As I read through this week’s resources about constructionism, I immediately got excited about a lesson I have wanted to teach for years but have struggled with a way to teach it. Now I have a few good ideas.
Authors Han and Bhattacharya from the University of Georgia said, “A classroom based on constructionism has many elements that promote a learner-oriented learning environment.” (Han, S. and Bhattacharya, K., 2001) In simple terms, every classroom should be a learner-oriented environment. However, many classrooms today are still spoon feeding students information and asking them to spit it back out on the test at the end of the unit. While this method may have worked in years past, it does not work well today. The book Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works gives multiple examples of how technology and constructionism can work together. (Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K, 2007)
One example from the book suggests using Microsoft Excel to teach math principles and technology is used to manipulate investment variables. I really appreciated how the source gave examples on how to use the technology without having to spend extra time on how to teach the technology. For me, that has always been a big frustration. What makes this lesson work so well with constructionism is the basic idea that students are researching data and creating a finished product demonstrating their data. Students are creating evidence through their learning. In simple terms, this lesson revolves around building stuff, giving students first hand experience and getting involved. (Laureate, 2008)
As I said earlier, the reading this week gave me an idea. A few years ago I had the opportunity to participate in a Dangerous Decibels workshop. (Decibels are the unit of measurement for sound.) As a musician, I understand how precious hearing is and appreciate even more how hard it is when your hearing is gone. It bothers me when I hear my students’ iPods when they are still 20 feet away. This workshop provided a wealth of science on how humans hear and how we loose our hearing. One way of using constructionism with this lesson will be having students develop a hypothesis on the decibel ratings of a variety of sounds and environments, then test those levels and create a graph in Microsoft Excel comparing the two streams of data. Later, this data can even be posted on the class blog or the school web site. This will be a great way to get their hands on data that can affect their life immediately. I can’t wait to use it!
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 25, 2009, from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt
Laureate Education Inc. (2008). “Constructionist and Constructivist Learning Theories.” Baltimore, MD: Laureate Education Inc.
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Instructional Strategies and the Cognitive Learning Theory
Cognitive learning theory is all about how to move information stored in short-term memory to long-term memory. Daily our students are presented with new information. Without the proper skills to preserve this information, it gets lost. Dr. Orey said that our brains are only capable of processing up to seven or eight pieces of information at any given time. (Laureate, 2008) After 15 minutes of lecture, much is already lost. Good note taking skills prevent the loss of information and offers greater retention.
As a music teacher, note taking has been a point of frustration for me. The authors say that “…teachers rarely teach it [note taking] explicitly as a skill in itself.” (Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. 2007) When presenting new information, I am often asked if what I have just said is important enough to write down. I struggle with whether or not I take the time to teach the skill or just keep moving on assisting them as much as possible. When I taught elementary school, I discovered that using “teacher-prepared” (Pitler, H., et all, 2007) notes gives students the guidance to know what is important.
Another tool presented this week to assist students in information retention is concept mapping and virtual field trips. In our DVD program, Dr. Orey presents a history class taking a virtual field trip to Ford’s Theater in Washington, D.C. (Laureate, 2008) Too often, our students read about historical events or far off places and are given only one or two photos in the textbook to associate with what was read. With a virtual field trip, students can travel through time and place to get a first hand view. Underline that view with a strong concept map with teacher-prepared notes, and students will have a shared experience worth remembering. Dr. Orey says this type of “elaboration” (Laureate, 2008) is what students need to round out the cognitive learning theory.
Laureate Education Inc. (2008). “Cognitive Learning Theory.” Baltimore, MD: Laureate Education Inc.
Laureate Education Inc. (2008). “Virtual Field Trips.” Baltimore, MD: Laureate Education Inc.
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
As a music teacher, note taking has been a point of frustration for me. The authors say that “…teachers rarely teach it [note taking] explicitly as a skill in itself.” (Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. 2007) When presenting new information, I am often asked if what I have just said is important enough to write down. I struggle with whether or not I take the time to teach the skill or just keep moving on assisting them as much as possible. When I taught elementary school, I discovered that using “teacher-prepared” (Pitler, H., et all, 2007) notes gives students the guidance to know what is important.
Another tool presented this week to assist students in information retention is concept mapping and virtual field trips. In our DVD program, Dr. Orey presents a history class taking a virtual field trip to Ford’s Theater in Washington, D.C. (Laureate, 2008) Too often, our students read about historical events or far off places and are given only one or two photos in the textbook to associate with what was read. With a virtual field trip, students can travel through time and place to get a first hand view. Underline that view with a strong concept map with teacher-prepared notes, and students will have a shared experience worth remembering. Dr. Orey says this type of “elaboration” (Laureate, 2008) is what students need to round out the cognitive learning theory.
Laureate Education Inc. (2008). “Cognitive Learning Theory.” Baltimore, MD: Laureate Education Inc.
Laureate Education Inc. (2008). “Virtual Field Trips.” Baltimore, MD: Laureate Education Inc.
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Behaviorism in Practice
I found it very interesting that the resource Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, Malenoski, 2007) gave multiple examples of behaviorist learning strategies to boost effort in students and to help with homework and practice and these strategies were all technology based. This once again confirms for me that behaviorist learning theories are still practiced in schools today.
In the chapter dedicated to reinforcing effort there was an example of Ms. Powel’s 5th grade class using a spreadsheet in Excel to track their level of effort in everything from note taking skills to study skills. (Pitler, et al, 2007) Students followed an internet generated rubric and input their scores on the Excel spreadsheet. With this data, “…student can clearly see the relation between their effort and grades they earned on their tests.” (Pitler, et al, 2007) I believe this type of data tracking is a form of behavior modification or “…eliciting better classroom performance,” (Standridge, 2002) but a form of modification for everyone. The high achievers receive positive reinforcement for doing well, and low achievers, hopefully, as suggested by the book, see that effort will be rewarded with better grades.
