My view on instructional technology has changed a bit over the course of the semester; while I found that a lot of the material was not designed for agricultural education, I found that I could easily alter a lot of the resources to make it suitable for my classroom. I think that integrating video making and podcasts could be very beneficial, as well as having my own wiki page for my class. The wiki page could help the most I believe because it can give students clarification to homework assignments or projects or specific links that I want them to view. This has drastically changed from when I was in high school and the most I could do for clarification was to email my teacher and hope they responded back in time for me to get the project done. With the wiki, students can first look at the assignment posted, if that's not clear, they can go on the discussion forum and ask their peers and if that doesn't work, last resort would be to email me through the page or on my email listed on the page, the possibilities are endless really!
In some instances, the appropriateness was a little lacking in some of the material we learned throughout the semester; the voki's were a bit of a stretch for what we are doing and perhaps so was the animoto video, although it's a good ice breaker for us and other students. Otherwise, the video, podcast, wiki, jing and the assessment tools can potentially be very very helpful, and I believe that if teachers invest some of their time into these projects, they can make the classroom interactive, fun and an overall good learning experience.
Overall, I feel great with the technology we have used, and I feel confident going ahead and using them outside of this class. With technology I am a quick learner and adapted quickly to the material, so I think I will also be able to use what we learned and continue to make it better throughout my career.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
EDCI 5825 Week 6
After using Google Reader this week, a whole new world has kind of been opened for me. I can read so many ideas and thoughts at the click of a button, and it's fascinating! I now understand too how teachers can view 40+ students' blogs without having to go blog by blog, which makes it a lot easier.
I saw some very neat and in depth blogs when I looked over the classes' blogs; I saw a lot more interaction such as in Dave's and Meghan's blogs, where they post a lot of pictures and quotes and other relative material. In Meghan's blog, the use of staggered text really helps the reading aspect of the blog instead of just one paragraph. It helps the overall reading and helps the reader connect more to the material.
I think that in the future I will definitely try to post relative material so that people reading can connect more to what I am talking about- videos, links and pictures would help a lot! It looked great in my classmates blogs so I think I'll have to use that!
An idea that stood out was in 'A to Zed's' blog, where in there T2P they said students should be encouraged to take risks in the classroom. While this to the extreme can be hazardous, I believe students should be able to explore and take risks so that they can learn on their own and get out of their comfort zone so that they can really learn new material. Of course I have to be careful in an ag-ed setting because risks are everywhere, especially in hands on material, so a healthy balance of risk taking should be admitted in my classroom so no harm can occur.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Web Resources Week 5
With all of this technology, it is nearly impossible, and becoming unethical to leave it out of class in today's society. With in my ag-ed class, what I would like to do is incorporate some of the earth web cams available online. Especially in the natural resources aspect of ag-ed, global imagery and global information systems are huge; The natural resources program at UConn even has its own concentration in global information systems.
What I would first use is Earthcam, (http://search.earthcam.com/search/ft_search.php?newcams). I would use this website to show students actual live feeds from around the world. I would then ask students to develop theories of what resources are available in those specific areas of the world. For example, if a student came across a live feed of Hotham, Australia, the mountainous regions of Australia would be viewed. The students could assume that the region has some area of aridity, some forested regions, and perhaps a large quantity of minerals stored within those mountains. After that, an assignment could be to further research an area of interest that the students came across to really see what natural resources are available.
Another way to incorporate this technology would be to use GoogleEarth, (http://www.google.com/earth/index.html), which could be used for students to research things such as deforestation, mountaintop blast mining, strip mining and contour farming. The students could zoom in on areas of the Amazon forest to see the effects of fish-bone forestry, or the tops of Appalachian mountains which have been blasted as a technique of mining. The students could either make assumptions based on the images or use the images to be integrated into a project the students are assigned.
With all of these capabilities, the future of ag-ed will most definitely be altered, and will hopefully become more global oriented as opposed to locally oriented. This will hopefully inspire students to make a difference in the world.
Refrences:
EarthCam, retrieved from http://www.earthcam.com/, (June 29, 2011).
GoogleEarth, retrieved from http://www.google.com/earth/index.html, (June 29, 2011).
