Constructionist/Constructivist Theories and Education Technology

The instructional strategies I explored this week that correlate with the principles of constructivist/constructionist learning theories include the use of web resources as well as spreadsheets. WebQuests are the first tools that come to mind. This form of technology requires students to explore a topic in a small group, examine data, respond to an issue and finally make a decision (Glazer, 2001). WebQuests correlate with the principles of constructivist/constructionist learning theory by the teacher giving up control of the students‘ learning and instead permitting the students to actively construct their own learning (Han & Bhattacharya, 2001). In this type of activity the teacher becomes a facilitator/collaborator guiding the learners in their quest for information. Students are free to investigate the topic, create meaningful learning for themselves, and solve problems.

Another strategy I have used that is similar to a WebQuest is an e-Mission. My students participated in a problem-based situation where a major snowstorm was forecasted for New York City on New Year’s Eve. The students worked in small groups to track the temperature, barometric pressure, clouds and other weather topics. The culminating project was a video conference with NASA to share their findings. Based on each of the four groups’ information, the students needed to determine whether or not the New Year’s Eve celebration in Times Square should go on as planned, or be cancelled. Student learning was based on solving a problem and working cooperatively with all the other groups. If students used only the information their group researched, a well-thought-out decision could not be made.

The e-Mission was a hands-on, student-centered, problem-based based activity that related to real world events. Students had choices to make and felt safe to do so. Clear expectations were provided by my colleague and I and the remainder of the time was spent guiding student learning. The students left this activity with more knowledge about weather forecasting than previous students who only completed a few hands-on activities and required textbook reading.

References:

Glazer, E. (2001). Problem based instruction. In M. Orey (Ed.), Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt

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 May 26, 2010, from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt

Cognitive Learning Theory and Instructional Practices

For this week’s assignment, I explored several different concept mapping links, an Excel spreadsheet, multimedia links, web resources (Google Docs) and communication software (wikis and blogs). The concept mapping tools as well as the others mentioned above help the learners create mental images and/or “templates” (Novak and Cañas, 2008), increasing the number of connections one has when trying to recall the information. All of these tools correlate with the principles of cognitive learning theory since each requires integrating multiple senses, increasing the likelihood of retrieval at a later time (Laureate Education, 2007).

Since short term memory can only process about seven pieces of information at one time, it is important to make as many connections as possible to access the information more quickly and easily. Dual coding, elaboration and networking concepts assist the brain in making more of those connections. Paivoli’s dual coding allows the brain make a connection between a word, such as cat with the visual image of the animal. Therefore, anytime teachers can incorporate “informational images” during instruction, memory will be enhanced (Laureate Education, 2007).

References:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Behaviorist learning theory [Motion picture]. Bridging learning theory, instruction, and technology. Baltimore: Author.

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

How Reinforcing Effort and Homework Practice Relate to Behaviorist Learning

Behaviorist learning theory suggests that children learn by responding to rewards, punishments, or withheld responses (Lever-Duffy & McDonald, 2008). Reinforcing effort using educational technology helps accomplish this goal by providing specific feedback. One way to reinforce effort is through online "drill and practice" type games. For example, during math class my students will occasionally use the website www.arcademicskillbuilders.com to practice basic math concepts such as multiplication, division or adding/subtracting integers. My students race each other using these basic skills. If they are strong in the skill, they have a good chance of winning the race, positive reinforcement). On the other hand, if they continually race and lose, they receive negative feedback encouraging more practice of the particular skill. This is an engaging site that the students don't mind using at home. They will often tell me that they raced friends from class over the weekend.

According to Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, and Malenoski "reinforcing effort enhances students' understanding of the relationship between effort and achievement by addressing their attitudes and beliefs about learning" (2007). My students can easily see how they compare to others when using this website. Another way my students make the connection between effort and achievement is through the use of rubrics in writing. The Rubistar website has allowed me to create rubrics so the children can see what is expected of them to achieve a certain grade.

Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn and Malenoski also suggested "a way to convince students that effort is tied to achievement is by showing them data" (2007). I keep all my grades on a program called PowerTeacher Gradebook. The students could easily keep track of how much time they spent studying for a particular assignment and then input the data into a spreadsheet such as Microsoft Excel. Although my district doesn't allow us to grade homework at the elementary level, data could be collected for effort studying for quizzes and tests.

Homework practice is also an example of behaviorist theory. When students complete homework and hand it in for corrections, the teacher is able to determine if more instruction is needed both individually or for the whole group (positive/negative reinforcement). Educational technology allows students to practice basic skills at home in an engaging, collaborative way. No longer are students limited to paper/pencil types of activities. 21st century students have the ability to practice skills and apply the content they've learned by using blogs, wikis and other programs. One tool that I thought would be particularly helpful is the spelling and grammar tool in Word. Students can use this software to find the grade-level of their writing. By determining the grade-level of one's writing, he/she can decide if words need revising to make the text more descriptive or if sentences need to be combined to make them more complex. Word even has an AutoSummarize tool! Autosummarize provides a brief summary of what was written so a student can compare it to his/her original purpose.

In conclusion, reinforcing effort and homework practice fit the criteria of behaviorist learning theory.

Reference:

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