Social Learning Theory

The Social Learning Theory is a theory that is student-centered.  Students are able to be engaged in constructing their own meaning through cooperative learning with others and their environment around them.  (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010).  This is very beneficial to students because it seems that a majority of the goals at schools deals with students being academically and socially proficient and this ties right in with this type of learning theory.  One type of instructional strategy that relates with this theory is based on cooperative learning.  (Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K., 2007) 

“Cooperative learning focuses on having students interact with each other in groups in ways that enhance their learning.”  (Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K., 2007)  With this process, students can be separated by their ability but a majority of the time, I prefer to choose groups either at random or place low achieving students with high achieving students.  It seems that when I break up the groups this way, the lower achieving students try harder and seem to want to better themselves like the higher achieving students do.  In the past, I have not been the best at incorporating projects into my classroom.  I always had a hard time seeing the benefits in completing a project rather than the drill and kill practice for my math classes.  I now see the importance of this and will try to incorporate more in years to come.  However, I do allow my students to work with other students on a daily basis when it comes to homework practice.  A lot of times, students do better with the help of another student rather than just sitting by themselves.  Having another student explain a certain concept to them can make all the difference in the world, so once again it goes back to peer interaction and collaboration.      

“Technology can play a unique and vital role in cooperative learning by facilitating group collaboration, providing structure for group tasks, and allowing members of the groups to communicate even if they are not working face to face.”  (Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K., 2007)  There are quite a few pieces of technology that can greatly help with allowing students the opportunity to collaborate with others, such as using multimedia, web resource’s, creating a website, and much more.  Giving the students a rubric to follow for whichever type of resources is ideal.  This allows them to know what is expected of them and how they will be graded.  I still really like the idea of using web simulations or Web Quests.  I think both of these allow students to see the math content in more of a realistic setting and also allows for them to work with others as well. 

This social learning theory is a great way for students to be able to comprehend material.  It lets students work together and be engaged in the process.  Learning from peers can be so beneficial and from personal experience, I agree that a lot of students prefer and learn more from this type of engagement. 

Voice Thread Assignment

http://voicethread.com/share/3259980/

Resources

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2010). Constructionist & Constructivism Theory [Video Webcast]. Retrieved from http://www.courseurl.com

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD

Constructionist/Constructivism Theory

           The Constructionist/Constructivism Theory is a theory that is learner centered.  Students are able to construct their own meaning behind certain concepts by using more hands on activities.  (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010).  This is very beneficial to students because these types of activities are more engaging due to the fact that students are completing them themselves.  The teacher is still involved but more to promote discussion and direction.  Technology has definitely assisted in this type of learning because it is more project based learning.  One type of instructional strategy that ties in with this theory is based on generating and testing hypothesis.  There are three types of strategies:  making spreadsheets, data collection tools, and web resources.  (Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K., 2007) 

Making spreadsheets would be very beneficial in my math classroom.  I especially liked the activity described in Chapter 11 of Using Technology in the Classroom.  (Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K., 2007)   The activity consisted of breaking the class into groups of students and each group had to determine how to finance a given amount of money.  So, the students made a hypothesis of what they thought would be the best scenario and then they used an excel spreadsheet that was premade by the teacher to see if there hypothesis was correct.  This is definitely more of a visual, hands on approach to this concept and I will use this same thing in my classroom this year, but just change a few things. 

            The other instructional strategy I see beneficial for my classroom in particular is web resources, especially the simulation type software and WebQuests.  The simulation software allows students to be placed in certain situations and have to make decisions along the way.  This would definitely keep the students attention and once again follows the idea of having the students make a hypothesis and then based on their actions and the game simulation, see if their decision was correct or not.  I did find one game online, The Lure of the Labyrinth, that I could use in either my Algebra or Pre-Algebra math classes but it costs the district money to play.  I will continue to research it and then decide how to approach the math head regarding this.  I also think that WebQuests are a great idea.  This allows students to learn the same information but in a different perspective.  I found quite a few of these that I see beneficial for my Algebra and Geometry classroom.  I especially like the Shopping for a New Car WebQuest.  It is an activity where students use real life applications and have to graph a system of equations which students always struggle with in class.  I believe by incorporating this WebQuest into my class, it will give the students a better perspective of this concept.  I also like the fact that it involves using the website Geogebra.  We currently have this on all of our computers at school and we have been trying to find different activities that use this and now I am so happy that I have found one and it is one that I believe the students will enjoy as well.  I really look forward to using this next year.  

