Constructivist Lesson Plan

Constructivist Lesson Plan for Group 4

Constructivist Technology Lesson Plan: Group 4

Lesson Plan: What Is Your Culture?

Grade Level: Third Grade

Created by: Tina Roberts

ACOS Standard	Objective	Procedure	Materials	Assessment
3.14 - Develop and understanding of cultural similarities and differences noted through exposure of multicultural literature.	Students will be able to identify eight areas of cultural significance: food, clothing, shelter, transportation, environment, religious beliefs, art/music and games of a particular community. Students will compare and contrast one other culture.	Students will research a community and identify the eight areas of the cultural. Students will use a Venn diagram to compare and contrast two cultures.	Trade Books, Resource books, internet access, writing materials, markers, and Venn Diagram.	Students were able to identify at least 6 of the 8 areas of cultural significance. Students compared and contrasted two cultures.
3.1 – Use computers for expression. 3.18 – Use appropriate reference sources with assistance for a variety of purposes.	Students will use computers to document information.	Students will create at least one visual product and one written product using the computer. Students will use a chart or spreadsheet to record information used for report.	Computers Search Engines Web sites	Kidpix drawing Spreadsheet or chart
3.20 – Use the writing process with guidance when composing different forms of written expression. 3.21 – Know and apply principles of grammar and usage in writing, speaking, and presenting and apply mechanics in writing.	Students will be able to write a report using writing process.	Students will write a report using correct grammar, and punctuation rules.	Computer, Microsoft word, paper, and/or pencils.	Report typed on word with 80% accuracy using grammar and punctuation correctly.
3.31 - Use computers for expression. 3.33 – Organize and present information in visual, oral, and print format.	Students will present information to class using at least one technology component in the presentation of specific culture. (i.e. Drawing from Kid Pix, word document, chart, graph, table, and or a Power Point Presentation.) Students will present a written report using correct grammar, correct writing procedures and oral presentation.	Students will create a presentation sharing specific culture. Students will complete a written report.	Computers Materials for presentation	Products include drawing on Kid Pix, report on word document, spreadsheet or chart showing information gathered for report.

Lesson Plan Development: What Is Your Culture?

1. The concept I am teaching is for students to identify the similarities and differences between cultures.

2. The lesson is intended for third grade.

3. The Alabama curriculum standards are:

• Develop and understanding of cultural similarities and differences noted through exposure of multicultural literature.
• Describe physical characteristics, including landforms, bodies of water, soil, and vegetation of various places on Earth.
• Use computers for expression.
• Organize and present information in visual, oral, and print format.

4. The learning objectives are as follows:

• Students will be able to identify eight areas of cultural significance: food, clothing, shelter, transportation, environment, religious beliefs, art/music and games of a particular community.
• Students will identify the physical characteristics, landforms, bodies of water, vegetation, present and/or historical landmarks of specific country or state of a culture.
• Students will use computers to document information.
• Students will present information to class using at least one technology component in the presentation of specific culture. (i.e. Drawing from Kid Pix, word document, chart, graph, table, and or a Power Point Presentation.)
• Students will present a written report using correct grammar, correct writing procedures and oral presentation techniques in the form of a story, play, retold story, visual display, poster, cartoon format, or Power Point presentation.

5. The learning approach used in this lesson is the Constructivist Learning Theory and its justifications are as follows:

In the Constructivist Learning Theory Jean Piaget and Jerome Bruner both stressed that whatever gets into the mind has to be constructed by the individual through knowledge discovery. By allowing the students to explore different cultures they are able to construct their own questions and answers. Students are also able to explore the culture which interests them. Bruner states children will understand and remember concepts they discover during their interaction with the environment. Students will do this by researching and asking and answering questions they formulate.

6. Description of computer integration to support the learning approach and its justification:

• Students use the internet to explore the subject of other cultures.
• Students use Microsoft Word to type the report. This allows the student to manipulate the information and to make corrections easily.
• Students use PowerPoint to share the project with other groups.
• Students use spreadsheets and tables to organize the material. This may be easier for students to keep information organized.
• Students use KidPix to create a picture.

7. Procedures

Teacher Activities

· The teacher serves as a guide and a facilitator.

· The teacher introduces the task.

