Social Learning Theory

Based on this week’s learning resources we discussed the social learning theory. Social constructivists believe along with the integration of technology that our students learn best when working in group settings and guiding their own learning. When students are able to work together, using technology or not, they are able to construct meaning for new knowledge by interacting with each other (Pitler, et al, 2010). They also talk about how students are successful learners when they are able to make connections to what they are learning. I believe a huge part of learning is just being able to get the students to make connections to what they are learning. If they can relate the topic to something they already previously know then you are going to have that much more success as a teacher because students have already made that connection to prior experiences so they are already aware of the what you are talking about.

That being said along with working in groups allowing students to share knowledge or help guide each other is another tremendous way to help students succeed. In my physical education classes we do mostly all partner or team activities. Not only in physical education is it necessary to work in teams and working cooperatively with others but it is a big part of success in the gymnasium. Students guide and learn from each other with things they are successful with and things they struggle with. Being able to work together not only helps the students out but it helps the teacher who can’t always get to each student in a timely manner for help. Not only working together but while incorporating technology , for example; having a power point on the smart board watching students play a game that others are not familiar with helps the overall understanding better than just a demonstration from the teacher. You can see the students actually in the game setting and it being played. Often during a demonstration you just break down the skills and it is tough for the students to get a good grasp. Have social group work is a great way for all students to be successful. Students love being able to talk with their peers and work together. Not only does it raise interest in what they are learning but they get to do it together where they can help each other and students are not left behind if they don’t understand things on their own.

References:

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

VoiceThread Blog

Here is my VoiceThread Blog with my concern I face in my school with my Physical Education class:

Hey Guys sorry I was out of town all weekend and didn't realize you couldn't listen to my VoiceThread. Hopefully this will work now. Sorry again.

http://voicethread.com/share/1902613/

Constructivism and Constructionism Learning Theories

When reviewing this week’s resources I thought it was interesting to hear about Michael Orey’s explanation on how people interpret the things they see. They just don’t hear the word and automatically understand what they are hearing but they picture an image of what the word is and store that mental image. Both of these different theories are student driven and involve them being active learners. In constructionism, students will complete an artifact to share with others (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010). This is from the word construction. Students are helping in creating and guiding their own learning.

A good example I believe for constructionist learning would be any type of problem solving activity. Whether it is a math equation or any type of experiment, during an experiment you are making a hypothesis to what will happen you are testing the experiment then concluding your question with your data. This is all constructed by the students and they are guiding all learning.

It is even better when you can include technology into these experiments. You can do this by making a PowerPoint presentation. A PowerPoint presentation that goes a long with a type of experiment you are doing is a great way to not only get yourself involved and more engaged in the activity but also peers if it is group work. With these two theories our students are allowing themselves to grow as students. They are in charge of the things they are doing for a long term outcome that will be beneficial for them to tackle each of these different learning theories so they have experience to each different type.

References:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010). Program seven. Constructionist and constructivist learning theories [Webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Baltimore, MD: 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

Cognitive Learning Theories

I believe instructional strategies today have enhanced our cognitive learning theory for students today of the 21^st century. With the technology we have today students are not able to prepare themselves for assessments much easier that we were growing up. By teaching students how to effectively take notes, summarize, and use graphic organizers to the best of their ability, we are providing our students with a rich learning environment, which includes more than one means of transport supporting Paivios idea of duel coding (laureate 2010). With our students being able to use these key contributors to learning they are now able to get a better grasp of the lessons we are trying to teach them.

Students have a tough time with note taking. I know when I was a student I wondered what information I was supposed to write down and which would be the most meaningful to help me pass the test. When I was in school, I didn’t really think about actually learning the material especially if I was not interested in the specific topic. I was just concerned with pretty much memorizing what I had to in order to get a good grade on my test and pass the class. I think that is a problem with some of our students today. With understanding our cognitive learning theory with the help of technology, our students today can now get the most beneficial resources that will not only help them know the material for the tests but learn and understand the concepts being taught. The most important thing is our students take the best strategy and connect to their own individual learning and be able to comprehend the material so it makes them the most successful.

References:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010). Program five. Cognitive learning theory (Webcast). Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Behaviorist Learning Theory

After reviewing the instructional strategies it appears to me that these are two crucial parts that relate to behaviorist learning theory. Behavior learning theory is something that all teachers try to strive for. They want to establish rules, regulations and expectations so that it makes their classroom that much more smoothly and eliminates any possible distractions.

Reinforcing effort is a probably one of the most important factors when it comes to having a behaviorist learning theory. Effort is the most important factor in student achievement (Pilter, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007). Constantly praising students for the effort they are giving and acknowledging it is no better feeling for a student whether they are grasping the concept of struggling with it. In my elementary physical education class reinforcing effort is one of the biggest thing that helps students want to get better and try there hardest at the skills we are trying to accomplish. I am very fortunate with the students I have that they love to come to physical education class and try their best. Many teachers have troubles with students at trying to do their best and getting students to put in the effort is one of the hardest things a teacher.

