Week 5

Cooperation is a life skill;  most jobs and/or social relationships involve cooperating with other individuals to accomplish goals.  Cooperative learning provides opportunities for students to participate in groups as a means of enhancing learning.  The ideas presented in this week’s  reading support implications previously presented for constructivism.   Specifically, cooperative learning allows students to participate in discussions where multiple representations of reality are presented.  Students gain from one another’s efforts, but also share a common fate based on the efforts of group members.  Participants in cooperative learning know that one’s performance is mutually caused by oneself and one’s team members.  They feel proud and jointly celebrate when a group member is recognized for accomplishment.   
    Society requires its members to exhibit cooperative behavior.  It stands to reason that students need practice working cooperatively with others, then, to be successful later in school and in life.  Cooperative learning correlates with the principles of social learning in many ways.  As students work together in small groups, they must develop a positive interdependence if they are to successfully solve the problems presented to them.  No one member of the group will possess all of the information, skills, or resources necessary for reaching the desired learning outcome. In addition to positive interdependence, students must engage in positive interaction-probably face-to-face to facilitate the development of commitment to each other as well as to their mutual goals.  A third element of cooperative learning is individual and group accountability.  Students must be accountable for contributing their share to the group learning process as well as to working jointly with group members to “produce” an end product.  As a component of this process, students must learn to interact appropriately to share ideas.  Social skills such as leadership, decision-making, trust-building, communication, and conflict-management empower students to manage both teamwork and taskwork  successfully.  Students also learn to present their findings appropriately as part of cooperative learning.  
     Although cooperative learning cannot be used to address every curriculum area, I think it has a valid position among the strategies to be used in support of Problem-Based Learning,  character development, and service learning.  Cooperative learning supports implications of constructivism for instructional design.  It supports theories related to social learning.

Week 4

his week’s reading states that when students are generating and testing hypotheses, they are actually engaging in what I believe to be higher order thinking skills.  They are applying content knowledge to situations that allow them to do more than just memorize facts.  As I’ve mentioned many times, I believe that there is power in not just rote memorization, but in mastery of content.  I believe that when students engage in problem-based learning and create content that for the purpose of sharing ideas with others, they demonstrate real understanding.  Technology can be used in a variety of ways to support this strategy.  Through the use of data collection tools, interactive simulations, podcasting, and creating movies learning can be supported.  It has been my experience that enthusiasm builds, involvement increases, and performance is enhanced when technology is used to support content learning.

     Ideas presented in this week’s learning point to the value of real-world learning experiences.  Problem-based learning allows students to assume a more active role in guiding their own learning experiences.  In essence, students are learning “how to learn.”  I believe that providing students with experiences of this type help to prepare them for life beyond the classroom.  Not only do they work with content and technology, but they learn to work in teams and gain experience in skills such as public speaking.  I believe all of these skills are critical as we work to provide our students with 21^st century skills.  

Week 3

Technology can impact student learning in a number of ways.  One such way is to engage students in cognitive activities that would otherwise be out of their reach.  During a recent social studies lesson, I created a virtual field trip for my students.  I was attempting to help my students understand the changes that took place in South Carolina during reconstruction.  I created a "photo" of South Carolina prior to the Civil War and then a photo of our state following the Civil War.  Students were asked to produce an essay describing changes in life the resulted from the war.  The essay was actually written in the form of a diary entry.  I felt that use of technology through the creation of my version of a virtual field trip enhanced student understanding of the ideas I was attempting to impart.  Curiosity was enhanced.  In addition, students were able to reflect on their learning as they created their journal entries.  Once the students completed their journal entries, they were assigned to small groups.  Each group then combined resources and prepared an "interview" of a Southerner and created a video podcast to share with the class.  This activity called for higher order thinking skills.  Students were able to present information in a manner that was interesting as well as fun.  I felt that real learning occurred. I believe the ultimate result of this project was that the students gained a fuller understanding of the South during reconstruction.  My learning goals were met. 

Application 2

Although I have been in the teaching profession for only a short while, I have found varying theories related to the ways students actually learn. One theory presented in the reading this week is the idea that students need to find the relationship between their success in learning and the amount of effort they put into their work.  A spreadsheet that allows students to track their progress is even presented.   This tool can be considered as a support tool for the behaviorist learning theory as it does reward learning.  As with any tool, its effectiveness would need to be measured before it could be considered to be a viable tool for use with students.  A question that comes immediately to mind is whether or not the time spent interpreting the rubric would justify its use.  As a third grade teacher, I would also question whether or not my students could use the tool to evaluate their own learning.  If they were unable to draw appropriate conclusions having used the rubric,  the use of this tool could be in question.

     There are a number of software packages on the market that allow students to practice skills and move up through a series of levels.  Many school districts actually purchases licenses to these products as they can be correlated to state testing (MAP).  The software automatically assigns skill sets based on student performance on these tests.  Then, the students work through the practice activities.   Statistics related to the use of these products support their use.  I believe, that as with any product, this activity can work for a  certain amount of time.  I also believe, though, that a variety of activities are needed to ensure that learning is taking place.

   Chapter 9 of the textbook, provides a look at the use of homework as a support mechanism for learning.  The idea that students need many practice sessions to master skills supports the uses of technology as a means of providing this practice.  The authors provide many resources that can provide specific learning experiences for students.  Using these sites supports behaviorist learning theory as it provides drill and practice. However, I believe that true mastery occurs when students use technology to share their ideas and access information.   I have reviewed a sampling of the sites provided, and I have noted that most do not address higher order thinking skills.