This week we are investigating the Learning Sciences and Constructivism. After reading chapter 5 select an area to focus on:
Brain Based Learning
Constructivism
Learning in a Digital World
On the left hand side of the blog I have provided links for each of these areas. Select one area that you are most interested in. View the video clips and then comment to the post of what you will do in your future classroom to address this issue.
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I chose to view the video, Why we Need to Teach Technology in Schools. I am passionate about this subject because I consider myself to be technologically illiterate especially incomparison to students of today. My 9 year old son is more technologically advanced than I am. I have gained more experience with technology during my education experience here at Purdue North Central but is is my goal to continue to educate myself until I feel that I am capable of helping my children to continue to grow with their experience with technology. I am the unconventional college student and until I began this educational journey, my technological experience was limited. There are some many technological resources available to educators today that enhance both the teaching and learning experience. I plan on educating myself with all the resources available to me in order to provide the best possible learning experience for my students. I have been sustituting and volunteering in elementary classrooms in an effort to educate myself on what is currently available. Technology is constantly advancing and it is my goal to continue to advance with it.
ReplyDeleteI read the video clips from learning in a digital world. I guess I did not realize how much technology is used in a day. There are so many forms that teachers could be using o teach their students. When I become a teacher I plan on utilizing as many of the technology resources I have to help my students learn. Maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to record your lesson and allow the students to download it to listen to later. Find ways to teach lessons with computers and music and make learning fun. If I use these things I think I am more likely to reach more students than I would if I just assign readings for them and lecture them in class.
ReplyDeleteThe videos all say that we need to engage our students. If we want to engage them we must intrigue them, make them want to learn. With so many resources available if you are not using these for your students, you could be setting them up for failure.
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ReplyDeleteI looked at A Vision of K-12 Students Today. I remember looking at this video when I was in technology with Dr. Pratt. I thought this video was interesting and very true to today's 21st century learners. Today, students spend most of their time on the computer, playing video games, watching TV and listening to their iPod. I am educated when it comes to technology. Most of the things I do are based on the use of technology. Some of the things I use technology for is when I listen to my music on my iPod, when I do research, when I blog, or when I want to hear the “new gossip” through Facebook. I liked how one student in the video said "let me tell you a story digitally." Students WANT to learn how to use technology and embrace it. They are digital learners just like most young college students today.
ReplyDeleteI believe that most teachers should do research on how to engage students with technology whether it is through training classes or having one of their students teach them. As teachers, we need to make learning fun in ways that students learn best. Research tells me that students are engaged most when they use technology. We do not want our students to be behind. Technology is always improving and changing. It is our responsibility to keep up with the new technological innovations that are occurring every day. If we don’t teach students, they will learn how to on their own, just like it is stated in the video, Why We Need to Teach Technology in School.
Lastly an interesting thing I heard a professor say recently was that she uses Facebook in place of Blackboard Vista because she knows that every one checks Facebook on a daily basis and concluded that “Facebook is never down.” This is so true. The majority of students that I see in the computer lab at school are on Facebook and the majority of students that I see walking on campus are on their cell phones or listening to their IPod. 21st century = technology.
I watched the video "Why we need to teach technology in schools". I think that having technology in the classroom is so important because it is a great way to get students to interact with one another. It is a great way to get kids involved because kids think that new technology is really cool and a lot of fun. It is also really important because, as the video said, we as teachers need to educate kids on the proper ways to use technologies in safe ways. As a teacher, we need to stay up to date on the latest technologies that can be used in the classroom so that we can find ways to add them into our curriculum. In my classroom I plan on having a lot of collaborative assignments that include technology. I want to try to make my curriculum so that there is at least one part of each lesson that includes technology.
ReplyDeleteI chose to watch a video on constructivism because I was curious...I had never really thought about what this was.
ReplyDeleteConstructivism is basically the thought that no one can learn something from 'scratch'; they need to be able to use different aspects of a subject to 'construct' a framework of information to learn from.
I watched 'Constructivism in the Classroom Part 1'. The teacher showed her students different objects and had them describe it. She had a T-chart that said 'Yes' and 'No'. On the 'Yes' side, the teacher wrote down the adjectives the students used to describe the object. On the 'No' side, she wrote down when the students actually used the name of the object. I thought this was a good idea because it had the students actually think about different characteristics of an object rather than just the object itself.
I think this would be effective in a classroom. In my classroom, I would be sure to promote 'constructive' thinking of different objects and subjects. For younger children, I would have them describe different characteristics of objects rather than just tell me what the name of it is.
I watched the video about the Constructivism. I found it interesting that no two people hear things the same. I had heard this before but I never really thought about it and it interesting to think that we all hear the same things but we don't comprehend them in the same way.
ReplyDeleteI also enjoyed watching the video about how the children compare items. I always find it fascinating the way children think. Children always seem to have a different view on things and it usually teaches adults something new for we would have never thought the way that they did.