What I would first use is Earthcam, (http://search.earthcam.com/search/ft_search.php?newcams). I would use this website to show students actual live feeds from around the world. I would then ask students to develop theories of what resources are available in those specific areas of the world. For example, if a student came across a live feed of Hotham, Australia, the mountainous regions of Australia would be viewed. The students could assume that the region has some area of aridity, some forested regions, and perhaps a large quantity of minerals stored within those mountains. After that, an assignment could be to further research an area of interest that the students came across to really see what natural resources are available.
Another way to incorporate this technology would be to use GoogleEarth, (http://www.google.com/earth/index.html), which could be used for students to research things such as deforestation, mountaintop blast mining, strip mining and contour farming. The students could zoom in on areas of the Amazon forest to see the effects of fish-bone forestry, or the tops of Appalachian mountains which have been blasted as a technique of mining. The students could either make assumptions based on the images or use the images to be integrated into a project the students are assigned.
With all of these capabilities, the future of ag-ed will most definitely be altered, and will hopefully become more global oriented as opposed to locally oriented. This will hopefully inspire students to make a difference in the world.
Refrences:
EarthCam, retrieved from http://www.earthcam.com/, (June 29, 2011).
GoogleEarth, retrieved from http://www.google.com/earth/index.html, (June 29, 2011).
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
A Good Teacher...
A good teacher is one who does not teach for the sake of a job. The job is in place to help the students, and eventually the world become better.
A good teacher is one who has solid moral values and exemplifies them to the students, so that the teacher can be looked upon as a mentor or model.
The good teacher is able to connect with students, the material being taught and their own inner philosophies so that the class is mutual and reciprocative.
A good teacher strives to make every student a success, and wants no less than 100% effort from all students and themselves. Through this, the students should be made willing to come to class fully prepared to live and learn, and leave inspired and full of knowledge through both curriculum and hidden curriculum.
A good teacher leaves a great legacy, tries to find potential in all and plants many seeds for the future.
A good teacher is one who has solid moral values and exemplifies them to the students, so that the teacher can be looked upon as a mentor or model.
The good teacher is able to connect with students, the material being taught and their own inner philosophies so that the class is mutual and reciprocative.
A good teacher strives to make every student a success, and wants no less than 100% effort from all students and themselves. Through this, the students should be made willing to come to class fully prepared to live and learn, and leave inspired and full of knowledge through both curriculum and hidden curriculum.
A good teacher leaves a great legacy, tries to find potential in all and plants many seeds for the future.
Learning Theories Week Two T2P 2
Today in class we examined multiple sources of educators in either their teaching environment or through their reviews and observations of different teachers or practices. Through each teacher, we observed as well as reflected what their personal teaching philosophy is. We asked this through reflecting on how they believe people learn, as well as asking how they think competency is developed in the subject area. Through the examples, we witnessed a large spectrum of philosophies which included Robin Williams' character in The Dead Poet Society, who encouraged creativity, risk taking and mutual respect and then later viewed the whole brain teaching concept in the mathematics course, where the teacher valued a dominant role as teacher, repetition, structure and performance.
From these observations, I started to reflect on what philosophy I will develop as a teacher and how should I structure (or not structure) my classroom. What boggled my mind and perhaps others and altered immediate views after the whole brain teaching video, was the fact that that style of 'teaching' may not actually invoke learning, but rather regurgitation for a short termed performance.
This lead to the formation of my if..then..because statement, in which I really needed to focus down on the essentials of the acquired material from class. From the two papers we read for homework and discussed as well as the video clips we viewed together as well as the individual video (science is messy), I needed to invoke my personal philosophy to gather a statement based on what we learned. This lead me to the hypothesis of , 'If a teacher provides an environment that contains enthusiasm and mutual respect (which includes reciprocity), to a relevant/reflective curriculum, then whole person optimal learning can take place in the classroom.' I learned through the evidence in class that enthusiasm is a basic tool that invokes a positive attitude and encourages students to participate. Mutual respect, including reciprocity is a tool that 'humanizes' the teacher, and allows the students to connect on a 'deeper level' which has been found to instill trust and intrinsic motivation. If the teacher is respected and trusted, the student will not only pick up on the regular curriculum, but also recognize the hidden curriculum topics from the value-laden model (the teacher), whom the students will recognize as the mature expert. Of course the teacher must also show trust within the students as part of reciprocity, because the teacher must give back at least as much as he receives to maintain a mutual relationship. What can accentuate this form of reciprocity is pedagogical caring. By this I mean that the teacher should learn to care for the students in an obvious fashion, and the student will react in a positive form by creating a more in-depth relationship with the student. Nel Noddings would agree with this; she finds that teachers who care for students create a better relationship with each other. This will not only bring out the enthusiasm from one another, but create a new sense of intrinsic motivation for both individuals. From this, the teacher will also assume the role as master learner and will grow from each and every minute in the classroom.
