6: knowledge construction

Prompt: Make a list of the sequence of skills necessary for ultimate mastery of the content of your lesson through a constructivist approach. Which of these learning activities/skills lend themselves to students' individual or group construction? How might you structure learning activities that lead students to discover these skills/principles?

For this PLE, I am going to use a lesson plan I created for my Ed 422 class. For that lesson plan, I used the direct teaching method, so I am going to modify it to fit the constructive approach. The plan is for 2nd grade math over comparing numbers using the greater than, less than, and equal to symbols. Students will show mastery of the content by using the greater than, less than, and equal to symbols to compare 3-digit numbers.

• First I would activate prior knowledge. 
• I would draw the symbols < > = on the board and ask the class what they represent. 
• Next I would write out the words 'greater than', 'less than', and 'equal to' on the board and ask the class what those words actually mean. "What does it mean if I say that something is greater than something else?"
• I would remind the class that it we use these terms and symbols in math when we compare two numbers. 
• I would go over the steps used to compare 3-digit numbers, beginning by comparing the hundreds place, then the tens, then the ones. I would model several examples of this (modeling and scaffolding are aspects of constructivism).
• This time together is representative of social construction.
• Next I would address misconceptions.
• Many students get confused about the direction of the direction of the greater than and less than symbols. I would show a picture of an alligator opening its mouth to the greater number, and remind students that the 'alligator' is greedy, so its 'mouth' is always open to the biggest number.
• From there I would allow students to practice.
• I would let students get together in groups of 2 or 3, one being the 'teacher', setting up the problem, and the others being the 'student', writing the correct symbol on their white boards. 
• This is mostly social construction but also some individual.
• Later I would ask students to explore the concept.
• I would ask my class to come up with real life situations where they might need to compare numbers to see which is greater. (Examples: money, students in 4th grade vs students in 3rd grade, etc).
• This hopefully adds relevance and interest to the topic, and also lets kids explore the idea more deeply.
• This is representative of individual construction.
• Next I would allow the students to participate in authentic activities.
• I would relate the content to real world situations. 
• One example I thought of is if our class could set up a little bowling alley outside. 
• We could use chalk to write out our scores, then use the greater than, less than, and equal to symbols to see which team/person is ahead. 
• This would give the students motivation to understand the concept and add interest since those little boogers are competitive!

This is a link to a website that really explains what constructivism is and how it can work in the classroom in great detail! 

http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/constructivism/index.html

5: memory and instruction

How might your knowledge of the memory processes guide your instructional decisions?

Our book say that in most circumstances, meaningful learning is more effective than rote learning.
     -Rote: learning primarily through repetition and practice, little or no attempt to make sense of what's being learned
     -Meaningful: making connections between new information and prior knowledge

I will apply this knowledge when instructional decisions as a teacher. This concept meshes nicely with my personal goals. I want my classroom to be engaging and interesting. I want kids to be able to explore and be participants of their learning experience. Meaningful learning requires deeper thinking and consideration about the topic, while rote learning consists of drilling facts into their tiny heads with rehearsal and repetition. Which sounds better to you?

The three most common forms of meaningful learning are elaboration, organization, and visual imagery. Each of these involve combining separate pieces of information into one "meaningful whole"

Elaboration: using prior knowledge to embellish on a new ideA. To encourage elaboration in my classroom I would ask questions that require students to think deeper to provide expanded answers. I could also give my students opportunities to connect topics we are learning with a personal experience.

Organization: making connections among various pieces of new information. I could encourage this type of thinking by having students sort words into related groups. Another example provided in the book is to teach students the relationships between parts of a whole. The example given was about learning the interrelation between velocity, mass, acceleration, and force. Instead of just teaching those as individual concepts, the book suggests to show how each of the concepts are connected and interact.

Visual imagery: mental pictures that are formed of objects or ideas. I would promote my students to use visual imagery by providing images to help clarify and illustrate more abstract ideas. I could also have my students take the imagery into their own hands and ask them to draw a picture of what we are learning about.

The book suggests that the effects of meaningful learning are best when the forms are used together. An example of this could be to have students organize information into categories, then make a visual representation showing the relationships and connections between them. This could be through a venn diagram, a flow chart, or a picture with descriptions.

This is a link to a great article about teaching for meaningful learning!
http://www.edutopia.org/pdfs/edutopia-teaching-for-meaningful-learning.pdf

4: cognitive learning

What are the essential skills and/or learning outcomes you want your students to know and be able to do that relate to cognitive learning?

While I think my personal theory of learning leads more to constructivism and social cognitive theory, there are still some aspects of the cognitive theory of learning that I want to implement in my classroom.

First is the thought that children construct knowledge rather than absorbing it.  I want my students to be active and engaged participants in their learning. It wouldn't be very interesting for any of us to listen to me talk all day. I think that this constructive idea would add ownership for the kids, which could assist interest and motivation.

Piaget's cognitive learning theory explains that "interactions with one's physical and social environments are essential for cognitive development". For the social aspect- want my students to be interactive and work together. I believe that kids can sometimes learn better from each other than they can from a teacher. Beyond just that, I think these interactions would help students mature and develop socially.  These encounters can teach children about understanding different perspectives, patience, and being socially considerate. For the physical aspect of Piaget's theory, I want my students to be able to have hands-on learning experiences to bring a deeper level of understanding to the content. I also want to provide opportunities for authentic learning so the students can transfer their knowledge into real world situations.

