Constructivism is an educational philosophy that deals with students learning only from active problem solving and discovery from which they can "construct" meaning based on their experiences.
I am a strong believer in constructive learning and I am working on trying to create a more constructivist atmosphere in my classroom. It is sometimes difficult in lower-level high school mathematics classes to try and get the students to "discover" math concepts. It is also difficult because math has traditionally been taught through direct instruction followed by independent, individual practice. Therefore, I have not discovered much already-prepared material on creating constructivist math lessons.
There are software packages such as Geometer's Sketchpad which lends itself to constructivist activities. I was excited to try some of these activities, imagining how rewarding it would be for myself and my students when they had all those "aha!" moments of discovery and complete comprehension. I quickly discovered that although the students went through all the steps, created all the diagrams, and answered all the questions, they did not always make the connections between their actions and the intended learning. They were so focused on creating the diagrams and "finishing" the required worksheet for in-class points, that they did not allow themselves the time and patience necessary to play around with the diagrams until they were able to construct their own mathematical conclusions. There is definitely potential in this type of software but it does take a lot of planning and preparation time in order for the activities to be effective.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Arguments Against More Technology in the Classroom
In his book High Tech Heretic, Clifford Stoll (1999) says "You certainly can get an excellent education without a computer." I also believe that not everybody needs to be proficient in computers yet everyone should be exposed to them as part of their educational experience.
As it states in Instructional Technology and Media for Learning (Heinich, 2005), "it is not to say ...that instructional technolgy can replace the teacher, but rather that media can help teachers become creative managers of the learning experiece..."
See the link to the BBC article about decreasing technology in the classroom.
There is also the belief that too much technology in the classroom conflicts with the learning process. One point of view is to utilize technology in learning but remove it entirely from the classroom environment. For example, students can take mini-quizzes on required reading BEFORE the class meets and then during the actual class meeting time, there should be no technology used--only verbal discussions of the readings. See the link to "Removing Technology to Improve Learning."
As it states in Instructional Technology and Media for Learning (Heinich, 2005), "it is not to say ...that instructional technolgy can replace the teacher, but rather that media can help teachers become creative managers of the learning experiece..."
See the link to the BBC article about decreasing technology in the classroom.
There is also the belief that too much technology in the classroom conflicts with the learning process. One point of view is to utilize technology in learning but remove it entirely from the classroom environment. For example, students can take mini-quizzes on required reading BEFORE the class meets and then during the actual class meeting time, there should be no technology used--only verbal discussions of the readings. See the link to "Removing Technology to Improve Learning."
Friday, July 20, 2007
Technology as Motivation
"Students who are intrinsically motivated will work harder and learn more because of their personal interest in the material." ( Heinich, 2005, p. 51)
Technology can be used to "create" intrinsic motivation in a subject by creating a more interactive and "fun" learning activity. For example, as a math teacher I struggle with trying to motivate students who say they are just not good at math, don't see the point of learning Algebra, or just do not like math period. These students think it's boring to just work on paper-and-pencil calculation problems because they are not intrinsically motivated. If they can use the computer and work in groups, it provides intrinsic motivation to participate in the activity because it is hands-on and captures their attention. Students who can not focus for 10 minutes during direct instruction can stay focused for much longer stretches of time when working on the computer.
I have witnessed this when my Geometry students used Geometer's Sketchpad to enhance their comprehension of basic geometric properties. The students were much more engaged and interactive and I could quickly assess from their questions that they had not retained the information from the prior day's lecture and textbook homework assignment. I also created an architecture project the required them to do research online and then incorporate that information with geometric properties and theorems we had discussed in class. They also needed to work cooperatively with a partner to organize this information and present it to the classroom in a clear, logical manner. They were given creative freedom and encouraged to use technology as media for their presentation. The students were able to use the overhead projector, PowerPoint, Geometer's Sketchpad, visuals, audio, DVD clips, etc. to "teach" the class about their chosen architect and specifics about one building or structure. The students were motivated and they even were able to copy pictures from the internet and paste them into Geometer's Sketchpad. This allowed them to draw lines and clearly label Geometric properties right on top of pictures of the actual building. This created an incredible visual for the class and we were able to easily see the connections between the properties we were learning in class and real world situations that utilize these properties! This computer-based project definitely provided intrinsic motivation for my students.
