Social Learning

               Cooperative learning is an essential part of today’s classroom. Every student will need the skills to work with other people when they leave school, so it is necessary to teach these skills to students in school. Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, and Malenoski (2007) suggest using a variety of grouping strategies for implementing cooperative learning as well as grouping the students both formally and informally. Grouping is a major aspect of social learning, the environment that the students are exposed to will affect how they learn as well as the content that they learn (Orey, 2001).

                Once your students are grouped to maximize their learning experience, it is then important to choose the right strategy to encourage social learning. One of the most interesting strategies Pitler et al (2007) introduced was the idea of having the students create a movie to describe what they learned. In this project the students are physically creating an artifact while each member is responsible for affecting the other students learning in their group, as well as their class through their presentation (Orey, 2001). The creation of a movie requires many different skills such as writing, organizing, understanding the content, filming, and editing. By having a group of students create the movie rather than an individual student, the quality of the work will be much higher. Also, the variety of skills and content that the students are exposed to in the movie creation project is much broader than if they were working on a PowerPoint presentation or some other related application.   

                Another interesting strategy that Pitler et al (2007) introduced was interactive web resources. There are a large variety of web sources the students could use to encourage social learning. One way students could use the web would be to use “ask the expert” sites, where they correspond via a web board or email with an expert in the field (Pitler et al, 2007). Another interesting application is the Kepals, which are electronic pen pals (Pitler et al, 2007). With both of this web based applications students learning experience will vary depending on with whom they are corresponding, and that is in essence what social learning is all about, that the types of interactions students have will affect the type of information as well as the way that they learn (Orey, 2001).

                No matter what a student does for a career they will be required to interact with other people to accomplish their professional goals. By exposing the students to social learning via cooperative strategies, the students will learn the necessary skills to be successful. The more practice students have with working with others the better they will be at it. Also, the more exposure students have to others, the more likely they are to learn a wide variety of information due to the social aspect of learning.

References:

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., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

VoiceThread

http://voicethread.com/share/3773864/

Formulating and testing hypotheses

                Constructionism is focused on having students create something during their learning process (Orey, 2001). For the project based learning and problem based learning strategies a major aspect of this is attempting to answer an elaborate question. In order to answer this question students need to determine what they think is the solution and then design some way to prove that, another name for this process is formulating hypotheses and testing them (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007). Pitler et al (2007) suggested using data collection tools to test hypotheses, as a chemistry teacher I have my students use probes on a regular basis. Data collection tools are excellent for students to test their hypotheses because it allows the student to see the analysis in real time. For instance, during a pH lab the students use a probe to test the pH of household solutions and what happens to the pH when some of those chemicals are mixed. The students can see the pH change as it is happening due to the data collection probe, whereas without the probe they would have to complete the calculations later and see the relationships acids and bases have when combined.  What these tools allow the students to do is to verify their hypotheses in real time so that they can adjust their thoughts immediately rather than having time for the students to learn misconceptions.

                Formulating and testing hypotheses is essential for students to understand how to solve problems. In formulating a hypothesis, the students are demonstrating their critical thinking skills. In problem based learning, the students need to formulate a hypothesis in the beginning so that they have a direction to work in while attempting to solve the problem (Orey, 2001). During the construction of their artifact or their work towards their solution they are testing their hypotheses, this is another crucial aspect of project based and problem based learning. In testing their hypotheses, the students are verifying or rejecting their thought about a problem. Verifying or rejecting thoughts is in essence learning, and that is the whole point behind the educational process. Another tool that Pitler et al (2007) suggested to use for the testing of hypotheses was web resources. By using web resources the students can research the questions they formulated, they can use virtual experiments and experiences to gather information about the questions they have formulated, or they can video conference with professionals to gather information (Pitler et al, 2007).

                No matter the situation, students participating in project based or problem based learning will need to formulate and test hypotheses. Technology can assist the students greatly in this process. If the goal is to have students learn, project based and problem based scenarios are great strategies because they push the students to think deeply about concepts and the concepts are not isolated but intertwined. If the questions are at the level they should be, students will need to connect concepts through multiple subject matters in order to solve the problem and technology should be integrated into this process to assist the students on their intellectual journey.

Here is a wiki page about testing hypotheses and web resources to assist in the endeavor http://technologythatworks.wikispaces.com/Generating+and+Testing+Hypotheses

References

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

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

Cognitive practices

              There are many strategies to choose from when creating a lesson; the major piece to keep in mind is what experience students should have while gaining knowledge. Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, and Malenoski(2007) describe several ways for students to interact with information to build knowledge, two strategies they describe are questioning and summarizing and note taking. No matter what class the student is taking they will encounter questions and be expected to take some form of notes, what Pitler et al (2007) describes are ways to make the notes and questions align with cognitive practices.