As for homework and practice, all educators know that it is difficult to find ways to make these two things have value. In today’s technology rich environment outside our schools, students have access to more academic assistance in their own home than ever before. “Technology facilitates homework and practice by providing a wealth of resources for learning outside of the classroom…” (Pitler, et al, 2007) Through simple research engines built into Microsoft Word to online homework practice such as www.brainpop.com, students can use technology to assist them in their learning. (Pitler, et al, 2007) Again, students’ using technology this way is in line with behaviorist learning theories. Students get immediate feedback for their effort and behavior changes.
Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works provides a wealth of technology and web resources that fall in line with many behaviorist learning strategies.
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Standridge, M.. (2002). Behaviorism. In M. Orey (Ed.), Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved May 12, 2009, from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/
In the chapter dedicated to reinforcing effort there was an example of Ms. Powel’s 5th grade class using a spreadsheet in Excel to track their level of effort in everything from note taking skills to study skills. (Pitler, et al, 2007) Students followed an internet generated rubric and input their scores on the Excel spreadsheet. With this data, “…student can clearly see the relation between their effort and grades they earned on their tests.” (Pitler, et al, 2007) I believe this type of data tracking is a form of behavior modification or “…eliciting better classroom performance,” (Standridge, 2002) but a form of modification for everyone. The high achievers receive positive reinforcement for doing well, and low achievers, hopefully, as suggested by the book, see that effort will be rewarded with better grades.
As for homework and practice, all educators know that it is difficult to find ways to make these two things have value. In today’s technology rich environment outside our schools, students have access to more academic assistance in their own home than ever before. “Technology facilitates homework and practice by providing a wealth of resources for learning outside of the classroom…” (Pitler, et al, 2007) Through simple research engines built into Microsoft Word to online homework practice such as www.brainpop.com, students can use technology to assist them in their learning. (Pitler, et al, 2007) Again, students’ using technology this way is in line with behaviorist learning theories. Students get immediate feedback for their effort and behavior changes.
Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works provides a wealth of technology and web resources that fall in line with many behaviorist learning strategies.
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Standridge, M.. (2002). Behaviorism. In M. Orey (Ed.), Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved May 12, 2009, from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/
Monday, May 4, 2009
Return of the revamped Podcast idea! The end results.
OK...so I have lots of great ideas and can dream big. My father taught me that. But what I struggle with is finding a little reality, time and resources to make it happen. Here's how it turned out.
My original idea:
"So, here is my idea. I think it would be a great idea to have my students interview their "Great Aunt Susie" about songs their parents used to sing to them or the music of their childhood. From there, interviews could be developed into podcasts and so on.
The best part, their podcasts can be incorporated into the final concert performance. You know, along the lines of any Ken Burns documentary; commentary from real people intermixed with music and facts."
Well, my students did interview their family members and friends. I was hoping for more music related answers but somewhere that point got lost along the way. I was REALLY wanting to hear things like the songs family and friends learned in school, not their favorite band being AC/DC. But none the less, my three classes (110 students worth...) turned in their interviews and many were quite good. I think my students were surprised by how little they actually knew about their family and friends and most enjoyed the opportunity to learn more.
So, now off to the recording stage. I didn't think this part through very well. When I realized I had nearly 100 stories to record, I freaked out a little. My intent was just to use a few in the performance, you know, the ones that said all the right things. Well, none said all the right things. So, now what? Well, I sent most of my students to record their story with my digital recorder. I have chosen a few to use in the performance and now I'm just figuring out how to incorporate them. All that is left now is to "podcast" them. I'm looking at uploading them to gcast.com. I'll post a link as soon as I get it done.
Our big performance is this Thursday. The band and choir have worked hard and have learned some challenging music. Singing with a live band is difficult for anyone but they are pulling it off. I didn't get to spend as much time with the history of folk music as I would have liked. But we did get the histories done and some of them will play in the concert.
So I guess I have reached most of my goal. Now, I just need to get them on the net and it will be done. I better hurry, school is out in three weeks....
My original idea:
"So, here is my idea. I think it would be a great idea to have my students interview their "Great Aunt Susie" about songs their parents used to sing to them or the music of their childhood. From there, interviews could be developed into podcasts and so on.
The best part, their podcasts can be incorporated into the final concert performance. You know, along the lines of any Ken Burns documentary; commentary from real people intermixed with music and facts."
Well, my students did interview their family members and friends. I was hoping for more music related answers but somewhere that point got lost along the way. I was REALLY wanting to hear things like the songs family and friends learned in school, not their favorite band being AC/DC. But none the less, my three classes (110 students worth...) turned in their interviews and many were quite good. I think my students were surprised by how little they actually knew about their family and friends and most enjoyed the opportunity to learn more.
So, now off to the recording stage. I didn't think this part through very well. When I realized I had nearly 100 stories to record, I freaked out a little. My intent was just to use a few in the performance, you know, the ones that said all the right things. Well, none said all the right things. So, now what? Well, I sent most of my students to record their story with my digital recorder. I have chosen a few to use in the performance and now I'm just figuring out how to incorporate them. All that is left now is to "podcast" them. I'm looking at uploading them to gcast.com. I'll post a link as soon as I get it done.
Our big performance is this Thursday. The band and choir have worked hard and have learned some challenging music. Singing with a live band is difficult for anyone but they are pulling it off. I didn't get to spend as much time with the history of folk music as I would have liked. But we did get the histories done and some of them will play in the concert.
So I guess I have reached most of my goal. Now, I just need to get them on the net and it will be done. I better hurry, school is out in three weeks....
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