Final Reflection

Personal Learning Theory Reflection

My personal learning theory has not changed dramatically throughout since the beginning of the course. I now have a better understanding of major learning theories, however, and have discovered that each of them has a place in my classroom. When I first developed my personal learning theory, I believed strongly in aspects of both the constructionist and social constructivist theories. Looking back, I still believe in the constructionist concept that “ideas are most likely to be created when learners are actively engaged in building some type of external artifact that they can reflect upon and share with others” (Orey, 2001). I also feel that students must interact and collaborate with others, thereby supporting the social constructivist notion that learning is a social process (Orey, 2001).

While my belief in both the constructionist and social constructivist theories has remained strong throughout this course, I have become much more familiar with both the behaviorist and cognitivist learning theories. I was surprised to find that I support aspects of these learning theories as well. For example, I have always believed it to be important to provide students with frequent positive reinforcement, but did not realize that this practice is actually a form of behaviorism. In addition, many of my lessons involve graphic organizers and visual explanations of concepts to help students make connections with material. These support the theory of cognitivism, which I was relatively unfamiliar with. All students learn differently, and it is important to incorporate ideas from a variety of learning theories in order to reach all students.

I have used technology in my lessons since I began teaching a few years ago, but I continue to learn more about the wide variety of resources available to enhance learning. This course gave me the opportunity to explore new technologies, such as Voice Thread and Webspiration, and also helped me understand how these technologies support various learning theories. I have found myself thinking more about how the use of technology in my lessons will support my learners based on the various learning theories.

Technology Tools and Instructional Practice

I have already incorporated new technologies into my classroom as a result of this course. My students just completed an assignment using Webspiration, and the lesson was very successful. They enjoyed working with the technology and did a terrific job presenting their graphic organizers to the class using the interactive white board. My goal is to continue to find ways to incorporate new technologies discussed in this course. Although my students use Microsoft Word frequently and are very proficient with the technology, I have not yet utilized the graphic organizers available within the software. I would like to use these graphic organizers to help students make connections between concepts we learn in social studies. One area we focus on frequently is cause and effect, and how the events of one civilization impacted others. My students could easily use Microsoft Word’s cause/effect pattern organizer to illustrate this concept.

I would also like to use Microsoft PowerPoint in a different way. This is another tool that my students are very familiar with, but generally, the slideshows they create are filled with text. I plan on having students create presentations regarding an upcoming topic using only visuals in their slideshows. Then, while they present their visuals, they will explain to the class the connections between the images they chose and the content, thereby focusing on nonlinguistic representations of the material. I feel I now have a much better understanding of the reasoning behind the implementation of learning activities and technologies, and am eager to incorporate new and creative ways for students to interact with the social studies content.

Long-term Goals

One goal I have is to have students create nonlinguistic representations of material on a more regular basis, and then present these to the class. There are so many different ways to approach the idea of nonlinguistic representation. Students can use Webspiration, Microsoft Word graphic organizers, and Microsoft PowerPoint, just to name a few. This will allow for greater creativity on their part and will also facilitate more hands-on learning. Meanwhile, students will be working to create products more frequently, which will help them to better understand concepts. Doing so will accomplish the same goals as teacher-centered lecture, but will be more meaningful and have a greater impact on my students since helping students to use nonlinguistic representation has strong effects on achievement (Pitler et al., 2007).

A second goal of mine is to establish communication between my students and students in another area of the world, using a program such as ePals. This will broaden my students’ perspectives and help them to learn about other cultures and languages in an entirely new way (Pitler et al., 2007). As we learn about various ancient civilizations, my students become very fascinated with other cultures and intrigued by the vast differences amongst these cultures. I strongly believe that partnering with another classroom in a different part of the world would open their eyes to another culture in a way not possible just by studying the culture in the classroom. Today’s technology tools provide opportunities for unique learning experiences that may not have been possible even ten years ago, and “keypals” is a perfect example of that.

References

Orey, M. (Ed.). (2001). Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved November 5, 2010 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.

More Computers, Please

http://voicethread.com/share/1565311/

Using Technology to Learn Cooperatively

Social learning theories place great emphasis on not only on the prior knowledge that learners bring to their learning environment, but also the context in which learning takes place and the interactions learners have with others (Kim, 2001). Cooperative learning requires that students interact with others; in doing so, they construct meaning for new knowledge (Pitler et al., 2007). There are innumerable ways in which cooperative learning can be implemented, as there are many factors to consider when establishing cooperative groups. Groups can consist of only two members for some activities, while for others they might be comprised of four or five students. Duration of assignment is another consideration; partner work is ideal for quick in-class assignments, while carefully constructed, larger groups are often better for long-term assignments. Cooperative learning offers teachers great flexibility and creativity when developing meaningful learning activities for students.

Just as size and duration of activity are factors in cooperative learning, so are the types of activities students participate in. Technology has opened up an entirely new facet of group work. One possibility for cooperative learning is student-created multimedia. Creating a video supports the constructivist theory by allowing students to create a product. Meanwhile, they are also collaborating with other students, thereby supporting social learning theories. It is critical that teachers properly prepare students for a task such as student-created multimedia, however, by setting forth clear expectations, explaining rubrics, and clearly outlining student roles and responsibilities (Pitler et al., 2007). An extension of this activity is to require that groups teach their classmates about a particular topic. As Dr. Orey mentioned, the best way for students to learn a concept is to teach it to others (Laureate, 2010).

There are wonderful and varied web resources available for cooperative learning as well. Internet access has truly opened the world up to classrooms. An interesting type resource on the internet is “Ask an Expert” websites, which allow for correspondence between students and university and industry experts (Pitler et al., 2007). This type of communication would most likely not have occurred prior to the widespread availability of the internet. Another option for communication with others across the country, and even the world, is to have students become “keypals,” or e-mail pen pals, with other students from far away (Pitler et al., 2007). Students can even work on projects with students living across the globe, which is an incredible example of cooperative learning.

Communication software makes cooperative learning even more practical for regular classroom use, particularly on extended assignments. In the past, it was difficult for groups to communicate without physically meeting together. Now, with the advent of wikis, blogs, and shared bookmarking, students can communicate easily to continue their collaborative work. Wikis are a simple way for groups to keep track of researched information, allowing all students to contribute, whether they are at school or home. Shared bookmarking allows for the sharing of resources amongst group members. All of these technologies allow students to learn from one another and to cooperate together to learn new concepts.

References

Kim, B. (2001). Social Constructivism.. In M. Orey (Ed.), Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved November 30, 2010 from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2010). Social learning theories. [DVD]. In Walden University: Bridging Learning Theory, Instruction, and Technology. Baltimore: Author.

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