New Literacy's Reflection

The definition of literacy no longer means just being able to read, write, and regurgitate. Instead, today’s digital-based society requires that participants be able to manipulate, maneuver, and manage numerous sources of information simultaneously in order to construct new meanings (Eagleton & Dobler, 2007). For the classroom, this means implementing New Literacy Perspectives: how to generate questions/problem statements, conduct inquiries, synthesize resources, and share information (Laureate, 2009) to better equip students and educators for transition into the 21st century workforce.

I experienced an “ah-ha” moment when I read Jukes and Macdonald’s 21st Century Fluency Skills list and it occurred to me that just simply utilizing technology in the classroom was not synonymous with teaching 21st century skills. Instead, technology provides a platform by “facilitating the analytical and critical thinking and collaboration championed in the constructivist approach to education” (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007). Teaching students how to use digital devices and their various applications is only a fraction of the skills needed to become web literate. These components are only stepping-stones students “…will need to work with information in all forms to fashion productions that have value, that entertain and teach” (Jukes & Macdonald, 2007).

Like myself, my students tend to do well on an individual basis but struggle to complete tasks when group dynamics are involved. Dr. Leu emphasizes that the development of global communication has made socioculturalism an imperative step in the acquisition of new literacy skills (Leu, Kinzer, Coiro, Cammack, 2004). Knowledge gained relating to stimulating social interaction in my classroom illustrated for me the importance of student engage in collaborative partnerships in both traditional tasks as well as digital-based ones. Utilizing VoiceThread (VoiceThread.com), for example, would be an age appropriate way for me to incorporate new literacy skills and promote social interaction in my classroom. Students can share ideas and thoughts not just within the confines of the classroom but also on a more global level.

In the coming school year, I would like to engage in professional develop using a new multimedia strategy called scrapblog. This” …enables students to create media-rich scrapbooks for the Web that they can share with others and receive feedback” (Oliver, 2008). I will seek out professional development on local and regional levels as well as online collaborations. Working knowledge of applications like BubbleShare (bubbleshare.com), Weebly (weebly.com) Quimble (quimble.com) will enable me to help students actively engage in setting up and participating in our class blog site. By personalizing this project with content that directly pertain to them, my students will be more apt to stay involved and continue to develop skills they can post as achievements.

Additional, I will seek out professional develop that focuses on teaching online etiquette and safety. Since I am on my district’s STEM committee, this will give me the opportunity to build relationships and make connections with other professionals and share my gained knowledge with the staff at my school. The Internet is a potent force that brings about the best and worst of society. Its endless avenues provide outlets for individuals to research, publish, and create within a few clicks of a button. As students discover this world, we as educators need to impress upon them gravity of staying safe, responsible and ethical online (2009).

The needs of the 21st century learner are vastly different from those of previous generations (Jukes & Macdonald, 2007). "We have passed from a smokestack age which was information lean to an age of info-glut and info-garbage" (Coiro, 2003). Therefore, today's students need to become "healthy skeptic[s]" (2007) in order to develop the necessary skills to become articulate and ethical users and producers of online information.

References
Coiro, J. L. (2003). Rethinking comprehension strategies to better prepare students for critically evaluating content on the Internet. New England Reading Association Journal, 39(2), 29–34.

Eagleton, M. B., & Dobler, E. (2007). Reading the Web: Strategies for
Internet inquiry. New York: The Guilford Press.

Jukes, I. (2007). 21st century fluency skills: Attributes of a 21st century learner. Retrieved from http://www.committedsardine.com/handouts/twca.pdf

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Program 4. Teaching Online Literacy Skills. [Educational video]. Baltimore: Author.

Leu, D. J., Kinzer, C. K., Coiro, J. L., & Cammack, D. W. (2004). Toward a
Theory of New Literacies Emerging from the Internet and other Information and Communication Technologies. Theoretical Models and Processes of Reading (5th ed.), 1570–1613. http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com

Oliver, K. (2008, May). Media magic. Learning & Leading with Technology,
35(7), 33–33.