As for homework and practice in most classes these can correlate to behaviorist learning theories. In my content area practice is huge to keeping a behavior in tack. When I give students the skills and amount of time to practice it allows them to practice and develop those skills to a proficient levels. This also eliminates off task behaviors with students. Constantly keeping them engaged with a task with practice opportunities will make your class flow that much better. I also believe by practice students become motivated to succeed in the task at hand. They either see that they can succeed in the skills they are doing or they see that they need some work. That’s again where reinforcing effort becomes important. For the students that struggle praising their effort will keep the students going and keep your lessons strong.

References:

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

Final Reflection

The past eight weeks I have been given a tremendous amount of knowledge about adapting to our 21^st century society of students and becoming ready and more effective for these changes. Robert Hof (2007) explained over the next decade, the relentless march of computer power and Net connection speeds will bring more profound changes to work than anything we’ve seen so far. This course has provided me a number of different skills and resources to take into my own classroom and now allow me to be able give these tools to my students to help them succeed.

I have deepened my knowledge of teaching and the learning process by being a learner myself. When first entering this class I had heard about blogs, wikis, and podcasts but I was not sure exactly how they work and had no idea that we could ever incorporate them into our curriculum. After getting a great deal of experience and learning about all three technological categories I feel pretty comfortable with including some of these pieces of technology into my Physical Education curriculum.

My perspective from a teacher to a learner has changed because in order to get through to my students I need to change the way I think and put my mind as a learner. I need to be able to see and feel what the students are engaged in and what things they are being interested in. To be a good teacher you need to be involved in what your students think and how they feel and be flexible to make you more powerful as an educator to get through to your students and help them be successful and show them that you care about their needs and wants. In order to continue to grow and expand as a teacher I need to always be ready and able to change. Change to help my students, to give them the things they need to learn and be flexible and inventive with the things they want to learn. Technology is a great way to keep your students involved and always being aware and flexible is a very strong way to keep them engaged.

In my classroom within the next couple years I want to incorporate more technology. Being in Physical Education it is hard to incorporate a lot of technology because technology is a big part of why are students are not being active at home and a big contributor to our obesity rate. I want technology to go hand and hand with Physical Education to not only make it healthier for our students but to also make it fun and a cool thing to do. A good example of this is the new things the Wii is allowing at homes. It is making video games more interactive and is played by people actually moving around and being active. This is a fun and cool concept that has attracted our world, this is what I would like to include someday within my Physical Education program. Not exactly a Wii, but a fun way to get students excited and involved with physical activity and not just in my gymnasium for a few days a week.

After looking back at this eight week course I feel the changes that I have developed are just the things I want to try to incorporate into my classroom in the future. Teachers need training in instructional technology and 21st century skills so they can learn how to embed these skills into their classroom and also have a support system (Miners & Pascopella, 2007).  I want to have more time to do different things and still get my physical education in. I am not given enough time as it is to fulfill a lot of the things I would like to and for a lot of students it is the only physical activity they will get throughout the week. With more time in my program I could incorporate cooler things for my students to get them excited about living healthy and happy lifestyles.

References

Hof, R. (2007, August 20). The end of work as you know it. Businessweek.com. Retrieved from http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_34/b4047426.htm?chan =search

Miners, Z., & Pascopella, A. (2007). The new literacies. District Administration, 43(10), 26–34

 

Technology Podcast

http://walk.saddleridge.laramie1.org/modules/podcast/files/956125/App%205%20Podcast_0.mp3?sessionid=cacd56d678c056dc0fd766cdd4e0a042

For my podcast I interviewed two students and one first grade teacher at my school. I asked them what types of technology they used at home and about how long they would say they used that type of technology. I also asked the students how much technology they were exposed to at school and how long they were able use those types of technology as resources during school. When interviewing a first grade teacher at our school, I first asked her how much technology she used throughout the day herself. I then asked how much technology she used within her classroom and what types of things she would like to incorporate with her first graders in regards to technology. I chose to interview a classroom teacher because being a physical education teacher I don’t use as much technology as I should right now so I thought it would be more beneficial to see how the classroom teachers within my building were incorporating technology into their curriculum.

The students I interviewed seemed to be pretty knowledgeable about technology both at home and in the classroom. According to McHale, "They've had digital technology surrounding them from the time they were infants," he says. "That digital world affords them many things that the previous world didn't." In his article, "Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants," Prensky describes these students as wanting their information extremely fast and being experts at multitasking and networking. Yet he sees schools lagging behind, still tied to an antiquated system that rewards staying on task and on pace with others above more individualized education plans. I believe this is found to be true. The second grade girl student I interviewed said she did not use a lot of technology or hardly ever at school but she did use it quite a bit at home. I believe this could be because of the student’s age. They are not that exposed to many types of technology at the primary levels. However, the teachers at our school all have smart boards for each class so those primary students are introduced to technology in that aspect.

After conducting my interviews I realized that schools are still behind in terms of what the students are doing with technology at home. Also the amount of hours they are using technology at home compared to school is a lot. This was not surprising to me because of what our teachers are trying to do. They are still trying to make sure they follow their units and curriculum the way they always have. However, I think we are doing a better job each and every year and our technology in schools is slowly progressing.

References:

McHale, T. (2005). Portrait of a digital native. Technology & Learning. Retrieved from http://www.techlearning.com/article/4572