Some constructivists believe that meaning is only in the mind of the knower, an individual experience; while others defend that there's a social component to knowledge, a cultural knowledge. Based on your readings of the four chapters, take a stand for what you believe is the right or best position. Justify your answer with arguments from the readings. GROUP 3: Don't forget to post your questions. ALL: choose one question from group 3 to answer as well.

-- Anonymous, October 04, 2000

Answers

I am only printing the question at this time.

-- Anonymous, October 06, 2000

I believe that learning is a very individual experience, which has social and cultural influence as well as influences from many other places. Learning With Technology says that student learn from thinking. Thinking, in my eyes is a very individual process. A student will interpret things very differently in his/her mind, than another student in the classroom, even if they come from very similar social/cultural backgrounds. Learning With Technology, says that, Meaning making is prompted by a problem, question, confusion, disagreement, or dissonance...and so involves personal ownership of that problem. Not every student will have the same degree of personal ownership of a problem. This not only changes the way they think about the problem but also changes the degree of involvement. Every student will be inspirited, confused, and intrigued by very different things, which will change the way each of the students choose to learn and so in turn, it will change the way in which the students learn.

-- Anonymous, October 07, 2000

Judy Irizarry October 4, 2000 P. S. 43 10:25 AM

The school in which my observation was done does not use computers tied in the curriculum because they do not have computers for every child. The computers that are in the class are used in center time. Children will go two at a time to this center when they are done with the work that is being taught at the time. In the computer center the student will review and practice what they learned during instruction.

I observed a third grade bilingual class, the teachers name is Ms. C. At the time of the observation the teacher and the class had just read a story in the reading book. Due to the fact that the majority of the students have poor writing skills, the teacher had to give a lesson on how to write a book report. The children already may have known about title and author but they needed further instruction on characters, plot, setting and solution. They especially were a bit confused with plot and setting. The teacher very thoroughly explained and they finally understood. Ms. C used other books they have read as an example to review. She asked them question about who the story was about and what had happened and what was the solution. This is what the student followed to write their reports. This is a class where most of the children are below grade level so there will have to be more reviewing before they will be able to do their work on their own. After this lesson the students who do well on their reports will go to the computer and practice on lessons of reading comprehension. Once the report lesson is officially done, the teacher then will do art time. The students then will draw a picture of their favorite part of the story and will write a small paragraph under the picture explaining that specific picture.

Speaking to Ms. C. about technology in the classroom, she stressed on how wonder- ful it would be to tie in computers as part of her instruction. In reality she said it is just a shame that in the community that she works in there are not enough computers for every child so that it can be part of the curriculum.

-- Anonymous, October 07, 2000

I believe that meaning making is an individual experience. Making decsions come from a world wide experience, some from past and personnel experiences. This allows for students to think back into the past and try to develop another way of solving the problem.Providing the right amount of space and techonoly enhances that procedure.Students have to ask themselves questions, develope designs,collect data to foster meaning making descions.Theses are methords of students making their own interpations of a given learning task.

-- Anonymous, October 07, 2000

I observed in a, RCT class , there were 6 students. The class lesson was on, The Road To Independence. I obsersed a student working on the coumpter. He was typing out a report that he had done on the, French and Indian War. He explained to me that he first, read the chapter and then he wrote out his paper. Then he will teach it to the class. His report was reveiwed by the teacher before typing.Each student will be expected to teach a lesson to the class. It is their chose to type ie if they want. The teacher also went over the vocabulary words and some other points of intrest.She also went over the homework assignment related to the chapter. The aim was, To understand the History and Constitutional Foundation of The U.S. since 1865. The class reviewed a poem by, Langston Huges entitled, I Too. THis poem talked about the Harlem Renaissance period. I feel that this student will benifit from using the coumpter. He was able to tell me how to get in/out of different windows and to print out his work .The teacher's name is Mrs. Fobbs and the school is, Manhattan H.S. P.35. On this day I was just an observer,but was told by the teacher that I could get involved . I did however ask the stunedt, Brian questions about what he was diong.

