530: Constructivist Strategies for e-Learning
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Adding to the collage:
21st Century Education promises to advance learning beyond the memorization and regurgitation of facts. The repeated study of the established canon of literature in humanities classrooms and the same experiments used decades ago in science classes may no longer be relevant to the Net Generation. In fact, their curriculum is more advanced and challenging as compared to a mere 10 - 15 years ago. In essence, a picture of the ideal classroom from the 80s, 90s, early 2000s and now today, varies a great deal. This variance between pictures could be attributed to the technologies in classrooms at the time. However, I suggest that the impetus for change was more so the students and societal expectations, which led to the inclusion and greater influence of educational technology rather than the technology itself.
Instruction models based upon constructivist approaches offer the greatest opportunities for today's generation given our students' growing demand to lead both face-to-face and virtual lives. ETEC 510 and ETEC 512 helped to pave the way for these, and other, ideas about what teaching and learning should look like in the new millenium.
21st Century Education promises to advance learning beyond the memorization and regurgitation of facts. The repeated study of the established canon of literature in humanities classrooms and the same experiments used decades ago in science classes may no longer be relevant to the Net Generation. In fact, their curriculum is more advanced and challenging as compared to a mere 10 - 15 years ago. In essence, a picture of the ideal classroom from the 80s, 90s, early 2000s and now today, varies a great deal. This variance between pictures could be attributed to the technologies in classrooms at the time. However, I suggest that the impetus for change was more so the students and societal expectations, which led to the inclusion and greater influence of educational technology rather than the technology itself.
Instruction models based upon constructivist approaches offer the greatest opportunities for today's generation given our students' growing demand to lead both face-to-face and virtual lives. ETEC 510 and ETEC 512 helped to pave the way for these, and other, ideas about what teaching and learning should look like in the new millenium.
A brief snapshot 0f 530:
Had I not already taken ETEC 510 before ETEC 530, I would have guessed that constructivist strategies were a movement to have students build on their learning through positive experiences which lead to sense of accomplishment and self motivation. I would have been somewhat on the right track but was clearly in the dark with regard to this learning strategy. From the outset this course focused on the needs of learners and their learning. Participating in this elective caused me to re-evaluate my own beliefs and perspectives about what constitutes effective teaching and learning. While I had used project-based and collaborative learning activities in insolation, this course opened my thinking to opportunities within large scale, group determined, teacher facilitated, long term, constructivist activities.
Had I not already taken ETEC 510 before ETEC 530, I would have guessed that constructivist strategies were a movement to have students build on their learning through positive experiences which lead to sense of accomplishment and self motivation. I would have been somewhat on the right track but was clearly in the dark with regard to this learning strategy. From the outset this course focused on the needs of learners and their learning. Participating in this elective caused me to re-evaluate my own beliefs and perspectives about what constitutes effective teaching and learning. While I had used project-based and collaborative learning activities in insolation, this course opened my thinking to opportunities within large scale, group determined, teacher facilitated, long term, constructivist activities.
constructivist strategies in secondary level english language arts classrooms: english 10 List of examinable terms
Introductory thoughts:
With a strong understanding of constructivist approaches it was important for me to be able to think about and formulate a realistic activity that I could try with my classes to see the inner workings of this learning theory. One of the most challenging aspects for me is satisfying all of the Literary Terms and Devices students are expected to know for the English 10 and 12 provincial exams. Sure, these terms are covered, discussed and reviewed through the coursework over the term, but I felt that this was an opportunity to move beyond the accustomed rote learning and implement some constructivist approaches in hopes of building long-term, meaningful learning. I suggest an English Language Arts (ELA) constructivist model, merging the Driver-Oldham (Sunal, n.d.) and Rivernia-Murray (Sunal, n.d.) models, focused on collaboration and inquiry through case, product and project based learning as one way to breathe life into this mundane aspect of the English 10 and 12 curricula.
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Driver & Oldham vs. Rivernia-Murray (Sunal, n.d.): A merged model to consider
Stage 1: Identify a focus - what students know or think they know.
Stage 2: Create a plan of activities and strategies which promote learner centered exploration and build motivation.
Stage 3: Place precedence on learner centered, teacher facilitated, exploration and restructuring of ideas to identify gaps or conceptual conflicts.
Stage 4: Create and practice new mental schema and establish links to prior knowledge.
Stage 5: Allow for thinking about how ideas have changed.
The merger of these two strategies would promote long-term meaningful learning of ELA Literary Terms and Devices.
Closing reflections:
This merged model I propose has the makings of a successful strategy to solidify the Literary Terms and Devices for high school English classes in preparation for the provincial exam(s). While traditionally, we achieve steps 1 and 5 through regular classroom activities, steps 2 - 4 have all but been ignored, which explains the lack of student motivation to engage with these terms in any meaningful way. These important steps are challenging for educators because they force us to view the activity through the eyes of the learner and to design events/activities from that perspective. Step 3 is also challenging because it is not teacher centered and some of us are leery to step aside and let our students explore without our absolute control. I consider Step 4 to be something we aim to do, but sometimes we miss building this crucial link to prior knowledge. Learning in isolation, without connection to relevant facts, ideas or experiences, is a challenge for us all. I have strove to implement this merged model and will continue to explore its strengths and limitations. It is without a doubt however, a much more learner-centered, and authentic way to let students construct their own personal relationships and understanding of the ELA List of Terms and Devices.
Designing and developing an online workshop
Introductory thoughts:
To demonstrate my understanding of the Constructivist Instructional Model (CIM), Predict-Observe-Explain (POE) Model and Conceptual Change Model (CCM) as well as other constructivist strategies, I designed and developed an online workshop for students who were absent for a face-to-face workshop that had been delivered in three separate parts. I also had to design and develop criteria on which to be judged.
Closing reflections:
As a direct result of the Google based learning environment I helped create in ETEC 510, I felt confident in my ability to create an online workshop that was multi-faceted and constructivist at heart. Relying heavily on the 5 Stage Driver and Oldham model (Sunal, n.d.), I endeavoured to use different media to help me showcase my understanding of CIM, POE and CCM.
The completed online workshop covered the same information but was very much user centered and aimed to engage the learners rather than have them blindly follow the step-by-step sequence of instructions that the face-to-face workshop promoted. The crowning achievement of this assignment was that the online workshop had a reflection section, which invited students to discuss what they learned with their parents. In fact, they were urged to introduce the website to their parents which was intended to help review as well as solidify the process in the students’ minds by having them teach someone else how the program works. I have no way of knowing how many students took this extra step, but I suspect the few that did walked away with a personal connection to the activity and a stronger motivation to complete all three sessions.
Visual Credits:
Dubé, R. (2012). Belmont's LifeAfterHighSchool Project. [Website]. Retrieved from http://lifeafterbelmont.weebly.com/
Dubé, R. (2012). Constructivism in a Secondary ELA Classroom. [Concept Map]. ETEC 530 Assignment 1.
Time Magazine. (December 18, 2006). [How to Build a Student for the 21st Century]. [Image]. Retrieved from http://content.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,20061218,00.html
Dubé, R. (2012). Belmont's LifeAfterHighSchool Project. [Website]. Retrieved from http://lifeafterbelmont.weebly.com/
Dubé, R. (2012). Constructivism in a Secondary ELA Classroom. [Concept Map]. ETEC 530 Assignment 1.
Time Magazine. (December 18, 2006). [How to Build a Student for the 21st Century]. [Image]. Retrieved from http://content.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,20061218,00.html