References:
Education theory: Constructivism and
social constructivism in the classroom. (n.d.). Retrieved July 12,
2015, from http://www.ucdoer.ie/index.php/Education_Theory/Constructivism_and_Social_Constructivism_in_the_Classroom
Masura, S. (2014). Digital badges.
Ann Arbor, Michigan: Cherry Lake Publishing.
Shackelford,
J., & Maxwell, M. (2012). Sense of community in graduate online
education: Contribution of learner to learner interaction. The
International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning,
13(4), 228-249. Retrieved July 12, 2015,
fromhttp://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1001714.pdf
Hey Amanda,
ReplyDeleteGood work on this! Have I mentioned Connectivism to you? Google it and let me know what you think. It's a great theory where Constructivism meets technology :)
Hey Dr. C!
DeleteWow, I can't believe I've made it this far into this program and not fully understood connectivism! The brief research I did on this is right on point for the most important theory of distance education. Siemens (n.d.) gives insight into connectivism being based on a foundation that is ever-changing. The learner must be able to differentiate between the important and unimportant information given to them as they wade through their own learning experiences (Siemens, n.d.). Connectivism may the precise learning theory of our digital badge system, too. Thank you for reminding of this and guiding me back down my own connectivist path!
Reference:
Siemens, G. (n.d.). Connectivism: A learning theory for the digital age. Retrieved July 19, 2015 from http://www.itdl.org/journal/jan_05/article01.htm
Hey Dr. C!
DeleteWow, I can't believe I've made it this far into this program and not fully understood connectivism! The brief research I did on this is right on point for the most important theory of distance education. Siemens (n.d.) gives insight into connectivism being based on a foundation that is ever-changing. The learner must be able to differentiate between the important and unimportant information given to them as they wade through their own learning experiences (Siemens, n.d.). Connectivism may the precise learning theory of our digital badge system, too. Thank you for reminding of this and guiding me back down my own connectivist path!
Reference:
Siemens, G. (n.d.). Connectivism: A learning theory for the digital age. Retrieved July 19, 2015 from http://www.itdl.org/journal/jan_05/article01.htm
Amanda,
ReplyDeleteThank you for the helpful post! Constructivism is definitely a great topic to choose for the topic of important theories. As you mentioned, Constructivist approaches are a great way to help students learn how to teach themselves. True learning is better facilitated this way. Behaviorism, the approach most opposite of constructivism, can sometimes focus too much on repetition, and the teacher being the center of instruction. Constructivism breaks this mold and helps students make their own choices concerning their education, which ultimately will make the learning stick and will help make patterns that will help students be learners for life.
Amanda, great discussion! I too lean towards a constructivist approach for learning. I agree that constructivism easily lends itself to distance learning because students have a huge amount of responsibility in their own learning. However, your discussion made me realize the care that distant educators must use when designing instruction that employs constructivist approaches, while providing supports and scaffolds for students that may lack motivation or who are too young to be held totally responsible for their own education. Additionally, when we consider motivation, we must appeal to students’ intrinsic motivation. Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, and Zvacek (2012) emphasize the importance of motivation and point out that “intrinsically motivated learners” or students who have high expectations for themselves tend to succeed more at distance learning than students who are not intrinsically motivated.
ReplyDeleteSimonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education. (5th ed.) Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Video Comment Link: https://youtu.be/3KQsbsOV9ic
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your thoughts, Amanda. I agree that constructivism is a significant theory relating to today’s educational practice. Your stress on the responsibilities of both the student and the educator is noteworthy! I think that is where I have seen many educators with a misunderstanding of constructivism. Maria Tatto (1998) stated that the “infusion of social constructivist theory into teacher education has prompted focus on change in teachers’ cognition and thought processes” (p. 66) and that this can change how they view their role and therefore change teaching practices. Like you stated, teachers must provide the environment that supports students’ independent learning. Teaching high school, I believe that teachers need a deep understanding of students in order to help them realize their capabilities in learning as well.
As I read Siemens, A Learning Theory for the Digital Age (2005), I started thinking again about what we are teaching and what the role of a teacher is again. Speaking of the digital age our students live in today, Siemens (2005) states, “Our ability to learn what we need for tomorrow is more important than what we know today” (p.1). I see this as an underlying principal for all we do as educators. We have to evaluate students on the basic knowledge and skills they are mastering in particular areas, but I believe that the most important goal is to encourage and help students learn how to keep learning. There is a tremendous amount of information and knowledge available today and it the availability is changing faster than ever before. It is important that our students are able to use all that is available themselves.
So the integration of many theories addressing the needs of students today and helping students to connect all that they know and will know with their needs is a tremendous task or educators.
I look forward to seeing how digital badging may fit into this role of teacher and student today.
References:
Siemens, G. (2005). Connectivism: A learning theory for the digital age. International Journal of Instructional Technology and distance Learning, 2(1). Retrieved from http://www.itdl.org/journal/jan_05/article01.htm
Tatto, M. T. (1998). The influence of teacher education on teachers’ beliefs about purposes of eduation, roles, and practice. Journal of Teacher Eduation, 49(1), 66-77. Retrieved from http://ed-share.educ.msu.edu/scan/te/mttatto/TATTO004.PDF
Thank you for your input into constructivist connection with digital badges. I believe digital badges are a great outcome reward for students who have learned many practical outcomes and need to rewarded for their time and attention to a practical learnng and experiencing subject matter. Independant learning and scaffolding of experiences and skills lead a student to be motivated to learn more. Masura(2014) aludes to showing with evidence and reward a great process for students to be more motivated to learn.
ReplyDeleteConcerning Connectivist Theory, I think that many of the early breakthroughs in education used this theory as we have renamed it. It takes a real object or thought and connects or ties all lerning from that point to another. I believe scaffolding or up skilling are all a part of this basic theory and all need are used daily as we learna nd motivate our students to open new doors of learning.
Reference: Masura, S. (2014). Digital badges. Ann Arbor, Michigan: Cherry Lake Publishing