This week in class we focused on the different Philosophies of Education. I really love how we used the Infomercials to learn about the philosophers and how they think a classroom runs most effectively. Not only did we have a chance to work in groups and collaborate, we had a chance to be creative with the information. We had to work together and think critically in order to figure out how to most effectively communicate the concepts. This project incorporated all 4 C's of education - which helps to prepare students to function well in the 21st-century world outside of the classroom. In my group, we focused on constructivism. This is a student-centered philosophy.
Constructivism is basically a theory -- based on observation and scientific study -- about how people learn. It says that people construct their own understanding and knowledge of the world, through experiencing things and reflecting on those experiences. When we encounter something new, we have to reconcile it with our previous ideas and experience, maybe changing what we believe, or maybe discarding the new information as irrelevant. In any case, we are active creators of our own knowledge. To do this, we must ask questions, explore, and assess what we know.We said that constructivism is best applied by putting students into groups and giving them discovery-based activities. to work through. This puts the teacher in a position of guiding rather than spitting out information. For example, when I was looking up what activities fell in line with this theory, I found that group work with hands-on activities is best. Stimulation increases the learning rate. So using rich multi-sensory resources, lively activities and generating a sense of fun when possible will enhance student learning. This is the learning theory that I most identify with. In my future classroom, we will have a lot of group, discovery-based work. Students will be encouraged to express their curiosity and find out new information for themselves. This will take very much work on my part, as the teacher, to ensure that activities work well with all students. Being able to do this pulls in the Facilitation of Learning NCTCS. I have to be paying attention to the strengths and weaknesses of my students and cater my lessons and activities to them in order to best facilitate their learning.
I love the Benjamin Franklin reference! I definitely find constructivism as an important philosophy to learning. As I think more about my own philosophy, I certainly think I will include constructivism. While group work may sometimes become frustrating, I can honestly say that I have learned the most when working in groups with others. I think learning is best when students are exposed to other students' learning.
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ReplyDeleteWow. I really appreciate the way you crafted your blog post this week. Nice integration of the 4C's. I am so impressed with your perspective here and I challenge you to keep learning as much as possible each week.
I also identify with the discovery based learned and hands on activities. This is the way that I learn best and I believe that students benefit from figuring things out on their own, through guided discovery. Also, I love the BF quote at the end. When thinking about learning as permanent change it really puts it into perspective. Thanks Kieran.
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