Digital Blog Post #C

The first concept that I want to focus on is the four learning theories. These theories consist of Behaviorism, Cognitivism, Constructivism, and Constructionism. I believe these four theories are vital and can be impacted by technology to effectively help students in grasping ideas and concepts. Educators tend to use one or more of these theories when teaching their students. According to the textbook, “Behaviorism maintains that learning is a set of changes in human behavior created as a response to events in the environment. Cognitivism holds that learning is influences by nonobservable and internal constructs, such as memory, motivation, perception, attention, and metacognitive skills. Constructivism claims that every person interprets and constructs the world in his or her own way. Constructionism is a term that emphasizes the idea that learners build their own knowledge and adds the idea that those knowledge structures are public entities” (Maloy, 2013). I believe that as educators, we must be aware that students have different learning styles and implementing these different theories with the use of technology will help in the learning setting. I know this because I see how students learn in different ways, some learn by creating things themselves or changing them, whereas others learn by memorizing/imitating or sharing their knowledge with others. I remember many times having to combine these learning styles within a lesson because after getting to know my students, I knew which ones would understand with which style better.

The second concept that stood out to me is the Instructional Methods to Engage Students. These methods are one-on-one tutoring, learning groups, inquiry learning, metacognitive thinking (Maloy, 2013). One-on-one tutoring is teaching students directly and individually to a students’ needs and knowledge. I am very familiar with this because I would tutor students who did not understand concepts and who just needed a little more time individually. The second method learning groups is when students work in groups to solve problems and performances. When I was in school, working in groups was something I always enjoyed because it helped me listen to my peers and think outside the box together. The third method inquiry learning engages students in projects where they need to investigate, collect data, come up with conclusions, and present their findings in oral or written formats. I personally love seeing this method in action, I believe it surprises students with their predictions or conclusions from when they begin a project to the end results. The last method is metacognitive thinking which helps students examine/questions their own work and improve/correct their performances using skills taught to them. This is a great method to help students think critically and to always double-check their work before finalizing anything.

The last concept that caught my attention is the Role of Feedback. Feedback is another term for communication between a students and teachers (Maloy, 2013). Feedback is one of the instructional practices that has been found to promote increased success for students (Maloy, 2013). Feedback encourages learning from successes and mistakes, it gives students positive direction or when they are going off track. We can actually see this feedback in many of our digital devices, whether they are activities or just computer apps. I absolutely believe that feedback is important for students to hear! While growing up, learning never came easy for me. Many of my teachers knew how much I had to push myself to properly understand a concept, feedback from my teachers is what motivated me to continue on and always do my best. Their feedback meant they cared enough to see me succeed, which in turn helped me prove that I can! :)

In conclusion, educators need to be aware of the different learning theories and methods. Every child is special and unique, and may not all learn that same way. I want to always be aware of the different teaching styles/methods which will help me impact the lives of students and how they express themselves. Using technology to help students grow and be creative in what they love, will help the students continually push forward in learning. Feedback will always be a motivating factor in every students’ life. 

Resources:

Kobenko, K (2015, September 18). Four Learning Theories. Created with Prezi https://prezi.com/kc-d_enhk_pu/the-four-learning-theories/

Maloy, R., O'Loughlin, R., Edwards, S., & Woolf, B. (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.