Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Constructivism in the Classroom

This week's theory of study is constructionism aka constructivism. The theory is very big on the students finding out the information for themselves through experimentation, creating strategies and hypotheses and so on. The theory can do great things for students in their creativity and enthusiasm for school but it can be time consuming so it is not practical for every day classroom use in my mind.
Two strategies that were introduced by Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn and Malenoski (2007) are using Excel to make data sheets and playing games that require strategy and critical thinking. I really like both of these strategies because I can use both in my class. For my Business class my students have to make personal budgets for each stage of life so Excel is critical in planning out a budget and calculating needs. For some of my other classes the games can be really fun and educational. My favorite of the example games was the WWII strategy game that is online. The kids have to come up with a strategy and then test it in the game. The teacher who originally designed the game tested the effects of the game on his classes. The test scores and enthusiasm in the class with the game were overwhelming. Both of these strategies work well with constructionism and will be used in my classes.

4 comments:

  1. Hi Luke,

    The Constructionist learning theory stresses that learning is achieved by making a hypothesis and then exploring possible solutions resulting in a final product. Do your students make predictions as to how their budgets will change as they age on their own? Are they able to recognize patterns within their spreadsheets?

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  2. Danielle,
    Yes the students will have to make predictions on how their budget will work and the amounts that they will need for each section. I will also teach them how to recognize trends in their budgets and then modify them to more accurately reflect their costs. A lot of thought and preparation will go into these budgets.
    Luke

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  3. Luke,

    I think that it is so important for students to learn about budgets and the reality of how much it takes to pay bills. I also do a webquest with my students that is very similar. I have always had my students fill in a budget sheet in the past. This year, I am going to use JLowe's suggestion and have them put the information in a spreadsheet. They will be constructing their learning as they create the spreadsheet and begin to understand that expensive cars and houses require one to have a good paying job. They need to stay in school and work hard to get that great job.

    Have you considered creating a project that would demonstrate the effects of using a credit card such as how long it may take to pay a balance and the amount of interest that would be paid. Students may think twice before wanting to charge up a credit card when they are an adult.

    You are doing a great job helping prepare your students to budget and also for preparing them with 21st century skills that will be used in the workplace.

    Jennifer P.

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  4. Luke,
    This week's resources seem to be completely applicable to your business oriented classes, however I really like that you were interested in the Wii game strategy, too. The is probably not something you would typically do is it? Great ideas!
    Joel

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