One of the first things that caught my attention during this video was that recent graduates at Harvard University did not know why Earth has seasons. Harvard is known to be one of the best universities in the world and one would assume that its graduates would know the answer to why Earth has seasons; this shows that no one is exempt from misconceptions.
In the video, ‘A Private Universe,’ we are introduced to Heather who is in grade 9 and is described by her teacher as “someone who would know the correct answer(s),” however, the audience and her teacher are shown a student who has some interesting misunderstandings about the sun, moon, and the seasons. When Heather is asked about her theories about the orbit of the sun she replies she saw a diagram in her Earth Science textbook in 8th grade and she got confused. Many diagrams and drawings in textbooks cause misconceptions as they are perspective drawings and not completely accurate.
Heather’s teacher assumed that her students had the basic ideas when they arrived in her class and this probably led to more misconceptions as they kept piling on. It is important for educators to understand and find out what their students know and then build from there. Von Glaserfeld (2008) states that “The world we live in” can be understood also as the world of our experience, the world as we see, hear, and feel it.” We all have our own theories as we have all had unique and individual experiences that have led to those theories.
In this video, we see students sitting in their desks listening to their teacher; we see that is teacher-centered and not student-centered. Constructivist theory holds that knowledge cannot be passed down from teacher to student; students must create their own understanding by experimenting so they know how to use that information (Von Glaserfeld, 2008). Students need to be able to experiment and have hands-on education in order to fully understand the concepts (inquiry based learning). Fosnot (2005) states that students need to be “provided with opportunities to actively construct ideas by experimenting” instead of passively being given information. I remember a lot of my high school math and science classes involved students siting at their desks while the teacher lectured at them; there were no hands-on activities, little visual representations, and many confused students- I was one of them. Many students today are just as confused and digital technology can definitely help to ease that confusion. I have used Geogebra, which is an interactive math APP that allows students to “see” equations and math problems come to life. There are 3D models and diagrams that helps the student to understand all sides of the diagram. By using interactive applications and simulations, students are able to understand and comprehend what may not have been understood before.
Fosnot, Catherine. Constructivism: Theory, perspectives, and practice. Teachers College Press
Von Glasersfeld, E. (2008). Learning as a Constructive Activity. AntiMatters, 2(3), 33-49.
Hey Sabrina,
I think you raise a really interesting point when you reflect on how your high school experience involved lectures and confusion. While I feel like I had a excellent high school experience, my undergrad studies were almost entirely lecture for the first two years of the program.
While I understand that this is often a necessary logistical move brought on by the reality of having hundreds of students in a class, it is fairly ironic. University researchers are the ones declaring that the lecture style is less effective, yet they actively participate in it (or work at institutions that do).
I’ve never seen the app Geogebra before, but checked it out since you mentioned it. It seems like it would be great for geometry (which I’m already done this year)…so I’m curious if use use it for any other concepts/units. I teach grade 5, so granted a lot of the tools are too advanced, but if you have any tips for use, that would be very helpful.