Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology reflection

As I look back at my personal theory of learning that I created eight weeks ago for this class, I realize that my views on how my students learn have not changed much throughout my own learning. I still believe that behaviorism, constructivism and social constructivism are the three main theories I follow. Student learning is affected by rewards, punishment and reinforcement, and due to the globally connected society we live in; students are also drawn to social situations. All of these factors can be combined to create a powerful learning experience.

The greatest change I did see in my classroom over the past eight weeks is in the way I design my lessons. When I was in college I learned about the different theories of how people learn, but I did not commit the different theories to long term memory and I did not think about them when I designed lessons for my students. Now I look at the components of each learning theory, think about how my students prefer to learn, and design lessons that better meet their needs.

One aspect of my personal learning theory that I am proud of is my current level of technology integration. I still feel that I need to improve my skills with integrating technology, but the technology I currently use in my classroom is transparent in the learning process. The technology I am the most excited to show my students came from my own learning in this course. We had an assignment where we had to use the voice thread website. It is a simple interface to use, but the learning potential is amazing. Students have the opportunity to construct their own learning experience through a combination of sight and sound and then share that with their classmates or students from around the world.

Voice Thread

http://voicethread.com/share/890054/

The link above to view and listen to my voice thread regarding the use of cell phones and iPods in school. Please leave a comment and I will try to respond in a timely manner.

Connectivism and Social Learning:

Cooperative learning “…focuses on having students interact with each other in groups in ways that enhance their learning…” (Pitler, et al. 2007, p 139). When cooperative learning is combined with technology, the learning becomes more powerful. As 7th grade math teacher Karen Casselman discussed, cooperative learning gives students the opportunity to socialize, to bounce ideas off each other, and to validate answers. She goes on to say that most students expect her to be the expert in the classroom, and while that should be true, other students hold knowledge that is relevant to the situation and by teaching the material to each other, each individual students learns the content better (Laureate, 2009 A). Cooperative learning, when combined with the use of technology, goes along with the social learning theories.

The social learning theories discuss the idea that, “context and culture are critical in constructing knowledge” (Laureate, 2009 A). By allowing students to work together to create an artifact of learning, the culture of each student and the context of their prior knowledge meld together to produce powerful learning that can rarely be achieved in isolation. George Siemens said, “Knowledge resides in the patterns of how different concepts are networked and learning is the act of forming networks and navigating networks of knowledge” Laureate, 2009 B). An example of a network of knowledge was given by Dr. Michael Orey. He discussed the jigsaw form of cooperative learning.

In the jigsaw model, students are grouped together to learn about a topic. Each student is told a head of time he or she will be responsible for the learning because after a certain amount of time he or she will be required to teach that topic to another group. When the groups are reformed each student teaches his or her topic to the new group and when it is time for an assessment of learning, each student is going to “sink or swim” together based on how well each student taught their topic (Laureate, 2009 A). “Cooperative learning is not so much learning to cooperate as it is cooperating to learn” (Pitler, et al. 2007, p 143). Students do not have to like all the members of their group for this process to work. It is recommended that a variety of grouping strategies are used to ensure students have the opportunity to work with as many different people as possible. Because some students do not work well together, the idea of the base group is utilized. The base group is the one long term group that is created at the beginning of the year to allow for, “…trust, camaraderie, and teamwork…” (Pitler, et al. 2007, p 140).

I have used cooperative learning in my classroom on a regular basis and I like the results. My students know the expectations for their product and they feel comfortable using each others’ knowledge to solve problems. It is a difficult concept at first because the top students do not want to feel like they are doing the work for the bottom students but once everybody understands the concept and buys into the process, all the students benefit.

Resources:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009 A). Bridging Learning Theory, Instruction, and Technology. Social learning theories. Baltimore: Author.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009 B). Bridging Learning Theory, Instruction, and Technology. Connectivism as a learning theory. Baltimore: Author.

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