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E.R., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using
Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Personal Learning Theory Summary

Personal Learning Theory Summary
A teacher’s personal learning theory can impact his or her instructional practices in the classroom and directly impact student performance. During my course of study on the theories of learning, I have consistently identified with the behaviorist learning theory that says “[t]he consequences of an act affect the probability of it's occurring again.” (Thinkexist.com). This model for learning validates my previous rationality that if students feel safe, valued, and successful in their learning environment than high expectation will be met and outcomes achieved. It has also become apparent to me that employing social constructivism strategies like authentic assessment, ongoing feedback and recognition are critical aspects in facilitating students’ towards being positive, productive and successful learners.
Immediate Adjustment
Employing strategies that emphasize the usage of nonlinguistic representations into my daily lessons is an immediate adjustment that I can make to my instructional practices. Research has proven that students can make up to a 38-percentile gain when strategies such as kinesthetic activities, concept mapping and images are used in place of traditional instructional practices (Marzano, Pickering, & Pollock, 2001). Two technologies I can incorporate nonlinguistic representations with are Kidspiration (www.inspiration.com) and VoiceThread (http://voicethread.com/#home). Kidsiration’s vocabulary word template will enable my students to create image concept maps to organize information and VoiceThread (http://voicethread.com/#home) will offer my students a platform to share summaries and analysis regarding information gained from these digital images. Utilizing various media strategies in my classroom allows students to further their comprehension of the content through means that are meaningful and relevant.
Long Term Goals
Setting goals that involve structuring student-learning experiences around high interest and developmentally appropriate strategies demonstrates my commitment to learning new techniques that can positively affect my students’ outcomes. The integration of technology into instructional practices is defined by Lever-Duffy & McDonald as the teaching strategies and techniques used to impart content through the use of media (Lever-Duffy & McDonald, 2008). Believing that how students view learning affects their performance, I will make my first long-term goal the incorporation of website based instruction. The students in my classroom often utilize, are instructed though, or assessed using website based tutorial programs. I will facilitate this change by using instructional sites such as Internet4classrooms (www.internet4classrooms.com) or Brainpop (www.brainpop.com)to aid students in building concept connections instead of just regurgitating information. “With the advent of powerful and inexpensive computers, early [computer-assisted instruction] CAI programs have long since evolved into the powerful, multimedia programs available today that entice students to learn and support teacher’s instructional efforts” (Lever-Duffy & McDonald, 2008). The basis for all learning theories according to Dr. Orey is the active engagement of students in their own learning process (Laureate, 2009). My second goal will be to utilize digital means to provide my students with an opportunity to create products that can be shared with others. Using Powerpoint (office.microsoft.com/powerpoint), Jigsaw Classroom (www.jigsaw.org), or iWeb (www.apple.com/ilife/iweb), I will be able to provide my students with the tools to demonstrate and share and demonstrate their knowledge in a format that fits with 21st century skills. As a behaviorist/social constructivist, my future teaching practices need to reflect strategies that enable students to be conditioned through positive concrete learning experiences that best meet their preferred learning modality and challenges their desire to explore other types.
Conclusion
Engaging in effective classroom instruction requires me to employ ongoing reflective practices, which delve into my own beliefs, the data supported theories of others, and the needs of the individual students in my classroom. Closely examining these will enable me to provide students with the optimal learning experience designed to promote and support their development of self-efficacy.


References
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Bridging learning theory,
instruction, and technology. Baltimore: Author.
Lever-Duffy, J. & McDonald, J. (2008). Theoretical Foundations (Laureate Education,
Inc., custom ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc. Chapter 1: Theoretical
Foundations, pg. 2–35
Marzano, R.J., Pickering, D.J, Pollock, J.E. (2001). Classroom Instruction that Works: Research-
Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement. Alexandria, VA: ASCD. Chapter
6: Nonlinguistic Representations, pg. 72-83.
Orey, M.(Ed.). (2001). Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology.
Retrieved on March 7, 2010 from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/

What does the future hold?