-- Anonymous, October 07, 2000

How can the individual experience of a child in a city be the same as of a child on a farm? A childs knowledge is about his/her experience from their life in the country or city. Therefore the experiences are different and so the social and cultural components will direct them to learn differently. The idea of Constructivist learning environment became beneficial only when the social, regional and cultural background is considered. Therefore I believe that meaning is only in the mind of the knower, but the learning experiences used to construct" the mind of the knower involves a social component to knowledge, a cultural knowledge, and that should be considered too. In addition in Jonassen, Peck and Wilsons book, the meaning and thinking,are distributed throughout our tools, culture and community... which are different in the various parts of this country Even in the United States the cultural, regional, or social base is the determinant of how the child will learn. Therefore, as Brent Wilson explains it in Constructivist Learning Environments, it is ...how a learner knows... rather than ...what a learner knows... It is in terms of his/her environment that the creation of realistic and relevant activities requires a detailed understanding of the related cultures facts. .

-- Anonymous, October 08, 2000

I believe that all knowledge (meaning)is constructed and based upon not only prior knowledge but also the cultural and social context. For example, what is true in one time and place--such as the "fact" before Columbus's time that the earth was flat becomes false in another time and place. Constructivists are not concerned with accurate "true" representations of the world, but only with useful constructions. Social constructivits affirm Vygotsky's notion that learning is inherently social and embedded in a particular setting. I feel that learning in the real world is not studying in school. It is more like an apprenticeship where novices, with the support of an expert guide and model, take on more and more responsibility until they are able to function independently. Therefore, I believe that learning can take place in factories, around the dinner table, in high school halls, in the business office and in playgrounds. Because learning takes place in a social situation, the norms of the group and the identity of the individual in the group must be considered.

-- Anonymous, October 09, 2000

On October 4 and 6th 2000, At south Jamaica Center for Children and Parents Inc. I observed the teachers and children in Class C". All play areas in the classroom was identified with large bold letters, for example COMPUTER AREA. There were two computer in the classroom. Class C" is a Pre-K intergrated class with children with a disability. The class is made up of children with different culture, India, Spanish, South America, Caribbean and African American. There were two certified teachers , one for the special needs children, and a teacher for the children that is not a part of the special need program. Also the class has two assistant teachers. I observed the children sitting at the computer. at times two children would sit and take turns playing at the computer. The teachers were using the computer to develop eye hand coordination. also sharing and taking turns, because there were times when two would sit together. The children were learning colors by mixing paint to make new colors, as the colors would mix the computer would tell the child would color was made. The school us the Highscope curriculum. therefore all activites are open end. There were 18 children in the classroom . I asked the head teacher Mrs Crutch how did she feel about teaching through technology, and she stated that, Technology enhance the childreskills. Therefore she felt hands on is also needed to reinfores the activity on the computer.

-- Anonymous, October 09, 2000

Kathleen Bonner October 6, 2000 P.S. 203-Brooklyn Time Required: One 45 minute class period for prewriting and writing a first draft Two periods on computer per student or pair

I observed an elementary 5th grade class with 24 students. The teacher admitted that she was faced as she put it with an all too typical set of somewhat contradictory demands: improve students knowledge of social studies, their ability to write and use reference skills and to become literate at the same time. She had only eight computers. Along with the help of the schools computer coordinator, she was able to put together a social studies unit built around the computer simulation program Where in the World Is Carmen San Diego. The subject areas addressed for this lesson included Language Arts, Social Studies and Geography. Some of the concepts and skills students used were basic knowledge of the computer, experience playing one of the Where in...is Carmen San Diego geography software games and Keyboarding, creative thinking, research and writing. The class was divided into groups of 3 (per computer). Some additional materials used were atlases, wall maps and almanacs. The unit began with the whole class playing the game as it was presented on a large monitor, taking turns practicing the note-taking and other fact-finding skills that would be useful in successfully capturing the criminal. The teacher told me after several days of guided instruction in using reference materials to unravel the clues that appear in the game, students pair off and, as a team, continue working with the program. Task: Have students decide where they would like to go in the world, explain why they want to go, and describe what they will find when they get there. Students will be taught how to use a graphics program to design a sign with their travel information on it. These signs will be presented on a bulletin board display. Students will then complete a Student Activity Sheet based on their research to be presented to the class.

-- Anonymous, October 09, 2000

I believe Social and cultural componets are one of the major componet in constructivist learning. It also depends on the individual as to how the learning in interpreted. their minds create meaning from their construction of concepts about reality. some students come from different culture, which could mean they will more than likely interpret knowledge different. Students obtain knowledge from their environment. There constructists is learning experiences in which student often work collaboratively to recieve and expand their knowledgebase. When using technology students will interpret a problem of information different because of the way they think.

