Chapter 7: Constructivism

Make a list of the sequence of skills necessary for ultimate mastery of the content of your lesson through a constructivist approach.

Which of these learning activities/skills lend themselves to student’s individual or group construction? How might you structure learning activities that lead students to discover these skills/these principles?

 

Our lesson takes a multi-disciplinary approach with math and geography to challenge students to solve a problem. This problem requires them to draw upon knowledge they learned previously in their life as well as knowledge they have gathered from the activity. Constructivism is a learning theory that highlights the importance of past knowledge and internal thinking in learning new material.

 

The activity first gives students a location on a map. Then using a formula, the students have to find a given slope. Applying that slope to the map, they then find another location on the map along that slope, and research some facts about that location that they chose. Using the formula requires them use previous math knowledge and apply it. they have already been taught how to use slope in theory, but now they have to apply it to the real world. This task also requires some general understanding of maps. Obviously this activity is not fully developped as we ran out of time in class to work on it. It could be modified to encourage collaboration. Work could be split up among students so that they do different parts and come together to expalin their work to other students. The important part is that this activity allows students to come up with an infinite number of answers (the plot they point on their slope) that are all correct. This encourages individual discovery.

I think in general with activities, educators can structure them in stages so that students see and understand how they build. You could show that with an example that trying to do the 2nd part before the 1st would not work because the prerequisite knowledge has not been yet learned. Also, technology is a great tool for educating with constructivism because it allows for  individual exploration of a subject. Here is a brilliant video of a man who has explored this idea of individual exploration with technology and learning through experience. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VLje8QRrwg It is not necessarily strictly an example of constructivism, but its emphasis on exploration and building on prior experience makes it a compelling answer to the problem of teaching certain material.
 

Memory processes

Now that I know more about how memory is stored and retrieved, I can really see myself actively considering these principles when I am making my lesson plans or engaging students. For instance, if I am giving students new information that I expect them to remember, I will give it to them in a manageable amount, as well as cluing them in to strategies that they can use to remember the info, so as mnemonics, visual imagery exercises, elaboration, and organization. I will try to structure the lesson so it is conducive to students using these strategies.

Cognitive Learning

The cognitive learning theory states in part that we learn based off of implementing knowledge we have learned in the past. I hope that my students will have the skills necessary to think critically and explore complex ideas.I want my students to be able to formulate and ask good questions: questions, the answers to which are not just a Google search away. I want them to be able to assimilate their knowledge to solve problems and tackle big issues. I want them to be able to organize any new information or understaindings in a way that it can be easily retrieved. Importantly, I want them to be able to understand which style of learning works best for them so they can get the best out of their education. Collaboration: I want students to be able to work together to solve problems. Part of cognitive learning is about taking old information and using it to help you understand new information. Another part of it though is welcoming outside understanding to aid you in this. Collaboration is central to this kind of learning.

Assessment in the classroom

We can all think of different ways our knowledge was assessed in school. Probably the first ways we think of are tests, quizes, and papers. That is not the limit to how teachers can assess student knowlede or ability though. Here is a clip of Jack Black doing some impromptu assessment in the movie School of Rock (I should say it is rather weak assessment he gets better).
Jack Black's character is not a good teacher, at least he doesn't start out that way, but he does get that learning can feel spontanious and fun. There are two broad categories of assessment: formal and informal. I think both are necessary and useful. I also think that both do not necessarily have to look completely different. It may be beneficial in a circumstance to make a test feel more relaxed and spontanious. It may be beneficial to plan out exactly what questions you will ask which students but make it seem spontanious and dynamic.
scholastic has a short and sweet guide to the difference between the two. http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/formal-versus-informal-assessments

In My Classroom

Informal assesment

1. Getting the students to read- This will allow me to see if they understand the material

2. asking questions during a lecture- this keeps the class awake and helps me gage if I need to slow down or revisit a subject.

3. performance assessment- this allows students display wholistic knowledge, bringing together knowledge from different disciplines and combining it in a meaningful way.

4. Pop quizes that won't be graded- this one may be a stretch but I may give one at the beginning of a topic just to see what student's know. Plus, after they learn the material, they will still have those questions in their heads and will feel good for increasing their knowledge.

Formal assessment

1. Observation- Doing a careful, empirical observation on how students interact with each other or a challenge could be useful for gaining their intelligence in less assessed areas, like emotional intelligence for instance.

2. Quizes- these keep students on their toes and don't take up a lot of class time.

3. tests- Of course, the big bad test. It's a fact of life, but preparing students for it well and not designing it with the intent to trick a student can make it something the student is proud to take and do well on.

4. Web based assessment-computer programs that give instant feedback and are thoughtfully engineered with past statistics in mind can be extremely effective in teaching new material. Perhaps more for math than social studies, but there is certainly something out there. here is a cool video about what people are doing in the math world. It's really compelling. http://tedxtalks.ted.com/video/TEDxOrangeCoast-Matthew-Peterso