I think collaboration of students with their peers and teacher is very important. In the collaboration with their teacher, students should take on the role as researchers and teachers as the resource or guide. The teacher should introduce the content thoroughly enough in which the students become intrigued and want to learn more. When the students are engaged in the new topic, the teacher acts as the guide and assigns specific tasks. Usually, I allow for my students to write down everything they know about the topic and follow up with conducting a web search on the topic. The students write down what interests them but also goes along with the topic. The students begin to collaborate with their classmates, sharing information and showing their new developments. Students enjoy sharing their information found through research and this allows for whole class collaboration.
Assigning authentic tasks is hard for some content areas but hands on activities work as well. I like for my students to create some type of hands on craft or project from their content. This allows for students to find out more information than what is provided in the textbook and explore outside of the topic, making connections. The constructivist theory suggests that students already have certain ideas grouped into categories in their heads. In order to further their knowledge on these categories, students conduct hands on, authentic tasks that enables them to make real life connections.
I have never used the innovative assessment, but as Dr. Orey explained more in depth what it consists of, I would like to use this in the classroom as well. This strategy allows for students and teachers to give assessments. The students will develop and create assessments to look at their understanding of the information. The students can create peer assessments to test each other on the content which will allow for students to see what their peers feel are the most important concepts of the unit. The teacher assessments should be ongoing and consists of observational assessments. This will take the idea of paper implemented assessments and teachers will be able to see the understanding of content through the utilization of constructionism in the classroom.
References:
Han, S., and Bhattacharya, K. (2001). Constructionism, Learning by Design, and Project Based Learning. In M. Orey (Ed.), Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved <03/23/11>, from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/
I like that you incorporate the web search strategy into your classroom. Students are given the opportunity to expand their research on a particular idea that interests them. Encouraging students to collaborate and share their findings is a wonderful way for students to take their learning into their own hands. It is also a wonderful strategy to encourage students to look to outside resources beyond their textbook.
ReplyDeleteDr. Orey’s concept of an innovative assessment is interesting to me. I believe students would love creating assessments for their peers. Also, this concept reflects constructionism in a creative way. When I think of creating a “product” or “artifact”, I do not typically think of a traditional paper/pencil test! This is a great twist!!
Amanda,
ReplyDeleteI agree that the innovative assessment does bring out the creativity in the students. This allows for teachers to see how students expect to be assessed and what they feel is the most important information from the content. Using the web search strategy in the classroom has given many students the skills they will need in order to be successful in the 21st century. They are able to be critical thinkers and share their knowledge of the topics discussed.
I try to use hands on activities all the time. I have found that students seem to buy into the project more often compared to other projects. The reason why I feel this way is because the students now have some ownership into the project hence making it important to them. When something is more important to the student they will spend more time and effort on that task. Great post.
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