-- Anonymous, October 09, 2000

Elizabeth Connors P.S. 140 Forth Grade 8:30-12:00 I visited a fourth grade classroom with twenty-six students. The classroom had five computers but only four of them worked. The teacher had the computers organized into a computer center. The bulletin board behind the center had a computer theme and various CD- ROMs were displayed for the students to choose from. The students have a 90-minute an independent reading period every morning. During this time the students must be reading something. The students have a choice of reading alone or with a partner or work on the computer. The computer option is new to the classroom. Previously during this time the students could only read conventional books or poems. The teacher explained to me that the computer option is part of a literacy program her class was selected for. A reading specialist will be coming in and working with her and her class to develop and broaden the reading program. The reading specialist will have the students working in stations and the computer will be one of them. He recommended allowing them to work on the computer independently during reading time. This is to introduce the format he will be working in and as literacy experience. The teacher told me she was hesitant at first because without a specific task the students are likely to look up Brittany Spears or go to the MTV web page. The reading teacher told her to let them. The information they were finding involved finding articles, reading, and processing information. I never realized how much you could learn from MTV. Although, he makes a good point and I believe he is correct. A rich literacy environment involves many things. School age children have many interests; reading about their individual interests is a great way to make reading fun and meaningful. Technology can be used as a tool to enhance the learning process. The computers and the Internet are the most practical source for all the up to date trends. It allows the students to select points of interest, which allows the reading to be meaningful and to be used for a real purpose. We are demonstrating in this process the practical and meaningful aspect of the written word. If we succeed in this process we are encouraging our students to become life long readers. Technology gives teachers the tools to reach a broader range of students. Using technology in the classroom can be and essential tool in an inclusive setting. We as teachers may be able to reach a reluctant reader by encouraging him or her to read various forms of the written word. For example we may encourage him or her to look up a baseball article in the New York Times web page. Technology allows us as teachers to have these essential resources at our fingertips.

-- Anonymous, October 10, 2000

I agree that for meaning to truely exist it must be in the mind of the knower. I also believe that a social, cultural component does play a part in meaning. A indiviual is a product fo his culture and social experiences. The individual takes with him his exosure to social cuture and through these experiences he can develop layers of meaning. Constructionists believe in using this prior knowlege to develop meaning. The job of the facilitator is to allow the student to broaden the social and cultural componets and develop their own meaning.The facilitator does this according to Wilson by activly playing the role of a mentor. The role of mentor allows the student to develop meaning as oppose to the teacher telling the student the meaning.

-- Anonymous, October 10, 2000

Meaning for any given individual can be totally different from the other.Each individual uses his/her prior learning experience to interpert and comprehend the materials differently. Each culture and family has it's own ideas and thoughts on how to process information that it receives, be it from listening, reading or modern-day technologies like the computer. Each child in the classroom is also an individual who processes the information differetnly. Some children are sight learners, where as others are vocal learners. Each teacher looks for that in each child to help her construct the best lessoon for the class. Constructivists believe that knowledge cannot be transmitted by the teacher to the student. But at one point it can be. The teacher can accomplish this by sharing her knowledge with the class in a fun and entertaining way. She can make it feel like a journey or storytelling or even like a book. The student absorbs the information and then processes it his own way. He does this with his prior learning experience, his life and the very moment that he is learning it. Everything depends on the individual and his life. To say that one thing is right and the other wrong is just not right. Everybody learns at different levels and degrees. You cannot just say that one method of learning should be used for all, that is not possible. All aspects of our lives play a big factor in the learning process; economic, social and ethnic. One helps the other in learning. One thing is important, that we should always have our hearts, ears and minds open to learning. What we learn today can or will be useful tomorrow.

-- Anonymous, October 10, 2000

Overall, I enjoyed my readings. Actually I found Constructivist Learning Environments to be the better of the two. Quite honestly, I am very new to the concept of technology in the classroom. It is in fact an excellent compliment to lessons. I agree with the fact that technology should not be the "teacher" but in fact an "assistant" if you will. I believe that it does encourage creative thinking and it allows students to have a greater range of access to all the information out there.

-- Anonymous, October 10, 2000

I believe that an individual's experience is the best learner one can have. Cultural and social knowledge is a persons first learner beside's parents. Although I do believe that by working in a group and having a variety of knowledge can only benefit a person more by each individual's input. These two factors in my opinion needs to be combined to be successful.

-- Anonymous, October 10, 2000

People do learn from their own experiences, sometimes that is the only way to learn. For me that is it! That is how I learn; By failing and then getting up. For others working in groups collabratively that i the best for them. It depends on the student, get a fell for your students. Before we can learn from any one we need to learn and get to know ourselves.

-- Anonymous, November 27, 2000