Description
In chapter eight, Slavin discusses student-centered
and constructivist approaches to instruction and how they are used in the
classroom. Constructivist theories of learning draws heavily on the work of
Piaget and Vygotsky (Slavin, 2018, p. 188). Also discussed in this chapter is
how cooperative learning is used in instruction and how problem-solving and
thinking skills are taught.
Analysis
Constructivist
theories of learning is based on the idea that “learners must individually
discover and transform complex information if they are to make it their own” (Anderson,
Greeno, Reder, & Simon, 2000; Fosnot, 2005; Slavish & Zimbardo, 2012;
Slavin, 2018, p. 188). Constructivist strategies are often called
student-centered instruction because of the emphasis on students as active
learners (Slavin, 2018, p. 188). These theories require students to constantly
check new information against old information. The historical roots of the constructivist
theory draw heavily on the work of Piaget and Vygotsky. More specifically, four
key principles derived from Vygotsky’s ideas have played an important role:
· Social
learning – children learn through joint interactions with adults and more
capable peers
· Zone
of proximal development – marks the range of tasks the child might not be able
to do alone but can do with the assistance of peers or adults.
· Cognitive
apprenticeship – the process by which a learner gradually acquires expertise
through interaction with an expert, either an adult or an older more advanced
peer
· Mediated
learning – the idea that students should be given complex, difficult, realistic
tasks and then be provided enough help to achieve these tasks.
(Slavin, 2018, p. 189)
Slavin
discusses the many different approaches to constructivist teaching. Top-down
processing means that, “students being with complex problems to solve and then
work out or discover (with guidance) the basic skills required” (Slavin, 2018,
p. 190). Peer interaction among students of the same age is another constructivist
approach. When students are able to interact with one another, they have a
greater potential of discovering and comprehending difficult concepts. Discovery
learning is an important component of the constructivist approaches. “In
discovery learning, students are encouraged to learn largely on their own
through active involvement with concepts and principles, and teachers encourage
students to have experiences and conduct experiments that permit them to
discover principles for themselves” (Slavin, 2018, p. 190). While discovery
learning is designed to peak students’ curiosity and motivate them to continue
working until they find an answer, it can also lead to errors and wasted time. Another
key concept is self-regulated learning. Self-regulated students have knowledge
of effective learning strategies, when and how to use them, and they are motivated
by learning itself (Slavin, 2018, p. 192). They do not need a grade or other
award to encourage them to work. Finally, when scaffolding, the teacher is the
cultural agent who guides instruction so that students will master and
internalize the skills that permit high cognitive functioning (Slavin, 2018, p.
192).
Cooperative
learning includes students working together in small groups to help each other learn.
Usually, students remain in these small groups for a couple months and they are
taught specific skills that will help them work well together. Some of the most
common cooperative learning methods are jigsaw, peer-assisted learning strategies,
and cooperative scripting. When using jigsaw, students are divided into teams. Within
each team, students are given different parts to learn. After learning their
parts, students meet in expert groups which includes all students in one group
who learned the same thing. Once students have talked and discussed in their expert
groups, they return to their original group and students take turn teaching
their team members about the part they learned. With peer-assisted learning
strategies, students work in pairs, taking turns as teaching and learner using
specific metacognitive strategies (Slavin, 2018, p. 201). Students using the
cooperative scripting method take turns summarizing sections of the material
learned. While one student summarizes, the other student listens and corrects
when need be or reminds the student of important information in that section
he/she might have missed. Then, they switch roles. “Studies of cooperative
learning methods that incorporate group goals and individual accountability
show substantial positive effects on the achievement of students in grades 2-12
in all subjects and in all types of schools” (Ellis, 2001b; Rohrbeck et. Al.,
2003; Slavin, 1995a, 2010, 2013; Slavin, 2018, p. 202).
With any
learning, students must learn how to problem solve. The following are different
strategies used to solve problems:
· IDEAL
was developed by Bransford and Stein in 1993.
o
I – Identify the problems and opportunities
o
D – Define goals and represent the problem
o
E – Explore possible strategies
o
A – Anticipate outcomes and act
o
L – Look back and learn
· Means-Ends
Analysis includes deciding what the problem is and what needs to be done. Students
should be presented more frequently with different kinds of problems to solve
in order to enhance the chance of transferring their skills and knowledge to
new situations (Slavin, 2018, p, 205).
