Social Learning Theories

To me, social learning is exactly what it sounds like, which has students learning together in a social setting.  This is different than the traditional teaching style that has the teacher talking at the front of the classroom the entire class period while students record notes.  Social learning theory involves student working collaboratively towards a common goal, and also construct memories of what they are learning along the way.  This week in my Walden class we are making a lot of connections to constructionism, which is what we learned about last week.  Constructionism is the process where a student constructs new memories and artifacts about a subject they have never learned about before.  Social learning provides a much more efficient avenue for student to construct these new memories, because they are doing so with other students that are going through the same process as them.  In other words, they are going through the constructing process with fellow classmates, rather than alone.  One of my resources this week was a video in which George Siemens speaks about an argued learning theory he calls connectivism.  He describes connectivism as a networking process in which students link certain things together to further advance their knowledge.  It sounded to me like a snow-balling type of process, where you first inquire about something, then seek a source to find out more about it, which then leads you to another source, and so on, creating this network on information that helps you learn about a given topic.  To put it into my own terms, I relate it to how I came to brew my own beer.  I am a big advocate of craft beers, and am lucky enough to live in the great state of Michigan, which is home to some of the best microbreweries in the world!  After many different microbrews I asked myself, why can't I make my own beer?  I immediately began researching the topic, and found myself immersed in the world of homebrewing.  Once I learned that there was a homebrewing supply shop only 10 minutes from my house, I headed up there to inquire more about what it would take to make my own beer.  They taught me a few things in the store and also recommended online resources that would be very helpful.  Now this is not a story that I share with my students, because I do not condone drinking in my classroom, but the learning process that I went through in order to brew my own beer is very similar to what Siemens refers to as connectivism.  I had a network of resources that I consulted where I learned more and more as I went from one source to the next.  I used social media, whether it was the Internet, cell phone, or face-to-face interaction to learn what I wanted to do.  This is a very efficient way of learning, and I did most of it on my own.  To translate this into my classroom, I am always telling my students to consult the Internet about any question they have about anything.  The great thing about the Internet is the fact that there is usually at least one person who has something to say about just anything you have to ask.  As a result, you can explore any topic you want to learn more about, and whether the information you initially find is correct or not, you have at least started down the path of inquiry.

Moreover, in order to promote social learning in the classroom, many teachers use collaborative learning activities.  Collaborative learning activities are really just a fancy name for group activities.  In the book 'Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works', the authors have an entire chapter on collaborative learning.  They make a few critical recommendations about which include: varying the criteria in which you group students, keeping groups to a manageable size, and using appropriate groups in different scenarios.  The first two recommendations are pretty self-explanatory, although I will note that the authors strongly recommend to not group students by their ability.  The last recommendation of using appropriate groups, however, deals with finding the right type of group for a given activity.  Say you are planning a major activity in your class, this is an instance where you want to put a lot of thought into how you group students, versus an impromptu activity where you might just randomly assign groups by numbering students or having them turn to a nearby student.  Regardless of the method you use for collaborative learning activities, the process is what is important.  During these activities, granted they are well developed, you will see students working together towards a common goal.  Most of these activities have students delegating roles and responsibilities among each other and also deciding what information is important to include and what is not.  Another benefit that comes with collaborative learning is the ability for students to teach students.  Many teachers often say that they never really understood a topic so well until they actually taught it to somebody, so why not give your students a chance to do the same?  Even if there is a portion of the project that no student in the group understands or knows how to explain to the group, there will always be what Dr. Michael Orey refers to as a 'more knowledgeable other', which could either be the teacher, or the Internet.  Either way, the teacher does not need to be the first or primary resource that students consult when they are pressed with a problem.  They can ask a member of their group, then try and solve the problem together, or consult the Internet and verify with the teacher.  Either way, what social and collaborative learning have in mind is having the students rely less on the teacher, and more on themselves and their ability to seek out information on their own.

