Social Learning in Practice

Orey (2010) describes social learning theory as, “a theory in which students are actively engaged in constructing artifacts and conversing with others” (Laureate Education, Inc.). When students collaborate and work together they are able to socialize with each other. Students get to discuss and bounce ideas off one another. They will decide together if their thoughts and ideas are valid or not. Student’s confidences will be built as they encourage each other’s ideas. Orey (2010) explains that “teaching others helps the learner develop a deeper understanding of the concept” (Laureate Education, Inc.).  

Cooperative Learning

“This instructional strategy focuses on having students interact with each other in groups in ways that enhance their learning. When students work in cooperative groups they make sense of, or construct meaning for, new knowledge by interacting with others” (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn & Malenoski, 2007, p. 139). Teachers need to make sure they use a variety of different ways to group students. One way I group students is by pulling popsicle sticks with their names on them. This way students are randomly grouped together to complete the cooperative learning activity. Teachers must include five basic components in their cooperative learning activities: positive interdependence, face-to-face interaction, individual and group accountability, interpersonal and small-group skills, and group processing (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn & Malenoski, 2007, p. 140).

“Technology can play a unique and vital role in cooperative learning by facilitating group collaboration, providing structure for group tasks, and allowing members of groups to communicate even if they are not working face to face” (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn & Malenoski, 2007, p. 140). Rubrics and advance organizers can help students plan and understand what is expected of them during the cooperative learning activity. Teachers can easily assign students a concept to research and present to the class through the ease of the internet. Students are digital natives and understand how to navigate and synthesis information found on the internet. “Students can use e-mail to collaborate with students in other classes in your school, or they can correspond and collaborate with “keypals” from far away” (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn & Malenoski, 2007, p. 145). This is a unique way to continue to strengthen student’s 21^st century skills while allowing them to be introduced to students who live in other parts of the world or have different cultures. I have not tried keypals with my students, but I am intrigued to look online and see if I can find another seventh grade teacher  from somewhere far way from South Carolina, who is interested in having their students have virtual penpals. Teachers can have their cooperative groups create blogs and wiki’s as a way for their group to communicate with each other. Students can also share ideas and thoughts on the blog or wiki with each other while they are at home. This way the group can access the blog or wiki during class the next day and discuss the new ideas members posted the night before. WebQuests are another way to incorporate technology into your cooperative learning activities. I use WebQuest all the time with my students. They like that they get to navigate through the web or assigned website to find the answers to the questions on their own. It increases their problem solving skills because students will continue to search the internet until they find the correct answer. They will also ask their partner before asking the teacher for help.

Social learning theory, specifically cooperative learning, is being implemented in classrooms across the country. It is important that students are given the opportunity to work together to create artifacts that demonstrate the knowledge they are learning in the classroom. Student’s confidence and learning will increase as a result of cooperative learning. Students learn best by teaching the information to their peers at the conclusion of the cooperative learning activity. 

References:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2010). “Social Learning Theories with Michael Orey. [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.

Voice Thread

Please join my voice thread debate: Should teacher pay be based on student performance? Listen to my voice thread and comment with your thoughts and opinions.
 

http://voicethread.com/share/1544142/

Constructionist Learning Theories

Orey (2010) describes constructionism as, “a theory of learning that states people learn best when they build an external artifact or something they can share with others” (Laureate Education, Inc.). Students must be given firsthand experience to the concept or skill and as a result they need to create something. The teacher acts as the facilitator, as their students create or build their artifacts to demonstrate the knowledge they have learned about the concept or skill. Orey (2001) explains that, “learners become more accountable for their learning through designing, sharing, piloting, evaluating, modifying their work, and reflecting on the process” (p. 5).

