There
is so much that goes into building a house.
On the surface, we look at the esthetics of the house. The color, the size, and the architecture are
just some of the features we can see from the exterior. However, there are so many other aspects of
building a house that must be considered.
There is the floor plan, the foundation, the electrical, the plumbing,
and the appliances. Then there are the
fine details that go into the interior design.
When all of these aspects come together, our house is completed. Anyone who has gone through the process of
building a house says that it is a learning experience that gives him or her a
greater appreciation for the process.
Dr. Orey states that kids need hands on experiences building things
(Laureate Education, Inc., 2011). This
is what constructionism is.
 |
| Local Stream |
One type of learning that falls under the constructionism umbrella is project based learning, PBL. Just as the name indicates, learning is project based. Andrew Miller (2012) describes PBL as comprehensive inquiry rather than massive teacher delivered content. The project is about learning as you build and explore, and is not the fun culmination project at the end of a unit. Projects are selected based on authentic real-life issues. An example of PBL could be a stream revitalization project. The issue may be that the stream is polluted and native amphibians and fish are becoming less populated. The teacher and students may develop a rubric together to help assure the success of the PBL. According to Orey (2001), when planning a constructionist project, one must be sure to create a very clear, well thought out rubric. I found the Buck Institute for Education, BIE, web site to have an outstanding resource, which provides a series of PBL rubrics. One rubric that I found especially helpful was a rubric for teachers to evaluate rubrics. Once a rubric is established, students could develop a plan for their PBL project. The students’ established real-world problem, the stream is polluted and native amphibians and fish are becoming less populated, should lead students to and form a hypothesis. From there students would have to determine the cause of the poor water quality. Students could test the water using probes connected to an iPad or iPhone to measure water quality in various
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| Water Quality Probe |
In
the end, students have built an experience from the ground up, just as a family
would build a house. Constructionism is learning by doing. Orey says that the building blocks of
constructionism are assimilation, accommodation, equilibration, and schema (Laureate
Education, Inc., 2011). The example PBL project addresses each one of
the building blocks. Experts were called in when needed. A plan was
developed. Technology was used to
assess, record, collect data, and to present.
The stream lesson is inquiry-based and multi-sensory. Multiple disciplines were hard at work to
develop a solution. Not only was science
prevalent, but reading, mathematics, technology, and history if the students
research the stream’s past. In the end, just like the owner of the house,
students will take pride in the hard work they have done to accomplish their
PBL project.
Resources
Laureate
Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011). Program seven: Constructionist and
constructivist learning theories [Video webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Retrieved
from http://laureate.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=5700267&CPURL=laureate.ecollege.com&Survey=1&47=2594577&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=0&bhcp=1
Miller, A. (2012, August 06). Getting
Started with Project-Based Learning (Hint: Don't Go Crazy). Retrieved May 27,
2014, from
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/project-based-learning-getting-started-basics-andrew-miller
Orey,
M. (Ed.). (2001). Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology.
Retrieved from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Main_Page
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E. R., & Kuhn,
M. (2012). Using technology with classroom instruction that works (2nd ed.). Alexandria,
VA: ASCD.
I have never seen a rubric for rubrics, who knew! What a great way to evaluate a rubric that you or some one else created. I will be using this in the future to check the rubrics I have created. Your example of constructing a house is a great way to show a concrete way of explaining constructionism. I agree that students do take pride in their work when they create an artifact that they are going to share. When students can use technology to create their artifact, I have found that students tend to do better because they are more confident in their technology skills than in their writing or spelling skills. My students always ask if spelling counts because they are not good spellers but they do know how to spell check. Have you used PBL in your classroom? If so, how did it turn out?
ReplyDeleteKarry,
ReplyDeleteFunny you should mention how students do a better job writing when they use technology. My English language arts, ELA, team just had this same discussion last week. Next year the sixth grade ELA team will be getting a set of Chromebooks. There are six of us who would have to share the cart. As a team, we decided to split the Chromebooks into classroom sets of 6-8. Our reason was that we wanted to teach reactively. When students have a question or want to learn more about a topic, they should have the resources at their fingertips immediately. We also discussed that student writing improves with the use of technology. Students can identify errors with much more ease and are more willing to make corrections while revising and editing. Applications such as Google Docs and Microsoft Word allow students to have their pieces read back to them. The applications also facilitate collaboration. Length of writing increases when technology is used. Typing takes the neatness factor out of writing. Not only does this make it easier on the teacher, it also makes it easier to peer edit.
Thanks for your feedback,
Tom