References

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011). Program eight: Social 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

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011). Program nine: Connectivism as a 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

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with

       classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Voice Thread Take 1

I made my first ever project on VoiceThread, you can check it out here.  I hope you enjoy it!

Project-Based Learning and Constructionism

This week in my Walden master's class we learned about the differences between constructivism and constructionism, as well as what project-based learning is.  In a video resource, Dr. Michael Orey discussed the differences between constructivism and constructionism.  He described constructivism as a process where a student attaches something new to a memory they have already created in the past, or in other words takes new material and makes it relate to them.  In contrast, constructionism involves the process of the students creating something new, be it a memory or external artifact.  In essence, constructionist learning theory involve the learning building something new during the learning process, just as the word construction suggests.  In addition to constructivism and constructionism, we also learned about Project-Based learning (PBL), which is a teaching methodology that has students utilizing their problem solving skills by working on things that are more realistic as opposed to fact based textbook problems.  PBL sounds great in theory because it involves students working hands-on with things and also helps build their 21st-century skills.  It also has them working collaboratively and independently, and has the teacher playing more of a facilitator role who is no longer the primary source of information. 

I really like the ideas behind constructionist learning theory and PBL, because I think they are what is best for my students' futures.  However, at what point am I supposed to teach them their fundamental skills that are needed to help gain these 21st-century skills.  I teach high school math, and in order to use math in a real life setting, you have to know how to do the math.  Granted, there are some types of real world problems in math that can be solved by simply reasoning through them, but some problems must be solved using algebraic or geometric theories.  Part of what I am up against as a teacher today is trying to incorporate these types of 21st-century learning experiences and also teach all of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS).  All that is required of me by my school and the state of Michigan is that I cover the CCSS.  So great, I can teach my kids a bunch of math, and most of what I am teaching them is only useful for standardized testing, at least that is what they think.  Part of why I want to incorporate more PBL in my classroom is because it gives meaning to the math.  It is an answer to the constant question of "when am I ever going to use this stuff?"  Unfortunately it all boils down to the time factor, and there is simply not enough of it to show my students how to use all of the math that I am teaching them in the real world. 

Going back to one of what is becoming one of my best resources, the book Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works, I have found some suggestions that might help me create more PBL opportunities without have to sacrifice so much time.  This week we read the chapter titled "Generating and Testing Hypotheses", which is not just talking about science experiments.  What I took from this section of the book is that I need to get my students thinking and hypothesizing more about my subject matter.  I believe that by having students hypothesize about a certain concept and then comparing it to the actual results relates to a constructionist's approach.  The students is constructing their own hypothesis and then eventually comparing it an actual result, which creates a memory that they can reflect back on.  The authors also give a recommendation that students should be able explain their hypotheses and conclusions.  Establishing this with students up front will set a tone that they can not just simply guess, and encourages them to think about their hypothesis.  Also, by having students explain their conclusion forces them to look back at their hypothesis, which was their original constructed memory, and relate the final result back to that, which is a bit of a constructivist approach to learning. 

The book goes on to give some suggestions on how to utilize technology to help make these PBL experiences more realistic by using the Internet, data collection tools, and spreadsheet applications.  As I mentioned earlier, my biggest inhibitor of PBL experiences in my classroom is time, and the fact that I do not have too many days I can spare to spend doing projects on and still teach the CCSS that need to be covered.  However, with the use of Internet application/simulators, graphing calculators, and applications like Microsoft Excel and Google Spreadsheet I can incorporate more realistic learning experience in a fraction of the time.  Even though it is not an actual 'out in the field' experience, it is the next best thing, and it is a lot closer to the real thing than a textbook story problem.

References

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

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with

       classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Helping student remember what they have learned.