This is a link to an article on the livestrong website. The article quickly explains the basics of cognitive learning, its relation to memory (next blog post!), and discusses application.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/151537-cognitive-learning-in-children/

This link goes to an article about the importance of cognitive learning, what cognitive skills look like, and how to identify and adjust these skills.
http://www.learningrx.com/cognitive-learning-styles.htm

4: assessment

DUN DUN DUNNN!! 

The word assessment strikes fear in the hearts of everyone! But as we've learned this week in class, that doesn't have to be the case.

My old friend merriam-webster.com defines assessment as "the action or instance of assessing."  Well Merriam that is no help.  Our book defines it as "a process of observing a sample of student behavior and drawing inferences about the student's knowledge and abilities."  Okay yeah, that's better.

So beyond that, assessment can take lots of different forms. Two of which are:
     -Informal assessment: involves spontaneous, unsystematic observations
     -Formal assessment: involves pre-planned, systematic data gathering

Okay so those are all great definitions, but how do they apply? Well I'll you! Say I was teaching a lesson on the differences between the words there, their, and they're. I could use formal and informal methods of assessment before, during, and after my lesson to monitor the prior knowledge, basic skills and understanding, progress, and achievement in my students. I'll list 4 different ways I could do this.

1. Before I start my lesson I would have the three words (there, their, they're) on the board. I would ask my class if they knew the words, how to say them, or what they meant. Their responses would let me know their familiarity with the words. I would also check to see if they recognized that "they're" is a contraction. Simply observing like this is a type of formative and informal assessment.
2. Next I would begin my lesson and teach the meanings of the three words. I would explain that their shows possession or ownership, there shows directionality, and they're is a contraction of they are. I would have a slide show that has sentences with a blank where the correct version of the word should be. I would model a few of the sentences, breaking down my steps and showing them how to do it. Then I would pass out small whiteboards and markers and tell each student to write the correct word and show me when they are ready. This is another form of formative, informal assessment because it allows me to observe each student's understanding of the concept. 
3. Once I felt that my students had grasped the concept I would let them work with partners on a worksheet that has a story with the same fill in the blank set up. I would walk around the room and observe as the students worked together. This is a third way to informally assess the class because it allows me to observe who gets it, who is helping who, and who needs more help. 
4. Based on the results of the partner worksheets, I would either provide additional instruction, give more practice opportunities, or move on. Once I felt the students knew the material I would provide a quiz. This is a summative formal assessment of their knowledge.

Below is a link to a site that lists lots of fun ideas to use formative assessment in the classroom. It has options for oral language, questions, writing, projects, performance, and tests. 

fun formative assessment

3: creating a productive learning environment

Our textbook says that a well-managed classroom is "one in which students are consistently engaged in productive learning activities and in which students' behaviors rarely interfere with the achievement of instructional goals." Alright Ormrod, that sounds good, tell me more! (And of course.. she does.)

The topics of this chapter are things I'm really excited about, the stuff I day dream about! I'm hoping for a happy classroom. I want it to be a warm, engaging, inviting, positive place where students enjoy learning together and independently. I chose three strategies that I think would be most beneficial toward my goals:

1. Classroom arrangement. The goals of this arrangement are to encourage student interaction when appropriate and discourage it when counterproductive, to minimize possible distractions, allow easy student-teacher interaction, and allow easy monitoring of student behavior. I think I would achieve these goals, as well as my personal goals of allowing students to work together, by putting desks in groups of four. I also hope to set up designated areas to enhance learning. This could be with a comfy reading corner, a math station, etc. 

2. Establishing and maintaining productive teacher student relationships. I plan to achieve this by truly investing in my students- getting to know them personally, showing that I care about them and their growth, show interest in their hobbies/interests, showing respect, and in certain cases, improving relationships that need work. I think that a good way to build these relationships other than daily interactions is through the student teacher journal. This allows the student to share with the teacher more intimately and can help foster a close bond. 

3. Creating an effective psychological climate. This is about the general attitude and environment of the class- or as I think of it, the classroom vibe. Like I mentioned before, I want my classroom to be a happy place that engages students and encourages sharing and respect. I also don't want my room to feel like a place where students have no input. I hope to give plenty of opportunities for students to be active participants in what we do in class. 

My Big Idea!
Lately I have been thinking of a way to incorporate all of these ideas into a common theme. One idea I have is to have my classroom set up as a little community where everyone plays an equal part. For the physical environment, I think it would be fun to set up the room like a little town; the reading area could be the library, the fish bowl could be the aquarium, the handout box could be the post office, etc. I would also like to give each person in the town (aka the students) a job. The person who passes out papers could be the mailman, the line leader could be our bus driver, the lights person could be the electrician, the weather person could tell the daily forecast, la la la you get the idea. The jobs would rotate every day or two so that everyone gets a chance. The goal of this set up is to teach students that like a town, the classroom works best when we all work together. Each person has an equally important job and has to be accountable. I think this would be a fun way to designate roles and instill a sense of belonging and community within the students.

Link to "top 5 best classroom management strategies": http://www.brighthubeducation.com/classroom-management/3318-top-5-strategies-from-veteran-teacher/

Continuum of Responses
Lisa presents a difficult, but likely, problem that many teachers will face. I would address this issue by first going over specific behaviors are acceptable and unacceptable in the classroom during group work. I would lay out rules of respect and responsibility and print out a copy for each group to refer back to. I would encourage and model self-monitoring skills. I might also keep the students accountable for following these rules with some sort of behavior system, maybe marking a student's sheet when I notice them out of line, then giving them that sheet at the end of the day in a behavior folder. If these methods did not work and Lisa's behavior continued, I would speak with her privately to see why she has such an issue working in groups. I would take her response and try to modify the class activities in a way that best helps her.