Social Learning and Social Networking

Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, and Malenoski (2007) defined collaborative learning as when students work together in groups to enhance their learning. By working together with their peers, students can “make sense of, or construct meaning for, new knowledge”(Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007,p.139). I explored a variety of different cooperative learning strategies and a few social networking strategies. As I explored both types of strategies, I started to make connections between the two and how I can incorporate both in my classroom.

When it comes to using Facebook in my classroom, I tend to be cautious. Almost every student has Facebook, but the last thing they use it for is academics. I came up with the idea of having students design a class Facebook page. I would assign different roles to students to create the page. We could have a homework posting area, homework help, class discussions etc. I would need the students help to come up with more ideas. Students would also be responsible for maintaining and updating the page daily. I would of course need to set strict ground rules, such as no inappropriate posts or pictures. Although I am hesitant, I think it can be worth a try.

The second tool I would use is blogs. Students can work in small groups to design and maintain a blog related to science. I would run it similar to how we run our blog posts in this course. Each group would be responsible for posting early in the week and reading/responding to classmates blogs. Students will need to communicate and work with others in their groups to keep the blog up-to-date.

No matter what social networking strategy I would use, I would give the students a rubric outlining how they will be graded based on their participation. I would also give each group a sheet where they have to assign a role to each group member. The main goal for all these ideas is to have students work together to build something, communicate with their peers, and support each other, which is a main goal of social learning. It also allows students to see how the social networking sites can be used for other purposes, rather than discussing their social lives!

Here is the link to my VoiceThread:

http://voicethread.com/share/2498859/

Kayla Shandra

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

Constructivism in Practice

I use generating and testing hypotheses all the time in the laboratory portion of my class.  During my lab, I present students with a problem and they must work with their lab group and try to solve that problem. Once in a while, I give the students a list of materials and have them develop their own scientific questions from those materials. With the new developments in technology, students can use equipment such as, probeware, to gather and interpret data (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007). In my Biology class, I use Vernier probeware.  A series of different probes came with the set along with a personal labquest computer. The students use the probes, which are connected to the lab quest computer, to collect and store data. Students can then go back and look at the data and start to interpret and analyze that data.  I feel this is connected to constructivism because students are working with their lab group to conduct an experiment, collect their own data, and finally, produce an end product. This relates to project-based learning because students are building their own knowledge throughout a hands-on projects and activities, and producing some sort of artifact which showcases that knowledge gained. In my case, the artifact is either a technology based presentation of results, or a lab report. The learners are also engaged in a complex activity that takes place over a number of class periods, which is a main aspect of project-based learning (Orey, 2001). Overall, constructivism is a learner-centered strategy where the teacher simply serves as a guide (Orey, 2001).  I believe that constructivism goes hand in hand with project-based learning. Through project-based and constructivist lessons, students work together to solve a problem or answer a question and then share their results with their peers (Orey, 2001).

Kayla Shandra

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

Cognitivism in Practice

Cues are used to help students know what they are about to experience during the lesson (Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007).  When starting a new unit, I often give students an anticipation guide that not only allows me to assess their prior knowledge on the topic, but it also gives the students a sneak peak at what will be learning throughout the unit.  As far as questioning, I always begin and end my class with a question. My warm-up question either serves as a review from last class, or it connects in some way to the new material. My exit slip questions are almost always a review question, so that I can assess the students understanding of the lesson.

One of my favorite things to use are advance organizers. When I started teaching three years ago I only gave advanced organizers to students to my special education students who needed them. When I saw how much it helped them with note taking, I decided to start using them with all my students. My students love advanced organizers and I believe that it helps with their note taking skills. Students are learning how to organize their notes and pick out main ideas, instead of writing every single word they see in the paragraph. I often include a summarizing part to my graphic organizer so the students can make connections and write all the information in a way that shows the overall picture, which is the main goal of summarizing (Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007).

I often use concept maps as a type of advanced organizer or as a brainstorming activity. When I use it as a brainstorming activity, I try to tap into a student’s prior knowledge and see what they know about a certain topic.  I believe that when using virtual field trips it would be beneficial for students to have some sort of concept map to organize all the information they gather. It can also serve as a guide through the virtual field trip which can make the field trip more meaningful for students. If the student have a concept map guiding them, they will be less likely to just click through the information because they will have to stop at certain points and read and record certain information.

Kayla Shandra

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

Behaviorist Learning Theory

As I looked through the learning resources and sample websites, I noticed that although the online activities were different, they all we set up very similar. Dr. Orey (2010) mentioned that reinforcement and punishment are very important parts of the theory of behaviorism. Teachers should always try to reinforce positive outcomes. I noticed that during all the online activities, when the correct outcome was accomplished, the program gave some sort of positive reinforcement. For example, during one of the activities where the students had to put the correct amount of change in the piggy bank, the piggy bank changed color when the correct amount was chosen. When students see this positive response, it motivates them to try their best. It also serves as a form of reinforcement. This can be applied to homework. When students work hard on a homework assignment, they should learn to expect a good grade. When I hand tests and homework back to the students, I make sure I put a sticker and a positve comment at the top of their paper to reinforce their hard work. I also noticed that when an answer was incorrect, the activity either told the student that the answer was wrong, or it had the student try over and over again until the correct answer was chosen. I can see how this can serve as a type of punishment and will discourage incorrect answers.  Many times, a prompt was given to the student to direct them in the right direction.  The goal of behaviorism is to change a student’s behaviors using punishment and reinforcement and these online activities clearly show this (Laureate Education,Inc.,2010).

Laureate Education,Inc.(Producer).(2010) Behaviorist learning theory [Video webcast].