Wednesday, November 28, 2012
It doesn't get much better than social learning
There are many “parts” or principles
to the social learning theory. In the social learning theory, “students are
actively engaged in constructing artifacts and conversing with others” (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011) “context and culture are
critical in constructing knowledge and understanding of the world around us” (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011), and “teaching others helps
the learner develop a deeper understanding of the content” (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011).
There are also many instructional
strategies used in classrooms today that correlate with the principles of
social learning theories. Collaborative and cooperative learning are key
ingredients to the social learning theory and all of the instructional
strategies involve both collaboration and cooperation.
One example of an instructional
strategy is the Jigsaw Strategy. When using the Jigsaw Strategy, students are
put into groups. Each person in the group is assigned to a topic and must
research that topic. After the research is complete, each person must teach
his/her group about the topic (Laureate
Education, Inc., 2011). This relates to social learning because students are working in
groups, creating information to share with each other, and relying heavily on the
conversations with one another in order to learn.
A second example of an instructional
strategy is creating a video. Students are put into groups and given specific
roles and must successfully create a video. Again, the students are working in
groups, they must rely on each other, and a really cool artifact will be
created at the end.
A final example of an instructional
strategy is keypals. Keypals can be used in the classroom and allow students to
use e-mail to collaborate with students in other classes or students from far
away (Pitler,
Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007, p.145).
No matter what instructional
strategy is used, it is important for students to be practicing the principles
of the social learning theory. “To be prepared for the fast-paced, virtual
workplace that they will inherit, todays students need to be able to learn and
produce cooperatively.” (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007, p.139).
References:
Laureate Education, Inc.(Producer). (2011) Social Learning Theories.
Pitler,
H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with
classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Practice Your Constructionism
To get started, please allow me to introduce you to and inform
you of two learning theories, constructivism and constructionism.
Constructivism is “a theory of knowledge stating that each individual actively
constructs his/her own meaning” (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011). Constructionism is “ a
theory of learning that states people learn best when they build an external
artifact or something they can share with others” (Laureate
Education, Inc., 2011). Constructionism is very important in the classroom. Basically,
in order for students to learn, and I mean really learn, they need to be
getting involved and building things. Students need to be engaged in learning
and create an artifact. Then, learning will happen.
In order to use
constructionism in the classroom and get students involved and engaged, there
are several different instructional strategies that can be used in the
classroom. One strategy is learning by design. Learning by design is “the value
if learning through creating, programming or participating in other forms of
designing” (Orey, 2001). When using learning by design, the tasks should be
hands-on experiences in real-word contexts. Collaboration between students is a
necessity. Clear expectations need to be given, students need to be informed on
how they will be evaluated, the teacher is a facilitator/motivator, and
feedback must be provided on the artifact that is created by the student(s) (Orey,
2001). I think this strategy does an excellent job
of given the students ownership of their own learning.
A second
strategy is project-based learning and problem-based instruction. I grouped
these two strategies together because I think they are similar. Project-based
learning engages learners in complex activities, requires multiple stages, and
is done over an extended period of time (Orey,
2001). Problem based instruction challenges
students to address real-world problems and resolve realistic dilemmas (Orey,
2001). Both of these strategies allow knowledge to
be actively constructed in the mind of the learner rather than have the
knowledge simply transmitted from teacher to student. This allows students to
create new ideas and be actively engaged in their learning, making it more
meaningful for them.
A final
strategy is generating and testing hypotheses. “When students generate and test
hypotheses, they are engaging in complex mental processes, applying content
knowledge, and enhancing their overall understanding of the content” (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn,
& Malenoski, 2007, p.202). I think students could generate and test hypotheses through
project-based learning. Then, the students would be getting the best of both
worlds!
Regardless of
which strategy is used, hands-on learning that allows the student to create
something is what constructionism is all about.
References:
Laureate Education, Inc.(Producer).
(2011) Constructionist and Constructivist
Learning Theories.
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.
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Cognitivism...