A New Twist to Cooperative Learning

The use of “cooperative learning” (Pittler, Hubbell, Kuhn & Malenoski, 2007) as an instructional strategy can have a positive impact on student achievement. “When students work in cooperative groups, they make sense of, or construct meaning for, new knowledge by interacting with others” (2007). This approach supports social learning idealogy that states each individual has the capacity to learn at his or her given level when provided with the proper support (Laureate, 2009). In “cooperative learning” (2007) environments, support is provided through the development of “positive interdependence, face to face, promotive interaction, individual and group accountability, interpersonal and small-group skills, and group processing” (2007). These five components are critical to the success of each individual as well as the group as a whole because they build a sense of community and foster responsibility.

The development of technology has but a new spin on “cooperative learning” (2007) and enabled students to reach out to others all over the world. This new type of learning strategy where technology, social networks, and information come to together is called connectivism (2009). Connectivism allows students and educator to stay connected with current trends and change education from the former rigid tiered learning process to a multi-dimensional sensory experience (2009). Web-enable resources like The Global Schoolhouse www.globalschoolnet.org/GSH/ (2007) and Jigsaw Classroom www.jigsaw.org (2007) offer students and educators the chance at worldwide collaborate with others in order to create an artifact. Helping students make connections and demonstrate articulation of content while part of a team is a crucial part of the social learning theory.

Julie Sorg

References

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Bridging learning theory, instruction, and technology. Baltimore: Author.

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Constructivist at Play in the Technology Based Classroom

A constructivist/constructist learning theory-based classroom utilizes a project centered learning atmosphere to maximize achievement outcomes. “A classroom based on constructivism has many elements that promote a learner-oriented learning environment” (Han & Bhattacharya, 2001) like the ones suggested in “Generating and Testing Hypothese” (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn & Malenoski, 2007). Doing so allow students to apply deductive reasoning skills to the content areas, which in turn require them to explore their own ideas and conduct inquiry, based research.

The resources listed in Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works (2007) had little if any age appropriate applications for my pre-k classroom. Han and Bhattacharya state that “[l]earners don't get ideas; they create ideas” (2007). In my classroom, I focus my students’ learning around sensory-based experiences using student selected themes and hand-on activities. These activities often utilize technology by generating graphic organizers, exploring tutorial programs, visiting virtual field trips and exploring kid friendly web sites. We then use various materials to create murals, art projects, posters, and charts to demonstrate their knowledge. This “…builds on the "Constructivist" theories of Jean Piaget, asserting that knowledge is not simply transmitted from teacher to student, but actively constructed in the mind of the learner” (2007). By having my students create artifacts that they can share with others(Laureate, 2009), I am allowing them opportunity to explore their own perceptions and develop new schemas for understand the content.



References

Han, S., and Bhattacharya, K. (2001). Constructionism, Learning by Design, and Project Based Learning. In M. Orey (Ed.), Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved , from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Bridging
learning theory, instruction, and technology. Baltimore: Author.

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

The Learning Modalities of the Cognitive Learning Theory

The students of today are digital natives and can best be served through multimedia experiences. Technology provides educators with the tools to utilize cognitive learning theory’s premise that “[i]ntegrateing multiple senses in presentation improves learning” (Laureate, 2008). Teaching students strategies like “Cues, Questions, and Advance Organizers” (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski , 2007) and “Summarizing and Note Taking” (2007) help students create a mind map which allows multiple networks to be established for easier retrieval later.

The purpose of Cues, Questions, and Advance Organizers” (2007) is to encourage students think in the higher order through focused and deliberate concept development (2007). Utilizing techniques such as think, pair, & share, Kidspiration (“Kidspiration Supports Success Across the Curriculum,”.2010), and Bloom’s Taxonomy (2007) can help student synthesize information and promote “elaboration” (Laureate, 2008). “By engaging in these activities, learners construct meaning in a way unique to themselves, incorporating the cognitive, emotional, and physical aspects of learning” (Oxendine, Robinson, & Willson, 2004). Therefore, supporting the cognitive learning theory, which states that students will develop multiple avenues for long term memories if sensory receptors are activated.