As a teacher there are so many different activities that you can do with your students. This activity in this video is a good idea for the classroom. It can help to see if the students are understanding of what you are teaching them and if they understand constructivism.
Although I am very interested in using technology in the classroom, I decided to review the Brain Based Learning clips because that was a new topic for me. Once I watched the clips, I liked them so well I forwarded them to my home-schooling friends!
ReplyDeleteBrain based learning focuses a lot on creating a classroom with no perceived threats because the amygdale and hippocampus cannot make new memories when under anxiety. Another feature of brain based learning is allowing the students to move around, get a little exercise, and be stimulated!
In order for me to create a favorable classroom for brain based learning, I will first of all have to be happy! I have to prepare myself to be full of joy everyday…as much as possible. I must post a daily agenda featuring pictures or symbols when possible. I will create a warm, nurturing environment with curtains, fabrics, pillows, and other textures that might be found at home. I will also try to develop predictable systems and patterns so that the students know what to expect; but, vary my teaching methods to keep things interested. I will research different ways to set up learning clubs. I will also borrow an idea my daughter’s 5th grade teacher uses: short, impromptu “workout” sessions that feature just a little movement to get the brain going. I also like an idea featured on one of the clips: “walking meetings.” What a great way to do a think, pair, share…in motion!
I watched the learning in a digital world videoes. I chose those because when I was in Dr. Pratt's tech class, I was a little skeptical about technology. I guess that is just because I am still a little afraid of technology. None of my teachers in school used technology, so technology in school was new to me, even though I am a Millennial. I am also inspired to use technology because my boyfriend has a degree in Computer Science and he writes software and does computer programming, so I am trying to learn more about computers and other kinds of digital devices. It just shows that there are so many career opportunities that involve technology, and it keeps growing. The videos show that students want to learn, and they want to be engaged. Digital devices are a great way for students to be engaged and therefore learn better. The only thing I worry about is the fact that digital devices are expensive, which means many school may not have them available. Also, some students may not have experience with as much technology as other students at their homes, which may make things a little difficult. Overall, I definitely think that technology is an important asset to every classroom and every child!!
ReplyDeleteThe videos in the Brain Based Learning category were interesting and sparked ideas that I can incorporate into my future classroom.
ReplyDeleteThe brain functions better without anxiety. When the brain perceives stress or anxiety, learning is minimized. So, posting a daily agenda can reduce anxiety. Safe environments help brain function as well. I will have my classroom well organized with a daily agenda posted so the students can feel relaxed and safe. Community learning or learning clubs will help add to the safe and engaging learning environment.
According to the video, Brain Rule #1 is to exercise. The video shows how exercise can maximize learning and being productive. I can easily incorporate exercise into the classroom by getting my students out of their seats and being more physical. For example, I will have my students stand by their desks and do a motion to learn how to spell the words on their spelling lists. They can do a jumping jack for every letter they call out or a toe touch. They can run in place while calling out the spelled word, too. When moving from one lesson or subject to another, I will have my students get up and stretch or move around for a minute so their brains are more stimulated than if they were just to sit at their desks all day long.
After reviewing learning in a digital world, I think that it is very important for teacher to keep up with and use technology in the classroom. School isn’t about writing on the chalkboard any more it is about using overheads, computers, and smartboards. Technology has advanced so much since we were kids and I think to keep advancing we need to teach with the technology that our student enjoy using. Kids already spend lots of time blogging and writing emails, why not have them type papers and email them to us, why not have a class blogger that the kids can either have an assignment like this blogger where we meet and write about a given topic. I will defiantly use the technology available to me and my students as much as possible. Kids can read books online rather than a paper back book. Like in one of the U Tube examples where it said that kids only read for a few hours but if given technology they read so much more by looking at Facebook and other websites.
ReplyDeleteTechnology is defiantly growing and growing fast so we need to teach our kids how to use the technology to be able to Google famous events of the past and have them watch videos, then type an essay. This is easy accessible information that you can retrieve by a click of a finger and not have to get out and go to the library and search for the right book. Technology may make things easier and more accessible but that is what or future has turned into and it is available so why not use it. I keep thinking why I like technology so much and how if I only knew what was available before, I would know so much more. I enjoy using technology for school and I am sure that my students will enjoy it just as much. Therefore I will use technology in my class and use it appropriately.
I viewed the videos on constructivism. I thought this idea was very interesting. constructivism is the idea nobody learns anything from scratch. In order to learn, when introduced to a new idea, the learner relates it to something they already know and they keep constructing. I also found it very interesting that not everyone interprets ideas in the same way. I think this makes complete sense. In the same way that children LEARN differently, they also hear, interpret and understand things differently. For example, in the video of 'Constructivism in the classroom,' the teacher asks the students about sorting. The students were given various objects and each group had to sort them. They gave examples of how they would sort their objects. One child said that he would sort them by color. When the activity was finished, another child said that she sorted her objects by their shape. This is something I would use in my classroom because I think it teaches children more about characteristics. WIth this activity, children applied what they already knew to something completely new. I would apply this concept with older children in a similar way, when introducing a new section, topic, project, or anything else.
