Constructivism in Practice

As a former science teacher, I fully appreciate the statement that, “when students generate and test hypothesis, they are engaging in complex mental processes, applying content knowledge like facts and vocabulary, and enhancing their overall understanding of the content” (Pittler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007, p.202). This strategy can be incorporated with any subject area by providing students with opportunities to problem solve. In my district, we have made a concerted effort to train educators with the development and implementation of project based learning lessons with an emphasis on the use of technology tools. One thing we have done to assist educators in the successful use of project based learning is to establish school support teams composed of educators, information specialists, educational technologists and administrators so that the individual teacher is not overwhelmed with thinking that they are all alone with, what for many of them is, an entirely new approach to teaching.

There are now so many quickly available tools, ideas and support forums for educators interested in providing effective constructivist learning opportunities for students. The resources this week showed me some new websites that I will definitely use in the future. I like the project based learning planning documents that are located on the PBL site and I will provide this resource to the educators in my district. - http://pbl-online.org/ProjectPlanning/PlanningForm.htm . The increased use of web based simulations may be particularly helpful in my district because current IT restrictions have resulted in extensive delays and rejections of software based programs. I think some caution needs to be exercised to make sure that educational ‘games’ are integrated in the curriculum and are supporting student achievement and not just used as a type of reward. I have found the material and blogs on http://www.edutopia.org/ to be particularly helpful. The Best on the Web for Teachers site is a good starting point for finding web based resources that can support virtually any classroom activity or to provide sites for parents to use with their children at home that support what is happening in the classroom.

One element of project/problem based learning that can be unsettling for teachers is that students often do not proceed in the same manner or sequence in finding solutions to their problems. As such, it is necessary for educators to monitor student progress and to use questioning techniques to assist students in discovering errors in their logic or to expand their thinking. The teacher is no longer in the role of dispenser of truth and the ‘right’ answers. Two years ago, Jamie McKenzie came to my district and provided training on how educators can facilitate increased opportunities for students to engage in critical thinking. He presented a variety of project ideas and methods and one thing that I continue to utilize regularly is his information related to questioning techniques. Sharing this information with educators in my district has helped them focus on getting student to think more deeply about their questions instead of just providing them with the easy quick answer.

Evan Glazer effectively sums up the potential of constructivist education in the form of problem based instruction by stating that, “problem-based inquiry emphasize learning as a process that involves problem solving and critical thinking in situated contexts. It provides opportunities to address broader learning goals that focus on preparing students for active and responsible citizenship. Students gain experience in tackling realistic problems, and emphasis is placed on using communication, cooperation, and resources to formulate ideas and develop reasoning skills.” (2001, p.4)

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

Glazer, E. (2001). Problem Based Instruction. In M. Orey (Ed.), Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved <5/24/2009>, from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/

Cognitivism in Practice

Cognitive Learning theories and information processing research indicate that the storage of information in long term memory and the ability to subsequently retrieve that information is directly related to the number and variety of mental connections made between existing and new mental constructs If students listen to a lecture and are not actively involved in making associations with the information based on existing knowledge and experiences, there is less likelihood that the information will be remembered, let alone combined and synthesized to create new understanding.

Instructional strategies that assist students in making more connections and that provides images and other representations of information, will make it easier for students to remember information and increase their understanding of it. Technology tools such as Inspiration, that model the networking of information that occurs in the brain, are particularly effective for helping students discover the connections between small pieces of information. This aids in the conversion of information from short term to long term memory. It also help with the retrieval of information because more associations and connections between information has been facilitated. Adding pictures and other sensory representations of information with further enhance the number and quality of the cognitive connections.

I think educators who design lessons, such as virtual field trips, which actively engage students in utilizing, organizing, manipulating, and sharing information, will find that their students’ ability to understand, remember and make new associations will be greatly improved.

Drill and Practice Websites

As the internet links under this week’s resources showed, there are numerous educational sites which can help with the drill and practice of facts. I had not seen the Prentice Hall Social Studies Tutor http://www.phschool.com/curriculum_support/ss_skills_tutor/. The tutorials were a bit dry but for a short period of time and for targeting a specific skill, I think it would be beneficial. It might be especially useful for those students who have difficulty reading because it was accompanied by audio. I could see using this site as part of a learning center.

The keyboarding site, (http://www.davis.k12.ut.us/cjh/appliedtech/Business/Keyboarding/)
could be useful in my district because we mandate keyboarding training in grades 3-6. This site would enable parents to help their students practice at home or during the summer.

The Webmath (http://www.webmath.com/index.html) site has a variety of math support resources and drill activities. The nice thing about this site is that students at almost every level can use it. For differentiating instruction and providing students with practice at the level that is most beneficial for them, this is a great feature.

Another math and science website that is utilized extensively in my district is the Shodor site, http://www.shodor.org/educators/activities/. Dr. Panoff has provided numerous professional development trainings in my district and his interactivate math site provide teachers and students with some very interesting and engaging math activities: http://www.shodor.org/interactivate/activities/

The technology tutorial site is another one I can see myself using often with students http://www.internet4classrooms.com/on-line.htm . For those who like written step by step directions, this site is perfect. Another technology tutorial site that I like to use is www.atomiclearning.com , this site has short video tutorials related to numerous applications so it is good for those visual & auditory learners. The atomic learning site is a paid subscription but many of the basic tutorials for each application are free.

There are so many great sites for drill and practice that I really do not understand how teachers can continue to rely so heavily on pencil & paper worksheets. I know, in part, it has to do with computer availability in the classroom but hopefully we will continue to move towards a 1:1 computer to student ratio in our schools. While behaviorism based drill and practice generally focus on lower level thinking skills, they do reinforce learning and provide the building blocks for higher learning. The nice thing about internet based drill and practice is that sites can be located that correspond closer to the learning styles and preferences of each student.