By James Matthews
I really like the idea of introducing and practicing a new concept with students and then reinforcing their understanding by tasking them to create a presentation to teach a topic to the rest of the class. Social constructivism and problem solving are both evident in the practice of working with others in the group to brainstorm ideas for presenting the topic. The teamwork involved with organizing the actual presentation further promotes problem solving, but it also involves decision making in choosing the best method and organization for the presentation (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007, p. 203).
Experimental inquiry and historical investigation both help students to acquire, develop, and apply new information. Implementing technology into these could help students and teachers to focus more on the actual acquisition of knowledge because it allows “students to spend more time interpreting the data rather than gathering the data” (Pitler et al., 2007, p. 203). It also allows them the opportunity to identify similarities and differences with a much larger population if technology is used to compare findings with others.
Generating and testing hypotheses are not strictly for science anymore. In fact, constructivists might say that the processes and tasks involved with doing so illustrates how the six tasks listed in the text either builds onto existing knowledge or helps to create new artifacts as the basis of understanding.
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
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James,
ReplyDeleteYou are right when you say that generating and testing hypotheses are not strictly for science anymore. When I read this in this week's resources, I had to think really hard how other disciplines could use this, but after reading the examples, it became apparent that teachers in all disciplines are able to use this strategy. I will be using this in my classroom when I teach cultural activities with my students.
James and Marie,
ReplyDeleteYou are right using hypotheses is now a method that can be used in any subject. Students need to know that they can create projects in any subject and learn from their mistakes and accomplishments without being told what is right or wrong. For example, everytime I begin a math lesson, I give the students a problem and ask them to work with a partner to figure out the answer before I instruct them on it. Next time I will take it to the next level with the use of technology and maybe have the students use technology to explain their problem and answer by using web based tools. What do you think?
Veronica