There is strength (and greater learning!) in numbers!

Cooperative learning is one way to help increase student motivation, provide for deeper learning, and make learning a lasting experience that contributes to lifelong learning (Orey, 2008).  Social learning helps students to be held individually accountable for their learning, and also helps create a social motivation for completing tasks and learning cooperatively.  Another benefit to cooperative learning is that students are able to discuss the concepts in a small-group environment, which gives them additional time to share their ideas and receive feedback. 

These ideas fit in with the theory of social constructivism, which theorizes that reality is constructed through a social experience, and does not exist until it has been discovered (Orey, 2008).  All of these ideas are key in helping to provide an environment where our students can learn in a way that is going to prepare them most for the world that they will enter after they graduate school.  Our world is increasingly more complex, and the information we have changes rapidly.  Students need to know how to learn, not just acquire knowledge.  We need to help our students understand the structures that provide the greatest potential for an increase in knowledge, and that also allow for accountability and recognition when knowledge needs to be updated.  It is not enough any longer to simply teach our students a certain amount of information and then consider our jobs to be complete—this will cripple our students in the future, when the knowledge changes.  We need to impart our students with the skills to learn whatever they will need to learn as the world around them changes at an ever more rapid pace.  Social learning, or cooperative learning, is one way that students can learn to learn, and is especially valuable, because collaboration and cooperation are the ways that learning and technology will be advanced in the future.

There have been some very exciting technologies created to help provide students with the opportunities to learn these skills.  Social networking sites are some great ways to help students collaborate and connect with each other.  At the secondary level (when school districts permit), many teachers will create a Group Page on Facebook to help students find a place to collaborate, share assignments, and work out problems together.  This creates a public forum that allows for students to learn from each other outside of the classroom, and also creates a public record of their conversations so that students who look at the page days (or even years) later can still see the information that was shared.  Another technology that creates a very simple and exciting way for students to collaborate is GoogleDrive.  GoogleDrive has several applications that have a variety of functions, such as GoogleDocs (similar to Microsoft Word), GoogleSpreadsheet (similar to Microsoft Excel), GooglePresentation (similar to Microsoft PowerPoint), and GoogleForms (allows the creation of surveys).  These tools allow students to work together on the same document or presentation at the same time, on different computers, and even in different locations.  I have used GoogleDrive for several class projects, and my biggest surprise was that my students began to work on the project at home, even though it was intended to be an in-class project (my attempt to reduce student homework load) because they were so motivated to do well and contribute to their group.  I also discovered (through my students’ use of it), that there is a chat feature in GoogleDrive that allows students to communicate about their ideas in real time.  I was also happy to see that I can set up the GoogleDrive account to email me the text of the chats that students have, so that I can moderate their conversations and make sure that they are being used appropriately.  Here is an example of a project that one of the groups in my class created last year about the colonies.

Social learning is one of the most powerful ways to get students excited about learning and create an experience for them that will teach them social skills and also academic content and skills.  Sometimes these projects can take longer than traditional projects, both in regards to class time and also in regards to teacher preparation, but in my experience, they have been the projects that have created the most lasting learning for students.

References:

Orey, M. (2008, December 15). Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved from http://epltt.coe.uga.edu/index.php?title=Main_Page

VoiceThread

Here's my VoiceThread posting... Let me know what you think! 

https://voicethread.com/share/4765831/

Let's Use Our Resources to Use Our Brains

Constructivism is an idea that is based on students molding and creating their own knowledge through experiences.  One way to help students do this is to have them generate and test their own hypotheses (Pitler, Hubbell, & Kuhn, 2012 ).  Having students test their own hypotheses is an excellent way to provide memorable experiences for students that will fit into their episodic memory.  As learners, we can all easily understand this idea—we know that our learning is deeper and more long-lasting for us when we can create our own experiences, as opposed to listening to a lecture or simply reading out of a textbook.

Pitler, Hubbell, and Kuhn (2012) explain that there are some very helpful technologies that can help allow students to create and test their hypotheses.  One helpful technology is Microsoft Excel, which can help students explore a variety of number problems without having to go through the tedious task of a long list of computations (Pitler, Hubbell, & Kuhn, 2012).  This gives students an opportunity to test out a variety of variables and play with the data in order to see what would happen in a large number of scenarios.  This tool also allows for students to test a larger number of hypotheses and variables than they would have been able to conceivably do if they had to perform all of the calculations.  I can see this being very helpful in my classroom as we go through our math curriculum, which requires students to calculate past populations of states and relative population of minorities, and then compare that to current populations of states and their relative population of minorities.  These calculations are cumbersome for most students, and after each student has practiced the algorithm by completing a few of these problems, I would prefer to use Microsoft Excel software to allow my class to dig more deeply into a historical and mathematical analysis of the data, instead of spending the whole lesson practicing a rudimentary skill that does not require critical thinking.

Another idea for using technology is finding a variety of WebQuests, which allow students to experience different scenarios, manipulate variables, and provides an opportunity for students to make a personal connection with what they are learning.  Some of these WebQuests are lengthy simulations on the Internet, while others are web-based, but also provide students and teachers with resources to do in-class activities.  One website that provides materials for WebQuests is this one (Webquest Design Patterns, 2013), which provides a variety of activities on several different topics, which could be adapted for use with many different age groups.  The WebQuests created on this site provide students with all the necessary materials and information in order to do their own research, evaluation, and web-based project.  These projects allow students to have a greater degree of independence in their learning than many traditional, school-based projects allow for.

What kinds of WebQuests have you used with your students?  Or, what other kinds of resources do you use to help your students generate and test their own hypotheses about a topic?   

