Reflection

After taking the course Bridging Learning Theory, Instruction, and Technology, I have gained a solid understanding of each learning theory and the instructional strategies and technology tools that could be associated with each.  I explored learning theories, such as behaviorism, cognitivism, constructionism, social learning theory, etc. in my undergraduate work.  However, this course required digging deeper into the theory, recognizing what it looks like in the classroom, and how it can be supported using instructional strategies and educational technology. 

Reflecting on my personal theory of learning from week one, I can still say that I align myself with a constructivist approach.  I did realize that although I design lessons and activities that require active student engagement, cooperative learning, and construction of meaning through means of creating a product, my teaching is also influenced by behaviorism and cognitivism.  As an example of behaviorism, I use a behavior management system in my classroom that includes positive reinforcement and consequences that help to shape student behavior (Orey, 2001).   I also believe that when students receive timely, constructive feedback, this affects their future performances.  I also use a variety of instructional strategies such as non-linguistic representations, and advanced organizers that would commonly be associated with cognitivism because information is being received through the senses, manipulated, and the stored away for future use (Lever-Duffy & McDonald, 2008). 

           

Throughout this course, we explored the nine clusters of instructional strategies in depth.  I know I have always incorporated these strategies into my teaching practices, but in no way have I been teaching them proficiently using educational technology.  I am now more familiar with educational technologies such as Inspiration, blogs, wikis, webquests, VoiceThread, and simulations.  I also feel more comfortable with a wide variety of apps, and interactive websites.  I even learned many new things about features of Word and Google Docs.  I have been using Word for all of my word processing needs and didn’t know about all of the possibilities. 

I will make a couple of immediate adjustments to my instructional practices by incorporating a couple of new technology tools.  The first technology I will begin using immediately is Edmodo.  I think that Edmodo provides opportunities for my students to begin communicating by blogging, but within a safe and secure environment.  These interactions between teacher and students and peer to peer will require critical thinking, problem solving, and collaboration, resulting in enhanced student learning and communication skills.  I think that I can get parent permission for Edmodo much easier than I can get it for blogging sites.  I will also begin creating multimedia presentations for each unit in our reading program.  I think that using multimedia presentations to present the weekly skills, strategies, and vocabulary to students will be more engaging than how I am presenting it currently.  I will focus on non-linguistic representations of content, so students can gain a deeper understanding and commit these big ideas to memory for future use.  I would like to share my new knowledge of these educational technologies with my colleagues and find time where we can collaborate to create lesson plans to incorporate them.  I think that if we work together, we can make sure to address the standards and objectives we want to achieve, create samples to use in our classroom presentations, and save time doing so.

I have a few long-range goals I want to achieve.  I would like to get approval from my school district for all students to have functional email addresses and authorization to unblock blogging and social media sites.  If students had email addresses, communication and setting up accounts for other educational technologies would be much easier to do.  Having these sites unblocked will allow collaboration and communication with other people all over the world.  The possibilities will increase greatly if these changes are made.  Currently, there are many rules and regulations within our district.  Parents are very concerned about the safety and security of their children as it relates to technology.  In order to achieve these policy changes, I will first communicate my wishes to our building administrator.  Educating parents on how technology can enhance learning and help to prepare students for higher education and future careers will be a critical component of making these changes.  I think that a petition signed by educators, parents, and students could be presented to the school board to persuade them of this need in our K-5 buildings.

My second long-range goal is to focus on two instructional strategies, identifying similarities and differences, and cooperative learning with my students, over the next year.  I want to master all nine clusters and help my students to become proficient in using them, but I feel that the way to do this will be to focus on two at a time.  While using these strategies with my students I will integrate a variety of technologies.  I will use Kidspiration to create anchor charts for comparing and contrasting information within all subject areas.  I want these charts to be interactive, so students can add to the information and revise during our whole group discussions.   I will create projects for a comprehensive review of knowledge and skills using wikis and webquests.  These projects will give my students additional opportunities to practice cooperative learning skills. 

In conclusion, the course Bridging Learning Theory, Instruction, and Technology helped me develop a deep understanding of learning theories, the nine clusters of instructional strategies, and technologies that can be used in conjunction with them to enhance and expand learning.  I will continue to expand my repertoire of technology related skills and implement them daily in my instruction.  My increasing knowledge and skills will benefit my students.  They will be more prepared for upcoming grades, college, and future careers because I can now help them to hone these necessary 21^st century skills.

References:

Lever-Duffy, J., & McDonald, J. (2008). Theoretical foundations (Laureate Education,

            Inc., custom ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Orey, M. (Ed.). (2001). Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology.  Retrieve from

            http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Main_Page

Connectivism and Social Learning in Practice

Social constructivism is defined as learning while students are actively engaged in constructing artifacts and conversing with others (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010b).  In Vygotsky’s view, learners learn best when in their zone of proximal development, which is what they are ready to learn in the present moment.  However, the more knowledgeable other (MKO), a peer, parent, teacher, or even a computer application can influence learning beyond this zone (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010b).  Connectivism is a learning theory that explains knowledge resides in a pattern of different concepts and how they are connected or networked.  There is a social and cultural component to how knowledge is learned and then connected within these networks in the brain (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010a).  According to Dr. Orey, collaborative and cooperative learning facilitates deeper understanding of content, especially when learners teach others what they know (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010b).

Cooperative learning can be motivating for students because they feel a responsibility to their peers, thus resulting in better academic performance on assigned tasks (Pitler, Hubbell, & Kuhn, 2012).  Activities that require cooperative learning should be implemented from the very beginning of the school year, so students have lots of practice with these social learning skills.  They should be designed to “encourage positive interdependence and individual accountability” (Pitler et al., 2012).  Educational technology can be very beneficial when developing cooperative learning activities.  Creating wikis and multimedia presentations, participating in webquests, playing simulation games, and using applications such as Google Drive, Edmodo, and Skype are just a few examples of technology that require cooperative learning.

Educational technology makes cooperative learning more accessible, easier, and quicker to implement and plan for.  Students and educators are now able to access the knowledge of others through blogs, and social networking sites.  Participating in technology-based cooperative learning activities encourages critical thinking, problem solving, collaboration, and creativity.  All of these skills are vital for success in the 21^st century. 

There are many strategies that can help bring forth cooperative learning in a classroom.  Some of these strategies are: pair-shair, jigsaw, split-class discussion, random groups of 3, ability/interest/friendship groups, diversity groups, etc. (Orey, 2001).  These strategies encourage varied student interaction.  Students should interact with all of their peers to maximize their learning in a classroom setting.

This week, I learned about voice threads.  Voice threads are technology tools that facilitate cooperative learning.  When using a voice thread, one person presents a problem, idea, or questions using images, documents, and/or video.  Then, others can record audio to respond to the initial voice thread.  Voice threads are a multisensory activity.  They address the learning style and preferences of many students.  They require cooperative learning and interaction between others.  Voice threads are excellent tools to add to a social learning environment.

Here is the link to my voice thread:

https://voicethread.com/share/5415797/

References:

Laureate Education, Inc. (2010a). Connectivism as a Learning Theory.  Baltimore, MD:

            Author.

Laureate Education, Inc. (2010b). Social Learning Theories.  Baltimore, MD: Author.

Orey, M. (Ed.). (2001). Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology.  Retrieved                 from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Main_Page

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E. R., & Kuhn, M. (2012). Using technology with classroom

             instruction that works (2^nd ed.). Alexandria, VA: ASCD.