ReplyDeleteIn the other video about constructivism, the children did a similar activity. They took objects out of their desks and had to decide whether those objects were big or small, then put them in the according bin. There was an instance where a little girl had her object in one bin, but then decided to move it to the other. This shows her thought process, she was using comparative thinking to decide which bin her object fit best in.
In my classroom, I will find as many ways possible to encorporate this idea of constructivism. Activities that I do in my classroom will support multiple perspectives or interpretations of the material. In this classroom, students will be able to come up with and test their own ideas and draw their own educated conclusions. The children will also work together to gain new ideas from one another.
The videos I watched were the ones about technology in the classrooms. I think it's really important to have technology in classrooms because it gives the students a different way to learn, and it also keeps them more interested. For example, PowerPoint. You can do so many different things to a PowerPoint to keep the students interested, whether it be sounds, videos, or pictures. While I was in the classroom for block 1, there were computers in the class for the students to use. I think that's really important. Also, I visited a classroom that had a type of overhead that you can put anything under, bugs, papers, rulers, anything and it would show up on the screen. You could zoom in and everything. It was really interesting and I would love to have one in my classroom. Technology helps students prepare for the future. It should be required to be in every classroom!
ReplyDeleteI watched all the brain videos; Brain Rule #1, Begin with the Brain, and Differentiation. They were all very good and I learned so much.
ReplyDeleteIn the Brain Rule #1, I learned that children need exercise to boost their brain power. If you have your students sitting in a classroom all day, with no movement, the children will not learn anything. Movement helps children learn, becaue it gets their brain going. Little movement activities in the classroom will get children motivatated, creative, healthier, and they will become more productive. Something like walking around the classroom and talking to a pair about what you just read will help them so much throughout the day.
The second video, Begin with the Brain, taught me that as a student in the Education Department, I really need to learn and understand how the brain works before I become a teacher. Children really need daily agendas with graphics and icons, that they can read. If you have an agenda in your classroom, you will stop children from wondering what is going to come next, and that is a pratical strategy. Children also need a safe and secure classroom. Teaching can be ver joyful and fun, you just have to make it that way.
The last video was Differentiation. You really need to read to your children, espically before school. In the video I learned that some students in my kindergarten classroom, will be hearing a book for the first time. I cannot believe that, some parents do not read to their children because they think the children cannot understand what they are reading. We you read to children, they feel comfort, love, and security. I was very shocked when I hear that children will need to hear 1,000 books read to them, before they can read alone. That just shows that students need to be read to.
21st century learning is one of the most worldwide and most talked about topics in education. It is talked about for good reason too. I watched all of them, but the one that struck me the most was video of, A vision of K-12 schools today. Everyday our world uses some sort of technology. Technology is changing rapidly and on the rise in our working environment, schools, and home as well. The statistics that this video clip brought to my attention shocked me. The percentage of teachers that have never used technology was 76%. This was amazing to me considering technology is a part of my family’s life every minute of the day. I cannot imagine not knowing and having technology available to me to improve my life and future. Only 14% of teachers will allow interaction with technology in the classroom. This statistic is very frightening to me. Technology changes every day and advances are being made, but there must be a solid core when it comes to technology. This core of technology is absolutely necessary to be taught to children in order for them to prosper in their educational experience and for their future. Only 39% of children are being educated in reading with digital story telling. The 61% of those children are having no exposure to the digital technology available to them. Which then poses the question, what kind of education do we want for our children? The classic education of sitting at a desk with a blackboard being the only means of teaching is long gone. It is history! With as much as our technology has changed so have the learning needs of our children. Children are ready and willing to learn with the use of technology, and it us as future educators to make sure we are equipped for their educational needs. We are the United States, were we speak the language English but in the year 2016 China will be the largest English speaking country. There are more honor students in China then in North America. The United is a develop country and should have more than half graduating from High school. With all of these mind boggling statistics, it all starts with one major thing, educating the children to the best of our knowledge and technology. The United States children are willing to learn, why not teach them.
ReplyDeleteI watched the A Vision of K-12 Students Today. The video was all about how much children are using technology in their daily lives. As a teacher I think it is very important to include many different types of technology throughout the day. Since the world is becoming more and more digital, it’s important that students get to experience all of those different types of technology in different ways. As a future teacher, I think it is necessary to stay current with all the different types of technology and all the different ways to use it and incorporate it in our daily lives. I think that students who don’t get these opportunities are being cheated and it is the teacher’s responsibility to make sure they do.