                A key to questioning is to ensure that they are higher order questions so that the students are required to think about their answers and not simply parrot information back at the teacher (Pitler et al, 2007). By asking questions that require thought, the teacher provides avenues for their students to retrieve the information they already have stored and connect the new information with their prior knowledge; this process is cognitive theory in action (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011). By using effective questioning, students can practice with the concepts they are learning to move the information from short term memory to long term memory (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011).

                While questions are very important for fostering thought, students need to organize information initially to be able to understand it, this is where summarizing and note taking comes in. In order to effectively understand a concept, students need to make meaning of the information being presented with what they already know (Novak & Canas, 2008). Summarizing provides the students with an opportunity to manipulate the information being presented in a way that focuses on the main ideas so that the students can encode the information in a way that makes sense with their prior knowledge (Pitler et al, 2007). A great technology tool for summarizing is wikis, they provide the students with the ability to display their information and work collaboratively to determine what information is most pertinent as well as provide the students with a means to a discussion of how the information correlates with their prior knowledge (Pitler et al, 2007). By having meaningful discussions with their peers about the information being summarized the students have the capability to make deeper connections then they could make on their own.

                No matter what course the student is taking they will need to understand the importance of questioning and note taking. When the students are provided with information they will need to make sense of that information and construct knowledge based on their prior experiences. For more information about questioning go to the following site, it has some helpful advice as well as some helpful links http://beyondpenguins.ehe.osu.edu/issue/energy-and-the-polar-environment/questioning-techniques-research-based-strategies-for-teachers .

References

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011). Program five: Cognitive learning theories [Video webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Retrieved from http://laureate.ecollge.com/ec/default.learn?coureid=5700267&cpurl=laureate.ecollege.com&survey=1&47=2594577&clientnodeid=984650&coursenau=0&bhcp=1 .

Novak, J.D., & Canas, A.J. (2008). The theory underlying concept maps and ho to construct and use them, Technical Report IHMC CmaptTools 2006-01 Rev 01-2008. Retrieved from the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition Web Site: http://cmap.ihmc.us/publications/researchpapers/theoryunderlyingconceptmaps.pdf .

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Behaviourism

                Behaviorism is the idea that a student learns a task by repeated exposure to the task and receiving feedback on that task via positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, or punishment (Orey, 2001). If the desired result is for a student to learn a specific skill, behaviorism is a great philosophy to implement because it exposes the student to repeated practice with the desired skill as well as immediate feedback about the skill.  For the majority of educators, homework is the time that students practice a desired skill, so behavioristic strategies work best during this learning process. Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, and Malenoski (2007) introduced the idea that students need repeated practice with a particular skill to gain proficiency with that skill. Pitler and company (2007) also described several technology programs that would assist students with learning a particular skill, such as www.flashcardexchange.com  where students make flashcards to learn a set of terms or steps. Tutorial programs such as the ones described by Pitler and company (2007) are behavioristic in nature because require the students use a systematic process and repetition to learn a skill as well as providing immediate feedback about the competency of that skill (Smith, 1999).

                While homework is an important aspect of acquiring desired skills, students also need to understand the implications of effort to their achievement. Pitler and company (2007) explained that students do not always see a correlation between how well they understand a task with the amount of effort that they put into learning the desired task.  One way that Pitler and company (2007) suggest to explain this correlation is with the use of spreadsheets for the students to track their performance in relation to how much effort they put into the assignment. What this would do is allow the students to see a trend that when they put more effort into a task they are more likely to learn the desired skill. This is also behavioristic in nature because it is a means of showing students that a desired behavior will produce a desired outcome. The students are receiving positive reinforcement for a particular behavior, in this case the desired behavior being effort.

                Students do need to learn that they effort they expend will produce results. Behavioristic theories are some of the most widely used methods to educate students about this correlation. Students also are exposed to behavioristic methods whenever they are required to repeatedly perform a task to learn a skill. Behaviorism should not be used exclusively in a student’s education, but there is still a place for the practices that go with this learning theory.  For more information about behaviorism, or more strategies here is a useful site http://teachinglearningresources.pbworks.com/w/page/19919540/Behaviorism .

References

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

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

Smith, K. (1999). The behaviourist orientation to learning. In The encyclopedia of informal education. Retrieved from http://www.infed.org/biblio/learning-behaviourist.htm .