· The teacher presents trade books which allow the students to explore other cultures of interest.

· The teacher guides and facilitates the students by asking questions and allowing students to ask questions about other cultures which will promote student thinking and learning.

· The teacher will identify websites: Possible web sites: Http://www.scils.rutgers.edu/~Kvander/Cultural... Rutland Free Library – History, Geography & Culture

· The teacher will model and guide as necessary using Microsoft Word, Kid Pix, PowerPoint, spreadsheet software, and or tables so students can document and present information for oral and written presentation.

· The teacher elicits daily questions to evaluate student’s thoughts and concerns.

Student Activities

· The students are constructing knowledge through discovery.

· The students are collecting information about different cultures to create concepts and develop principles about other cultures.

· The students are taking responsibility for their own learning.

· Students are developing their own questions about the culture and then seeking the information to solve the questions through investigations using resources, books, internet resources and other reference materials.

· The students are comparing and contrasting other cultures to identify similarities and differences of the cultures.

· The students will manipulate text by editing and revising as necessary.

· The students will use multimedia software to acquire information while researching different cultures. Students will utilize websites listed and find others which are important to answer questions posed.

· The students can collaborate with others in their group using information they found and while putting project together.

· The students can use virtual reality trips to investigate the culture. Students can research significant culture interest such as points of interest, historical sites, games, food, clothing, shelter, transportation, environment, religious beliefs, art/music and games of a particular community.

8. The efficiency of computer integration is used through many projects throughout this lesson plan.

• Students’ research using the internet to explore different cultures. This allows the students to utilize many different types of information more easily than just books and reference material.
• Students’ use the Microsoft Word to type report. This allows the students to type and manipulate the text instead of rewriting by hand. Microsoft Word also assists the students with grammar, punctuation, and writing elements of the project.
• Students’ use PowerPoint, KidPix, spreadsheets and tables to document and share information. Students will use these methods to integrate technology into their project. This assists the students with organization of the research material and it also assist the students in the presentation of the materials in a neat and organized manner.

Wiki Assignment

Wiki Assignment

When viewing an educational problem, it is always easy to assert that schools should do better. Ech individual teacher bears responsibility for this task within the subjects that they teach. Here are two additional approaches:

1. Starting in the earliest grades, help students learn to assess their own work, assess (and learn from) the work of others, to provide constructive feedback to themselves and others, and to take responsible actions based on the assessment information they get from themselves and others.

1. Provide students with private, confidential, self-administered, high quality, interactive self-assessment instruments. The Web is an excellent vehicle for this. Good quality self-assessment instruments also include good quality analysis of the results and information how to make effective use of the informative. Thus, for example, it is easy to determine one's reading speed and comprehension level through use of assessment instruments available on the Web. Some of these sites provide information about how to increase one's speed and comprehension. An alternative approach is to discuss the results with a teacher and get other types of professional advice on how to deal with performances that are not as good as one would like.

My response:

Teachers have the responsibility to assist students in learning how to self assess. Students can learn how to do this as soon as they start writing; this includes pre-writing skills. In kindergarten students draw pictures in response to questions or prompts. In first grade students can begin learning the writing process. Students learn to brainstorm for ideas. Next students state intentions of writing, focus on the subject, develop the idea, organize the information, and then check for the style and mechanics. Of course this sounds very technical for first graders however they can begin learning the process by just writing. Students can also be taught proof reader marks and how to use them. Finally, teachers need to be involved by modeling and conferencing with students. Computers have a great effect on this process. Students as early as first grade can learn to use a word processing format and proof and edit their work. Of course the teacher would need to model this activity. Word processing enables the student to manipulate the text and can they can also use the spelling and grammar checker to proof an edit material. This in itself is a powerful tool. The teacher is unable to get to each student and the computer is a great tool to assist the student in the writing process. The teacher and the student eventually proof an edit so the student can then write the final product. If students are taught to write and self assess their writing at an early age then students are learning to be critical of their own skills. This can only be beneficial for the student.

Learning Theories Group Discussions

Ashley's Comments:

Hey Ladies! Thanks for meeting yesterday at Panera Bread to discuss our final group projects. We are a great team! Remember to have you draft posted by tonight at some point. Also, begin commenting. I will post the first draft Wednesday night! Good luck!

