Reflection

Reflecting upon this course has opened my eyes to the many different learning theories that were dwelled upon. I believe that a well-rounded teacher is able to look at him/herself and see a little bit of each theorist within the classroom. When I first started taking this course, I recognized that I used the multiple intelligences, behaviorist and constructivist theories of learning. I will continue to keep these theories in practice with in my own teaching, but I want to incorporate the study of how information is perceived by the senses and stored as in the cognitive perspective (Lever-Duffy, J. & McDonald, J. (2008). Studying and reflecting upon the cognitive learning theory can enhance my teaching techniques. By doing this I can incorporate more instructional strategies within my classroom to make it an enriching experience for all students.

 

            Some immediate adjustments that I will make in my classroom are to add technology to my lessons. One technology tool that I will use is more word processing applications, particularly with studying letter sounds and words that start with that letter. This technology tool will help benefit my students in showing a nonlinguistic representation followed by the word. Students will begin to make that association of picture to the word. In Kindergarten I do whole group lessons using technology and students are introduced to technology in a non-threatening environment. Another technology tool that I can use is virtual field trips. There are many interactive themes that we spend time on in Kindergarten. By visiting places without leaving the classroom it helps for the students to see why we are learning some of the things that we are and allows them to virtually go somewhere. I want for my students to embrace technology and to feel that technology is where ever they go.

 

            I want to be able to open the lines of communication with parents and include them in my instructional tools. By posting word processing applications onto a wiki and having parents give their feedback onto the board would be very helpful. When parents see what we are learning they are more likely to reinforce that at home.  This is one long-term goal that I have. By setting up a wiki in which parents are informed about I can begin to inform parents about what it is that we are learning. I can update posts everyday or twice a week. Another long-term goal is to use more spreadsheet software in collecting data in order to make instructional decisions. My instruction is based on my data. Looking through some of the resources for class I came across rubrics, graphs, and spreadsheets that I can use to collect the data. There are plenty of resources on the Internet to gain rubrics. I need to decide what it is that I will be measuring and what the long-term goal is. By using Microsoft Excel I can make a spreadsheet using student test scores or letter recognition. This data can be translated into a graph. This way I can choose adaptations towards my instruction and use the data in conferences.

 

            Overall, I feel that I have benefited from this course by reinforcing the learning theories that make up a classroom. Deciding which ones I use and what I want to use is a reflection upon myself and what I find to be most important. Also taking the instructional strategies that I have learned will help benefit each learner in my classroom.

 

 

Lever-Duffy, J. & McDonald, J. (2008). Theoretical Foundations (Laureate Education, Inc., custom ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Voice Thread assignment

Since this week was our last week of school before summer break I wanted my students to reflect on what their favorite Kindergarten memory was. I am hoping to share this voice thread with some incoming Kindergartners in the fall. 

http://voicethread.com/share/526192/

Social Learning Theories

So many students today benefit from social learning theories. From the time that we are small we find that we learn from other individuals, mainly our parents. By the time we get to school our resources for learning expands enormously. We are suddenly surrounded by people who are the same age as we are and a teacher who shows us how to learn. Social learning theories state that we surround ourselves with people to learn from each other and to acquire knowledge. The resources this week provided many examples of social learning theories in practice.

 

A familiar term we hear about is cooperative learning. Cooperative learning encourages students to interact with each other in groups to enhance their learning (Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). This term is used interchangeably with most of our social learning theories because each theory has something in common and that is children learning from each other. I learn from other people just by hearing opinions and expanding my circle or perspective on most issues. This is the theory of connectivism which says that learning is distributed through a social network, technology, or recognizing patterns (Orey, M.(Ed.). (2001).

 

Technology plays such an important role in social learning theories. Allowing for groups to communicate via a computer instead of face to face in every situation. Students can participate in webQuests, KeyPals, and creating web sites. Students I think respond much better to instant gratifying and web created tools. It is amazing to think that students from all over the world can be learning from each other.

 

 

 Orey, M.(Ed.). (2001). Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/

 

 

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