We are taught by Dr. Michael Orey (Laureate Education, Program 7, 2009) that constructivism is “a theory of knowledge stating that each individual actively constructs his or her own meaning.” Building on this, he suggests that for educators, this theory is not as important as that of constructionism which states that “people learn best when they build an external artifact or something they can share with others.” Constructionism is, therefore, an extension of constructivism.
One way that a student can actively construct his or her own meaning is by developing and testing a hypothesis about a chosen topic. This is a foundation for learning in the field of science, but Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, and Malenoski (2007) suggest that this tactic can be used in all subjects and have presented methods for doing so using educational technology. Their examples highlight spreadsheet software, data collection tools, and web resources.
One of the key features of spreadsheet software is its ability to perform “what if?” calculations which present the user with varying scenarios based on the manipulation of data. Calculating and comparing savings and investments options is a great application of this tool, although I think this lesson would be more age-appropriate for high school students than fifth graders as was suggested by Pitler et al. (2007). I have used similar applications with students in business classes. For example, freshmen in my Introduction to Business classes used spreadsheets to compile and analyze survey data they gathered from the community about whether there was a need for a teen center in our community, and if so, what its hours should be, where its location should be, and what activities should be offered there. To prepare, analyze, and share a spreadsheet is an example of building an external artifact to be shared with others, a perfect correlation of the principles of constructivist/constructionist learning theories.
Pitler et al. (2007), describe the Internet as a huge data collection tool, which is absolutely true, and is another reason that computers should be more accessible to students on a one-to-one basis. Today I came across a March, 2010, opinion article written by Carl Rose, executive director of the Association of Alaska School Boards. He reports that in the past three years, the State of Alaska, through its Consortium for Digital Learning, has placed 12,000 laptops in the hands of students who are now able to use them in school throughout the day. Participating school districts are reporting that students “are more engaged, exhibit fewer behavior problems, and show improved work habits.” Imagine the data collection these students have access to; imagine the project-and problem-based learning fundamental to constructivism/constructionism that these students are capable of performing; imagine the flexibility and the power afforded to teachers in developing lessons for their students. All students should be so fortunate.
References
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Bridging learning, theory, instruction, and technology. [DVD]. Baltimore: Author.
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Rose, C. (2010, March 19). My turn: prepare our kids for the future: invest in digital learning. Juneau Empire. Retrieved March 24, 2010, from http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/031910/opi_592882455.shtml
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Susan,
ReplyDeleteI also thought that the use of a teacher-created interactive spreadsheet is a great tool for teachers to use to encourage their students to analyze data, hypothesize, and problem-solve. Again, I think it comes down to thinking about lesson objectives. Today's students need to be proficient problem-solvers and collaborators. Incorporating technology with a strong focus in mind will help to better prepare our students for the global workforce.
Erika
Susan,
ReplyDeleteI agree that a well developed spreadsheet can be very useful for students when they are collecting, analyzing, and presenting data. When given the tools and resources to complete project-based lessons, students are learning necessary skills for the future. Many of them will be asked to create and present data throughout high school, college, and when they land a job after graduation. Allowing them to begin constructing their own artifacts early on is a very effective strategy.
Wouldn't it be nice to have a enough computers where every student in your class could have their own laptop? I can only imagine the type of learning that would take place! Having a computer connected to the Internet would give students instant access to unlimited resources and data that would be right at their fingertips. Like you mentioned, it is unbelieveable to think of the amount of project-based learning, which is directly linked to constructionism, that could take place. Maybe someday all students throughout the world will have one-on-one access to a computer throughout their school day. I am hoping this dream comes true sooner rather than later.
Thanks for the nice post,
-Jonas
Susan,
ReplyDeleteI am sure your freshman had an awesome learning experience through the survey activity for a proposed community center. What a great activity! Was the article you read about the Alaska school providing laptops online? If so, would you mind sharing the link? I would like to read it. On that note, our school is in the process of a new text book adoption; I am on the committee this year. One of the first presenters we listened to made the statement that this would probably be our last paper adoption; she said everything will be paperless in the next ten years. The next adoptions will be online and students will be viewing them utilizing their personal laptops. Wow! Another component of these text books we have been perusing is the online content offered by each one. Each company has made nearly every aspect of their adoption available online with the addition of interactive material for the students. We are really excited about starting next year with these new materials. Like you mentioned, if each student had a laptop, the classroom no longer has four walls!