Ashley (Group Leader, Cognitivist)
Michelle (Behaviorism)
Valerie (Social Constructivism)
Tina (Constructivist)

Thanks Ashley.

Fabulous job, Tina! This will be easy for me to work with for our final draft. I modeled mine closely to yours to make it easier! Your the best!
Ashley

Rough Draft Responses:

Ashley you did a wonderful job. Yes, we have a fantastic group of girls in our group. I am very proud to be a part of this group. Everyone attacked their part and it helped all of us to really understand each part. Ashley you did a great job. It is not easy being the group leader. Look at the green underlined sentences and see if you can fix them. It says they are fragmented. Other than that I think it looks great. I believe the format helped each of us to see the similarities and differences better. Thanks for being the team leader. Tina

Hey Tina.... those are not fragments. At least I don't think, that is where I over-corrected the AUTOFORMAT on WORD and it does not LIKE that I did that! So, it is recognizing it as a mistake. Hope that makes sense???

Okay just checking.It makes sense. Thanks. Tina

Do I need to post this again as DRAFT, since I already did once??? I am unsure on how to do this. Our draft is due today!
Let me know what you think!
Ashley

I like Valerie's suggestions.I think our discussion are what she wants and then post the draft as our final if everyone has responded positively. I think it does compare and contrast each of the theories. I think it is organized and detailed. Tina

Post it under the Discussion Board under the Learning Theories Thread. Tina

I believe he believed children learn through constructing knowledge however it also depends on the stage of development they are in. Does that make sense. Tina


Ashley,
You did a great job. I think the rough draft is good. Are you going to put it in order from behavorism, cognitivism, constructivisim and social constructivism. I think that is a good progression. It shows how education has progressed for the better. Even though we use some of these, however I believe most of us in this group use constructivism and social constructivism. Thanks again for a job well done.
I too am going to start my lesson plan on Monday. My student teacher will take over on Monday so I am going to work on this project and three more assignments and I am done. Tina


Hey Ladies! This is going to be the final post if you all do not object. It seems as though you all like it.... this is the working draft that I first posted, then went back and put together another "working draft for April 2nd for "the official assignment"! Let me know if this ok. Also, I am not 100 % positive on what I am supposed to do on the Lesson Plan assignment if you all have an starter thoughts feel free to start posting. :)
Thanks for all your help. Couldn't have done it w/o you!


Ashley,
You did a great job. I like the way each theory follows the same format. I think each question was answered thoughtfully and thoroughly. I believe each theory is explained so we can understand it. Looks good. Tina


Michelle's Comments:

Tina:

Excellent Job! You did a wonderful job defining and then outlining the constructivist theory. I feel this information will be easy for Ashley to format into a final draft. I am going to go in and revise mine so my changes and revision are there for her.

Valerie's Comments:


I agree with Michelle, I'm going to format mine a little differently. I'm a little confused on the cons of constructivism. I didn't think there was that much lecture or one way communication involved. Are there rote learning styles used in constructivism as well?

No that was a con for using the computer for a one-way conversation tool instead of like e-mail or communicating back and forth instead of a lecture. Tina

Thanks! Valerie

Learning Theories - April 1, 2008

I learned a lot from these different theories. The Behaviorist Theory is diffidently different from the rest. It is teacher driven and students learn passively. Cognitivist follow this format but at least it begins to identify the development and growth of a child and this begins to play a role in learning.
Constructivist believe children need to construct their own knowledge. I did not know the term Social Constructivist. However this theory is closer to my teaching style. Social Constructivist believe children construct their own knowledge while working in groups and the teacher serves as a facilitator and one who questions the students to assist them in their learning process. I know this is a brief synopsis of these theories. However I am able to distinguish these more easily.

April 1st Weekly Blog

Principles of Constructivist Learning Theory

Constructivism is the process of constructing knowledge through discovery. Learners are able to comprehend a variety of interpretations and to use each in constructing personal knowledge. Children are able to collect unorganized information and create concepts and principles using the information collected.

Constructivist Learning Theories were developed through Jean Piaget and Jerome Bruner’s learning theories. They both stressed that whatever gets into the mind has to be constructed by the individual through knowledge discovery. Piaget believed children go through stages of development by interacting with their environment. When children confront unknowns, it causes disequilibrium then they respond and fit it into their own view and accommodate as necessary. Bruner believed children learn through interaction with the environment. Children will understand and remember concepts they discover during their interaction with the environment.

Roles of Constructivist Learning Theory

Student Learning:

· Students are actively engaged in constructing knowledge individually or socially. Students also take responsibility of their own learning and are motivated to solve authentic real-world problems. Students use the computer to gather the information, test hypothesis, reorganize the information and create a presentation utilizing higher order thinking skill to the new information acquired. Students are using the new information to build on previous knowledge and to apply new information to concepts and principles.

· Students can use Informative Tools to gather information from encyclopedias and other resources on the internet. Students can gather weather information to identify the characteristics of particular weather events. Students can utilize airline schedules to create a virtual field trip. Students can view latest news and compare and contrast news events from the past and present. Students can research a favorite sport and distinguish the importance of sports in other countries and cultures. Students can also describe other cultures of countries. Students can also research other information of interest and gather information to create a product which relays information learned. Students can then use the information to test hypothesis.

Teachers’ responsibilities:

· They serve as a guide, a facilitator and a coach to assist students in learning. They model various strategies to inspire students to utilize these strategies while gathering and manipulating the information gathered.

Pros and Cons of Constructivist Theory

Pros	Cons
Use to create spreadsheets to keep track of data from an experiment.	Use for one–way delivery of information. (Lectures without interaction)
Use word processors “outline” function to create outlines.	Use to just copy information.
Use to edit and revise text.
Use Synchronous and Asynchronous Communicative Tools.	Use for one way lecture.
Use internet and e-mail.	Use without a purpose.
Use multimedia software to share information acquired while researching a topic or solving a problem.	Use in an instructive manner.
Use for collaborative activities.	Use to study content or memorize.
Use for virtual reality trips. (i.e. zoo)	Use instead of real-life experiences.

Computer Uses of Constructivist Learning Theory

Computers are used to support or facilitate a variety of instructional activities.

1. Students discover the relationship between addition and subtraction concepts.

2. Students use a spreadsheet to keep data from an experiment and manipulate data.

3. Students can edit and revise text. Students are able to move blocks of information around.

4. Students can use Synchronous Communicative tools such as chat rooms, electronic whiteboards, or video-conferencing to communicate with others.

5. Students can use Asynchronous Communicative tools such as e-mail and electronic bulletin boards. (An example of this is how we use our group space on blackboard to interact and comment on each others’ work.)

6. Students can use PowerPoint, Hyperstudio or KidPix Studio to share information gathered and learned by creating a document containing text, sound, picture, or video.

7. Students can manipulate the environment. Students can experience the culture of a remote country by taking a trip a zoo in Africa or a Virtual Reality trip of the Solar System.

8. Students can also use as a tutor to support different instructional strategies.

March 25: Weekly Post

I really enjoyed reading Chapter 10 because it is so pertinent with the ELL student population growth we are experiencing in our schools. I agree strongly with the statement in our text which states "Teachers often feel ill equipped to teach students who do not have a command of the English language." I know I have had several ELL students in the past that spoke no English and were just thrust into the world of English. I used the computer to assist these students with phonics and with vocabulary. Thankfully I had other students who spoke the language and they were able to assist me in communicating with these students. However the computer and its multiple programs and links were so valuable to me in assisting these students. I also had software with my textbooks that read the material to these students in Spanish. This was a link which helped the student to continue learning in their language while learning English.
The Technology Integration Strategies was very informative and the Top Ten list on page 314 gives good explanations of the strategies. Our school lends out the hand held Leapfrog computers to our ESL students.
I believe technology has really aided the ELL population and it has certainly been a beneficial component in my classroom.

Picture Perfect Easter

This is a picture of my husband and I after our lovely family Easter dinner. This year I have allowed my children to help cook some of the traditional holidays foods. It has been nice to have them each bring a dish so that I don't have to spend the entire day in the kitchen.











Here is a picture of all of my children. From left Sara (my son's girlfriend), my son John, my daughter Cassie her husband Eric and my grandpuppy Luke.