Technology can be used to "create" intrinsic motivation in a subject by creating a more interactive and "fun" learning activity. For example, as a math teacher I struggle with trying to motivate students who say they are just not good at math, don't see the point of learning Algebra, or just do not like math period. These students think it's boring to just work on paper-and-pencil calculation problems because they are not intrinsically motivated. If they can use the computer and work in groups, it provides intrinsic motivation to participate in the activity because it is hands-on and captures their attention. Students who can not focus for 10 minutes during direct instruction can stay focused for much longer stretches of time when working on the computer.
I have witnessed this when my Geometry students used Geometer's Sketchpad to enhance their comprehension of basic geometric properties. The students were much more engaged and interactive and I could quickly assess from their questions that they had not retained the information from the prior day's lecture and textbook homework assignment. I also created an architecture project the required them to do research online and then incorporate that information with geometric properties and theorems we had discussed in class. They also needed to work cooperatively with a partner to organize this information and present it to the classroom in a clear, logical manner. They were given creative freedom and encouraged to use technology as media for their presentation. The students were able to use the overhead projector, PowerPoint, Geometer's Sketchpad, visuals, audio, DVD clips, etc. to "teach" the class about their chosen architect and specifics about one building or structure. The students were motivated and they even were able to copy pictures from the internet and paste them into Geometer's Sketchpad. This allowed them to draw lines and clearly label Geometric properties right on top of pictures of the actual building. This created an incredible visual for the class and we were able to easily see the connections between the properties we were learning in class and real world situations that utilize these properties! This computer-based project definitely provided intrinsic motivation for my students.
Types of Media Used in Classrooms
There are many types of technology/media that can be used in the classroom to enhance instruction. The most common are the overhead projector and PowerPoint presentations. Other types of media are the internet, simulators, graphing calculator software, Geometer's Sketchpad (mathematics), etc.
In my math classroom I use the overhead projector almost daily. I would love to use the computer more frequently for overhead presentations but I would not be able to demonstrate how to solve a problem and write out each step with the class on an application like PowerPoint. I also want to use other types of media because the students have demonstrated reflexive behavior (similar to Pavlov's dog) of tuning me out as soon as I pull the overhead projector to the front of the room. I try to mix things up by alternating between chalkboard, individual whiteboards, group work, worksheets, overhead projector instruction, and interactive games during review. I still feel there is so much opportunity to effectively utilize technology in the classroom that I still have not tapped into.
I am also interested in using technology to simulate abstract mathematical concepts. Some of the textbook publishers now have corresponding websites that have animations of certain topics. I have used some of these animations in my classroom but they were not actual "animations" so much as a series of illustrations so they were not as effective as I had hoped they would be.
According to Heinich, the teacher must carefully select the appropriate type of media that can be used to achieve the specific objective.
In my math classroom I use the overhead projector almost daily. I would love to use the computer more frequently for overhead presentations but I would not be able to demonstrate how to solve a problem and write out each step with the class on an application like PowerPoint. I also want to use other types of media because the students have demonstrated reflexive behavior (similar to Pavlov's dog) of tuning me out as soon as I pull the overhead projector to the front of the room. I try to mix things up by alternating between chalkboard, individual whiteboards, group work, worksheets, overhead projector instruction, and interactive games during review. I still feel there is so much opportunity to effectively utilize technology in the classroom that I still have not tapped into.
I am also interested in using technology to simulate abstract mathematical concepts. Some of the textbook publishers now have corresponding websites that have animations of certain topics. I have used some of these animations in my classroom but they were not actual "animations" so much as a series of illustrations so they were not as effective as I had hoped they would be.
According to Heinich, the teacher must carefully select the appropriate type of media that can be used to achieve the specific objective.
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