Allison
Hi, Erika. I agree with you about thinking about lesson objectives. Spreadsheets can seem especially dull and pointless to kids, but if we give them some relevance and use them for the right reasons, I have found that kids actually enjoy using them. And, I agree with you on another point...our bottom line is about preparing kids for their futures! Thanks for your comments. :-D
ReplyDeleteHi, Jonas. You make a great point about constructing artifacts that prepare kids for their futures. Besides the knowledge they gain from the project, the artifacts are there for students portfolios if they choose to use them for that purpose. It's a great idea to have students use a flash drive to save their artifacts, even for use in summer job-seeking in high school. I have seen this work for several of my former students. The portfolio items have given them an edge in landing a job, and it has been fun to have them come back later and say thanks for "making" them save things.
ReplyDeleteYou made some great points. Thanks for sharing!
Susan
Hi, Allison. I appreciate your comments about the spreadsheet activity -- thank you. :-D
ReplyDeleteThe article about the student laptops came from the online version of the Juneau Empire (see the link in my references above.) It's very interesting to hear what you've learned about textbook adoptions. I think it's great news because it may actually force school districts to start preparing for improved technology. It is expensive to provide students with their own laptops, but it has to be done, somehow, some way. Good luck with your committee work, and thanks for sharing the information with me!
Hi Susan,
ReplyDeleteI have been working on developing new ways to use Excel in my agricultural classroom. I teach a lot of farm business and I feel that this tool could really help me improve the effectiveness of my lesson. On top of this, I would be implementing a more constructive approach to the lesson as well. It sounds like you have a lot of experience with this program and that it has been very successful for you. Do you have any recommendations for how I could use this? I do a lot of research with plants and animals (growth,feed ratios, etc.) and I also teach a unit on farm accounting. Excel is the software that we have at school, would this be good to use for both of my examples?
I would agree with your statements that students can construct meaning through the technology tools you have given as an example. The internet is an amazing resource too and that it is a great way to collaborate information. I can not get over how fast social interaction amongst students has increased with texting, email, and other sources of technology. We do not allow cell phones at our schools, do you think we are missing out on a constructivist approach by doing this? In many ways,some iternet sites (such as youtube), cell-phones, and other computer programs can be a two-edged sword with appropriate learning. At school we have many of these items limited to us for security reasons, but some have also been very useful. Enjoyed reading your response!
Hi Susan,
ReplyDeleteI am currently trying to think of lessons I could use a spread sheet to crunch numbers and demonstrate some of the concepts that I teach, possibly using mean, mode, median, and range and studying statistics. It could make what kids think of as some boring topics a bit more engaging.
I agree about the lap top article you read about regarding the situation in Alaska. I am also excited about what Allison said about how many school districts will be adopting more of an online text book approach, moving away from actual text books. I can not imagine how far education has come to where it will be fully digital.
Great activity using spreadsheet software. Sounds like constructionism is alive and kicking in your classroom!
Hi, Luke. It sounds like you have some great projects and lessons going on! My business classroom was next door to the agriculture education classroom in our school for several years, and our ag teacher at the time used spreadsheets with her students for all kinds of projects including the types you have named. If you email me, I can forward your message to her and to our current ag teacher, and I have no doubt they would be happy to share Excel files with you that they have already created. You would have some great templates to use as starting points.
ReplyDeleteWe do not allow cell phones at our school either, but some of the larger area high schools are now allowing kids to have them in the classroom. I don't think it is because of their potential educational value, however -- it had more to do with trying to cut back the number of discipline referrals that principals were dealing with. There is a lot of education that will need to take place in order to convince administrators and teachers that cell phones have legitimate use in the classroom. Don't you think that kids' appropriate use of technology has a lot to do with a teacher's classroom management style? There will always be kids who will succeed at getting away with inappropriate things, but I think that most of them tend to respond positively to being trusted and would welcome the chance to use their cell phones and iPods for learning. Security is a legitimate issue. It will be interesting to see how things play out over the next few years, won't it?
Chad,
ReplyDeleteFor some engaging topics using spreadsheets, you might try using statistics from your students' everyday lives. Kids' favorite subjects are usually themselves! For example, you could have them collect data on their favorite foods, or their pets, or their favorite activities. You could conduct a classroom or grade-level survey and then have your kids calculate statistics using the spreadsheets and then make posters showing the results which could be hung up and shared with all the participants of the survey.
My experience is that kids enjoy doing activities for anything that relates to their daily lives!