Designing Learning Experiences

As I reviewed this week’s resources, I have learned about learning by design, project based learning, and generating and testing hypotheses.   I will explain how these strategies correlate with the constructivist and constructionist learning theories.  Orey explains that “[c]onstructionism, really, is this idea that you need to have this first-hand experience with things to understand things” (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011).  In order to understand new things, students need to go through a process of assimilation and accommodation to achieve equilibration.  Achieving a state of equilibration means that new knowledge is stored in a schema.  To achieve equilibration, the students must engage in assimilation to take new experiences and change how we interpret the new information or experience to fit into our existing schema, or prior understandings.  

One way we can give students the opportunity to work new understandings into their schemas, assimilation, is to allow students to learn by designing products.  Orey (2001) states that “[l]earning by design strongly suggests that tasks should be based on hands-on experience in real-world contexts.”  This statement correlates with the constructionism as it involves constructing a designed product.  In addition to learning by design, project-based learning is another way students construct understandings and skills as they construct projects.  Teachers can combine learning by design with project-based learning by allowing students to design a product such as a bridge on a digital program.  Then, the students could physically construct a bridge.  Throughout this process, the students would be generating and testing hypotheses of how bridges are constructed in a way to support weight.  They will be incorporating several components of learning by design such as authentic tasks, collaboration, experimentation, and exploration (Orey, 2001).  Solving problems is also important in the constructionist process.  Orey (2001) also describes that “[p]roblem-based inquiry is an effort to challenge students to address real-world problems and resolve realistic dilemmas.”  These real world problems, such as falling bridges, create real problem solving opportunities of the project based tasks.  Thus, this experience will give students needed experience with the skills of the twenty-first century work environment.

References

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011). Program seven: Constructionist and constructivist learning theories [Video webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Retrieved from http://laureate.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=5700267&CPURL=laureate.ecollege.com&Survey=1&47=2594577&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=0&bhcp=1

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. R., & Kuhn, M. (2012). Using technology with classroom instruction that

works (2^nd ed.). Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Teaching for Understanding

When learning about the instructional strategies that were mentioned in the resources of this week, I learned about meaningful experiences that I could offer for my students.  Dr. Michael Orey states that “We can create a rich experience, and this rich experience can be the foundational experience in this network of ideas that a child can have when they’re learning a content domain” (Laureate Education Inc., 2011b).  In creating these rich experiences, teachers can give the students a basis for connecting new content knowledge.  Since “there is a limit to how much information a learner can attend to at one time,” I feel that one of my responsibilities is to ensure that the learning tasks are meaningful (Laureate Education Inc., 2011a).  This will allow new information to stick with the students in their long term memory. 

Orey describes that there are three types of information in people’s long-term memories.  These types of information include declarative, procedural, and episodic memories (Laureate Education Inc., 2011a).  If I want the students to be able to declare knowledge, remember procedures, and connect content to experiences, I need to create powerful learning experiences.  These instructional strategies such as using cues, questions, and advanced organizers along with engaging learning tasks and going on virtual field trips can help me create opportunities that will allow deeper, more connected learning to take place. 

I will describe ways I plan to make learning meaningful by using cues, questions, and advanced organizers.  First, I plan to bring a teddy bear to the class to cue the students into the content of a new unit on bears.  We will have a discussion about where teddy bears come from and how they are made.  This activity will activate the students’ prior knowledge and interests, and will give them a clue that this particular lesson will have to do with stuffed bears.  Next, I will have the students, as a whole group, create a graphic organizer including what they know, want to know, and, later, what they learned about how bears are made.  The students will learn how teddy bears are made by going on a virtual field trip to a teddy bear factory, and they will add what they learned to the KWL chart.  Creating the KWL graphic organizer will help the students begin to understand the purpose of using advanced organizers.  Also, using the advanced organizers will allow me to implement questions at the beginning and throughout the lesson.  According to Pitler, Hubbell, and Kuhn (2012), “using cues, questions, and advanced organizers at the beginning of the lesson or unit focuses learning on the important content to come” (p. 91).  In prekindergarten, concepts need to be kept as simple as possible.  I will be using a KWL chart because it is simple for the students to follow.  I feel that this lesson would be engaging and purposeful while helping the students learn that ideas can be sorted into categories on charts.  In addition, learning how to organize ideas will help the students gain the understandings needed for future note-taking endeavors.

References

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011a). Program five: Cognitive learning theory [Video webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Retrieved from http://laureate.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=5700267&CPURL=laureate.ecollege.com&Survey=1&47=2594577&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=0&bhcp=1

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011b). Program six: Spotlight on technology: Virtual field trips [Video webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Retrieved from http://laureate.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=5700267&CPURL=laureate.ecollege.com&Survey=1&47=2594577&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=0&bhcp=1

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E. R., & Kuhn, M. (2012). Using technology with classroom instruction that works (2^nd ed.). Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Behaviorism

When I think about behaviorism in relation to classroom instruction, I think about teachers giving feedback to students.  Pitler, Hubbell, and Kuhn (2012) describe that “reinforcing effort enhances students’ understanding of the relationship between effort and achievement by addressing their attitudes and beliefs about learning” (p. 57).  The students need to know that their efforts are appreciated.  In the work place, people generally enjoy hearing that they are doing a good job and working hard throughout their work life.  This notion is the same for students as well.  Students will work harder and do their best work if they know that their work is purposeful and will be recognized by peers, teachers, or the community.  Why would we expect students to complete a tedious project that they know will be just thrown in the trash?  Student feedback is best served in a positive way.  With emerging instructional technology, there are multiple ways teachers can provide recognition for hard work throughout a process as well as recognition for a mastered goal.  Pitler, Hubbell, and Kuhn (2012) provide the example of using web showcases.  They explain that “[p]osting exceptional student work on the Internet opens up possibilities for recognition from friends, peers, professionals, and relatives across the globe” (p. 67).  This real world audience makes learning meaningful for the students, and using this audience teaches the students that their work is valued.

Behaviorism in the classroom could also be manifested as the students practice skills and behaviors that the teacher expects them to exhibit.  This often occurs through homework and skills repetition.  When I think of this type of behaviorism, I generally think of homework.  Homework was always a bad word for me.  It meant copying definitions, writing multiplication tables repeatedly, or writing spelling words “ten times each”.  This was absolutely not engaging for me.  I actually remember falling asleep while doing my homework.  Behaviorism is a way of encouraging desired behaviors or discouraging undesired behaviors.  Practicing skills taught me that school was boring and no fun.  Homework was not purposeful and was always graded and thrown in the trash.  It seemed to be a waste of time. 

With expanding educational technologies and the notion of creating engaging work for students, homework and practice is becoming more exciting for students.  One way students can become engaged in the practice of skills is by using online games and programs that are more fun than copying facts.  Students can also create content area games using Microsoft PowerPoint.  Instead of writing spelling words “ten times each,” students can now create cartoons using the spelling words that can be posted to classroom comedy blogs.  Students need to use the spelling words correctly for the audience to understand their writing.  The students can begin to understand that writing correctly is important.  Instead of copying definitions from a dictionary, students use the dictionary to understand meanings of words and can use them in context of a meaningful multimedia presentation on a comedy blog. 

Multimedia can also be used as a way for teachers to create tutorials for students who are doing homework.  Students can go online to watch a teacher-created or student-created podcast that will remind students of the concepts needed to complete homework assignments.  Dr. Orey explains that this type of “programmed instruction…is ubiquitous in online learning and technology” (Laureate Education Inc., 2011).  In addition to these programmed podcasts, students can instant message classmates to further understand concepts needed to create meaningful products.  Students now have the capability to access “resources that help them communicate in real time to teachers, peers, or outside facilitators” (Pitler, Hubbell, & Kuhn, 2012, p. 178).  This global environment allows for more meaningful learning. 

References

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011). Program four: Behaviorist learning theory [Video webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Retrieved from http://laureate.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=5700267&CPURL=laureate.ecollege.com&Survey=1&47=2594577&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=0&bhcp=1

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E. R., & Kuhn, M. (2012). Using technology with classroom instruction that

works (2^nd ed.). Alexandria, VA: ASCD.