet could be used to have students record the effort that they give over a period of time.  I could even see the benefits of using a site like polleverywhere.com to ask the students to respond about their efforts through a survey. 

In review, both homework and practice and reinforcing effort demonstrate that behaviorist ideas can still be used effectively in the classroom.  They also provide tremendous opportunities for teachers to integrate technology into the classroom.  Some of the best approaches in education are the same ones that have been around forever.  The only difference is that now they can be done in a modern way that appeals to learners, but still accomplishes learning. 

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with

classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Smith, M. K. (1999) 'The behaviourist orientation to learning', the encyclopedia of

informal education, www.infed.org/biblio/learning-behavourist.htm, Last update: September 3, 2009.

Standridge, M.. (2002). Behaviorism. In M. Orey (Ed.), Emerging perspectives on

learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved <insert date>, from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/