Constructionist / Constructivist Learning Theories (week 4 app)

I always get frustrated when I see these examples that are published. I realize that they are like the wonderful sumptuous sandwich on advertisements that never look like what you buy and I acknowledge why they are used as examples for others to see. However, I would like to see something that is relevant to most teaching situations. I teach at a very middle of the road district with adequate community support (funding). While we are not the best and most up to date district, we definitely are not at the bottom. These classrooms all are equipped with top of the line technology and it seems that all of them have unlimited resources where funding is not a problem. I want to see someone teach one of those magical lessons without a computer but still be considered integrating technology. Sorry, venting again. Focus...

The example on page 213 of the book was one that I found relevant because I am a social studies teacher and gravitate to those topics. The teacher, Mr. McDivitt conducted an experiment where he used a website with an instructive game on it as a teaching tool and in another class, with the same topic, used more traditional methods. According to his experiment, BIG SURPRISE...the class that were given the computers and adequate resources not only recorded better test scores, but they seemed to enjoy learning more. Who wouldn't? Would you rather do this class online from the seat in your home in perhaps your pajamas or at a college campus in a lecture with an overhead and a monotoned professor?

The relevancy is that in his class where he played the online game, he was requiring them to be an active learner and build something. Each student took on the role of a country leader and made certain decisions that were required to achieve their country's goals. The idea behind this class being more productive as opposed to the traditional classroom was that as they were building and creating something, the students were making assimilations and accomodations in order to reach equilibration. Dr. Orey mentions that these three along with schema are the building blocks for Constructionism.

Week 3 Blog Assn

There was a lot of good information in this week's DVD with Dr. Orey leading the way for both sections. The second one about the virtual field trip entitled "Spotlight on Technology" was a lot more of just watching the lesson unfold in its entirety as opposed to "Cognitive Learning Theories" where Dr. Orey sat and spoke more. I enjoyed the point that Dr. Orey made regarding forgetting information after it has been stored in the long-term memory. He said that you don't forget the information itself, but rather, the connection; how to get to that information in the long-term memory. That made sense to me and he made another good point when he mentioned that it should be the goal of educators to get students to store as much information into that long-term memory as possible.

What bothers me the most is that both classrooms used in the DVD as examples were fully equipped with top of the line equipment / technology and one even had teacher aides. This is in now way accurate to the school that I teach at. If we are lucky, we can sign out a projector on a limited basis. One lady had walls lined with computers, a laptop, a top of the line smart board and even a sexy cart to set the laptop on. I was jealous that all of her desks matched and didn't have permanent carvings in them. One year, if all of my students were present for fifth bell, three students had to sit on the ground. Can you imagine? Pathetic.

What was I supposed to be discussing? Damn. Sorry. Hard for me to avoid the inaccuracy of their published DVD examples of a classroom to that of my own. I enjoyed Paivio's dual coding theory and agree that people tend to remember images much better than text. I am constantly saying "I may remember them when I see them" or something to that regards. Dr. Orey mentions that this theory also correlates smell and other senses with both the image and some type of label (code). One of the best things that I can paraphrase from Dr. Orey this week is when he stated that images were some of the most powerful tools a teacher can use in their classroom (Laureate Education, 2008).


Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2008). Program five. Cognitive Learning Theory [Motion picture]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Baltimore: Author.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2008). Program six. Spotlight on Technology [Motion picture]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Baltimore: Author.

Behaviorism in Practice (week 2 assn)

Within the two chapters that we had to read, I was very much uninspired. Most of the examples used were all elementary based and in districts that had more than ample resources. One of the schools I read about had 5th grade students with personal laptops. I teach seniors in a very rural, underfinanced district that still has Windows 98 and 2000 operating systems in the one computer lab (20 computers) shared by 1300 students and nearly 80 teachers. I had to get that out, sorry.

In regards to our assignment this week, all of the examples that I read about in Ch. 8 & Ch. 10 definitely correlate with many of the behaviorist theories covered thus far. For example, the rubric created by Ms. Powell, a 5th grade teacher, exemplifies operant conditioning. By having them complete an effort rubric via spreadsheet reinforces what behaviors Ms. Powell would like her students to do again. One of the central themes is that activity is important and that learning is best accomplished when the learner is active rather than passive. The fact that Ms. Powell does this over the course of a four-week unit portrays another key element to behaviorism regarding frequency, or practicing. Regular practice, especially in different contexts, is required for skills to be acquired and for learning to take place.

I would be interested to know the time that was put into creating this four-week unit that I used for an example above. I am also curious to know of what resources these particular 5th graders have readily available for them. I am extremely envious of schools that have certain technological priorities in place. I am very frustrated with my district and the administrators that run them because they don't equip their (my) students with the same quality of equipment that is in their offices, but expect them to create the same quality material with limited resources. Am I rambling? Sorry. Thanks for reading my post and I hope your end of the year is pleasant!!!