Constructivism in Practice

The constructivist theory is a very interesting theory. In college this was the only theory that we were taught, the college said that this is the only way teachers should be teaching. Well, as we all know there are many different ways of doing things. I think a great technology based project that utilizes the constructivist theory would be the virtual tour project that we just did. I would like to see students take a tour of a informational web site then construct a concept map diagramming what the web site has to offer. By doing this students are able to learn about the web site, technology as well as organize their thoughts into a visual model to help them remember the information.

Cognitivism in Practice

Cognitive learning theory is another theory that teachers should be using ideas from in their classrooms. The basic idea of cognitive learning theory is to gain the information, use the information then store the information into your long term memory. When students only hear or memorize information it is not being stored into their long term memory. I believe that a student should be presented with the information and in order to help remember it they should take notes, then they have something to refer back to. Next a student would organize the information into their own words. This can be done through concept mapping or putting together a presentation. After they have organized the information they need to reinforce it into their long term memory, this can be done through a presentation or a quiz over the information. The important thing to remember with this theory is that students need to use the information in multiple contexts so they are able to store the information ion different areas of the brain.

Behaviorism in Practice

The video by Dr. Orey brought up a great point that I had not yet thought of before; he says that technology is a great tool but if used in the wrong way it can be damaging to the students. In his example about how the low achieving students were being shown tutorials to improve their test score broke my heart. Luckily my school does not take it to that level. Technology is such a great tool and it needs to be used in the proper way. If a new tool is present the tool needs to be taught to the student as well as followed up with some activity to see if they understand the tool that was presented to them. I think the behaviorist theory is a great theory but I also think that it should not be the only tool used in the classroom. I do not think that any teacher lives by on theory and only uses that theory, if they did then their students are missing out on a lot of great things that education can give them.

A New Mind Set - Reflection

Because of this course I have been given the opportunity to learn new technological resources that I am able to share with my classroom. These resources will allow me to find new ways to keep the students interest in get in more involved in the classroom assignments. These resources along with new teaching strategies will allow me to make sure that I am teach to the 21st century learner.

My future goal are that I continue to educate myself on the resources that are available out there for myself and my students to use in order to become the best teacher that I can be. I also want to implement these resources into my classroom so that my students can continue to use these recourses in there future and understand how to use them. This course has helped me to curriculum and offer more knowledge in a different light to my students, I cant wait to see what the future brings.