When I began this course I described my theory of
learning as a cognitivist approach. I focused on the importance of formative
assessments and having the students’ knowledge drive the instruction. Now that
I have learned more about different types of learning theories I also see the
value in the constructivist, constructionist, and social constructivist approaches.
Having students create artifacts increases student engagement and allows
students to participate actively in their learning, (Laureate Productions, Inc.,
2010b) which will later help with remembering what they have learned. I was reminded through this course that the brain
stores information in networks and the more connections that are made in those
networks the easier it will be for students to retrieve that information later. The dual coding hypothesis states that students learn best when taught
with images and text, (Laureate Productions, Inc. 2010). Technologies such as online concept maps help
to illustrate the connections of information and can include visuals along with
texts. Allowing students to create their own concept maps is an even better
idea as students are constructing their own maps and demonstrating their
knowledge rather than sitting back while the teacher does all the work.
As I prepare my lessons I now consider the importance of
providing visuals as well as text, and try to focus more on student
participation in the lessons rather than always being teacher centered. This
course has introduced me to voice threads, concept maps, and virtual field
trips. While I have used the concept maps once, I used them in an introductory
note taking situation where the students filled in a blank copy I created. I
want to have students create their own concept maps as more of a summarizing
tool to show what they have learned. I would also like to try having students
respond to a voice thread assignment, maybe by working in groups in class.
Two long term goals I have for my instructional teaching
practice is to focus more on constructionism and to create a website which has
voicethreads of my lessons for students to be able to access when they miss a
class or need more review. To increase my constructivist projects I am going to
have to brain storm ideas that go along with the practice of the standards we
are already teaching and carve out time from the curriculum map for the
completion of these tasks. Creating the website with voice threads just simply
means taking the time to do so. I could even set a webcam to record my teaching
as I present the lesson to the class so that no extra work or time is needed in
creating the lessons.
References
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011). Program five: Cognitive
learning theory [Video webcast]. Bridging
learning theory, instruction and technology. Retrieved from http://laureate.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=5700267&CPURL=laureate.ecollege.com&Survey=1&47=2594577&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=0&bhcp=1
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011). Program seven:
Constructionist and constructivist learning theories [Video webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and
technology. Retrieved from http://laureate.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=5700267&CPURL=laureate.ecollege.com&Survey=1&47=2594577&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=0&bhcp=1
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