Constructivism in Practice

Generating and testing hypotheses is an important 21st century learning skill for students to learn.  You can deductively or inductively generate and test hypotheses (Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M. & Malenoski, K.).  It is also important for teachers to stress to their students that they need to clearly and concisely explain not only their hypotheses, but their conclusions as well (Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M. & Malenoski, K.).  Teachers need to guide their students through generating and testing hypotheses by using specific tasks.  Six tasks that are useful to help students do this are systems analysis, problem solving, historical investigation, invention, experimental inquiry, and decision making (Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M. & Malenoski, K.). 

Generating and testing hypotheses goes right along with the constructionist theory, which 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.).  Generating and testing hypotheses is creating an artifact.  First you need to do some research and then come up with a hypothesis.  Testing the hypotheses may involve creating something and of course, in the end you will share your results. 

I think that a good way to present and share a hypothesis is to use a PowerPoint presentation.  Students would have a nice finished product, one of with they created themselves, to share their findings.  By creating a hypothesis, testing it, and then creating a PowerPoint to share their findings, students will be following the constructionist theory. 

Resources:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2010). Constructionist and constructivist learning theories. Baltimore, Maryland.

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

Instructional Strategies and Cognitive Thinking

There are many great instructional strategies that can be used by teachers to help students learn.  Some of them are cues, questions, and advance organizers.  Cues and questions are directly related because cues are foreshadowing what students will learn and questions perform the same function by helping students access prior knowledge (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, and Malenoski, 2007).  Advance organizers are used to help students understand  and organize the content they will be learning, and helps them focus as well (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, and Malenoski, 2007).  A few things I like about these three topics are that they focus on what is important and they all require higher level thinking.  I am a big fan of Bloom's Taxonomy and the more levels that can be attained for each lesson the better.  Using these three instructional strategies can help students to reach many of the levels.  

Summarizing and note-taking may seem old-fashioned, but they are skills required for students to succeed.  Summarizing teaches students how to break down information and keep what is essential, which means analyzing the information at a deep level (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, and Malenoski, 2007).  Note-taking is only effective when students realize they should not write down word for word what the instructor is saying, and notes are used to help students study (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, and Malenoski, 2007).

Cognitive learning is associated with these instructional strategies and I will use note-taking as an example.  As Dr. Michael Orey states, students will have long term learning experiences if they can connect things they are learning to what they already know (Laureate Education, Inc.).  Orey used the example of trying to remember who Robert E. Lee was.  Orey said that a way to do this would be to associate him with Lee jeans because you wear them, and also your friend Lee (Laureate Education, Inc.). When students can associate what they are learning to what they already know, it will be long term instead of short term.  This can be done while note-taking and goes along with what I previously wrote, not writing down every single word.  Sometimes students need to write down clues for themselves that they understand so that when they go over their notes, they make the connection for a stronger learning experience.  

Resources

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (ND). Cognitive learning theories. [Motion picture]. Bridging learning theory, instruction, and technology [DVD]. Baltimore, MD: Author.

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

Effort, Homework, and Behaviorism

This week I looked at reinforcing effort and homework as two instructional strategies that are used in the classroom.  Research on effort states that not all students realize how important effort is and that students can learn to work from the belief that effort pays off, even if they do not believe it in the beginning (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007).  Two important recommendations for teaching effort in the classroom are teaching students about the importance of effort and having students keep track of their effort and achievements (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007).  These are two great ideas and reinforcing effort in the classroom is important.  This goes back to the behaviorist learning theory, more exclusively operant conditioning.  If a student shows strong and persistent effort, they should be rewarded for this.  I teach first grade and early in the year, my students constantly said "I can't do this," referring to a problem or question they had to answer.  They said this before even trying to answer the question or figure out a problem.  I told them that they weren't allowed to say they can't do anything, especially if they haven't tried it yet.  My students now understand that they need to at least try something and put forth effort.  I think they surprised themselves when they discovered most of the time they could figure it out on their own.  I really like the idea of using a spreadsheet to keep track of effort and how it relates to test scores.  As a first grade teacher, I do not deal with many test scores, but effort is a big factor.  I would like to come up with a way for my students to track their effort and see how it pays off for them.

Homework has always been a huge factor in schools.  Four key ideas about homework are the amount of homework should vary from elementary to high school, parents involvement should be minimal, the purpose should be clear, and teachers should review and comment on it (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007).  Based on these ideas, teachers should have a homework policy, make homework have a purpose and outcome, and have varying approaches to provide feedback (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007).  As a first grade teacher, I assign homework three to four nights a week and plan on it taking my students no longer than ten minutes.  Homework in first grade is more of a reinforcement of what was done in class that day, and also a good way for parents to see what their child is learning in class.  Operant conditioning comes into play with homework because when it is done, students are rewarded.  In my first grade classroom, it is with a sticker on their homework (you might be surprised at how exciting a sticker is to a first grader!).  There are many opportunities for technology when it comes to homework: word processors, spreadsheets, databases, websites, and communication software.  

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