Module Seven Reflection

Summary of Articles: Module 7

Article #1: Constructionism as a High-Tech Intervention Strategy for At-Risk Learners
by: Gary S. Stager

Summary/Reflection: This article immediately caught my attention by the mentioning Governor Angus King Jr. the Governor of Maine in 1999. I had the opportunity to hear Governor Angus speak concerning the importance of integrating technology in secondary schools. As Governor he passed a bill that allowed all 7-8 grade students in the state to have a personal lap-top, which would be used in all school subjects and assignments. The speech was one of the most inspirational and motivational speeches on technology I've ever heard. The article in interesting because it's explains the beginning of this idea. Governor Angus asked Seymour Papert to develop a model of what learning might look like in the future. The research that Papert discovered helped implement the constructionism theory into the learning environment. The research begins with 230 students ranging between the ages of 11-21 from different ethic background and cultures but all students were poor in academics and at 'high risk'. Each students was then given a personal computer. The project connected with students insterests from the beginning and gave them powerful experiences. The article mentioned that students enjoyed the interaction with technology and soon applied their knowledge immediately to the technology given to them. The student learned to implement programs such as film editing, publishing, document learning and sharing via the computer. The articles continues to mention how constructionism is associated with this kind of interaction. While constructivism defines learning as the building of knowledge structures inside of one's head, constructionism suggests that the best way to ensure that such intellectual structures form through the active construction of something outside of one's head, that is something tangible, something shareable. As teachers and students interacted with this technology, educators created situations in which students 'discovered' a particular concept, rule, fact, and context. Teachers now found themselves as 'project leaders' rather than givers of knowledge.

Article#2: Designing, Developing, and Implementing a Course on LEGO Robotics for Technology Teacher Education
by. Joan M. Chambers and Mike Carbonaro

Summary/Reflection: The first thing that came to my mind was, why? Why integrate technology in the form of robotics,into the teacher education process? Is it possible in a high school setting? Jonassen (2000) makes an argument for using computer technologies as 'mindtools' in education as a vehicle to deliver instructional material. He mentions that 'mindtools' are computer applications that require students to think in meaningful ways in order to use the application to represent what they know. Jonassen continues by explaining the distinction between learning from a computer as opposed to learning with a computer. This is a good argument however, I think that computers cannot produce 'good' learning but children can do 'good' learning with computers. 'Mindtools' is just another fancy way to say computers are important in classrooms in the form of robotics. The article mentions how constructionists approach knowledge with the emphasis on concrete information rather that the abstract. Consequently, robots, fit naturally with the constructionist perspective. Students engage in the designing and construction of robots are are actively engaged in their own learning, developing skills, solving problems, and creating a higher level of thinking. Students have the opportunity to manipulate and control computers within their own, real world. I thought the article was more interesting when it mentioned using robotic LEGO kits as a starter for student motivation and interest. Honestly, that's a brilliant idea that teachers can implement quickly and cheaply into science, engineering, or into a auto mechanics curriculum. The study continued to mention that students learned designing skills, building, programming, and problem solved during test trials. Students were also cognizant of the realities of a robotics program. However, several students commented that while they believed robotics to be highly valuable they could not foresee using it in a regular class setting but rather it would be more successful as a school club.

Article #3: The Myth of Catering to Learning Styles
by: Joanne K. Olson

Summary/Reflection: Does teaching to individual learning styles increase learning? This study discovered that when students received instruction specifically tailored to their preferred learning style, they performed poorly on test. On the contrast, the comparison group that received instruction in formats different than their preferred style scored significantly better on the same test. This really surprised me as I read this material I would think that it would be the other way around. Salomon discovered that students became overconfident in their ability to learn the information and invested less effort in learning the content. The article mentioned the idea of concrete representations meaning that a verbal explanation may be difficult for a child to understand, but when a more concrete representation such as a picture or a real object is used along with the explanation the child has a greater likelihood of understanding. This reminded of the importance of applying the multimedia principles in presentations and how placement of images, text, and sound all have a specific place. In conclusion, teaching towards student's preferred learning styles does not have a solid basis in research and students may learn to decreased effort and performance in the classroom. Using appropriate representations that carefully consider how to best convey the content is the key. When teachers carefully select how we represent concepts and take into account student's thinking we optimize learning opportunities for all of our students.