Class Description
- Target Students: Sixth Grade Social Studies Age: 11-13 years
- Class Size: 25 students
- Abilities: Broad range: Gifted to Learning Disabled. A specialist is available to assist the LD students on a daily basis.
- Duration of Unit: 4 weeks, 50 minute class
Educational Theories Incorporated in Lesson
Please note: These sections correlate with the sections of the lesson plan and the student site for purposes of organization.
1. Advanced Preparation
Meaningful reception learning is the basic rationale for this section, but at the same time collaborative learning will be aimed for the students to discuss and brainstorm for deciding the unit, project and expectations. The students are to develop their logical thinking abilities by producing the best time management plan for the project. They will analyze and simulate the process at this preparation stage.Keeping the daily diary and going through a routine of checking and re-planning can induce learning through collaborative problem solving, which is a kind of constructivism (Funderstanding, 1998). "In order for schema construction to occur, a framework needs to be provided that helps readers to elaborate upon new facts and ideas and to clarify their significance or relevance. Students need to learn more about themselves as learners". (Alvarez & Risko) By using the diary as daily reflection, the students will be better able to understand the way that they learn and interact with others in the class.
By completing the flow-chart of Castles KWHL individually, each student will be aware of what he/she has already known and what he/she would like to know through the project. Readiness of learning is defined in this step. Ausubel & Ausubel et al. (1978) emphasized readiness as a function of previously acquired subject matter knowledge. If (Ausubel) had to reduce all of educational psychology to just one principle, (he) would say this: The most important single factor influencing learning is what the learner already knows. (Driscoll, 1994, pp. 123-124). Meaningful reception learning which would be expected to take place after advanced preparation is really based on each student's readiness in learning.
2. Web Research and Short Essay
The construction of knowledge within this theme especially concerning the use of web sites is based on Rand Spiro's cognitive flexibility theory. Spiro indicates that there are two types of knowledge domains. Well structured domains are found in most current classroom methods such as the learning of factual information. Ill structured domains involve the application of knowledge to solving problems drawn from real situations (Roybler, 1997).The theory is primarily concerned with the transferral of knowledge and skills to novel and complex situations. Various representations of information from multiple perspectives and diverse examples of core knowledge must be developed. A single analogy is not adequate and a single representation may lead to the development misconceptions, over simplification, and over reliance on context-independent representations (Driscoll, 2000.)
Hypermedia environments on the world wide web allow for learner control in the navigation of non-linear connections among knowledge components. "It appears straight forward that a non-linear medium like hypertext would be very well suited for the kinds of 'Landscape criss-crossing' recommended by cognitive flexibility theory and needed in ill structured knowledge" (Spiro, Feltovich, Jacobson, & Coulson, 1992).
Mediational devices are interactional systems that we use in a hypermedia environment. D'Orio (1999) states that "mediational devices carry some of the task burden for the learner and focus him or her on the salient features of the learning. Networks provide greater opportunity for interpersonal learning experiences, but it is the various tools for net worked communication that mediate or scaffold that interaction: chat rooms, threaded discussions, listservs, and email, audio-video streaming, file sharing, and even instant messaging." The students' use of threaded discussion and e-mail as a mediational device will assist them in their learning experience and give them the opportunity to relate their knowledge with others.
3. Class Discussion
Given the vast differences in perceptions that the students have when exploring the Internet and gathering material for their essay, they will need some time to pause and reflect on their learning experience and how it relates to that of their classmates. Many Piagetian theorists believe that children are basically egocentric, and peer interaction will help them move beyond that egocentric thought (Driscoll, 2000, p. 211). "Piaget maintained that opportunities for becoming less egocentric are more common when children discuss things with each other because then they must face the fact that not everyone has the same perspective on a situation" (Tudge & Caruso). By discussing their experiences and findings, they will develop new perspectives and ideas that they will carry over into the group project phase of this unit.Vicarious learning is an experience wherein one student becomes motivated by observing or listening to other students who appear to be attaining success at a task (Driscoll, 2000, p. 313). By listening to other students read their essays and diaries, the slightly less motivated student will be more likely to benefit from the experience.
4. Group Project
Cooperative learning can be defined as a learning situation in which students of various capabilities and performance levels work together toward a common goal. A collaborative effort in the pursuit of learning requires groups to negotiate, plan, research, and evaluate as a learning community. It is the need to discuss, explain points of view, consider the opinions of others, and reach a consensus with other students which makes the collaborative group such a stimulating and enriching learning environment. This positive interdependence among members promotes an awareness of the dynamic interconnectedness of social groups where each member contributes a portion of the whole. When cooperation is successful, synergy is released and the knowledge of the group becomes greater than the sum of its parts.Collaborative learning has its basis in several learning theories. An integration of theories can be seen in the constructivist approach to cooperative learning based on the theories of, among others, Bruner, Piaget, and Vygotsky. These theorists consider learning as a communal activity where higher mental processes in individuals develop through social interaction (Driscoll, 2000).