· Extracting
Relevant Information means figuring out the information that is relevant to solving
the problem. Often times, word problems include unnecessary information that
can be ignored. After reading carefully and figuring out the information that
is relevant, the problem is easy to solve.
· Representing
the Problem includes drawings, diagrams, flowcharts, outlines, etc. to give a
visual of the problem in order to understand what is being asked.
While some problems are “cut-and-dry,” creative
problem solving is not. Some of the strategies used to teach creative problem
solving are incubation, suspension of judgment, and feedback. Incubation means
taking a minute to pause and reflect on the problem. Rushing through a problem
without carefully reading or understanding can lead to error. Students are encouraged
to suspend all judgement and consider all possibilities before trying out a
solution during suspension of judgment (Slavin, 2018, p. 206). This is also
similar to brainstorming in which one thinks out many possibilities before taking
action to a problem. According to Slavin, the most effective way to teach problem
solving is by giving feedback. Students should be given feed back on their
answer and on the process by which they arrived at the solution (Slavin, 2018,
p. 206).
Students
can be taught thinking skill through a four-step process that is outlined in
table 8.1 (Slavin, 2018, p. 207). First, state the problem, solution, or
goal. Next, search for ideas, options, possibilities, purposes, features,
assumptions, causes, effects, questions, etc. Then, evaluate options,
plans, ideas, theories, or objects. Finally, elaborate possibilities,
plans, options, hypotheses, or ideas. While it is important for thinking skills
to be learned, it is also important that students are able to think critically about
their learning. Slavin states, “Perhaps most important, the goal of teaching
critical thinking is to create a critical spirit, which encourages students to
question what they hear and to examine their own thinking for logical
inconsistencies or fallacies” (Slavin, 2018, p. 209).
Overall,
this chapter discusses different teaching strategies that encourages student
engagement, cooperative learning, and ways to teach students how to use problem
solving skills and thinking strategies to reach solutions.
Reflection
What does this concept mean to you?
How might you use what you learned to become a better
teacher?
How is this concept significant concerning the context
of your classroom?
What are the positive or negative aspects for this
concept?
I
took a class in college called Teaching History. It was based off the
book, “Why Won’t You Just Tell Us the Answer?” Teaching Historical Thinking
in Grades 7-12 by Bruce A. Lesh. The entire class was based on historical
investigations where students are provided with all the information they need
in order to “investigate” a topic. Before investigating, they are presented with
a question. Using their sources, they are to come up with an answer based on
what they discovered in their investigation. I loved this because students were
able to learn the information and come up with a solution all on their own,
with no skewed opinions. It was student-centered instruction. I used this
strategy while teaching informational writing to a class of 8th
graders. Because they were so intrigued when learning about WWII, I based their
writing off of whether or not the United States should have entered the war. Leading
up to the writing day, students were given information on both sides of the
war, historical documents, and they were able to research on their own. They “investigated”
the material themselves and based their writing off of what they learned which
was still true and factual no matter which way they answered the question. I have
found this student-centered learning to be effective and engaging when students
are willing and able to perform.
While
I have seen success using student-centered learning, I have also found it to be
difficult for students who lack a certain level of critical thinking. This is
one skill my 6th graders really struggle with. If they have to think
beyond surface level, some give up. I feel like critical thinking is not being
taught or practiced as much as it should be. To help my students with critical
thinking skills, they completed a round table problem where they had to figure
out who sat by who at the table given few clues. Majority of my students LOVED
it! They worked in pairs or groups to solve the problem and would get so
excited to show me their answers. I feel like if I included more brain busters
to help students develop in their critical thinking skills, they will start to
transfer those skills to other uses.
All of
the concepts discussed in this chapter are designed to encourage different
strategies to help students engage and succeed. As I was reading, I was
noticing all the strategies that I used during grade school that, until now, I had
no idea I was using. For example, I struggled in math until I realized I had to
open my mind up to the many possible ways to solve a problem. After looking at
a problem, I would “incubate” in order to think about the best way to approach
the problem. Once I started doing that, I found much more success. Because I have
seen these strategies work in my own schooling and I’ve had professors use them
with us and they were enjoyable, I want to use them in my classroom. These strategies
encourage students to be independent but also allows them to work with peers to
solve problems which encourages social interaction.
References
Slavin, R. E. (2018). Educational Psychology: Theory
and Practice (12th
ed.). NY, NY: Pearson.
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