Like
many teachers, my goal is to teach my
students and make sure they learn in
my classroom. “The development of cognitive learning theories marked a change
in how educators thought about learning” (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011). Now days, the assistance of
technology is available to not only help teach the students, but to support the
students in understanding and retaining information. Cognitive learning
theories are based off of information processing. In order for a student to
really, and I mean really, learn something he or she must go through the three
steps of the information processing model. First the individual must receive
the information. Next, that information travels into the short-term memory and
if the information is processes deeply enough (or really learned) it will end
up in the long-term memory (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011). Basically, whatever I teach
students I want it to end up in their long-term memory. Luckily for me and many
other teachers out there, there are different instructional strategies
available to help whatever is being taught end up in the long-term memory of
students.
The first strategy is using cues,
questions, and advance organizers. Both cues and questions are beneficial. Cues
are reminders or hints about what the students are about to learn and questions
can trigger the students’ memories and help access prior knowledge (Pitler,
Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007, p.13). However, I think advance
organizers work the best when teaching for understanding. Advance organizers
are like concept maps, a graphical tool for organizer and representing
knowledge (Novak & Canas, 2008, p.1). Concept maps makes it possible for
students to make cross-links, showing how two things are related. They also
allow the students to give specific examples/events of pictures that trigger a
memory or personal experience for the student, creating an episodic experience.
The second is summarizing and note
taking. Personally, I think summarizing and note taking are part of every class
(depending on the grade level) but do not necessarily always enhance learning.
It does however enhance the students’ abilities to organize information in a
way that captures the main ideas and supporting details (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn,
& Malenoski, 2007, p.120).
The final strategy is virtual field
trips. Virtual field trips are “web based tools that can expand learning
opportunities by allowing students to visit places they otherwise might not be
able to” (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011). This is by far my favorite
instructional strategy. I truly believe this would help students learn and
understand the material they are being presented with. I think students are
much more likely to be engaged and have a powerful learning experience. Any
educational experience that is powerful uses all learning theories.
References:
Laureate Education, Inc.(Producer). (2011) Cognitive Learning Theories.
Laureate Education, Inc.(Producer). (2011) Spotlight on Technology: Virtual Field
Trips.
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/
Pitler,
H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with
classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Are you BEHAVING?
First
things first. If you are reading this post and you do not know what behaviorism
is or what the behaviorist learning theory is then you are going to be lost. If
you get lost you will probably stop looking at my blog and that’s the last
thing I want! So, behaviorism is changes in behavior that result from stimulus
response associations made by the learner. An individual selects one response
instead of another because of a prior condition (Orey,
2001). In other words, reinforce what you want people to do again and
ignore or punish what you want people to stop doing (Smith, 1999, p. 3).
In the
graduate class I am taking, several instructional strategies were described and
several of those strategies correlated with the beliefs/ideas of behaviorism
(everything I explained in the first paragraph)…
One
instructional strategy described was programmed instruction. Programmed
instruction is like an on-line tutorial. Small amounts of information are
presented, guiding questions are asked, and the system says if the questions were
answered correctly or not (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011). This
correlates with the behaviorist learning theory because when the learner
answers the questions correctly, he/she passes the class. Passing the class is
the reinforcement. A student learns that answering the questions correctly is a
good a thing and good things happen because of it and therefore the student is
going to continue to strive to answer all of the questions correctly.
A second
instructional strategy described was behavior management contacts. In this
example, there is usual a consequence for a bad behavior (Laureate
Education, Inc., 2011). If a student does not demonstrate the correct
behavior he/she is going to be punished because of it. The punishment will
hopefully decrease the frequency of the poor behavior.
Effort/achievement
was the third instructional strategy described. “Effort is the most important
factor in achievement” (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007, p. 155).
Effort correlates with the behaviorist learning theory because when effort is
given, it should be reinforced. When a student’s effort is reinforced, it shows
and proves to the student hard work pays off. When effort is put forth towards
something, great outcomes will happen.
Technology
can be used to enhance the behaviorist learning theory. If a student were to
use a spreadsheet to track his/her homework he/she would see that doing
homework usually equates to a good grade.
Many education games or educational websites correlate to the
instructional strategies of behaviorism. Often when a question is answered
correctly or a level is passed successfully something “fun” happens… a
celebration happens on the screen, a fun noise is played, or you move on to the
next level. All of those things encourage and support the positive behavior.
Resources
Laureate Education, Inc.(Producer). (2011) Behaviorist Learning Theory
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.
Smith,
K. (1999). The behaviourist orientation to learning. In The encyclopedia of
informal education. Retrieved from http://www.infed.org/biblio/learning-behavourist.htm
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