Student-centered instructional strategies Quality teachers

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Student-centered instructional strategies
Quality teachers respect learners Thus, they
rely on constructivist teaching learning
approaches
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Student-centered instructional strategies

• Cooperative Learning, Group Learning,
  Discussions
• Constructivist theory
• Inquiry/Problem-solving
• Discovery learning
• Experiments
• Approach
• What is?
• Whats the focus?
• Whats the teachers role?
• Whats the learner's role?
• What are the benefits?
• How is it structured?
• How might it impact your philosophy/values?

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Constructivism Problem-based learning (chap.
1112)

• What is constructivism?...p. 17, 206 526
• Theoretical support and teaching strategies
  consistent with constructivism p. 399
• What we need to know about problem-based
  learning.p. 402
• Teacher Students roles .. p. 410
• Discussions. p. 429
• Promoting thinking skills 432
• The learning environment.p. 416
• Other items in the rubric will be explored as we
  discuss the above

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Project (PBL)

• Read chap. 11 (Problem-based learning) chap 12
  (discussion) and do the following
• Identify a teaching project/lesson
  plan/activity/topics based on what you know about
  constructivism (Civil war, Writing, Biomes, wind
  energy, food groups, story telling, addiction)
• As you prepare your project, use the knowledge
  gained from Chap. 1112 to answer the following
  questions
• Why did you choose this project?
• What is your (teachers) role?
• What are the students roles?
• What challenges do you think might arise?
• What is your solution to expected challenges
• How might this project influence your philosophy?
• What else (Aha? Confusion?, etc) would you like
  to discuss?

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Constructivism

• Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful,
  committed citizens can change the world. Indeed,
  it is the only thing that ever has Margaret
  Mead

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Constructivism

• Is a theory or a philosophy about teaching and
  learning that supports the notion that
• Learners must be independent thinkers (cognitive)
  
• Learners create their own knowledge
• Learners should be independent thinkers
• Learners expected to understand in addition to
  knowing
• Learners are expected to question, question
• Learners work in teams
• Learning is active student-centered
• Learning is evident is Behavioral change (do)

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Constructivism

• Traditionally, teachers present knowledge to
  passive students who absorb it. No wonder
  students are often bored Orlich, et al, 2007)

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Constructivism

• What is constructivism?
• I cannot teach anybody anything. I can only
  make them think Socrates- 469-399B.C.
• Teachers cant make children learn because
  children learn through problem-solving Ms.
  Linch 11/9/2010

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Constructivism

• Teaching strategies
• Primarily Problem-based such as ..pp. 400
• Discovery learning (Jerome Brunner)
• Inquiry learning (Richard Suchman)
• Reflective/experiential learning (John Dewey)
• Inductive learning (Greeks) that focuses on
• Inductive reasoning specific to general and/or
• Deductive reasoning general to specifics)
• PBL eliminates learners boredom by engaging
  H.O.T.S.

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Constructivism

• The big picture is
• Problem
• Freedom to think
• Respect
• Solutions and developing more problems
• Understanding in addition to knowing
• Creativity

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Constructivism creativity

• Creativity is allowing people to make mistakes
  Nancy Freudenthal, 2007
• The permission and freedom given to our children
  to be creative is the single most important
  difference between American and other education
  system Mike Enzi, 2007

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Constructivism

• There are nine and sixty ways of teaching these
  days, and everyone of them is right Claude M.
  Fuess, 1939

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Theorists Greeks

• SOPHISTS.. Traveling teachers who believed in
  knowledge transmission through lectures and
  modeling.
• SOCRATICS.. Believed learning was an internal
  vs. external experience
• I cannot teach anybody anything. I can only
  make them think Socrates- 469-399B.C.

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1700s Educators

• Knowledge is constructed by the knower.
• Human mind is capable of constructing its own
  meaning- knowledge (Von Glaserfeld, 1993)

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Theorists ..p.399..

