In my professional career, I cannot even start to remember all the "learning theories" that I have heard. This week we discussed the theory of constructionism/constructivism. This theory basically says that people learn better when they discover or build something on their own. Again, is this not common sense? I am a firm believer that none of the theories that I have ever heard work in our classrooms. However, the combination of these theories along with good classroom management is the key to success. Over the last few years I have been fortunate to witness an elementary school, middle school, and a high school in action. What I have noticed will hopefully spark some good discussion.
First I will start with the elementary school. During my observations I noticed that the first and second grade students were very intuitive. They sat there trying to discover new things and discussed what they were doing with one another. The fifth grad students were still somewhat curious but their conversations were not on topic. The middle school offered a different scenario. The students asked questions during class but did not like the idea of being pushed. They wanted to be shown and their conversations were more social than scholastic. In high school the students seemed to have no interest in learning. There were a few but most wanted to do what they needed to get by. Very few questions were asked during the teaching and most would have rather taken a nap than learn.
My point is this, young kids want to learn. They love it. They want to know how to count and how to read and write. As kids get older, this trait becomes extinct and students have an I don't care attitude. If you have raised children you know what I am talking about. Therefore, I do not believe what works for younger kids works for older students. I also know that socioeconomics plays a huge part in the learning process and this is something that most theorists do not take into consideration. As our state of Georgia found out in its attempt to improve math scores, things look good on paper but unfortunately our classrooms are not all the same and our students are not all the same. Therefore, no one method can hold true. Yes I think constructionism is a very successful tool but you must have motivated students for it to be successful.
In closing, I know that constructionism is the best method of learning. I also think that technology will allow us to become more successful with incorporating this theory into our classrooms. Hopefully moving forward, we can find the time and resources to allow our students to probe deeper in their learning.
Todd,
ReplyDeleteDo you think the high school students are tired of being taught because most of their education was still influenced by the lecturing method of learning? A lot of changes are pretty recent.
I look at the seniors now, whom I taught last in grade 10, and wish I had had all the technology tools I use now.
Either two things could happen. If the technology tools really make a difference to student learning, we can hope the seniors to come will still enjoy learning. Otherwise, the effect of 12 years of learning is just the limit for students and they are mentally already in college, or elsewhere. This second factor will always strong, but hopefully enthusiasm will be maintained a little longer than elementary school.
Most students in Switzerland finish school at 15, and most enter professional schools, which has its advantages.
Alexi
I can definitely see the advantages of entering professional schools at a certain age. I wish there was more influence put on technical schools at an early age here in the states. We treat every child as if they should go to college when only about 20-30% actually do. Personally I think most students are tired of being taught because that is human nature. I have a 3 year old and watch her try to learn constantly. I have watched my friend's son, who is now 16, grow up and although he is a great kid he hates learning. He does it for a grade and thats it. I do believe that technology will help maintain interest but it will not change how students feel about school. I have a class that consists of 15 to 17 year old students that have failed sophomore math at least once. They are low achieving students. There grades have improved since they came to my class. I surveyed the class as to why they thought their grades had improved and their answers were astonishing. Nothing was said about technology, or theories, or word walls, or warm-ups, or students work. It was all classroom management. They said we have to stay awake, you make us do homework or we get in trouble, we have to pay attention, etc...
DeleteTodd,
ReplyDeleteI agree with your comments. Thank you so much for your observations on the different levels of education. It is rough to teach in high school some days. They DO just want to get by. However, in my subjects, it seems like the kids want to learn ... hey, it's fun to be a photographer!
I think to make ... er ... aide kids in WANTING to learn, we need to make it relevant. I tell my kids constantly that with the skills they are learning in my classes (yearbook, newspaper, photography specifically), they could essentially be a professional now and get paid for it. That seems to arouse their interests. In fact, it is the Friday before Spring Break today and in class, the kids were begging for another photo assignment. Begging, I tell ya! :)
In math (and I'm just going from how I would have liked to learn), if my teacher had given me projects that were math-related, I would have been more apt to work on it and go to class.
The trick is to figure out how to make the assignments relevant, I guess. We can do this by collaborating with our colleagues and online.
I think I sound to preachy, but I really believe this.
I agree but the problem is that most math teachers, including myself, do not know how to make some of our abstract math relevant. The fact of the matter is that 95% of our students will never use any of what I am teaching. Also, we do not have time to teach using projects and i our end of course test has high stakes. I wish we could do more activities. I always hear students talking about labs, home ec, and agriculture classes. They say how much they enjoy it because they are doing something they enjoy. This is true in your photography class.
DeleteYeah, that's rough. I wish I were better at those abstract concepts, but that is the adult learner in me. As an adult, I'm interested in learning all I can. Why can't we have that drive as a teenager. Oh. Because that's when we knew everything. Haha.
DeleteHahaha. Great post. If only we knew half of what we thought we did, huh? I also try to learn what I can. I feel like I have received a lot of useful information from these last 2 classes we have taken. I am not just saying that. I have already used the concept mapping tool spiderscribe in my class and plan on creating a blog for my class next year.
ReplyDeleteYou’re right on about young kids wanting to learn. I think that maybe they WANT to learn because they are not old enough to realize what is relevant. They are curious by nature and want to take in all that they can. By middle school, they are starting to figure out that there are certain things that just don’t matter (in their minds) according to what they will be tested on. So, I am convinced that they still WANT to learn, they are just trying to figure out what to learn. Now high school is a different beast all together and I will not even pretend that I know what’s going on there. Perhaps, they are at a point where they are just ready to move on. This may come across as a lack of interest. Maybe they are thinking that they can learn enough to help them move on. I don’t know what to tell you about those who sincerely have NO interest. I’m sure that we can all think of many, many reasons that a student may not take an interest in school, especially in high school.
ReplyDelete