Identify the learning theory (modern constructivism, information processing, social learning theory, behaviorism) that will most heavily influence your lesson (or most heavily influenced your lesson looking back). Use and underline vocabulary from the theory to describe how you plan to implement the theory in your lesson (or how you implemented the theory in your lesson looking back), providing specific examples for each term used. Cite research written by key theorists (e.g. Vygotsky, Bruner, Dewey, Bandura, Atkins & Shiffrin, Skinner, etc.) in these areas to justify your plan.
Constructivism is the learning theory that most influenced my unit lesson. I used guided discovery and a complex learning environment (problem-based learning and cooperative learning) to facilitate the learning process. Rather than lecturing, I posed the question about how the Founding Fathers could unite the north and the south with a new government. "How would the Founding Fathers solve the problem of representation? How would they solve the issue of slavery? How would the states reach a compromise?" We spent a few minutes reviewing the issues and the conflicting views and needs of the different states, and then I asked them to work in groups to come up with ideas. They were allowed to use the information they learned in class or any information that they already knew about the Constitution/structure of our current government. The groups then shared their ideas as a class and we came up with a few ideas by synthesizing the different ideas.
The students worked in groups to analyze some secondary source materials that explained the differing compromises (3/5 compromise, the location of the new government, representation, and the bill of rights). They had worksheets that guided their reading analysis, and after they completed each reading, the groups met up with another group to discuss their findings and help fill in any missing pieces for each other. This lines up with Vygotsky's suggestions that learners co-construct their understanding through social negotiation (social constructivism). It was interesting to listen to the groups discuss what they found because some groups were able to pull out a lot more information from the secondary source. In one class, the African American student had a much better understanding of the 3/5 compromise, likely from his sociocultural experiences--that compromise and its lasting influence had more impact on his family (even currently) than most students so he was better able to understand the gravity of the compromise. I think the students learned more from him explaining it than they would have from me. Although the students didn't have to solve a modern-day real-life problem, they did hypothesize about how the Founding Father's would have possibly solved the problem.
After we regrouped and discussed the students' findings, we discussed how compromise is still necessary for government today. We pulled up some articles online about bipartisan issues in Congress, and the students concluded that the current legislative body is partisan and not working together as much as others might have (concluded from both right/left news sources). I think this activity helped make it an authentic learning activity because we connected what we learned about compromise to current issues.
Constructivism is the learning theory that most influenced my unit lesson. I used guided discovery and a complex learning environment (problem-based learning and cooperative learning) to facilitate the learning process. Rather than lecturing, I posed the question about how the Founding Fathers could unite the north and the south with a new government. "How would the Founding Fathers solve the problem of representation? How would they solve the issue of slavery? How would the states reach a compromise?" We spent a few minutes reviewing the issues and the conflicting views and needs of the different states, and then I asked them to work in groups to come up with ideas. They were allowed to use the information they learned in class or any information that they already knew about the Constitution/structure of our current government. The groups then shared their ideas as a class and we came up with a few ideas by synthesizing the different ideas.
The students worked in groups to analyze some secondary source materials that explained the differing compromises (3/5 compromise, the location of the new government, representation, and the bill of rights). They had worksheets that guided their reading analysis, and after they completed each reading, the groups met up with another group to discuss their findings and help fill in any missing pieces for each other. This lines up with Vygotsky's suggestions that learners co-construct their understanding through social negotiation (social constructivism). It was interesting to listen to the groups discuss what they found because some groups were able to pull out a lot more information from the secondary source. In one class, the African American student had a much better understanding of the 3/5 compromise, likely from his sociocultural experiences--that compromise and its lasting influence had more impact on his family (even currently) than most students so he was better able to understand the gravity of the compromise. I think the students learned more from him explaining it than they would have from me. Although the students didn't have to solve a modern-day real-life problem, they did hypothesize about how the Founding Father's would have possibly solved the problem.
After we regrouped and discussed the students' findings, we discussed how compromise is still necessary for government today. We pulled up some articles online about bipartisan issues in Congress, and the students concluded that the current legislative body is partisan and not working together as much as others might have (concluded from both right/left news sources). I think this activity helped make it an authentic learning activity because we connected what we learned about compromise to current issues.
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