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E. R., & Kuhn, M. (2012). Using technology with classroom instruction that works (2^nd ed.). Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Webquest design patterns. (2013). Retrieved from http://webquest.sdsu.edu/designpatterns/all.htm 

Let's Get Connected!

              Cognitive learning theory is hinged on the idea that learners can only hold around seven pieces of information easily in the mind at one time (Laureate Education Inc, 2011).  When considering the depth and breadth of knowledge that a learner must internalize and recall in any given school year, obviously seven pieces of information is not going to be sufficient.  In order to move these seven pieces of information from the short-term memory part of the brain to the long-term memory part of the brain, which makes them permanent, learners need to be taught a variety of strategies and partake in a variety of experiences. 

                In the cognitive learning theory, the primary model of memory is a network model—this model explains that different pieces of information are stored in different parts of the brain, and the real work of memory is being able to find the connections between different pieces of information.  When a learner forgets a piece of information, he or she has not been able to find the connecting pieces or paths of information in the brain.  Dr. Orey (Laureate Education Inc., 2011) explains that students learn  best when there are a variety of medias for input—for example sight, sound, and scent are all strong inputs that store information effectively.  Dr. Orey shares that the stronger the connection between the pieces of information, the more easily the student will be able to recall those connections and remember the content, which is ultimately the goal of a successful lesson.

                As a teacher, I need to be thinking about the kinds of activities I provide for my students and consider the kinds of connections I am helping my students make.  One thing I learned from Dr. Orey (Laureate Education Inc., 2011) is that concept maps can help students make these strong connections.  A concept map is a tool that allows students to visualize their thinking path and move around the different words and concepts until they have created a map with a hierarchy that makes sense to them.  In my classroom, I use Inspiration concept maps, which I obtained as a free app on my iPad (Inspiration Software Inc, 2013).  I have since upgraded to the purchased version, which allows me greater flexibility and transferability with the concept maps that my students create.  Another type of activity that can help students build deeper, stronger connections when learning new material is to take them on a virtual field trip (Laureate Education Inc., 2011b).  I have taken my fifth graders on one or two virtual field trips each year, and this past year we did our virtual fieldtrip to the Jamestown colony (Dunn, 2002), where students could select from a variety of variables to see which choices would make the colony most successful.   This allowed my students to be able to interact with each other, experience critical thinking activities in a fun, collaborative environment, and made the information be cemented more deeply in their brains.

These are my experiences with concept maps and virtual field trips, but I know that these are only some of the many exciting activities that help reinforce the Cognitive Brain Model—what resources or activities do you use?

Resources:

Dunn, B. (2002). The jamestown online adventure. Retrieved from www.historyglobe.com

Inspiration Software, Inc. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.inspiration.com/

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011a). Program five: Cognitive learning theory [Video webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Retrieved from http://laureate.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=5700267&CPURL=laureate.ecollege.com&Survey=1&47=2594577&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=0&bhcp=1

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011). Program six: Spotlight on technology: Virtual field trips [Video webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Retrieved from http://laureate.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=5700267&CPURL=laureate.ecollege.com&Survey=1&47=2594577&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=0&bhcp=1

Taking Some Time to Reflect and Recharge

The summer time provides us teachers with a beautiful eight weeks of relaxation, rest, and hopefully for most, a little reflection.  So far, I've gotten in a little bit of all of those-- sleeping in, exploring my hometown, and trying new recipes.  I've also been working on spending some time reflecting on how my school year went (I had some very unique challenges with student behavior this past year), and how I can structure my resources and classroom to be more effective and efficient at motivating good behavior.  One of the things I've been reflecting on this summer is the idea of using more educational technology to help reinforce good behaviors in class.

I read a couple chapters recently in a book called "Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works" (Pitler, Hubbell, & Kuhn, 2012), which I would highly recommend for any teacher looking for some fresh ideas for technology integration.  The two chapters that caught my eye were about using technology to reinforce and motivate good behavior, and also about how to use technology as a way to provide practice opportunities to students.  

One idea from "Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works" that I am excited to try is to post exemplary student work to a classroom website or blog for peer review and acclaim (Pitler et al., 2012).  I can see this providing some very needed recognition for my students who work very hard but still may not achieve at the same standards as their peers.  I also thought an idea the authors shared of using voiced messages to send to students as another way to provide instant recognition was very powerful.  Both of these ideas would provide powerful reinforcement to students, which fits very well into behaviorist theory (Laureate Education Inc., 2011).

Another idea provided by this book was to use technology to provide practice and reinforcement of learned concepts (Pitler et al., 2012).  I have been using this a little bit in my classroom to teach math facts, as provided by this amazing website called XtraMath (2013).  It allows me to set up a classroom full of my students, and then tracks their progress on addition/subtraction/multiplication/division facts mastery.  I assigned my students to do this practice (it takes about 5-8 minutes) at least three times a week, either at school during extra time or at home if they did not get enough time to finish at school.  The website emailed me each time a student passed a group of facts (addition, for example), and then also emailed me a link to print off a certificate with each student's name on it, which I printed and displayed in the classroom.  I was surprised at how motivated some of my students were to achieve these math facts so that they could see their certificate put up on the bulletin board.  

It may be summer, but school is on its way-- after reading this book and learning about some more ideas for using technology to reinforce and motivate good behavior, I feel more ready than ever to tackle a great new school year.  What about you-- what types of technology have you used to track/motivate/reinforce/provide practice?

References:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011). Program four: Behaviorist learning theory [Video webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Retrieved from http://laureate.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=5700267&CPURL=laureate.ecollege.com&Survey=1&47=2594577&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=0&bhcp=1

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E. R., & Kuhn, M. (2012). Using technology with classroom instruction that works (2^nd ed.). Alexandria, VA: ASCD
XtraMath. (2013). Xtramath. Retrieved from https://www.xtramath.org/