I recently viewed a video where Dr. Michael Orey talks about cognitive learning theory.  He specifically talked about how one of every teacher’s main goals is to get students to remember what we teach them.  In addition, he goes on to discuss the actual learning process and how connections are made between short-term and long-term memory.  One of the more interesting facts to me as a high school teacher that Dr. Orey presented, was that on average students can only remember or take in five to nine pieces of information at a time.  At the high school level, students are often bombarded with facts, especially at my high school because we are on the trimester schedule.  One of the major consequences of the trimester schedule is the small number of days I have with my students, and I am often teaching a new section everyday in order to fit the entire curriculum in the allotted amount of time.  This fact, combined with the though that students can only retain five to nine pieces of information in short term memory is a major concern for me.  Dr. Orey goes on to discuss three different types of long-term memory, which are: declarative, procedural, and episodic.  Where declarative deals with the memorization of facts and information, procedural deals with remember how to carry out processes or do things, and episodic has to do with remember certain experiences the learner has encountered.  As a high school math teacher I am constantly providing declarative and procedural cognitive experiences to my students, because they are a major part of learning math.  In order to be successful in math, you have to learn a large amount of rules, and also have to know how to carry out many processes to solve problems.  One thing I try to incorporate in my teaching to help make the learning experience more memorable for my students is to make it more fun.  I have incorporated songs, have played math games, and also have students work in groups in order to help make their learning experience more memorable.  Dr. Orey also talks about ‘forgetting’, and how the process of forgetting works in the brain.  It is not necessarily that students forget something, but rather that they forget what a given piece of information is linked to in their brain.  He extends on this by talking about how when something is learned it first gets stored in short term memory, then we link it to something to help us remember it.  This process of networking allows us to store information more efficiently, because we can recall something that is simpler in our mind to remember that is something more complex and has less meaning to us. 

Extending the conversation on cognitive learning, I also read a few chapters in the book ‘Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works’ that give some recommendations on to question students to generate their thinking, how advance organizers work, and how to help students become better at summarizing and note taking.  In math, students are constantly taking notes, and trying to simplify the information into an easy way to make connections and remember things.   I always encourage my students to read their math textbooks, because they need to be familiar with the vocabulary, but reading math text can be very difficult for teenage students.  In addition to reading a math textbook, students also need to know how do sift though the text and determine what is important to them and what is not.  To help with this I almost always give my students prepared notes, or what I call ‘guided notes’.  This takes a lot of the ambiguity out of the note taking experience, and highlights the main points I want my students to take away from the lesson.  The guided notes include important vocabulary terms, formulas, and examples that we go over together in class.  I also encourage students to take their own notes in the margins, which also helps them think about what important pieces of information they want to add to their notes to help them remember the material.  The book also talks a lot about questioning students and using advance graphic organizers.  In order to help students generate their thinking before a lesson I often ask questions about some of the prior knowledge that is going to be necessary to the new material.  I think this makes the new material a little less intimidating, because they know it is going to involve something they have done before.  The book also talks a lot about the use of advance graphic organizers.  One example of an advance graphic organizer is a concept map.  A concept map is what I like to call a brainstorming/webbing tool, where you connect a series of nodes/bubbles with lines.  The central node/bubble is in the middle, and you then branch out to more minor points that link back to the central point.  I have not used these too much in my math classes, simply because I never really liked them as a student.  They seemed rather simple to me, and I saw them as simply stating the obvious that I always assumed.  However, my math students have not been through as many math classes that I have been through, and have not been able to see the connections in math that I have seen.  I think concept maps would help a lot of my students out because it shows how different things relate, and it is easy to read.  Also, in addition to the central node/bubble design, you can also use flow charts as concepts maps that show progression.  Flow charts are something that I have used many times in my class, however I never really considered them concept maps.  What is nice about flow charts is that they can show rules via a hierarchy that is quickly picked up on by students.  It effectively shows boundaries, and in math with so many formulas, a flow chart could be useful for students when trying to pick out which formula they need to use for a given problem.

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

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with

       classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Connections: Instructional Strategy and Behaviorism

Behaviorism is a major part of education and I do not see it going away anytime soon.  Teachers will always give students praise when they do something right and will also let students know when they need to correct something (mostly in classroom management situations).  Nonetheless, behaviorism is here to stay, and I feel teachers need to facilitate this to help their student reach their full potential.

