Social Learning

Collaboration is something that I encourage in my classroom. High school students want to interact with each other and it’s our place as educators to promote the positive interaction that can take place in the classroom. I currently teach Geometry and Algebra II at a high school in Michigan. In Michigan, our standards of our students have dramatically increased over the past 2 years. Not only do our students have to take 4 years of math, but they now have to get through Algebra II in order to receive a diploma. I find it impossible to teach this material effectively to my students, unless I allow them to work collaboratively.

Every day in my classroom you can see my students working collaboratively. Many teachers that walk past may think that they are just talking with each other about what they are doing on the weekend, but if they were to stick around and actually listen to their conversations, they would find that they are engaged in learning. When my students work together, they only work in groups of 2 or 3, which, according to Pitler, et al., would be considered a group of “manageable size” (Pitler et al., 2007). I find that the students are teaching each other and gaining a deeper meaning of the subject as they work together.

Students are engaged in learning all throughout the lecture given at the beginning of each class. I then allow them to work on their assignments together to see if maybe one of their peers can explain the lesson to someone else in a completely different way in order to get everyone on board with the material. Since the material is now so intense in our classrooms, I find it important that students and I be able to explain or understand a lesson or problem in many different ways.

Lately I have been allowing my students to take pod quizzes which are when they actually take a quiz in groups of 4 or less. I find that these pod quizzes promote “individual and group accountability” and also “positive interdependence” (Pitler et. al, 2007). I have found students discussing problems in a much deeper way just by having the opportunity to work together. They want to succeed and want to make sure that every person in their group knows how to do these problems due to the fact that they do not know what quiz I will be grading. Pod quizzes are a great way to hear your students engaged in learning.

Darcey Kondel

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Voice Thread

This is a Voice Thread in regards to the problems that I am seeing in my own classrooms. The main problem, as you will see, is the new standards that Michigan has put into place for our students.

Constructionism in Geometry

In my high school Geometry classroom, Constructionism can be seen in many of the units. Since Geometry is a very visual subject, it is important to my students learning that they can actual visualize the figures and know how to apply the many formulas that are presented in class. Constructionism allows my students to visualize these figures. Most the units that we cover require the students to create a project to better understand the unit. By creating a project, usually a visual representation of the unit, this requires the student to create an “external artifact or something they share with others” (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009).

Our students complete many projects each year, but the project that corresponds to the resources this week in terms of data collection is the project on solid figures. Solid figures, or 3 dimensional figures, have many formulas that go along with them regarding surface area, lateral area, and volume of the figures. We try to get our students to understand how these formulas are created by having them discover the relationship between these formulas and the area formulas of triangles, rectangles, and other figures that we had been using all year long. Once our have students have come up with the relationship, we then have a computer lab day where they pick a real-life building, usually one that is famous, and calculate the surface area, lateral area, and volume of the building. Although the students are not actually coming up with a hypothesis and conclusion, they are still using “data collection tools” such as the internet, to find the correct information about these buildings (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007).

By using a real-life building, our students can now have a visual representation in their own minds as to what these figures different areas and the volume really means. Once they have done all of the calculations, then we spend a day in class actually building the figures (obviously much smaller than real life). I believe that by actually building these figures, they now are creating a visual for others in the class to see what the figure looks like. On the figure they must also put the surface area, lateral area, and volume of the figure. This allows students to compare their buildings to others’ buildings.

Constructionism is a great way for students to retain knowledge. By creating a real-life model they are gaining empathy towards the subject and discussing the lesson with deeper thoughts.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Bridging Learning Theory, Instruction, and Technology [Educational video]. Baltimore: Author.

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Behaviorism and Technology

Behaviorism can be seen in the classroom more than ever now. The school that I teach at gives students a "Cardinal Code" grade which grades them on their effort in class, responsibility, and other characertistics that can be seen in the classroom. After reading through Ms. Powell's spreadsheet on effort and achievement, I think that our students could calculate their own Cardinal Code grade by entering there scores into excel (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007, p.158). These grades go on our students report cards and many times we have parents concerned about their Cardinal Code grades instead of their academic because these grades show how they perform in a classroom in regards to effort and responsibility.

Homework is very important in behaviorism. Behaviorism encourages reinforcement and punishment which can be found in many different ways (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009). Many times for homework assignments I give positive reinforcement by giving a grade based on completion of the assignment and the effort that was put in. However, I know that feedback is important so I try very hard to give a lot of feedback on quizzes and tests so they can learn from their mistakes and move forward. To reinforce feedback that is not given so much on homework I always recommend our online resources that come with our book. The online resources for our textbook are amazing! We are able to give our students an access code that allows them to access from home the textbook so they do not have to take it home, online quizzes over the sections that we have covered and also online tests. These onlines quizzes and tests give immediate feedback to the students, which is key in the learning of the subject I teach, Mathematics. These web resources allow my students to "practice concepts and skills repeatedly from their homes" which is great for students who do not like to ask questions in class (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007, p.195). Having these online resources available is another way for educators to push behaviorism by using reinforcement, even when we are not available outstide of school hours.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Bridging Learning Theory, Instruction, and Technology [Educational video]. Baltimore: Author.

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.