Hello, it’s Timothy Hunnicutt here again. We have now completed week 6 in our
class. Once again, I am going to discuss
the weekly readings and discussion for EDAT 6115. This week, the reading and discussions came
from Chapter 8 from Robert E. Slavin’s (2012) book, Educational Psychology (10th edition). The readings and discussions were focused
on instruction that involve student-centered activities and constructivist
approaches (Slavin, 2012).
The chapter
begins by explaining that “constructivist theory sees learners as constantly
checking new information against old rule and then revising rules when they no
longer work” (Slavin, 2012, p. 218).
Furthermore, the chapter teaches instructional practices where the students
engage in “top-down processing” (Slavin, 2012, p. 243). I really connected with this idea and try to
use it my classroom. When teaching
persuasive writing, I will present a topic to students and have them discuss
their viewpoint on the topic. I will use
questioning, a technique discussed in the text, to ask students to explain
their view point. After having the
discussion, I will then begin to teach students the basic steps to creating a
valid argument for a persuasive paper.
Another method that I use to teach top-down learning is with
comprehending unknown vocabulary. I may
present an unknown vocabulary word to the students in context. I will ask students if they can identify the
definition of the word. Afterwards, we
will discuss how to use context clues to find the meanings of unknown
words. The top-down approach asks
students to participate in trying to perform more difficult tasks while
discovering basic skills and proper background knowledge while completing the
task (Slavin, 2012).
Discovery
learning and scaffolding are other instructional styles the fall under constructivist
learning methods (Slavin, 2012).
Discovery learning asks students to work individually to try and figure
out difficult learning concepts. I agree
with Slavin (2012) in that it is important for students to become
self-regulated learners. By using the
discovery method, students are forced to develop self-questioning and personal
creativity to figure out methods of comprehending and applying new skills
(Slavin, 2012). I use this approach a
great deal when having students write essays or find the different meanings and
literary elements of literature. In
combination with discovery methods, Slavin (2012) also suggests the use of
scaffolding in the classroom. This
approach permits more instructor involvement with lessons. The instructor might assist the learners
during the course of the assignment and release responsibility to the students
in carefully planned increments (Slavin, 2012).
I use this approach a great deal with individual or group projects. I may begin by helping students get started
on projects, but I will turn over responsibility to the students as the
assignment progresses.
The chapter
also discusses cooperative learning techniques.
This is where students assist one another in groups discovering new
concepts (Slavin, 2012). This is a
practice that I use a good bit in my classroom.
I like to have students of varying learning levels engage in group
work. This allows lower-level learners
with the opportunity to receive assistance from peers in learning new
concepts. It also allows higher-level
learners the opportunity to teach and model learning styles for peers. Furthermore, this concept teaches group
members to be responsible for one another (Slavin, 2012). I believe this is a valuable tool in teaching
the students social responsibility.
The chapter
closes by discussing problem-solving and thinking skills. Slavin (2012) discusses the IDEAL approach to
problem-solving: “identify problems and opportunities, define goals and
represent the problem, explore possible strategies, anticipate outcomes and
act, and look back and learn” (Slavin, 2012, p. 236). I use this approach in many areas of
classroom, but it mainly used with identifying literary elements of a
text. I may also use the creative
problem-solving approach when having students create an essay, especially
persuasive essays. The creative
problem-solving approach involves incubation (having students think about
problem), suspension of judgment, appropriate climates (encourage students to
be comfortable with their ideas), analysis, engaging problems (this can include
the concept of counter-arguments to a viewpoint, and instructor feedback (Slavin,
2012). Thinking skills are essential to
students becoming active learners. I use
thinking skill strategies in my instruction.
I use a good deal of questioning with my students so that they have to
think deeper about a concept. Also, I
incorporate thinking skills like the identification of assumptions and
distinguish deceptive information, especially when teaching argumentative
essays and author’s purpose.
The weekly
discussions for the class revolved around student-centered instruction. I agreed with many of classmates’ views that
the hardest part of student-centered instruction was relinquishing control of
the assignment. Many of my peers
discussed the inherent fear in having behavior problems or inadequate
comprehension of concepts. Furthermore,
the discussions seem to be centered on the necessity for effective planning as
it pertains to student-centered instruction.
The idea of the instructor carefully preparing the lesson’s objectives
and picking effective groups was a common thread in the discussion on how
student-centered instruction should be conducted. Most everyone agreed that student-centered
instruction was a valuable instructional tool.
In my
opinion, the concept of student-centered instruction means that students learn
best when they are asked to find their own ways of learning new material. The students can use constructivist approach
to figuring out complex problems and learn the basic skills of the problem as
they initiate their own learning styles.
This is an approach that demands student participation and requires
students to become actively involved in the educational process.
I am very
much in favor with the ideas of student-centered instruction and constructivist
approaches. I feel that these
instructional practices are valuable in preparing students for life after
school. I believe that one of the problems
of educations is that it has depended on the teacher to deliver knowledge and
taken away ownership of learning from the students. I feel that the most proper way to reform
education is for students to accept responsibility as self-regulated
learners. I am pleased that educational philosophy
is shifting more towards the student taking ownership of his/her educational
progress.
As
mentioned earlier, I believe that student-centered learning and constructivist
approaches have many positive aspects.
For one, teachers move into the role of facilitator and take on less of
a role as lecturer. This will help to
enhance students’ problem-solving skills, which will be helpful throughout
their adult lives. Also,
student-centered instruction and involves a good bit of cooperative
learning. As citizens, students should
become engaged in practices that require that they work with others. It is important for students to learn and
teach peers how to properly complete a task.
Once again, these are lessons that will serve the students well throughout
their lives. Although student-centered
instruction is beneficial, it has some possible negative outcomes. If an instructor does not plan well or lacks
control of the classroom, student-centered instruction could lead to a lack of
student participation or behavioral problems.
Without proper supervision, some students may use student-centered
instruction or cooperative learning lessons as a chance to “take a break” from
learning or “goof-off” with peers. It is
important that the teacher properly supervises and plans effective grouping to
avoid these problems. Another possible
negative outcome of student-centered instruction is a sense of confusion or
frustration by students. If students are
not properly prepared with prior background knowledge of concepts, they may
feel that they do not know how to complete an assignment. It is essential that students are properly
prepared so that they can effectively conduct student-centered lessons. This may call for some forms of direct
instruction where the teacher controls and directs the delivery and acquisition
of learning concepts. Thought these
negative outcomes are worth noticing, I believe that the positives of
student-centered instruction outweighs the negatives.
The concepts
of this week’s readings and discussions confirmed my beliefs that it is
essential for educators to put more of an onus on student involvement to properly
learn new education concepts. I am
currently involved in trying to set up a career academy within our school. The principles discussed in this chapter are
the very arguments that my colleagues and I have presented to
administration. I believe that educators
must give students control of their own learning so that they are properly
prepared to enter post-secondary education or the business world. Furthermore, the weekly discussion helped
reassure me that my fears and concerns about how to properly conduct
student-centered lessons are shared by my peers. It is always helpful to know that one is not
alone in their fears and concerns as an instructor.
Overall, I
greatly enjoyed this week’s readings and discussions. The material that was covered applies to
ideas that I have been trying to present in the creation of our school’s career
academy. It was nice to read about
researched methods and educational ideas that could be used to support our
goals. Thank you for reading my thoughts
and I will share with you again next week.
Slavin, R.E.
(2012). Educational psychology: Theory
and practice (10th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education
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