I am currently going though a master's program, and one of the resources we have is a book that talks a lot about effort from a behaviorists point of view.  The book is called "Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works", and there is a chapter all about reinforcing effort.  In this chapter the authors bring up a very interesting point that I as a high school math teacher have always seemed to have trouble with.  They talk about the awareness students have of their effort in class.  One of the biggest battles I have with my students is trying to get them to understand that in order to do math, you have to try math.  I have preached this time and time again, and still some students just do not seem to get it.  After reading this section on effort, there were quite a few strategies recommended by the author that I could easily put in place that could potentially yield positive results.  They recommend having some sort of self evaluation system that students track themselves with as they progress though a unit.  Part of what the authors try to make their readers realize is that students need to be aware of their effort in a class, and that their effort is important.  This may seem obvious to any adult, but this could be the last thing on some high school students' minds.  The authors give examples of some easy rubric systems that allow students to grade their own effort, and then compare the effort results with their test/quiz results.  They make this process even easier by recommending it be done using an Excel spreadsheet.  I think doing this on the computer would make students more apt to do this, simply because it is on the computer and they typically would prefer to use a computer over paper and pencil.  Using Excel also saves time because it calculates things much quicker, and I am always trying to manage time in the classroom, so I think this would help a ton.  Getting back to the discussion on the effort itself, I think that by having students track their own effort they will have a more clear vision on how it reflects on their achievement.  I have talked with each and everyone of my students about their grade, and have assessed their effort with them and they hear me for the time being.  However, me just telling them how I perceive their effort and what I recommend they do to change it does not really stick with a lot of them, in my opinion.  I think the students gets a lot more meaning out of this process when they do it on their own, because it forces them to look in the mirror and see if they are really putting forth an honest effort.  I think it would be very effective and I am very eager to try something like this in my classroom.

Another topic that the book talks about deal with the assigning of homework.  In math, homework is one of the most critical components because it is the time where students get to hone their skills.  Being that I teach high school math, I am always trying to put more responsibility on the student.  As a result, I usually have students check their own homework, and then I take any questions that students have about the assignment before starting the next lesson.  In addition, I do not always grade every homework assignment, and when I do I usually just check for completion of the assignment.  Part of the reason for this is due to my belief on effort.  I always tell my student that I know who is honestly doing their homework and making their corrections when I grade their tests and quizzes, because they are a reflection on their homework efforts.  The other part is the fact that most of my homework in college math classes was not graded, and I am trying to help my students as prepared for the responsibility that college brings as I can.  In the same book as mentioned above, the authors talk about how homework should be assigned and used in the classroom.  They recommend that feedback should be quick and explicit.  Part of what I want to change about my homework procedure in class is how it is corrected.  Right now I have students check their own answers with an answer key that I post in class, and then take any questions that students might have.  What sometimes  happens with this procedure is that not all students care to check their answers and never find out what they know, or they check their answers but do not ask questions because they think they know how to fix it themselves or are too shy or embarrassed to ask.  The text does not offer much on how procedures to help with this situation, but again it is unique to my situation and the book was not written specifically for me.  However, I have generated some ideas from other colleagues because this is not the first time I am addressing the homework procedure in my class as a concern.  One of my ideas to help with this involves peer checking, which would have students passing their paper to a neighbor, or I would simply collect everyone's assignment then pass them back in random order.  This would ensure that everybody's assignment got checked thoroughly and that each student would at least be able to see if they are understanding the material or not.  To supplement this, I would also like to give student 5-10 minutes to go over their corrected homework in groups to make corrections.  This is an easy way to provide immediate feedback and also give them time to fix any mistakes before while the information is relevant.  In the end, however, this still circles back to student effort, and I think peer editing would help with this because students will be able to see how much effort their classmates are putting in.  This will ultimately help set examples of what it is going to take to be successful, and will also show how poor effort can hold some students back.

References:

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