Technology Helps Students Create Artifacts

Students learning within the constructionist theory are constructing their own theory within the reality of the topic mixed in with their own beliefs. This way of learning is by far one of my favorites because it allows the children to explore by themselves, become fully engaged and create a finished project. This process of learning can be intensified with the use of technology. Technology help children not only "gather the data but also interpret the data" (Pitler,Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski.)

In order for students to be able to gain a meaningful lesson from this process of creating their own artifact, teachers must have students generate and test their hypotheses through one of the following; "system analysis, problem solving, historical investigation, invention, and/ or decision making"(Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn,& Malenoski.) The more hypotheses the student experience, the more they will learn from the experience. In addition, tools that are very beneficial with the integration of technology are Spread Sheets and Data Collection Tools. Both of these tools help the students interpret the data instead of simply gathering.

One example of a lesson that can be used in the constructionist theory with technology is one I thought of while brainstorming during my reading. The lesson would be on Latin America's Impact on the United States and students will be asked to create a PowerPoint which focuses on their assigned country's contribution to the United States. Within this lesson students will be given the opportunity to use an interactive data collection box to interpret the amount of impact the country had to The United States compared to other contributions. Overall, this lesson will support the constructionist theory with the use of technology.

Cognitivism In The Classroom

Cognitive theory along with my experience as a teacher shows me that the most important thing a teacher can do is realize that each student is a different type of learner. Although I know that every child learns in a different way, I still do not test he or she to find out exactly what type of learner he or she is. From now on, every year, on the first day of school I will ask the children to take the questionaire, found at http://www.personalitypage.com/cgi-local/build_pqk.cgi. This questionaire is based on the Myers-Briggs Types (Lever-Duffy & McDonaly,2009.) Using this questionaire will be much more beneficial at the start of the year but it is never too late to find out exactly what type of learners you have in the room so you can plan accordingly. As teachers we each have personal preference but not every child learns as we do and that is what we must remember! "Cognitive styles is how one thinks" (Lever-Duffy & McDonald,2009), therefore we need to use tools to help several types of learner not just one.

Cues, questions, and organizers are ways in which we can target more than one thinker (learner) at a times because each one of these gives students an idea on what the topic is and varies from levels depending on the student. For example, the cues gives any type of learner a clue about what they are learning, the questions start from low leveled to high and the organizers are made so that students can grasp the concept regardless of the type of learner they are. Concept maps are an excellent way to show students the parts of what they are learning. Similiar to using tools that can connect with a variety of learners or thinkers, another important tool teachers can use during lessons with students is note taking. Note taking is extremely vital to a student because this is what the student uses personally to study or comprehend. For example, if the student is studying a character, the teacher can model to the students several note taking ideas and allow the student to choose which one can help he or she comprehend. What I have done in the past was give the students a choice between; using a T chart (Pitler,Hubbell,Kuhn,Malenoski,2007), sketching, listing, or webbing. Providing the students with the freedom of selecting their style of note taking makes it more personal for the student while allowing them to use their cognitivism in the classroom.
Veronica

STRATEGIES that work for THE BEHAVIORIST THEORY

Behaviorist learning theory is based on the measurable behaviors of students. The Behaviorist Theory focuses on the importance of student behaviors and how it impacts their academic growth. Therefore, since their Behavior plays a huge part in their success as a learner, the Behaviorist Theory should be taken into account when planning the routines of a classroom. One of the most vital elements of a classroom is reinforcement. Reinforcement creates a positive learner who feels competent and understands what is expected of them because of the constant 'reinforcement.' The learner can believe in him or herself if the reinforcement allows success. In other words, if a teacher reinforces the child when he or she does the right thing, that child will then have experienced success which leads to self -esteem ( competence.) This notion of self-esteem correlates with a sense of effort because if a child experiences success, he or she will feel motivated to put effort to once again feel rewarded. The goal for a teacher is to reinforce positive behavior and effort. In this week's text, I came across a fabulous method to encourage students to put effort in all their work, "a rubric and spreadsheet that is designed for students to self evaluate their effort"(Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn & Malenoski, 2007.) Immediately I created a duplicate to start using Monday of next week because I think it is going to allow students to understand and track their effort clearly. In addition , this spreadsheet and rubric will hopefully increase achievement because students will see what areas they will need to polish. Overall, I believe that when students are given clear instructions and reinforcement they will be able to improve in certain areas while feeling proud of the things they are good at. Effort is within the student therefore he or she needs to try but teachers can help increase their effort by using technology during classwork and homework. It is a very smart idea to give students homework through the use of technology because it will increase their behavior towards education by turning lessons, practice, and studying into a game where the student is interactive. For example, iknowthat.com is a sight where students can play while reviewing their division facts. Using technology during homework time is almost necessary because some students do not have a guardian at home who speaks English or etc therefore including technology gives the child an opportunity to have support. Integrating technology into homework and having students become independent by self evaluating their effort can show students that we believe in them by reinforcing compliments through the behaviorist model.