Like It's 1999

I read and viewed the resources for this week with great interest.  Each article and video seemed to speak directly to what I am trying to accomplish in my classroom, and hope to develop in a building. I connected most with Debra Sprague and Christopher Dede’s article Constructivism in the Classroom: If I Teach This Way, Am I Doing My Job? Published on the eve of the 21^st century, this article makes a strong case for using constructivist pedagogy. By coupling technology with an understanding of how the brain processes information, teachers can create “student-centered, meaningful, and engaging learning experiences” (Sprague and Dede, 1999, p. 6) for students of all ages.  Constructivist classrooms are organized around “concept clusters of problems and questions” (Sprague and Dede, p. 7) and “teachers encourage student inquiry by asking thoughtful, open-ended questions and encouraging students to ask questions of each other.” (Sprague and Dede, p. 8) Learners in a constructivist classroom practice 21^st century skills – collaborating, communicating, problem-solving, critical thinking and creativity – as they construct learning socially, building on a shared foundation of prior knowledge brought by each unique learner. (SEDL, 1999, p. 1) This sustainable community of learning shares information through interpersonal collaboration, (Solomon and Schrum, 2007, p. 35) and increasingly through digital social networks organized around a specific purpose, problem or wondering as they are guided up Bloom’s revised taxonomy by learning facilitators. Moreover, students are taking ownership of learning by constructing their own interactive networks through the use of web 2.0 tools. (McPheeters, 2009) George Siemens points out that connectivity via web 2.0 content creation and curatorial tools provides an opportunity for learners to “connect with each other, with databases, with other sources of knowledge [which] is really the point of learning.” (Siemens, n.d). Taken together, these two theories – constructivism and connectivism – offer compelling evidence for transformational change in teaching and learning. Change that not only benefits learners by making the acquisition of knowledge relevant, purposeful, and meaningful, but also benefits teachers, who, by embracing and implementing these theories into pedagogy, create environments conducive to how students learn.

Google circa 1999

As I read the assigned articles throughout the week, I realized that I wanted to teach like it is 1999, at least in the 1999 of Debra Sprague and Christopher Dede. My goal since entering the profession in 2003 is to create a student-centered, collaborative, project-based learning community, even in my first classroom with an Apple iMac, no internet access, Oregon Trail, Power Point and a couple now extinct programs. I guess I knew more about constructivism and connectivism than I thought. But I didn’t learn it from my post-graduate teaching credential program. I learned about Piaget and Vygotsky, guided reading, and small group differentiation. I learned how to plan lessons and units, novel ways to get students attention, and resources for organizing a classroom. I learned how to be a teacher in a teacher-driven environment; an environment where an administrator can walk in and see quiet children at their desks filling out a sheet to prove they were paying attention to the lesson. I don’t fault my credential program; it was actually fairly forward thinking and included not one, but two technology classes. One class introduced me to the wonders of Google and I created the Gmail address I still use to this day. My twitter account is linked to it. And in the other we explored cutting edge web tools, none of which I remember and probably do not exist anymore. We are now 13 years into the 21^st century and I’m wondering why more teachers have not embraced constructivism? Why does this seem “new” and “radical” to some professional educators? Certainly web 2.0 tools exist to create technology infused, connected learning environments tailored to the needs of students. Is access to technology and the knowledge housed on the web the issue? New initiatives at federal and state levels promise increased bandwidth to access the web, and school districts across the nation are funding technology upgrades or implementing BYOD programs to increase the number of devices in students’ hands.  At least there is a rhetorical commitment to creating the kind of innovative learning environments that students (and parents) should be demanding. Maybe we should wait for Kevin Warwick’s cyborg technology to enable us to download directly to our brain the knowledge we need when we need it. (Warwick, n.d)  If traditional teachers are scared of project-based learning, I cannot imagine the terror an implanted microchip would create. Personally, I am moving forward buoyed with the knowledge gleaned from this week’s resources.  In my noisy, kinetic, apparently out-of-control classroom, students will continue to connect with each other and the world via the web to construct knowledge. They will engage in projects driven by inquiry and practice 21^st century skills, even if it is not 1999.

Sprague, D. & Dede, C. (1999). If I teach this way, Am I doing my job: Constructivism in the classroom. Leading and Learning, 27(1). Retrieved from the International Society for Technology in Education at http://imet.csus.edu/imet9/280/docs/dede_constructivisim.pdf

Southwest Educational Development Laboratory, (1999). Learning as a personal event: A brief introduction to constructivism. Retrieved from http://www.sedl.org/pubs/tec26/intro2c.html

Solomon, G., & Schrum, L. (2007). Web 2.0: New tools, new schools. Eugene, OR: International Society for Technology in Education

McPheeters, D. (2009, March). Social networking technologies in education. Tech and Learning, 29(8).Retrieved from http://www.techlearning.com/article/16250

Siemens, G. (nd). The Changing Nature of Knowledge  [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMcTHndpzYg

Warwirk, K. (nd). Cyborg Life [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RB_l7SY_ngI