I have thoroughly enjoyed reading all of the resources for this course over the past few weeks, but I have to say that this week’s reading on Cooperative Learning in Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works (2012), was one of my favorites. It is obvious that cooperative learning and social constructivism go hand in hand. You almost can’t have one without the other. Therefore, I liked this chapter because of all the examples it gave of incorporating technology into a social constructivist classroom.
Vgotsky’s social learning theory emphasizes the importance of social interaction on learning as well as culture and society’s influence on individuals and their construction of knowledge (Kim, 2001, p.2). Social constructivists believe that learning is a social process and that meaningful learning occurs when individuals are engaged and talking (p.2). Vgotsky also believes that every learner needs the input and guidance from a more knowledgeable other to assist in the zone of proximal development (Laureate Education Inc., 2011).
Cooperative learning is an instructional strategy that focuses on having learners interact with each other in small groups to enhance learning (Pitler, Hubbell, & Kuhn, 2012, p.73). Cooperative learning can increase student motivation, academic engagement, and self-esteem (p.73). My goal as a teacher is to encourage and equip my students to be successful in life. “To prepare for the fast-paced, virtual workplace that they will someday inherit, students need to be able to learn and produce cooperatively – both in person and online” (p.74). For this reason, I must afford my students the opportunity to connect and collaborate with peers on projects that require many skills.
There are many ways of integrating technology into the social constructivist classroom through the use of collaborative groups. I love the idea of creating a short movie, building a webpage, publishing a blog, and creating a wiki. These forms of multimedia allow for student communication. Instant messaging, Skype, FaceTime, TypeWith.me, and Google Calendar are also excellent examples of services that allow learners to collaborate and cooperate to learn, regardless of location (p.80). Technology uses such as these have the ability to change learning. When I was in elementary school, the only interaction we had with other learners were the ones we had with our peers in the adjoining classroom at our school. We might have had a pen pal in another state, but that conversation traveled through ‘snail mail’, so it wasn’t very effective. The web has changed education – the way we teach, learn and live.
Resources
Kim, B. (2001). Social Constructivism.. In M. Orey (Ed.), Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved on June 4, 2013, from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/. Retrieved from "http://epltt.coe.uga.edu/index.php?title=Social_Constructivism".
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011). Program eight: Social learning theories [Video
webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Retrieved from http://laureate.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=5700267&CPURL=laureate.ecollegecom&Survey=1&47=2594577&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=0&bhcp=1.
Piter, H., Hubbell, E.R., & Kuhn, M. (2012). Using technology with classroom instruction that works (2nd ed.). Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
It is amazing the tools that we now have at our finger tips. I would never have imagined, as a child, the lessons and the technology I incorporate on a day to day basis. Cooperative learning was a group of students sitting around a table, working together when I was in school.
ReplyDeleteWith the tools we have now, we can collaborate with others that we will never meet or even see their faces, all while we collaborate and create a product. It is exciting to plan the possibilities of collaborative movies, webpages, documents, blogs, etc, as we expose our students to cooperative learning.
Joanna,
ReplyDeleteGreat post! You really summarize all of the options we have available to use now. I was curious about Skype and if you've used it in your classroom or anyone in your school has? We recently tried setting up a Skype session with a local weatherman for our weather unit. Unfortunately, by the time everything was figured out - we were a little too close to the end of the year. We are going to try it again next year. It got me thinking about other possibilities to bring Skype in the classroom. Any ideas?
Thanks,
Brianne
Hey Brianne!
DeleteGreat idea for using Skype! This form of technology really lends itself well to guest speaker situations as well as interviews (like you mentioned with the weatherman).
At this point, I have not used Skype in the classroom. I have only used it for personal purposes. I do plan on using this type of technology in the near future, but to be honest, I will probably use FaceTime on the iPad.