On this weeks assignment for our blog, we were first to look back at the constructivist/constructionist learning theories. From our course DVD, Dr. Orey explained the difference between constructivism and constructionism learning theories. Dr. Orey said that constructivism is a theory of knowledge stating that each individual actively construct his/her own meaning (Laurete, 2008). He went on to say that constructionism is a theory of learning that states people learn best when they build an external artifact or something they can share with others (Laurete, 2008). To me the theory of constructivism is enhanced by the theory of constructionism. All people construct their own meaning to new information being presented to them based on prior knowledge or experiences. When people then get the opportunity to work with this information and construct something with it, they gain a better understanding of the information, and this may affect the way that we construct our own meaning of the information.
Looking back at our course text Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works, we got the opportunity to explore the instructional strategy of “Generating and Testing Hypotheses”. When students generate and test hypotheses, they are engaging in complex mental processes, applying content knowledge like facts and vocabulary, and enhancing their overall understanding of the content (Pitler, 2007). This strategy uses a lot of the constructionist learning theories because the students are constructing an artifact in which they are using a higher level of thinking to analyze and problem solve on material they are learning in class. Being a Social Studies teacher, this was something that was interesting to me because for most of the lessons that I teach, we can do some sort of problem solving where we can look at a problem/situations with their given obstacles, and try to come up with some sort of resolution that could have drastically change a major moment in our worlds history. Also, we could also do an historical investigation where students construct hypotheses about historical events for which there is no agreed –upon resolution (Pitler, 2007). I found a project from this weeks resources from the project-based learning site http://pbl-online.org/ called the Magic Bullet where our students would reopen the cold case of the JFK assassination, focusing on ballistic evidence. This activity was modeled after the popular television shows CSI and Cold Case. Students would work in groups and become mock investigators who reopened the Kennedy assassination. This activity to me would be a great activity for my class when it comes to generating and testing hypotheses. For my students, they would get to explore many websites and books presented to them in this project, and they would construct a presentation where they are able to analyze historical forces and create a reasoned explanation for events. This hands on learning and use of higher level of thinking to create the final product would give my students a better understanding of a historical event, one that they would have a better chance of retaining.
Resources:Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2008). Constructivist and Constructionist Learning Theories. [Motion picture]. Bridging learning theory, instruction, and technology. [DVD]Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
http://pbl-online.org/
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One resource you might want to look at for generating and testing hypothoses in history is Muzzy Lane's Making History www.muzzylane.com/ml/making_history or www.simcountry.com.
ReplyDeleteHi Michael,
ReplyDeleteI liked your post, you shared some great information about the theories and your ideas for implementation. I agree with you about the theory of constructivism being enhanced by constructionism. I think by having students create something, it represents the new knowledge they have gained and their experience to getting there. The more ways students can make connections, the better.
I liked your idea about using the project on JFK modeled after CSI. I can see this being something students would really enjoy. Do you have any ideas about how you would introduce the activity? Would you create a rubric to evaluate?
Your 'Magic Bullet' project is a great example of using constructivism in the classroom. At the high school where I teach, the Social Studies teachers created a joint project with the English teachers. In the project students read a book of historical significance, researched the historical perspectives and created a presentation for their English and Social Studies classes.
ReplyDeleteAre you familiar with 'alternate history' fictional stories? In them the author presents a 'what if' scenario. One such example would be; what if President Lincoln had not been assasinated.
Your students could do something similar and write their own alternate history, or create a play, write a poem etc. They would do this after reseaching the topic they chose.
There is so much we as teachers can do to bring excitement and meaning back into learning. Constructivism is one means of doing that.
Great post. I too teach social studies and there is plenty opportunities to use historical investigations. I teach world history and I know I could use this tool to research and problem solve on several different lessons. I do a lot of then and now activities and this would be a good time to implement this learning strategy.
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