Final Reflection

In the beginning of the semester, I defined my “Personal Theory of Learning” as project based and hands-on adaptations. I am also an avid reader and I learn in this way also.  I went on to state that if the learner, being myself or a student, does not understand or comprehend the materials to be learned in one way, offering several different ways of learning the material, such as, visuals, reading, discussion or project based learning will help all learners to grasp the material to be learned. (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010a).

Dr. Michael Orey describes Instructional Theory as, “examining strategies for changing the learning environment to facilitate learning.” He describes Learning Theory as, examining what goes on in the learners’ mind during the learning process.” (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010c). Instructional theory is based on the learning environment while Learning Theory is based on the learners mind.

This course has deepened my knowledge and understanding of learning theory. I will continue to engage my students in Instructional Theories that promote their learning.  My lessons are project based, as an art teacher this is the best way to help my students in the learning process. I will continue to use visuals and examples of student and professional work; Students will read about the subject, interact with each other through discussion and critiques. Critiques are also done in written form for individual insight. 

I am making gains in the use of technology by myself and by my students. I have more sources to choose from to add technology in my lessons. I can now add concept maps, virtual tours, and voice threads to my repertoire. I have already added the use of concept maps and voice thread in several of my lessons. I am also in the process of searching for virtual tours of art museums and galleries that will help relate my student’s work to that of the real world.

At the beginning of the semester, I considered myself a toddler in the world of technology with little confidence.  I now consider myself to be in grade school now with hopes of going to middle school soon. I have made gains in my school by obtaining a LCD projector that I try to use on a daily basis, so I have met another one of my goals this semester.

I’m still working on that wiki, maybe I’ll make progress on that over winter break.

References

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010a). Program eleven. Instructional strategies, Part one[Webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010b). Program seven. Constructionist and constructivist learning theories [Webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Baltimore, MD Author.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010c). Program three. Instructional theory vs. learning theory [Webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Connectivism and Social Learning in Practice

According to the text, the instructional strategy of cooperative learning focuses on having the students interact with each other in groups in ways that enhance their learning. (Pitler, 2007). When explained in this way, you realize that you have been using this strategy in one way or another for your whole teaching career.  

When I reflect on all the different strategies that can be incorporated into education, I realize that at one time or another I have used them all, have combined them, interchanged them, and even discarded parts of some. What is the best way for learners to learn? I do not think there is one strategy that is better than another. The best strategy is the one where everyone learns and for everyone that strategy is different.

Cooperative learning used with technology is probably one of the more successful strategies for the learner.  Students who learn from each other tend to learn more and if you combine technology into their learning, their learning becomes global and far reaching.  I like to think of cooperative learning in the same light as folk art. In folk art, you learn through observation and by doing. The more you do it the better you should get. The same could be said for learning. You observe, you start doing and the more you work with it the more you will learn.

I feel this way about the new technology we worked with this week. Voice Thread. I found this to be one of the more difficult technological pieces that we have worked with so far. One of my difficulties was my computer working very slowly. It took over 15 minutes just for my photos to download.  I was afraid of doing much more than I did in fear of a total melt down.

This is the URL for what I did: http://voicethread.com/share/1551207/

It is based on the problem my school is having on recruiting students to go on extended field trips that are offered through the Gilder-Lehrman Institute of American Studies.  Its purpose is to get more students to join in the fun and learning.

References;

Pitler,H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., Malenowski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. 

Constructivism in Practice

As an art teacher, most of the work done in class is project based. Creating artifacts or projects are part of the constructivist/constructionist theories. (Laureate Education, 2010).

How does an art teacher use generating and testing hypotheses in an art classroom?

One way is through experimental inquiry and even systems analysis.  Every time an artist or student mixes a color when doing a painting it becomes an experiment. What happens when you add a little white or black to a color? What happens when you mix complementary colors? How do you make brown? We can chart the changes in color and make predictions about the color.

Problem solving can also be useful in art. How do you change colors or add a design to a weaving without making a knot?

We can even use historical investigation when studying different artists, artistic styles, and art movements.

One of the difficulties that I see with using some of these strategies in art is in how to incorporate computer technology into them. There are many ways to incorporate technology when working with historical investigation but what about charting color?

My thoughts so far are to use a word program and use different font colors when explaining color change. Another idea is to use a grid in the same way?

Any other ideas out there?

Cognitivism in Practice

Summarizing and note taking are probable two of the best ways to help students to learn. It helps students to synthesize information and distill it into a concise new form. (Pitler, 2007). In other words, students can use their own words, drawings and their own understanding to help themselves retain information that may be need in the future.

Cues, questions, and advanced organizers focus on enhancing students’ ability to retrieve, use, and organize information about a topic. In other words, students find relationships between what is already known to them and what they are learning.  They do this through reminders or hints from the teacher, or as in the case of advance organizers help the student to focus on their learning. (Pitler, 2007).

These instructional strategies help students in Cognitive Learning because Cognitive Learning helps students’ efforts to understand, retain and recall information. (Laureate Education, 2010) 

Cognitive Learning has 3 stages of information processing: sensory input information, Short term memory or working memory, and that which is stored into long term memory. Long term memory stores declarative facts and information, procedural functions such as how to do things, and episodic memory or events in your life. (Laureate Education, 2010)  When we use summarizing and note taking, cues, questions, and advanced organizers we are attempting to store the information learned in these strategies in our long term memory.

Virtual Field Trips and Concept Mapping also relate to Cognitive learning because both of these learning strategies appeal to the senses.  Both are visual and according to Dr Orey, Virtual Field Trips help create episodic memory. (Laureate Education, 2010) 

References;

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010). Program five. Cognitive learning theory[Webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Pitler,H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., Malenowski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. 

Behaviorism in Practice

Technology is one of the most important aspects of the 21^st Century classroom. Think about your everyday life. Now think about what your life would be like if you did not have access to your cell phone, I-pod or any other technology that you cannot do without. That is what a classroom would be without technology.

Students in today’s world need to be engaged in their learning. Students also need to know that the effort they put into their learning has a direct link to that learning.  Using technology such as spread sheets and other data collecting software can help a student chart and reinforce the effort, homework, or practice they use in successful learning.” In the book, Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works, there are two generalizations made about homework and practice: first, mastering a skill or process requires a fair amount of focused practice, and second, while practicing, students should adapt and shape what they have learned. (Pitler, 2007). Homework and practice is repetition and that is drill and practice which is part of the Behaviorism Theory. The instructional strategy of reinforcing effort enhances students’ understanding of the relationship between effort and achievement by addressing their attitudes and beliefs about learning.” (Pitler, 2007). When looking at Behaviorist Learning Theory, Dr. Michael Orey mentions that this theory revolves around operant conditioning, reinforcement, or punishment. (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010).

While reading about this theory and trying to envision how technology would work with Behavior Learning Theory, I decided that the two work well together even if it is just a tutorial. I found watching the tutorials on power point at: http://www.internet4classrooms.com/on-line.htm, to be very informative.

References; Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010). Program four. Behaviorist learning theory [Webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Pitler,H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., Malenowski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. 

WELCOME

Hello,

Welcome to my second blog.  This blog is a learning tool for me and my fellow students at Walden University as we study the practical applications of technology in the classroom.  Our class is titled: Bridging Learning Theory, Instruction and Technology.  I hope you enjoy reading our post and that you will join in our discussions.

Diane Liebl