Constructivism in Practice

Looking at Constructivist/constructionist learning theories this past week I think of the time I spent volunteering  in a Montessori school as an undergraduate.  I found their philosophy completely different from what I had always thought of as "schooling."  The idea of giving children a learning map and having them find their way instead of leading them to a desired result is something that worked really well for a certain group of students.  I look at this as something that works in combination with an individuals' learning modality, since some people can not learn without being told what to do, when and how to do it.  I really like the idea of learning something new by going through a process and having someone facilitate it or guiding the way.  It takes a special type of environment and facilitator to make this thing possible.  I can remember some students coming into the school from Charter schools in the area and them having a terrible time in trying to acclimate to a new learning environment.  The schools that they came from had no structure, no certified teachers, and principles with no educational backgrounds.  They like the idea of not having a lot of structure, but they also didn't like to actually try and learn things on their own, mostly because the tools were never implemented in them to know how to learn.  I believe that the early years it is easier for students to have a guide that gives them the needed tools to learn so that when they are older they can learn on their own.

Cognitivism in Practice

In this weeks learning resources we are asked to explore Cognitive learning strategies and concepts for our students.  This is something that I rely on a lot in working with my students who are learning Spanish.  I do what I can to help them try and make the connections from learned ideas in their native language so that they can conceptualize what it is that I am trying to teach them.  There is an expression that I believe everyone has heard which is "Lost in Translation."  There are some many sayings that we say that just don't make sense in other languages, for example when I say, "I am going to go work out," we know it means that I am going to do exercise.  The translation of that in Spanish, "Voy a trabajar afuera, " which literally means, "I am going to work outside."  So with things like this in mind I try to have my kids make connections to things that they already know to so that they can avoid the pitfalls of translating things literally.  Something that my students love about Spanish is that they get refresher courses in Grammar.  I have to explain Grammar rules in both languages so that they can understand my lesson better.  They English teacher at one of my school complained to me because she said the students told her that they learned more about English in my Spanish class than in her class.  I do think that learning a language at an early age is easier then trying to pick one up later in life, simply because you do not have all these already learned notions in another language in your head.  I have found that it is easier for my students to learn a new language when they can connect similarities and differences in the two languages. 

Behaviorism in Practice

Looking at the strategies that were used in Chapter 8 and Chapter 10 of the course text, Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works, as well as exploring some of the Behaviorist-based technology found of the resource page I like the way that they work with the Behaviorist Theory.  In creating a spread sheet that was introduced in Chapter 8, I like that it shows student how their effort in different aspects of the class effect their grade, its a way from them to see their effort and how it translate into their grade.  If the student is willing to put forth a strong effort they see it in the end result, if they slack off then they see how it effects them in the end.  Its a way of showing them that they can achieve goals and perform well if they are willing to put forth the effort and it gives them a sense of ownership of their grade.  It is a way for them to see how they are achieving on their own and that the teacher isn't simply "assigning them a grade" based on their feelings towards a student.
The ideas shown in chapter ten as well as the links in the resources on the course's home page show potential for things that are available on the web that can help students build up confidence and practice things that are learned in the classroom.  I have used a webpage that I subscribe to, Descubre, allows my students to have many different activities in Spanish and it gives them a sense of achievement when they complete assignments or activities on this site.  It allows me to track their progress and help them when they need simple remediation on a certain topic.
These resources and ideas do help reinforce positive learning and try to push students towards the positive behaviors and attributes.  When they can see that they can control how they earn their grades and achieve success in my classroom then they can get excited about other classes and try to do well in all aspects of their schooling.  They will also become excited to come to my class and enjoy the leaning experience that I try to offer them.