ReplyDeleteI chose to watch the videos on constructivism because the subject fascinates me and relates to the other topics in the sense that when teaching technology you have to build upon what the student(s) may or may not all ready know etc. The thought of differentiating in the classroom also fascinates me and is a craft that I hope to develop as a professional.
ReplyDeleteAll students learn concepts differently and are affected by teaching differently. As a teacher it will be my goal to get to know each of my students on an individual basis and be able to profile them so that I am better capable of teaching them in a manner that they will learn most effectively.
I suppose my best practice at this point comes from helping my daughter with her schoolwork. It has helped me tremendously to learn different techniques in teaching (especially math – thank you Dr. Feikes!) Children do not comprehend on the same even keel that we would like them to, and sometimes we have to find an alternate route to get them to see the big picture and build upon that picture by adding more details. When I went to school there were no centers and very little group work or collaboration, so I was the product of and under the assumption that teachers taught a lesson and if the students did not understand it well then that was our problem. Since continuing my education I have learned that this could not be further from the truth.
Incorporation of group work, centers, and collaboration will be integral in my constructive classroom. Children are capable of teaching one another a great deal from their own experiences and will allow them a greater opportunity to expand their knowledge base to understand what I am trying to teach them.
I chose the brain based learning video clips. It brings out a lot of advice on how the brain processes information in different ways. It also talks about how different emotional feelings can effect the body, and different ideas on how a teacher can design and manage her/his classroom.
ReplyDeleteThese clips have shown me that a teacher needs to show attention towards things like the environment of the classroom, community groups, and choice activities. It is also necessary that the classroom has agendas, classroom procedures, and systems and patterns. These types of things can help a student to feel safe and secure as possible. It can also reduce anxiety. If a child is feeling anxious or has too much stress there is a reflex response, and it minimizes his/her response to learning.
Students need to have an active classroom as well. When a person is active he/she produces BDNF, which are proteins that act like “miracle grow”. This helps to boost brain power. It also helps concentration, impulse control, for incite, problem solving, and health in general. The different functions of the brain can be affected by a multitude of things.
I watched the video called "Why We Need to Teach Technology in Schools Today." I have heard numerous people say over and over again how it is important to use technology in our classrooms and to teach our children to use this technology. The video made me think about "...getting left behind..." if we do not keep moving along with all these technological advances. My mom wants to learn how to use the computer more but never seems to have the time to do it. She can start the computer and even get onto the internet but other than that it is something unfamiliar to her. She has no need to use the computer because all the computer work we do for the farm is done by my brothers. It would be good if she was taught while she was growing up the different technologies out there so when we got to doing computer work for the farm she would be able to do that and that would be less work for my brothers to be doing.
ReplyDeleteAs a teacher I would love to teach my students as much about the technological world as I can. I know it depends on what the school and myself can fund and present to the students. If you cannot bring the technology to the students, I say take the students to the technology. Even take the principal and other teachers to the technology and push for such inovations to occur inside our school. I believe students can be so creative without technology but also with it. If we allow them to open up and explore all these different possibilities it is going to cause all those dendrites to connect and form a synapse and then.....BAMB! Learning has occured!
I watched the video "A Vision of Today's Schools." I thought it was all so very true. I know people everyday who spend all the time in the world doing more with technology than what class is like. I am in a class right now where its almost all lecture and no visuals or anything. I find it much harder to keep this information rather than the information that is lectured and then used in a technological way. It gets boring just staring at the chalkboard and trying to read and take notes that way. We don't go home and put all our learnings on the chalkboard for people to follow and read. It is from the stories and past experiences that we hear or see that really stick in our minds. Its like the 8 books read compared to the around 5000 webpages read each year. This really explaines how technology has changed the research process. It is just much easier, and as long as you are using those credible resources. Then why take the long route when you know there is a shortcut that will get you the same place but faster?
ReplyDeleteI was just really suprised how much technology is used. I know I used it, but once I read stats it really hits me. It's out of this world when I actually start to really think about it. Everyone can be two seconds away from talking to another person and seeing them throught a webcam. It's just wild to think how easy it is compared to years before. Technology should be used as a regular day activity because it's what people use in all the everyday routines.
I watched the vide Brain Rule #1. It's very interesting to me because so many little things can happen to apply this rule. I know that in my workplace, a flower shop, we're not allowed to sit down while making arrangements. The video said that exercise can boost creativity, which is crucial in a flower shop. Our boss also doesn't have a desk chair, but has one of those large core balls that was shown in the video. I wonder what we could do in the class room to help with exercise. I think that having ever child sit on a core ball may be a little chaotic but maybe once the novelty of it wore off, they would be beneficial. I think there are definite challenges to having children keep their exercise up because they may not be able to focus on the instruction. It is definitely something to brainstorm about.
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