Theory to Practice Week 5:
If a teacher or other adult guardian/model in a young (~5-9 years old) child's life allows the child to truly harness what they enjoy doing, then the student will more rapidly develop the skills involved with that task, and thus create a chance for whole person optimal learning to occur. This will occur because at that age, the density of the synaptic web within the brain will consist of a majority of what the student wants to learn, i.e. the enjoyable subject. The brain will then be able to connect the subject through neuron transmission with greater ease, and the amount of synaptic pruning will decrease, because the information being utilized will be in constant use, and unnecessary information will be minimal. The subject of choice will most likely be a hot cognitive process, in which the child will feel extremely positive towards. This will create a large intrinsic motivator within the child, which Patricia Kolencik views to be a necessity when learning at an optimal level.
The idea that the child harnesses this subject means that he or she will sooner be able to achieve the level of mastery within the subject, one of Daniel Pink's main ideas of motivation. Mastery, along with the autonomy to decide the subject being learned, as well as a purpose, which may occur later along the learning path are Pink's main aspects of motivation.
This idea of intrinsic motivation on the top a synaptic foundation is key to a children mastering a subject area. While this may be viewed as negative by some educators, a single area being truly explored and mastered by a child could prove to be a valuable asset to learners. The learners autonomy, mastery and purpose could lead to a child truly developing a mastery that he or she can enjoy and utilize in life.
From these observations, I started to reflect on what philosophy I will develop as a teacher and how should I structure (or not structure) my classroom. What boggled my mind and perhaps others and altered immediate views after the whole brain teaching video, was the fact that that style of 'teaching' may not actually invoke learning, but rather regurgitation for a short termed performance.
Theory to Practice Week 5:
If a teacher or other adult guardian/model in a young (~5-9 years old) child's life allows the child to truly harness what they enjoy doing, then the student will more rapidly develop the skills involved with that task, and thus create a chance for whole person optimal learning to occur. This will occur because at that age, the density of the synaptic web within the brain will consist of a majority of what the student wants to learn, i.e. the enjoyable subject. The brain will then be able to connect the subject through neuron transmission with greater ease, and the amount of synaptic pruning will decrease, because the information being utilized will be in constant use, and unnecessary information will be minimal. The subject of choice will most likely be a hot cognitive process, in which the child will feel extremely positive towards. This will create a large intrinsic motivator within the child, which Patricia Kolencik views to be a necessity when learning at an optimal level.
The idea that the child harnesses this subject means that he or she will sooner be able to achieve the level of mastery within the subject, one of Daniel Pink's main ideas of motivation. Mastery, along with the autonomy to decide the subject being learned, as well as a purpose, which may occur later along the learning path are Pink's main aspects of motivation.
This idea of intrinsic motivation on the top a synaptic foundation is key to a children mastering a subject area. While this may be viewed as negative by some educators, a single area being truly explored and mastered by a child could prove to be a valuable asset to learners. The learners autonomy, mastery and purpose could lead to a child truly developing a mastery that he or she can enjoy and utilize in life.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Assistive Technology: EDCI5825
- Please provide specific examples of technology/tools that you would recommend for a student with... (1) a hearing impairment, (2) low-vision, (3) a broken right arm, and (4) autism (non-communicative
With the advent of the technology age, there has been a huge influx of new mediums in which to learn through in our society. Not only do students who can function readily in society get a chance to use these advancements, but students who have special needs have been given a chance to fully participate in class with technology as well.
