This week’s instructional strategy was generating and testing hypothesis. I believe that this goes along with construtionism because you are building to your conclusion by testing you hypothesis. By testing their hypothesis the students can build upon the information that they have gathered to support their conclusion.
There were six tasks that were given to help students generate and test their hypothesis. The first one was system analysis; examine a situation if one of the variables was changed. The second was problem solve; look at different methods to solve a problem. The third was historical investigation; create a solution for occurrences were there was no clear cut solution. The fourth invention; study a problem then create a solution for the problem. The fifth was experimental inquiry; observe a situation and create a hypothesis and experiment to test the hypothesis. The last was decision making; take a problem and change the variables to create the best situation. All of the tasks have the students building on an idea or problem and with each step having to build more on the findings.
I really liked the spreadsheet project that was described in the reading. The project had visual representation of the investment and could be manipulated into different graphs so the students could see the growth of the money. I also liked the fact that project could be related to real world situations that the students could possible deal with as they get older.
I also liked the multiplayer game created to help the students understand the political and economic conditions that lead to war. Many students already enjoy playing games on systems like Xbox and Playstation. It allows the students to study using technology that they are already comfortable with.
As a student continues their education they are always going to be growing. The hope of the teacher is to challenge the students enough to keep them interested and to build on past knowledge to help the student to continue to grow.
Rick Orr
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I also liked how the students could use the spreadsheet to see the growth of money in the investment. Not only do they begin to learn how to use spreadsheets but also they also have a visual of how much money they could make after a certain period of time.
ReplyDeleteRick,
ReplyDeleteYou make a good point about kids already playing games and enjoying those activities. For my keyboarding class, I often let them play games at www.freetypinggame.net I present these as a reward, although the kids are learning just as much as the drill and kill style. I do it that way though so I can have something to reward them with for good behavior. It ends up being a win win situation.
When it comes to constructivism, a great game that teaches physics, geometry, and critical thinking is called "Bridge Builder" It's a free game that can get quite addictive as you try to construct bridges in order to get a train from one side to the other over water.
Brett
Rick,
ReplyDeleteI also liked the spreadsheet project where students were able to see how their original investments grow at different rates. Not only can students see the difference in the investment choices, but they could also see graphical representations of that data, which is a great tool for visual learners.
Sally
I too am a big fan of the multiplayer games. This gives the students an opportunity to use something that they are really used to using. It also gives them a chance to learn together in an environment that they enjoy using
ReplyDelete