EDLD+5364+Wk+1+Discussion

EDLD 5364 Week 1 Discussion "//Technology is not the key to the learning experience Elizabeth's students enjoy, just the infrastructure that makes her efforts productive and sustainable. The key to an effective learning experience is the student-centered, meaningful, and engaging experiences Elizabeth provides, all based on constructivist theory//" (Sprague & Dede, 1999, p.16). The article "Constructivism in the Classroom, If I Teach This Way, Am I Doing My Job?" voiced the questions that have come to mind on many occasions. Constructivist theory emphasizes that students make sense of the world by synthesizing new experiences into what they have previously understood. The video by John Abbot on Building Knowledge: constructivism in learning further explains this theory by describing how learners build their knowledge upon previous information they had already acquired (Abbott, 2008). The article compared the teaching styles of a traditional teacher and one who practiced active student participation with various forms of technology which required searching for facts to develop projects which ultimately assisted students in stronger retention of information.

Elizabeth's use of the PDA in the classroom allowed her to make notes on student progress as well as notes to aide in assisting or enhancing curriculum development as she interacted with her class. Active student participation has proven to be a stronger teaching tool than straight lecture with note taking. As long as an educator can direct participants to stay on track (by staying engaged with the students) and present questions that are applicable to their lives as well as the core project requirements, more rewarding results will emerge. The only noted drawback by Abbott was that constructivism is incapable of predicting outcomes of learning.

Sprague, D. & C. Dede, Learning & Leading with Technology,"Constructivism in the Classroom If I Teach This Way, Am I Doing My Job?, 1999, 27(1).