For example, a student with a hearing impairment will not be able to fully understand my lessons in class, unless he or she is fully able to read lips. This is not a safe assumption to make for a student, so it is critical that that my lesson gets transcribed to the student in need. With automatic speech recognition, my words could be instantaneously transcribed onto a computer. Therefore, if I am able to wear a microphone during class, (something that will not hinder my performance), the hearing impaired student will be able to follow along because my words will be on their computer.
Another issue that I may have to face is giving someone with low vision the quality education they deserve. One way to help this problem is to utilize the Digital Accessible Information System, or DAISY. Daisy was in fact first designed to help readers read an entire text, cover to cover without problem, "DAISY provides direct access to specific points, enabling readers to move from heading to heading, page to page, and word to word," (Assistive Technology in Education, 2009). The sight impaired students will now be able to magnify the information they need and be able to read it in an effective manner so that they can continue with regular education.
If a student were to come into class with broken right arm, there could be many issues at stake. However, the largest issue may occur if there is a large term paper due in a week or two. The student, assuming he or she's a righty, will not be able to write or type effectively to meet the deadline of the paper. Thanks to the speech recognition system, the student will not only be able to navigate through the internet by voice, but will eventually be able to "type" their paper by communicating into a microphone and having the program transcribe the voice into electronic words.
Non-communitive autistic students are receiving special attention from technology developers because it has become more and more apparent that simple (or high tech) technology can be used to truly engage non-communitive autistic students. One way to help them is the use of touch screens on computers or new smart computer items. The goal here is to help the students navigate as well as interact with the computer and information being presented, ("High" Tech Strategies, 2011). This would discontinue the lack of understanding between the student-mouse-computer connection, and fully engage the student. New smart devices, such as an iPhone or iPad can also be used due to their touch screens.
These practices all encompass the the NET-S standards, which strive to incorporate technology in the classroom for all children. By allowing the students with special needs to be incorporated with classroom activities, the standards are being met by the teachers implementing these strategies.
These practices all encompass the the NET-S standards, which strive to incorporate technology in the classroom for all children. By allowing the students with special needs to be incorporated with classroom activities, the standards are being met by the teachers implementing these strategies.
References:
Assistive Technology for Children with Autism. (2011)"High" Tech Standards. Retrieved from http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=educational+tools+for+autistic+children&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8#sclient=psy&hl=en&client=safari&rls=en&source=hp&q=technology+for+autistic+students&aq=2&aqi=g4g-m1&aql=&oq=&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&fp=defeb86aaab16f6&biw=1267&bih=616, June 22, 2011.
International Society for Technology in Education (2007). Standards. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-students/nets-student-standards-2007.aspx, June 15, 2011.
Wikibook. (2011). Assistive Technology in Education/DAISY. Retrieved from http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Assistive_Technology_in_Education/DAISY, June 22, 2011.
Wikibook. (2011). Assistive Technology in Education/eBooks. Retrieved from http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Assistive_Technology_in_Education/eBook, June 22, 2011
Wikibook. (2011). Assistive Technology in Education/Speech Recognition Technology. Retrieved from http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Assistive_Technology_in_Education/Speech_Recognition_Software, June 22, 2011.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Week Four T2P
So Far:
As it appears to me, through the all the complexity, the jargon, the homework and the mix of class, things seem to be getting easier. Not only am I developing my personal philosophies and creating curriculum assessments, but I am learning how students learn through theory before I put myself into practice.
Mark Twain once said, "how empty is theory in the presence of fact."What is beautiful about this quote is that when applied to leaning, there are no facts, so theory can always be reflected upon and applied to practice. What may be true for one student's learning habits is not always true for another. How else could so many theorists develop such a quantity of different, applicable learning theories, if there were always solid, concrete facts relating to how students learn.