Generating and Testing Hypotheses

“When students generate and test hypotheses, they are engaging in complex mental processes, applying content knowledge like facts and vocabulary, and enhancing their overall understanding of the content” (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn & Malenoski, 2007, p. 202). There are six tasks that teachers can incorporate into their classrooms to help students generate and test hypotheses: system analysis, problem solving, historical investigation, invention, experimental inquiry, and decision making (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn & Malenoski, 2007, p. 203). Every teacher can incorporate at least one of those tasks to increase their student’s ability to generate and test hypotheses. As a science teacher my students make hypotheses and test them out through classroom lab experiences or demonstrations. Even though my student’s labs are directly related to the academic content standards they incorporate some aspect of problem solving. Students enjoy making predictions or hypotheses and then seeing if they are right at the end of the lab or activity. These activities also increase student collaboration and 21^st century skills. Students are required to work in pairs or groups to discuss their ideas and decide on the best one. Then students will complete the lab or activity to see if their hypotheses were right or wrong. 

Technology can easily be added to enhance students in generating or testing out their hypotheses. “Technology allows students to spend more time interpreting the data rather than gathering the data-a process that can be tedious and error prone” (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn & Malenoski, 2007, p. 203). Orey (2001) states that Microsoft PowerPoint or Word can be given to students and students will construct their own learning. Students are readily familiar with PowerPoint or Word due to them being digital natives. They will be actively engaged and at the completion of the project have an artifact they created on their own to share with the rest of the class. At the completion of an in-class lab or demonstration students can easily type their lab report, or create a chart or graph to display their results. 

Constructionist learning theory can easily be adapted into every teacher’s classroom. It is important and vital that students create their own learning and learning artifacts. Students need to be given first hand, engaging experiences to the concepts and skills they are learning in the classroom. As a result students will take ownership of their learning and truly learn the concepts or skills. That information will be stored in their long-term memories until the test and the end of the year state test. 

References:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2010). “Constructionist and Constructivist Learning Theories with Michael Orey. [DVD]. In Walden University: Bridging Learning Theory, Instruction, and Technology. Baltimore: Author.

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, questions, advance organizers, summarizing, and note taking are all great examples of cognitive learning theories. Orey (2010) describes cognitive learning theory, “as an information processing theory which involves sensory input, short term memory, rehearsal, and long term memory” (Laureate Education, Inc.). Technology is incorporated into cognitive learning theory to enhance student learning. 

Cues, Questions, and Advance Organizers

The instructional strategy of cues, questions, and advance organizers, “focuses on enhancing students’ ability to retrieve, use, and organize information about a topic” (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn & Malenoski, 2007). Cues are hints teachers use to help students reach the correct answer or desired response to a situation. Teachers use questioning as a way to assure that students are learning the concept they are currently studying. Questions trigger the student’s short term or long term memory in order to search for the correct answer. If a student answers the question wrong or has no idea about the correct answer the teacher knows that the student has not fully mastered the concept yet and can provide that student with some extra practice or re-teaching if necessary. Advance organizers or concept mappings are a great way for students to organize their thoughts. Students can organize their thoughts and research into subcategories that tie into the overall main learning goal. Technology can be easily integrated to enhance any students advance organizer. Students can use a word processing program to add tables and charts to their concept maps. “Technology in turn provides you with visual aids and multimedia resources that appeal to a number of students learning styles” (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn & Malenoski, 2007). As students progress throughout the unit they are able to add or change their ideas on their concept map. Students can then use their concepts maps as a study guide for the upcoming assessment.

Summarizing and Note Taking

“The instructional strategies of summarizing and note taking focuses on enhancing students’ ability to synthesize information and distill it into a concise new form. Teachers work on helping students separate important information from extraneous information and state the information in their own words”(Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn & Malenoski, 2007). In order for summarizing to enhance student understanding they must be taught the rules on how to summarize information. “Technology can scaffold, or provide support, while students are learning the summarizing process” (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn & Malenoski, 2007). Teachers can teach their students to use the Track Changes feature in Microsoft Word to summarize readings from the textbook. Once the teacher explains to students on how to set up the formatting students can easily on their own type in the sections they are reading in the textbook. This feature summarizes the section of the textbook that students type in, so they are left with the main points and can then take their own notes based on the summarized results. By having students type in sections of the textbook into a word processing document you are giving them an opportunity to practice their 21^st century skills. I had never heard of this feature before and I am going to try it out next time I have students take their own notes on a concept from the textbook.  

