This article mentions that some student may feel uncomfortable because they do not know the answer the teacher is looking for. I have found that to be true with my Advanced Placement students. I try to scaffold direct instruction with models and step by step instruction (in writing for example), but when I don't give a formula for an essay, there is this feeling of floundering. I usually just let students deal with that frustration and try to keep encouraging and giving detailed feedback. But I have had a student or two drop my class out of utter frustration. That is disturbing, but not surprising. I think those students may have a longer adjustment period when heading off to college. A key component of constructivism is collaboration. Collaboration needs to come from a class that has a feeling of community. And building community is this intangible feeling that many take for granted--you know when you don't have it, but you don't necessarily know how to get it.
Something that really struck me was when the author stated, "the Learning Cycle is a design that can be used as a general framework for many kinds of constructivist activities." The Learning Cycle involves discovery, introduction of concept, and then application of concept. It was modeled to me to interchange the first two, but it is more exciting to let the students do the discovery. Yay! Someone said it!
Constructivism and Technology
This chart had many common sense reiterations that were not new to me. I thought the note about an individualized learning program was interesting. I want to know more about this aspect.
3 comments:
Building community needs to almost just come naturally. The teacher needs to naturally build that type of environment. It is difficult to teach how to do that. With that strong sense of community, the students will trust their teacher and one another, which will hopefully lead to more collaboration.
I feel like I have mastered this principle through Dr. Christie's Modeling of it in her classes. This will make my fourth class with her. I hope to use these concepts in my nest teaching assignment. One of the most difficult things that we face as educators is motivation, especially intrinsic motivation. Constructivism is all about intrinsic motivation.
So many times we, the teachers, are just trying to get the content in or the curriculum covered. But by having a more constructivist stance the students have more control and therefore more responsibility for their learning. What can be better than that?????
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