Today:
An issue that arrises, especially after today's class is how to incorporate all of these theories and techniques and ideals into my own philosophy, especially when they all contain at least some merit. Skinner's theories touch upon the innate learning behaviors of humans, while Erikson focuses on the scaffolding of life and the effects of decision making throughout developmental stages; both contain incredibly valuable stances on human learning theories, and must both be considered when developing personal philosophies and curriculum. What I hypothesize is that if teachers envelop as many credible teaching theories as possible into their philosophy and curriculum, then the students will be able to become more rounded learners themselves, because they will be better able to look at their students and cater their teaching styles to fit their needs. Essentially, the more the teacher knows about different learning theories, the more the teacher can relate and try to fit those theories to specific students. Once the theory that fits the student can be recognized, than the teacher can then adapt their teaching methods to help out the student. As Skinner and Erikson both pointed to, the teacher's main job is to remain a facilitator of knowledge, one who can guide students through a lesson, as opposed to a drone who recites information. Jerrid Kruse further supports this hypothesis by incorporating a diverse quantity of teaching theories into his classroom, captivating the essential philosophies of behavior learning theory, developmental learning theory, cognitive learning theory, etc. If this can be done, students will be more willing to receive knowledge, because they make connections to the teacher as well as the content. This will initiate reciprocity and in turn create a better learning environment.
Furthermore, I also believe an issue will be teachers or pre-teachers who will too eagerly try to categorize themselves into a theorist's group. For example, one might say they are a Piagetian or Vygotskian follower. I believe this will hinder the teachers' ability to incorporate multiple theories into their classroom, and will essentially block students from getting quality education.
Learning theories, as we learned, can be broken into art and science. It is an art because it takes skill to incorporate the multiple theories, but also a science, because the teacher needs to observe and react to the students' needs and desires for education. I have hypothesized in conjunction with my first hypothesis, that if teachers are fully committed to their students through means of reflection and observation, then the students are receiving optimal education, because the teacher is recognizing how students learn and are applying multiple learning theories to the class lessons. This will cater to more students' needs, and create a better learning environment for the entire class. Nel Noddings's philosophies would agree with this, because she believes that a teacher should care for the students, and make it well known that the teacher has a caring relationship. When the teacher and student both share a reciprocative level of caring, they will be better able to move through information and knowledge. They can do this because at a primal level, teachers and students both want to be cared for and show more motivation when they are.
Tomorrow:
In future days, months and years, I hope to increase my knowledge of learning theories and develop a strong balance of applying my knowledge of other's theories to my own philosophies. As apparent in Jerrid Kruse's article on teaching theories, it is best to scaffold many different theories, such as behavior learning theory, developmental learning theory, cognitive learning theory, etc. with the lesson being taught. This way, students can develop comfortability with different teaching facets, and can hopefully grow personally from the experience.
It appears as though my journey to becoming an expert learner has a long way to go!
If...
Then...
Because...
Evidence...
Context...
Morals/ethics....
Theory to Practice: Self Determination.
VIcki Davis' pedagogy instilled very deep foundations of self determination. She used her class time with students to connect with not only each other, but also the entire world. Vicki's class incorporated student interaction with each other during projects to develop autonomy, in which the students could formulate their own project and presentations. This also led to relatedness, because students not only had to work together, but wanted to connect with others to enhance their learning. Of course, the hands on training with technology and other students led to an increase in competence within the student because they mastered the technology present and had to teach it to their teacher!
Vicki also used a practice of student teaching students in her classroom. She promoted autonomy by allowing student to choose what they teach, but also how they go about teaching it to the class and head teacher (Vickie). Competence was increased, because the students had to master their project, and be comfortable enough with the content to teach it fluently with others. Relatedness was somewhat increased, as the students teaching had to connect with the ones that were learning.
Overall, both methods of practice led students to enhance their performance, persistence (by way of having an innate desire to learn more and connect with more people), and creativity (creating lesson plans, developing projects and teaching styles).
With this in mind, it can be said that if a teacher incorporates a learning environment that not only encourages volition, but demands volition within students, then the learners will react by surpassing their own previous expectations. Students will do this because with the right motivation, their innate desire to achieve autonomy, competence and relatedness will blossom. If these achievements are obtained, it will lead to the results common with self determination theory; enhanced performance, persistence and relatedness, which is what all good teachers strive to achieve themselves.
This theory could be agreeable with George Siemens, who argues that students who connect with other students and collaborate frequently will become master learners. He, like Vickie, agree that teachers should not constantly be at the front of the room lecturing, but rather, letting the students explore their creativity and networking abilities.
Theory to Practice #3 for week 4:
If a teacher conducts their classroom in a manner in which the teacher-student relationship is considered mutual, equal and interchangeable, then the students will be involved in the process of optimal learning. This will occur because the students as well as the teachers will harness their intrinsic motivation (see, I know that term now) to learn and succeed in that setting. By saying that the relationship should be mutual, equal and interchangeable, it addresses that the teachers and students must both take on the role of learner and teacher at various points of their relationship. When they are in their 'given role,' they should remain reciprocative, so that ideas, questions and concerns may be addressed; this will instill a sense of equality as well as care between the teacher and students. Paulo Freire would agree to this notion. He believed in allowing students and teachers to have role reversal experiences that allowed teachers to learn what students bring to the table, but also gave the students an opportunity to develop and share their critical voice. This will also help students and teachers to mutually care for each other as well as begin to care about other ideas, a concept that Nel Noddings describes. Nel describes caring for as essential between human relationships and development, and will eventually lead to 'caring about,' which is the desire to act upon an injustice or issue, another similarity with Freire. Acting upon an issue or injustice learned about in class on one's own will is a product of receiving optimal education. It shows that the student or teacher has accomplished a deep understanding of a topic and have synthesized a solution as well as alternatives. If the teacher's relationship with their students is oppressive or dominant, than the students will have a barrier to overcome before they can care about an issue, therefore making a it impossible to achieve optimal learning.
Link to Week Four HW Spreadsheet:
Learning Theorists
Second attempt at learning theorists spreadsheet:
Learning Theorists
As it appears to me, through the all the complexity, the jargon, the homework and the mix of class, things seem to be getting easier. Not only am I developing my personal philosophies and creating curriculum assessments, but I am learning how students learn through theory before I put myself into practice.
Mark Twain once said, "how empty is theory in the presence of fact."What is beautiful about this quote is that when applied to leaning, there are no facts, so theory can always be reflected upon and applied to practice. What may be true for one student's learning habits is not always true for another. How else could so many theorists develop such a quantity of different, applicable learning theories, if there were always solid, concrete facts relating to how students learn.
Today:
An issue that arrises, especially after today's class is how to incorporate all of these theories and techniques and ideals into my own philosophy, especially when they all contain at least some merit. Skinner's theories touch upon the innate learning behaviors of humans, while Erikson focuses on the scaffolding of life and the effects of decision making throughout developmental stages; both contain incredibly valuable stances on human learning theories, and must both be considered when developing personal philosophies and curriculum. What I hypothesize is that if teachers envelop as many credible teaching theories as possible into their philosophy and curriculum, then the students will be able to become more rounded learners themselves, because they will be better able to look at their students and cater their teaching styles to fit their needs. Essentially, the more the teacher knows about different learning theories, the more the teacher can relate and try to fit those theories to specific students. Once the theory that fits the student can be recognized, than the teacher can then adapt their teaching methods to help out the student. As Skinner and Erikson both pointed to, the teacher's main job is to remain a facilitator of knowledge, one who can guide students through a lesson, as opposed to a drone who recites information. Jerrid Kruse further supports this hypothesis by incorporating a diverse quantity of teaching theories into his classroom, captivating the essential philosophies of behavior learning theory, developmental learning theory, cognitive learning theory, etc. If this can be done, students will be more willing to receive knowledge, because they make connections to the teacher as well as the content. This will initiate reciprocity and in turn create a better learning environment.
Furthermore, I also believe an issue will be teachers or pre-teachers who will too eagerly try to categorize themselves into a theorist's group. For example, one might say they are a Piagetian or Vygotskian follower. I believe this will hinder the teachers' ability to incorporate multiple theories into their classroom, and will essentially block students from getting quality education.
Learning theories, as we learned, can be broken into art and science. It is an art because it takes skill to incorporate the multiple theories, but also a science, because the teacher needs to observe and react to the students' needs and desires for education. I have hypothesized in conjunction with my first hypothesis, that if teachers are fully committed to their students through means of reflection and observation, then the students are receiving optimal education, because the teacher is recognizing how students learn and are applying multiple learning theories to the class lessons. This will cater to more students' needs, and create a better learning environment for the entire class. Nel Noddings's philosophies would agree with this, because she believes that a teacher should care for the students, and make it well known that the teacher has a caring relationship. When the teacher and student both share a reciprocative level of caring, they will be better able to move through information and knowledge. They can do this because at a primal level, teachers and students both want to be cared for and show more motivation when they are.
Tomorrow:
In future days, months and years, I hope to increase my knowledge of learning theories and develop a strong balance of applying my knowledge of other's theories to my own philosophies. As apparent in Jerrid Kruse's article on teaching theories, it is best to scaffold many different theories, such as behavior learning theory, developmental learning theory, cognitive learning theory, etc. with the lesson being taught. This way, students can develop comfortability with different teaching facets, and can hopefully grow personally from the experience.
It appears as though my journey to becoming an expert learner has a long way to go!
If...
Then...
Because...
Evidence...
Context...
Morals/ethics....
Theory to Practice: Self Determination.
VIcki Davis' pedagogy instilled very deep foundations of self determination. She used her class time with students to connect with not only each other, but also the entire world. Vicki's class incorporated student interaction with each other during projects to develop autonomy, in which the students could formulate their own project and presentations. This also led to relatedness, because students not only had to work together, but wanted to connect with others to enhance their learning. Of course, the hands on training with technology and other students led to an increase in competence within the student because they mastered the technology present and had to teach it to their teacher!
Vicki also used a practice of student teaching students in her classroom. She promoted autonomy by allowing student to choose what they teach, but also how they go about teaching it to the class and head teacher (Vickie). Competence was increased, because the students had to master their project, and be comfortable enough with the content to teach it fluently with others. Relatedness was somewhat increased, as the students teaching had to connect with the ones that were learning.
Overall, both methods of practice led students to enhance their performance, persistence (by way of having an innate desire to learn more and connect with more people), and creativity (creating lesson plans, developing projects and teaching styles).
With this in mind, it can be said that if a teacher incorporates a learning environment that not only encourages volition, but demands volition within students, then the learners will react by surpassing their own previous expectations. Students will do this because with the right motivation, their innate desire to achieve autonomy, competence and relatedness will blossom. If these achievements are obtained, it will lead to the results common with self determination theory; enhanced performance, persistence and relatedness, which is what all good teachers strive to achieve themselves.
This theory could be agreeable with George Siemens, who argues that students who connect with other students and collaborate frequently will become master learners. He, like Vickie, agree that teachers should not constantly be at the front of the room lecturing, but rather, letting the students explore their creativity and networking abilities.
Theory to Practice #3 for week 4:
If a teacher conducts their classroom in a manner in which the teacher-student relationship is considered mutual, equal and interchangeable, then the students will be involved in the process of optimal learning. This will occur because the students as well as the teachers will harness their intrinsic motivation (see, I know that term now) to learn and succeed in that setting. By saying that the relationship should be mutual, equal and interchangeable, it addresses that the teachers and students must both take on the role of learner and teacher at various points of their relationship. When they are in their 'given role,' they should remain reciprocative, so that ideas, questions and concerns may be addressed; this will instill a sense of equality as well as care between the teacher and students. Paulo Freire would agree to this notion. He believed in allowing students and teachers to have role reversal experiences that allowed teachers to learn what students bring to the table, but also gave the students an opportunity to develop and share their critical voice. This will also help students and teachers to mutually care for each other as well as begin to care about other ideas, a concept that Nel Noddings describes. Nel describes caring for as essential between human relationships and development, and will eventually lead to 'caring about,' which is the desire to act upon an injustice or issue, another similarity with Freire. Acting upon an issue or injustice learned about in class on one's own will is a product of receiving optimal education. It shows that the student or teacher has accomplished a deep understanding of a topic and have synthesized a solution as well as alternatives. If the teacher's relationship with their students is oppressive or dominant, than the students will have a barrier to overcome before they can care about an issue, therefore making a it impossible to achieve optimal learning.
Link to Week Four HW Spreadsheet:
Learning Theorists
Second attempt at learning theorists spreadsheet:
Learning Theorists
Thursday, June 16, 2011
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