            This Constructionist/Constructivism Theory is very important to incorporate into the classroom.  I believe it is extremely effective in the math classroom because it allows students to try and solve problems in different ways.  Anything that I can incorporate into the classroom that is hands on and visual is a huge plus.  I look forward to researching more web resources, simulations, and WebQuests and hope to find activities that I can bring into my classroom for the students.

Resources

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2010). Constructionist & Constructivism Theory [Video Webcast]. Retrieved from http://www.courseurl.com

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD

Cognitive Learning Theory

The cognitive learning theory is a theory that uses the thought process to describe human behavior.  There are three stages of information processing:  sensory, short term memory, and long term memory.  (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010)  As educators we want our students to remember our content which means we want them to be using their long term memory. I know this is extremely important in mathematics because everything builds off of each other and students have to be able to remember certain rules and manipulatives. 

There are several instructional strategies that correlate with this learning theory.  Cues, questions, and advance organizers are great instructional strategies.  Using cues and questions allows students to focus on what is important to understand.  Cues are used to trigger student’s short term memory and this can be done by using pictures or certain words.  Questions are more to direct students.  Using blooms taxonomy allows for higher level thinking questions as well.  I know in my math class, we are always using blooms taxonomy when writing critical thinking questions and story problems.  Advanced organizers are a great way for students to be able to organize certain concepts by not only using their own words but being able to visually see the comparisons.  I have starting using these more in my geometry class, that way my students can visually see the differences in certain concepts.

Other strategies that I find very beneficial are summarizing, note taking, and virtual field trips.  Summarizing allows students to be able to write on a topic in their own words and then reflect upon it too.  Blogs are a great way to help this process.  Note taking is used in almost every class.  The idea is to use a variety of formats.  I typically use the same format for each class but now see the benefits in switching it up.  Virtual field trips are awesome with the fact that students are able to visually explore certain places and things by using videos and multimedia.  I just wish there were more math related field trips available.  I would love to incorporate more of these into my classroom. 

Ideally all of these strategies would be used in the classroom very readily.  It is extremely important that we always provide students with what they are expected to learn and understand, use prior knowledge when available, incorporate as much multimedia as possible, and provide an overview of what to expect and what is to come.  (Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K., 2007) I believe by doing these things and using these strategies, our students will be able to make connections between what is being taught and what they need to remember in order to be successful in their classes. 

 Resources

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2010). Behaviorist Learning Theory [Video Webcast]. Retrieved from http://www.courseurl.com

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD

Behaviorist Learning Theory

Behaviorist Learning Theory

The behaviorist learning theory stems upon three concepts:  operant conditioning, programmed instruction, and behavior management.  (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010)  While researching this topic, I found quite a few correlations between this learning theory and the instructional strategies described in this week resource, Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works. 

Operant conditioning is based upon the research done by BF Skinner where he describes children receiving rewards and punishments depending on their behavior.  (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010)  “The instructional strategy of reinforcing effort enhances students’ understanding of the relationship between effort and achievement by addressing their attitudes and beliefs about learning.”  (Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K., 2007)  Creating spreadsheets to allow students to be able to correlate the effort they are putting into classroom success and their outcome according to their quiz and test grades allows them to be able to see if they are rewarded with good grades or punished with poor grades.  I see a huge benefit in this because not only does it allow the students to see where they need to change their habits, but that information could also be passed along to parents who are concerned with the children’s classroom success.

As far as programmed instruction, this relates to the drill and practice that a lot of educators use in the classroom today.  This also refers to students being able to receive immediate feedback which is the key principle of a behaviorist theory.  “Having students practice a skill or concept enhances their ability to reach the expected level of proficiency.  (Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K., 2007)  This is obtained by using the many educational games that are available online for students as described in the book, Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works.  While the students play the games, they are practicing certain concepts and find out right away if they are obtaining the correct answers.  I enjoyed learning about the online BattleGraph game that is available.  I currently use something similar to this in class when teaching about coordinates but now I have learned something new that will be more interactive for my students to enjoy playing.  A number of my students will also enjoy learning how to use online flashcards as well. 

The behaviorist learning theory has quite a few instructional strategies that I use in my classroom on a daily basis.  There are many technology related activities that I am learning to incorporate into my classroom that deals a lot with this learning theory.  As much as I believe this theory is essential in the classroom today, there are many other things that contribute to the learning of students.  I look forward to learning about the different theories and how I can incorporate new strategies into my classroom for the benefit of my students and myself. 

Resources

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2010). Behaviorist Learning Theory [Video Webcast]. Retrieved from http://www.courseurl.com

 Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD