Wednesday, June 20, 2007
To build or not to build...
I had never heard the term constructivism prior to this class. I knew there was 'more than one way to skin a cat' but it had not occurred to me to let students come up with their own methods. This way makes more sense to me though because I can come up with a hundred ways to solve something but there will always be another way maybe your way. I can see how allowing them to struggle cognitively will force them to ask more questions. With these questions, no matter who is answering, they will build understanding. I think the saying 'necessity is the mother of invention' is most relevant here. In the classroom, I would envision students communicating with each other only involving the teacher if absolutely necessary. The sense of accomplishment that would come from gaining understanding their own way would create an empowerment that would translate throughout their classes and experiences. However several issues arise with this new method of teaching. You have to combat student apathy. They've been programmed to wait for you to give them the answers which may make it challenging to have them take responsibility. Also, there has to be assessment that can be quantified. This can prove challenging if the lesson was learned in a non-traditional way. That means the assessment and grading must be non-traditional too, right? This is where its gets fuzzy for me...
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3 comments:
With regard to assessment...Most counties provide test prep books for the CRCT and often your textbook will have some. When you look at those problems, they should be similar to the ones that you are using to assess your students. These prep books lack drill and kill questions, instead they have depth, rigor and often multi-step. They will probably be very similar to the task you have been using daily with your students. With this in mind, assessment doesn't seem like such a beast.
You are getting it too. If we use the Georgia Professional Standards, as our lesson plans, and the lesson plans are engineered to facilitate problem solving strategies learning will/should occur. Being optimistic I think the students will want to participate and get involved; however, the problems have to connect with the students. I am still asking the same questions about developing the rubrics.
I can definitely agree with you when you mentioned the way to assess a more hands on lesson would pose a challenge at this point. However, I think as we begin to put the constructivist model into action we will be able to develop ways to assess students that are fair and just. All of us (our blog team) have some of the same concerns but we all can agree that there is definitely relevance in the constructivist method. The since of accomplishment and empowerment for students can also occur for us as educators as well. We have to be constructivist as we enter new territory in the class room and try this new approach to teaching.
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