Constructivism in Practice

Constructivism's main principle is that students need to create an end product or artifact to learn and retain new skills and concepts. I whole heartedly agree with this theory and implement this concept as much as possible into my own instruction.

Just thinking back on my own time in schools the things I remember most cleary are things that were concrete and created by myself and my peers. For example in fourth grade we were studying decomposition in science. Instead of just telling us which materials break down the quickest we actually made mini garbage dumps in empty soda bottles. Soil and various types of garbage went in it, banana peels, paper, soda cans, styrofoam etc. We watered the "dump" and kept it in the sunlight for a few weeks. I still can clearly picture the inside of it and how the banana peel was rotting, how the newspaper all but disappeared, while the soda can and styrofoam looked untouched. I can still recall the horrible smell that came from our classroom.

Prior to this activity we had to make hypothesises and this was our project to test it. The course text seemed to be geared for older students but this project is a way to start these processes with younger students. I think a way technology could be used for a project like this would be to collect data using digital cameras and online album to track the changes in the garbage. Even Microsoft word, Publisher or a concept mapping software could be used to make a picture timeline. In the end students could present their conclusions in a paper, slideshow or other means to show evidence of learning.

Cognitivism in Practice

James Hartley summarized the cognitive psychology's principles by saying, "Learning results from inferences, expectations and making connections. Instead of acquiring habits, learners acquire plans and strategies, and prior knowledge is important."

Many of the instructional strategies studied this week strongly correlate with this idea. For example, our course text discusses multimedia tools and how they help activate prior knowledge and assist with the understanding of new material. One way I have seen these resources used with an above grade level reading group in my in class support setting. They were reading the Diary of Anne Frank and used streaming videos and powerpoints to learn about children of the Holocaust. Students were able to gain a better feel for the difficulties and realities of the time using the media tools. The students obviously could not relate personally to the horrors, but these tools help them make connections and understand more.



Smith, M. K. (1999) 'The cognitive orientation to learning', the encyclopedia of informal education, www.infed.org/biblio/learning-cognitive, Last update: September 03, 2009.

Behaviorism in Practice

The behaviorist theory in very basic terms the repeating of an identified behavior until it is learned or mastered. Every strategy we utilize, every homework assignment we give, every tool we introduce all have a basis in behaviorism because it is meant to reinforce the end goal.

One resource that I read about this week that I was particulary impressed with was Microsoft Word. I was amazed to learn about these capabilities I have had at my fingertips and was never aware of. I am always struggling to find ways to make my special education students independent writers. In addition, to their spell and grammar check Microsoft Word has an application that gives a grade level rating to their work and an Autosummarize tool that will help the student decide if their objective of the paper has been met. Based on the results they recieve they may be able to do a revision before involving me or another teacher. More often than not these students are unaware that their work is missing the mark. It is just another tool we can give them to reinforce the skill of using diverse and descriptive vocabulary and formatting their writing appropriately.