• John Dewey 1920s--- Learning should mirror
  practices in a Democracy problem-solving .. (ask
  for their input democracy is messy)
• Children are innately curious went to school..
  We domesticate them
• Thus need meaningful, purposeful and real-life
  learning experiences vs. abstract learning
• Learning should address social and intellectual
  challenges and opportunities
• Reflective thinking

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Theorists

• William Kilpatrick1920s
• A disciple of Dewey
• Supported project-based learning driven by
  learners interests
• Jean Piaget 1950s
• Children are innately curious
• Thus, will explore and investigate their world
  through
• Experiments, Discoveries, Manipulation of objects
  and discussions
• They construct cognitive representations of their
  experiences (schemata)

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Jerome Brunner 1950s

• Father of discovery learning
• Hands-on or active involvement promotes learning
• Learners prior experiences are crucial
• Scaffolding--- learners should be assisted as
  needed (ZPD)

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Richard Suchman..1960s

• Associated with inquiry/ problem-based learning
• Learning should be based on problem (puzzling)
  situations
• Supported
• Active learner involvement
• Inductive (specific to general) thinking
• Discovery learning
• Learner-constructed knowledge

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Lev Vygotsky1970s

• Learning is a product of discrepancies between
  existing and new experiences
• Learning is connective---link of new knowledge to
  exiting knowledge
• ZPDgap between what a learner can do alone and
  with help of others
• Learning is enhanced in a social/team/cooperative
  setting

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Constructivism

• It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken
  joy in creative expression and knowledge
  Albert Einstein- 1879-1955

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Teachers

• Are experts, but they refrain from pouring
  knowledge into learners minds
• Help learners relate new knowledge to existing
  schemes
• Expect knowledge application
• Expect construction of new knowledge
• Are interactive type of questions ..p.434
• Present curriculum from whole to parts
• Seek students points of view

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Teachers

• Rely heavily on primary resources
• Use authentic assessment (interwoven with
  teaching and has a variety of approaches)
• Help learners construct knowledge through
• Inquiry learning (Ask a lot of questions)
• Convergent v. Divergent questions
• Avoid dead-end, chameleon, fuzzy, put-down, and
  programmed answer questionsp.440
• Wait time .. P. 435 (APC)

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Knowledge construction cont..

• Teachers help learners construct knowledge
  through
• Authentic experiences
• Collaborative activities
• Discussions reflections
• Increased participation by
• using U-shaped and circle space..p.441
• Using cooperative strategies such as
  Think-pair-share, Buzz groups, Beach ball, etc.
  p.450

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Constructivist Classroom

• Emphasis on themes and big concepts
• Learners question ideas, concepts, principles,
  knowledge etc.
• Respect for primary resources and manipulatives
• Students are thinkers
• New theories are developed and tested
• Teachers are managers and facilitators

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Constructivist Classroom

• Learners ideas are implemented when necessary
• Authentic assessment is the norm (portfolios,
  exhibitions, presentations, oral discussions etc.
  )
• Team learning is the primary approach to teaching
  and learning
• Five Es (Engage, explore, explain, elaborate, and
  evaluate) are followed.

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Teaching Strategies

• Teaching strategies consistent with
  constructivist theory are problem-based such as
• Discovery learning
• Experimental/inquiry learning
• Classroom discussions/strategic learning

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Constructivist teacher

• Teaching is a process that continues well after
  your first, third, or twentieth year. Its what
  keeps it interesting. Teachers must be thinkers
  and decision makers who take full responsibility
  for their classrooms and students. Its a
  continual search for knowledge. Teaching relies
  on the judgment of its individual practitioners
  its called the art of teaching Kathleen
  Lange, 5th grade teacher in Tennessee

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Learners

• Learn largely on their own through structured
  discovery, experimentation and inquiry learning
• Think for themselves Independent
  self-regulated
• Are respected thinkers
• Knowing is encouraged as a process
• Independent problem-solving problem builders
• Manipulation resources information
• Ask a lot of questions
• Highly involved in their own learning

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Advantages

• Increased
• Self-regulation
• Reading comprehension
• Curiosity and cognition
• Self-esteem and motivation to learn
• Increased H.O.T.S
• Reduces achievement gaps
• Increased knowledge retention
• Preferred by learners (Guthrie et al., 2004)

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Problems/Accommodation

• Time consuming
• Noise level
• Power and control teachers perception
• Culture.. Learners dependence on teachers
• Assessment may not teach to the test
• Individual differences (chap. 2)
• Unsolved problems are identified.

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Lesson Planning

• Planning for constructivism is informed by 5 Es
• Engage
• Explore
• Explain
• Elaborate
• Evaluate

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Lesson Planning

• Using the template provided, please prepare a
  constructivist lesson plan on a topic of your
  choosing
• Please remember to apply the lesson planning
  knowledge already gained in this course.