Constructivism in Practice

When students generate and test hypotheses, they are engaging in complex mental processes, applying content knowledge like facts and vocabulary, and enhancing their overall understanding of the content (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007, pg. 202). This strategy very easily allows educators to create project-based, problem-based, or inquiry-based approaches to student learning. Technology plays a vital role in this specific strategy as it permits students to spend more time interpreting, and analyzing data rather than gathering the data – a process that can be tedious and error prone (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007, pg. 203). Students can use what they learn about the data to build presentations to share with others.

With the use of the technology students can create artifacts in order to resolve their disequilibration (Laureate, 2009) by making assimilations or accommodations to their current beliefs and understandings. Students are more likely to learn or modify a concept by a hands-on activity verses the chalk and talk. Using the constructivist/constructionist learning theory approach it provides an engaging learning environment which will increase motivation and lead to retention in learning (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007, pg. 213).

By using project-based, problem-based, or inquiry-based approaches it allows student-centered learning to take place in your classroom rather than teacher-center learning. From the time we learn to walk and say our first word while growing up it is a student-learning environment all around us. We learn everything we know by exploring and building on our equilibration by accommodating or assimilating our understandings of the real-world concepts. We as educators need to use that approach in our classrooms to allow our students to build their own stuff that will eventually make them responsible and successful in the future. The strategies discussed in this week’s resources are tools that will allow our students to construct their own thoughts and ideas with the help of us teachers facilitating rather than showing or doing.


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.

Cognitivisim In Practice

After watching the DVD on Cognitive Learning Theories, I learned that cognitive learning is broken up into three stages. First is the sensory stage which information is received by the brain. Second, if the information is attended to it will make its way to short term memory. Finally, if the information is rehearsed enough it will make it the entire way to long-term memory (Laureate, 2009). When students are given new information their brains can only process seven +/- 2 pieces of information at once (Laureate, 2009). This week in our textbook we looked at two instructional strategies that will help educators stay aligned with the process of learning new concepts.

The first strategy we read about was “cues, questions, and advance organizers.” This particular strategy focuses on enhancing students’ ability to retrieve, use, and organize information about a topic (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007, pg. 73). The concept map is a very powerful tool for this particular strategy as it help students organize and make connections from their previous knowledge to what they are about to learn. Technology too can be another tool used with this strategy which takes this to a whole new level as students and teachers can use Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc. to create well-organized, visually appealing organizers (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007, pg. 74). The concept map and technology tools assist teachers in quickly capturing student responses and organizing the responses into useful information (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007, pg. 75) that will be processed and moved into long-term memory.

The second strategy we read about was “summarizing and note taking.” This strategy focuses on enhancing students’ ability to synthesize information and distill it into a concise new form (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007, pg. 119). Teachers’ help students take information and state it in their own words in order for it to make sense to them. From here it will be easier for students to process the information and put into their long-term memory. Technology can also be of assistance to students with the strategy. Microsoft Word is an excellent source in which it can help students with summarizing a passage from a book or even their notes they take during class. It will pick out the key concepts for them and even pull out redundant sentences only keeping the important information the students need to know. Concept maps are another great tool for this strategy in which again, it will make connections for the students to their prior knowledge.

Both of these strategies can also be an asset to one’s cognitive learning by allowing the students to physically see the connections to the information they are learning or talking about in their classroom. As Dr. Orey says “images are powerful tools” (Laureate, 2009).


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.

Behaviorism in Practice

The first instructional strategy, reinforcing effort, allows students to see immediate feedback on their effort put forth in class. This 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, pg. 155). Ms. Powell and Mr. Rodriquez wanted the students to see a correlation between their effort and their achievement on tests and quizzes. Students made charts from their excel spreadsheet which gave them a visual of how successful they were. By looking at the chart, students can clearly and immediately see the relation between their effort and grades they earned on their tests (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007, pg. 159). Hopefully by students seeing how good or how poor they did on a certain week, they would want to continue or try to improve their score which would reflect how much effort was being put forth.

Depending upon how students look at the homework and practice strategy it can be rewarding to them or it could not. A lot of times students cringe at the word homework. They hate it. However, in this chapter of the book it gives numerous ideas of how to use technology to students’ advantage in completing homework. For Emma, the fifth grader, having access to Microsoft Word tools gave her feedback as to how well she was writing a report. It let her know what grade level she was writing at and it also summarized her work, making sure she stayed focused on her topic (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007, pg. 190). These tools allowed Emma to feel satisfied with what she wrote or if she felt the need to enhance her writing she could do that due to the immediate feedback she received. Another use of technology was using the Internet in which students were engaged in interactive learning, making it fun. Some even gave certificates to reward the students that they could print out and share with family and friends.

I feel both strategies are good examples of the behaviorist learning theory with the use of technology. Although kids are not getting rewarded with tangible items necessarily, it is making the students work for things that bring them positive feelings, and for approval from people they admire (Orey, 2001).

Orey, M.(Ed.). (2001). Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved 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.