Social learning theories include many forms of instruction from peer collaboration to any form of interaction.Therefore, any instructional lesson that includes students working together is a prime example of social learning. For example, using tools to have students experience cooperative learning such as WebQuest is an excellent way to have students collaborate (socially) to develop a project that is created by them. The best thing about WebQuest is that not only are students totally engaged, but they also know what is expected of them through the teacher's objectives, rubrics, etc. Another great way to create a lesson that will be successful is to take the social aspect of it and add in connectivism theory. This will make the lesson an episode students will never forget because they were engaged and it connected to their lives with meaning.
Social learning with connectivism is sure to gain the students' attention. Another way in which cooperative learning works as a part of the social learning theory is by helping students "cooperate to learn"(Wong & Wong,1998.) For example, assigning students to "roles" again support social learning but also builds cooperative learning skills (reporter, writer,etc) which they will need in the real world.
Overall, social learning and it's connection to connectivism and cooperative learning help students grow as learners while helping them remember what they have learned.
A lesson that I created to incorporate social learning and it's methods is a lesson using Voice Thread to teach students about The Importance of Currency in Latin America. I downloaded pictures from the internet of ; types of currency from the past and present, map of the Latin American Countries, and a graph of the rates of the currency today. After I uploaded them, I added focus questions and voice explanations. Later on I put the students in groups of two and had them log onto the site using a class log in and had them add comments to what they noticed. This was my introduction to Currency in Latin America. Now that they have a background knowledge on the subject, they can do the research with their partners ( take turns as different roles) and add comments to the pictures while learning from one another through social learning!
http://voicethread.com/share/889763/
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Your VoiceThread was really good. I especially liked the way you added class comments to the discussion.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Jodie!!!!
ReplyDeleteVeronica you made a good point about social learning being the key to making lessons last forever. Referring to Dr. Orey, knowledge that can be memorized, articulated and discussed with the class, cannot always be applied and students do not understand the true meaning (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009). By giving students social learning opportunities they can teach one another in ways that relates to them.
ReplyDeleteYou talked about cooperative learning as part of social learning theories and how students need it in the real world. As a fifth grade teacher, do you ever struggle with students that just do not collaborate well with others? If so, how do you handle it? As a fourth grade science teacher, I do a lot of group projects and one thing that I am struggling with, is students participation roles within their groups. A lot of kids will let one or two students take charge and then they just go along for the ride. This is a real world skill that students need to grasp, but can be to shy participate. I think with the help of technology, it provides an additional resource for students to be able to collaborate equally with one another.
I agree that Web quests are great for that guided research and creation. It really allows you to facilitate learning with some of those tougher concepts. I also liked that you noted the connections to the student’s lives, because that is so important when looking to plan lessons with meaningful purpose.
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