Transcript Constructivist Learning & Direct Instruction

EDUC 275 – January 21, 2010
AGENDA:
1. Volunteer Podcasts.
2. Learning Theory.
3. Inspiration Activity.
Learning Theory
EDUC 275
Winthrop University
Lisa Harris, Marshall Jones, Suzanne Sprouse
How do you like to learn …
• How to use a new piece
of software?
• How to play a new card
game?
• New vocabulary in a
foreign language?
WHY?
Why do we study learning
theory in a class about
technology?
WHY?
• Helps explain…
–
–
–
–
how learning occurs.
factors that influence learning.
the role of memory.
how students transfer
information to other contexts.
– how instruction should be
structured to facilitate
learning.
HOW?
• Provides a foundation for planning,
application, and assessment.
• Explains relationships among
instructional strategies and
instructional contexts.
• Allow teachers to select strategies
that are the most likely to work.
• PRINCIPLE
PRACTICE
Three Major Branches
• Behaviorism/ Direct Instruction
• Cognitivism
• Constructivism
Three Ways of Knowing
Learning must include
a change in behavior.
Behavior occurs due to
experiences in the
environment.
Learning must include
an association between
a stimulus and a
response. (Bohlin,
Durwin, ReeseWeber,2009, p. 161)
Learning results from
an interaction between
the information being
learned and the learner.
The learner processes
and transforms the
information using
existing knowledge
schemes. (Snowman &
Biehler, 200, p. 251)
Also known as information
processing.
Meaningful learning is the
active creation of
knowledge structures (i.e.
concepts, associations,
rules) from personal
experience. Each learner
builds a personal view of
the world by using existing
knowledge, interests,
attitudes, and goals, to
select and interpret
information. One person’s
knowledge can never be
totally transferred to
another person.
(Snowman & Biehler, 200,
p. 294)
Three Ways of Learning
Learning must include
a change in behavior.
Behavior occurs due to
experiences in the
environment.
Learning must include
an association between
a stimulus and a
response. (Bohlin,
Durwin, ReeseWeber,2009, p. 161)
BEHAVIORIST
COGNITIVIST
Learning results from
an interaction between
the information being
learned and the learner.
The learner processes
and transforms the
information using
existing knowledge
schemes. (Snowman &
Biehler, 200, p. 251)
Also known as information
processing.
Meaningful learning is the
active creation of
knowledge structures (i.e.
concepts, associations,
rules) from personal
experience. Each learner
builds a personal view of
the world by using existing
knowledge, interests,
attitudes, and goals, to
select and interpret
information. One person’s
knowledge can never be
totally transferred to
another person.
(Snowman & Biehler, 200,
p. 294)
CONSTRUCTIVIST
Behaviorism
• Teacher role: Transmitter of knowledge/expert source
• Student role: Receive information; demonstrate
competence
• Curriculum: Skills are taught in a set sequence, use of
instructional cues, reinforcement and practice.
• Types of activities: Lecture, demonstration, seatwork,
practice, testing
• Assessment strategies: Written tests, demonstration of
skills
Examples of Content Taught
using Behaviorism
• Multiplication Tables
• Branches of
Government
• Procedural tasks
– Driving a stick
shift
• Listing State Capitals
Constructivist Instruction
Cont.
• Teacher role: Acts as a guide and facilitator;
collaborative resource as students explore topics
• Student role: Collaborate; develop competence; may
learn different material
• Curriculum: Based on projects that foster higher level
and lower level skills at the same time
• Types of Activities: Group projects, hand-on exploration;
product development, problem solving
• Assessment: Performance tests and products (ex.
Portfolios)
Examples of Constructivist
Content
• Causes of WWII
• The strengths and weaknesses of
Democracy
• How technology fosters
collaboration
• The effects of
global warming
Cognitivism Continued
•
Teacher role: Construct appropriate learning environments
and materials, scaffold the learning process
•
Student role: Actively involved in the learning process
through self-planning, monitoring, revising, constructing
relationships
•
Curriculum: Relationships among information is stressed
•
Types of activities: using graphic organizers, demonstration/
think aloud, matrices, advanced organizers
•
Assessment strategies: performance assessment, essay
questions (i. e. summarize, compare and contrast)
Examples of Cognitivist Content
• Compare and contrast two characters in a
novel.
• Draw the stages of the water cycle.
• The writing process (drafts and revision).
• Graphic organizers:
Which theory is better?
• Let’s revisit the questions at the
beginning of class …
How do you like to learn …
• How to use a new piece
of software?
• How to play a new card
game?
• New vocabulary in a
foreign language?
Which theory is better?
• One isn’t inherently better than
the others.
• Depends on your needs
• Depends on your content
• Depends on your environment
• Depends on your
students
So …
• When making decisions about
teaching and learning in terms of
driving theoretical foundation
(e.g., “Do I want to do this in a
behaviorist, cognitivist, or
constructivist way?”) what should
you, as a teacher, keep in mind?
Why are these theories
important?
• Gets to the notion of HOW you
learn
• How you LIKE to learn
• How to manage favorite and
least favorite environments
• Provides us variety in
pedagogy
Summary
• Good teaching is all about examples
and options for learning
• Don’t forget the rationale for using
technology in education like UDL,
motivation, unique instructional
capabilities
Summary
• Learning Theory Continuum
BEHAVIORIST
COGNITIVIST
CONSTRUCTIVIST
How do these theories illustrate a “continuum of learning” in
terms of learner control and engagement?