Teachers need to make sure they vary the formats students are using to take notes. Within my own classroom students take notes in several different formats. They use note-taking guides where they fill in the missing information, create their own foldables, create outlines and then fill in the important details, or take notes on their own. Graphic organizers or advance organizers are a visual representation of student’s notes. Teachers can incorporate different multimedia programs that enable students to summarize and take notes on their own. Students become fully engaged when they use multimedia programs to summarize and take notes on their assigned concept. Wiki’s give students the opportunity to communicate on an assignment online. Students can summarize their thoughts and ideas on the concept and post them so the other group members can read them and make the necessary comments. Blogs provide students with an outlet to summarize and post their thought about a concept online. Students can read each other’s ideas and provide comments to each other. Blogs allow students to learn from each other while practicing their writing and communication skills.

References

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2010). Cogitive learning theory with Michael Orey. [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.

Behaviorism in Practice

“Behaviorist learning theories emphasize changes in behavior that result from stimulus-response associations made by the learner” (Lever-Duffy & McDonald, 2008). Desired behaviors are reinforced and undesired behaviors are punished. Two instructional strategies that incorporate technology while correlating to behaviorism are: Reinforcing Effort and Homework and Practice.

Reinforcement Effort:

Reinforcement effort is described as, “an instructional strategy of reinforcing effort enhances students’ understanding of the relationship between effort and achievements by addressing their attitudes and beliefs of learning” (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn & Malenoski, 2007). Not all students are able to see the correlation of their effort level and their grade on an assignment or test. Students often think they understand a concept or concepts that they are learning in class, but when it comes time to take the test they do not score well. Students quickly come to understand that the more effort and time spent reviewing will result in truly mastering the concept or concepts and overall their grades improving. 

“Technology makes it easier for students and teachers to track the effects of effort and facilitates more immediate feedback” (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn & Malenoski, 2007). Teachers can easily create a spreadsheet for students to track their grades on. The teacher can easily email the spreadsheet to students to complete at home if their classroom does not have computer in it. This way students are up to date on their grades and can track their progress throughout the grading period. I use rubrics to grade all of my student’s projects and in-class activities. Rubrics are a great way for students to see and understand what they have to accomplish in order to earn their desired grade. Projects and in-class activities are quickly graded and handed back to students to provide them with feedback.  

Homework and Practice:

In order for students to truly master a concept students must practice the skill or concept several times.  “Homework and practice provide opportunities for students to deepen the understanding of the content and to gain proficiency with their skills” (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn & Malenoski, 2007). After students complete a homework assignment the teacher needs to provide immediate feedback. If teachers just check to see if the assignment is complete or not, then students do not get individual feedback on which parts of the assignment were incorrect and why. The use of technology when completing homework or practice problems can instantaneously provide the student feedback. Sciencespot.net provides activities that enrich the concepts we are currently learning in class. It provides students with alternate activities they could complete for extra practice with a concept they are having trouble grasping. The website also has a section just for science fun and games found in the kid zone. I use the game section with my students as a fun and engaging way for students to review concepts before the test. My students use Microsoft Office and PowerPoint to enhance their in-class activities and projects. These programs provide students with instant feedback on their writing level, spelling, and word choice. My school is currently working on increasing students writing levels across the curriculum in order to pass our state writing test. I believe students are more comfortable when they get to complete writing assignments on the computer rather than by paper and pencil. My students usually complete their rough drafts on paper and pencil and then edit and type their final drafts on the computer. This in return increases my student’s use of technology and improves their 21^st century skills.

References:

Lever-Duffy, J., & McDonald, J. (2008). Theoretical foundations (Laureate Education, Inc., custom ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

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