Foundations of Constructivism/Dialogue & Personalization

CHAPTER 5: Dialogue, collaboration, reflection & personalization of learning

Overview

Dialogue, collaboration, reflection & personalization of learning in Constructivism allows for the person to become creative in their learning in order to bring new understanding for him/herself. The teacher role is to coach, moderate and suggest. This allows the students room to experiment, ask questions and use trial and error on things that may or not work. Learning activities give the students the opportunity to have full participation and ownership in all things. Many of which will be hands on to gain further experience. This learning process allows students to reflect, and talk about their activities. These activities lead the student to reflect on his or her prior knowledgeand experience to enhance the learning process.

The main activity in a constructivist classroom is solving problems. Students use methods of inquiry to ask questions and investigate a topic. Various resources are used to find solutions and answers. The students draw their conclusions, and later revisit those conclusions to generate more questions which will eventually develop into answers that can bring revolutionary ideas and solutions. In the book, The Necessary Revolution, "How Individuals and Organizations are Working Together to Create a Sustainable World", by Peter Senge, Bryan Smith, Nina Kruschwitz, Joe Laur and Sara Schley, they write that organizations are developing and encouraging new, "specific tools and ways of thinking - to help us build the confidence and competence to respond effectively to the greatest challenge of our time. By using the tools of Constructivism, students will be prepared to meet the needs of the ever-growing, innovative time in which we live.

What is dialogue and collaboration in a constructivist classroom?

The constructivist classroom relies heavily on collaboration among students. There are many reasons why collaboration contributes to learning. The main reason it is used so much in constructivism is that students learn about learning not only from themselves, but also from their peers. When students review and reflect on their learning processes together, they can pick up strategies and methods from one another.

What is reflection & personalization of learning in a constructivist classroom?

Building powerful learning communities where faculty use data, research, dialogue, and reflection to examine instructional strategies and improve classroom practice. The lesson or activities are geared toward the students' individual strengths and interests so that their own experiences and prior knowledge come into play. This creates a safe, healthy environment for each student to flourish.

Rationale

Building powerful learning communities where faculty use data, research, dialogue, and reflection to examine instructional strategies and improve classroom practice. The main reason it is used so much in constructivism is that students learn about learning not only from themselves, but also from their peers. When students review and reflect on their learning processes together, they can pick up strategies and methods from one another.

Examples of Reflection / Personalization Activities in Various Subjects and Grade Levels

"We investigate the use of mobile and sensor technologies for school science investigations, to bring about a more engaging and hands-on approach to science learning. We report early findings from two trials carried out within the Participate project, where schoolchildren were given a range of off the shelf and newly developed technologies to carry out data collection and analysis tasks. Indications are that, not only are the tasks engaging for the pupils, but aspects such as personalization of data, contextual information, and reflection upon both the data and its collection, are important factors in obtaining and retaining their interest." http://doi.ieeecomputersociety.org/10.1109/

Examples of dialogue and collaboration Activities in Various Subjects and Grade Levels

"A collaborative group of junior high students worked on the economic development of several nations. They accumulated a lot of information about the countries and decided that the best way to present it was to compare the countries. But they were stymied as to how to organize the information so they could write about it in a paper, the product they chose to produce. Their teacher hinted that they use a matrix--a graphic organizer they had learned--to organize their information. When the group finished the matrix, the teacher gave them feedback. In so doing, he did not tell them it was right or wrong, but asked questions that helped them verbalize their reasons for completing the matrix as they did. The principle the teacher followed was to coach enough so that students could continue to learn by drawing on the ideas of other group member." "What Is the Collaborative Classroom?" http://www.arp.sprnet.org/admin/supt/collab2.htm

Conclusion

Individual Responsibility for Learning is difficult to solve unless major changes in other areas of schooling are also undertaken. Students are used to being graded for individual work; parents expect to know how their students fare in school. School staff and state departments depend on traditional assessments. In collaborative classrooms, it is often difficult to assign individual grades. Some teachers give group grades, but many students and parents are uncomfortable with these. Ideally, assessment practices should be changed so that they are consistent with collaboration, with a new view of learning and with a thinking curriculum.

Glossary

Dialogue: A. conversation between two or more persons. B. the conversation between characters in a novel, drama, etc. C. an exchange of ideas or opinions on a particular issue, esp. a political or religious issue, with a view to reaching an amicable agreement or settlement.

Collaboration: The act of collaborating

Collaborative writing: Activities involved in the production of a document by more than one author, then pre-draft discussions and arguments as well as post-draft analyses and debates are collaborative components.

Metacognition: Awareness and understanding one's thinking and cognitive processes; thinking about thinking

References

Civil, M. (2001). Parents as Learners and Teachers of Mathematics: Toward a Two-Way Dialogue. Retrieved from ERIC database.

Torres, M. (1996). Cognitive Individualism: An Impediment to Teachers' Collaborative Intellectual Work. Retrieved from ERIC database.

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Griffin, B., & ERIC Clearinghouse on Counseling and Student Services, G. (1995). Promoting Professionalism, Collaboration and Advocacy. ERIC Digest. Retrieved from ERIC database.

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Torres, M. (1996). Cognitive Individualism: An Impediment to Teachers' Collaborative Intellectual Work. Retrieved from ERIC database.

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Chapter Quiz

1. Rational is?

a. Taking parts of something and ensuring it receives maximum use. b. Assertive Technique of teaching C. Building powerful learning communities where faculty use data, research, dialogue, and reflection D. None of the above

2. Individual Responsibility for Learning is difficult to solve

   A. True
   B. False

3. Describe dialogue and collaboration in a constructivist classroom?

4. The definition of dialogue:

   A. conversation between two or more persons.
   B. the conversation between characters in a novel, drama, etc.
   C. an exchange of ideas or opinions on a particular issue, esp. a political or religious issue, with a view to reaching an amicable agreement or    
       settlement.
   D. All of the above

5. What is Metacognition?