Vygotsky refers to the zone of proximal development. According to Vygotsky the zone of proximal development is the growth of individual knowledge acquired through social interactions. Social knowledge, the knowledge of the group, becomes individual knowledge, and individual knowledge becomes more complex as the learner moves from novice toward expert. He called this building process scaffolding. Scaffolding can be provided by teachers by developing an opportunity for students to acquire new knowledge through collaborative learning environments (Roybler, Edwards, & Havriluk 1997).
Short mini-units of instruction will be taught when it is deemed necessary for several students. These will also help to keep students motivated throughout the two week period. By varying the mode of instruction, interest levels will remain high (Driscoll, 2000, p. 307).
5. Presentations
For the students, the presentations are supposed to be a part of learning outcomes in this project. Based of the Bloom's taxonomy of cognitive outcomes (Discroll, 1994, p.335), students are to produce their presentations as the synthesis after going through the first four steps: knowledge, comprehension, application and analysis. The last assignment, the closing activity and assessment really corresponds to the evaluation of Bloom's chart. Besides these ideas of cognitive outcomes, cognitive information processing is the major leaning rationale for making presentations. For the actual presentation, the students are required to use different kinds of presentation skills, such as public speaking. However, retrieval of learned information is happening in the brain at the same time. Previously learned information is brought back to mind, either for the purpose of understanding some new input or for making a response (Discroll, 1994, p.94). A presentation is a kind of expression composed with one's physical functions and intellectual functions in the brain. The function of rehearsal plays the important role especially when the students practice for the presentation or even just for image practice.6. Evaluation
Assessments are necessary to determine if the objectives for the unit have been met. This unit incorporates different learning theories, and therefore there are different kinds of assessments. As part of the constructivist theory, the students will work with the teacher to develop rubrics for their self evaluation as well as for the group performance evaluation. Doing this with the teacher will help the students clarify what their expectations for themselves and others need to be. Since the students are active participants in this process, the unit will provide the five "Constructivist Conditions for Learning" (Driscoll, 1994, pp.365-366).Cheng and Martin (1999) believe that peer assessment excels traditional methods of assessment in a number of ways. First of all, they state that peer assessment "has proven to be valid, reliable, practicable and fair, and useful to the students. It contributes to student-centered learning by training students to judge the quality of the work of others objectively, and it promotes critical student reflection of their learning experience. Peer assessment is considered to be more appropriate to the needs of students, employers and society as a whole."
The rubrics that the students will be given for their projects and presentations, and the check sheet for judging the other group projects and presentations follow Gagnés "Nine Events of Instruction" discussed in Driscoll (pp. 350-356). This unit incorporates all of these events and models the expectations for the students in areas where they may need guidance.
Next, the essay and its assessment asks the student to rely on their prior knowledge of essay writing, organization, and their knowledge of grammar rules. They have written essays before and will use their schema in producing essays that follow the guidelines that have already been established.
Finally, care must be taken to insure that the evaluations follow the unit objectives, and that the students receive feedback throughout the process so that expectations remain clear. The rubrics that will be used will follow guidelines from Popham's modern education measurement (2000, pp. 292-293). Popham suggests the following guidelines that will make the rubrics "teacher-and-student friendly: (a) a rubric would contain only three-to-five criteria, (b)each evaluative criteria must represent a key teachable attribute of the skill being assessed, and (c) they should rarely exceed one or two pages." Popham further emphasizes that the rubrics should be instructional guidelines that help clarify rather than point out deficiencies. This is in keeping with this unit's student-centered goal.
References
Alvarez, M.C. & Risko, V.J. Schema activation, construction, and application. [On-line] ED312611 89 ERIC Digest. ERIC Clearinghouse on Reading and Communication Skills, Bloomington, IN. Available: http://www.ed.gov/databases/ERIC_Digests/ed312611.htmlD'Orio, W. (1999, December). 100 years of education leaders. Curriculum Administrator, [On-line]. p. 20-31. EBSCOHost: Academic Search FullTEXT Elite/AN:2607577 [2000, January 31].
Driscoll, M.P. (1994). Psychology of learning for instruction. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Driscoll, M.P. (2000). Psychology of learning for instruction. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Edwards, J., Havriluk, M.A., & Roblyer, M.D. (1997). Integrating educational technology into education. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Funderstanding. (1998). [On-line]. Available: http://www.funderstanding.com/about_learning.html
Popham, W.J. (2000). Modern educational measurement: Practical guidelines for educational leaders. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Spiro, R. J., Feltovich, P. J., Jacobson, M. J., & Coulson, R. L. (1992). Cognitive flexibility, constructivism, and hypertext: Random access instruction for advanced knowledge acquisition in ill-structured domains. [On-line]. Available: http://alcor.concordia.ca/~tbolton/edcomp/mod10art1.html
Tudge, J. & Caruso, D. Cooperative problem-solving in the classroom. [On-line]. ERIC Digest ED310881 89. ERIC Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early Childhood Education, Urbana, IL. Available: http://www.ed.gov/databases/ERIC_Digests/ed310881.html