Today, I had my students go on a virtual field trip of the human body and then outline their thinking at bubbl.us, just like we did last week in this class. The result was amazing!! The student on an IEP learned that everyone had lungs, while the student that attends gifted classes learned that the esophagus is part of the digestive system.
Today was a great example between constructionist. As Dr. Orey stated in this weeks video constructionist is based on letting your students BUILD something. I was letting my students explore and build their own web, therefore letting them learn what they wanted to learn about the human body and what their minds were ready to learn. The key to constructionist is TRUST. You must trust your students to learn what you would like them to learn. You must TRUST yourself that you can guide them to learn what they need to learn. You must TRUST yourself that you will let go of the control and let the students go where they want to go.
This type of learning lenses itself very easily to technology because technology lets students build on their own and discover their own thinking and learning. Students can explore web sites and use the online tools to construct their own thinking. I am excited to be a teacher in this day and age because students are growing more and more everyday. I am learning so much from them everyday. Everyone in our class is a teacher and a learner!!
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Amy,
ReplyDeleteI think you touched on something very important in your post regarding trust and control. As teachers, we are so conditioned to "be in control" that it is very hard to let go. I have 8th graders and it takes a lot of training for students that age. Some don't trust themselves and are paranoid about their grades and focused on getting the ONE correct answer. Those students want you to tell them the right way to do it immediately. Then there are your other 8th grade students who don't seem to care that much and I find myself questioning whether or not I trust them to get the work done. Very good point!
Glad your lesson went well!
Hi Amy,
ReplyDeleteI too think that you have made a great point about trust and control. I had not given much thought to the role those aspects played. Giving up control is huge. Our new semester began this past week and for the first time instead of me going over all of the rules, expectations of behavior etc. the entire class developed a social contract and then we all signed it. I know that I have been resistant to doing this before because 'it is my classroom, and I am in charge', but I can truly say that by allowing my students to create their own social contract I feel more in command now than ever before, it is not 'me and them' it is 'us'. I feel a greater sense of pride in my students and I now trust that they are all taking responsibility for the classroom environment. Although this is not a lesson in Fashion & Clothing, it certainly is a lesson that will help my students take more responsibility for their own learning and to top it off I also learned so much.
Hi Amy,
ReplyDeleteWere students able to build their concept maps without much help? I imagine choosing the topics for nodes would not be difficult but finding connections to other nodes may be challenging. I know that part was difficult for me since I am not used to thinking that way. Did students seem to develop deeper learning by creating the outlines?
I did show them a little about the concept map and then gave them the top bubble. Then asked them to go on the virtual field trip of the human body and put the body parts that they found under the correct system in our body.
ReplyDeleteI have been amazed at the outcome of this activity. Students are learning so much more than I would have ever thought of and they are working on it at home. Yesterday I had a parent call and tell me that they were learning by helping their son.
It is so much fun!!
Amy
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like a fantastic lesson! I agree with the other posts about giving up control. It's so difficult for teachers to give up control of the classroom and let students "learn" without direct instruction. I can remember a teacher that I had who used to become visibly upset when we would start to learn without him having a "say" in it. As a result, most found his class boring and dull. I think the constructivist theory definitely correlates with activities that students enjoy and want to complete. Would you agree with us, or do you find that students "shy away" from constructivist activities?