“Summarizing and Note Taking” (2007) teaches students to discern the critical information from the material presented. Research has proved that individuals are only able to process “+7/-2 pieces of information at on time” (2007), so it is essential that students know how to analyze and make summations of information. Realizing how the sensory registry process data provides educators with the opportunity to instruct students in the most effective way.

Concept mapping and virtual field trips are two additional tools that can be used in the classroom to aid students in developing long-term memory. Paivio’s dual coding hypothesis correlates the positive effect presenting imagery in conjunction with text has on information recall (2007). In tandem, both these strategies enable students to form numerous pathways for information to be cross-connected and embedded.

Cognitive learning theory backs up what most teachers have known for years. Students learn the best when actively engaged in multi-sensory high interest activities. Educating oneself on the learning implications of research-based theories can only create a richer and more rewarding learning environment.

Resources

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Bridging learning theory, instruction, and technology. Baltimore: Author.

Kidspiration Supports Success Across the Curriculum.. (2010). Inspiration software, Inc. Retrieved March 14, 2010, from http://www.inspiration.com/Kidspiration/Details

Oxendine, C., Robinson, J., & Willson, G. (2004). Experiential learning. In M. Orey (Ed.), Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved March 14, 2010 from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Behaviorism: It's all in how you use it.

B.F. Skinner “described learning as a response to events or stimuli and the result of the reinforcement of the response” (Lever-Duffy & McDonald, 2008). Several indicators are present in today’s classroom that indicate the active implementation of the behaviorism theory being still widely used (Laureate, 2009). “Reinforcing Effort” (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn & Malenoski, 2007) and “Homework and Practice” (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn & Malenoski, 2007) are two areas in which B.F. Skinners’ ideology and technology enhanced instructional strategies can be implemented to fosters students’ sense of self-efficacy.
The lack of ability to identify and equate one’s own success to perseverance and diligence (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn & Malenoski, 2007) is a disturbing trend in today’s schools. According to the principles of the behaviorism theory, this trend is due to the lack of immediate and relevant reinforcement. Instructional strategies like computer generated rubrics and progress monitoring charts are according to Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn and Malenoski are several ways to provide students with feedback that can help them track their own achievements. “The instructional strategy of reinforcing effort enhances students’ understanding of the relationship between effort and achievement by addressing their attitudes and beliefs about learning” (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn & Malenoski, 2007).
Additionally, creating “Homework and Practice” (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn & Malenoski, 2007) that “…practice[s] a skill or concept enhances their ability to reach the expected level of proficiency” (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn & Malenoski, 2007). The behaviorist learning theory says “[t]he consequences of an act affect the probability of it's occurring again.” (Thinkexist.com, 1999-2010). Incorporating instructional strategies such Web resources, word processing programs, and communication software into standard based assignments will keep students engaged by applying techniques relevant to the digital age they live, work and play in. “Technology facilitates homework and practice by providing a wealth of resources for learning outside the classroom, making it easier for students to work on collaborative homework assignments and providing ‘drill and practice’ resources that help students refine their skills” (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn & Malenoski, 2007).
Operant conditioning is a widely used as practiced behavior modification strategy (Laureate, 2008). In our society’s educational climate, this practice must be paired with media resources to remain relevant and effective. The many available technology based tools make this option feasible for most and imperative for many.

References
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Bridging learning theory,
instruction, and technology. Baltimore: Author.
Lever-Duffy, J. & McDonald, J. (2008). Theoretical Foundations (Laureate Education,
Inc., custom ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc. Chapter 1: Theoretical
Foundations, pg. 2–35
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using Technology with
Classroom Instruction that Works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Thinkexist.com. (1999-2010). B.F. Skinner Quotes. Retrieved on March 7, 2008. from
http://thinkexist.com/quotes/b._f._skinner/