Module B Synthesis

Synthesis 533

Learning about the four technology-enhanced learning environments was eye opening as each technology has something to offer to my students and I would need to tailor it to meet the needs of elementary aged intermediate students. There was a common theme of exploring and inquiry with each technology. Learning should be engaging for students so they can make meaningful connections.

The Jasper series emphasizes the importance of helping students. The series “affords generative and cooperative learning activities in way that traditional mathematics problem-solving materials do not” (p. 65). I think it is important to create a community of inquiry that includes students and teachers as students are actively involved in the learning process. Collaborative learning is powerful as students all have their specific strengths and when they work together they each learn from one another.

Web-based Inquiry Science Environment (WISE) is highly beneficial as it offers students a different style and approach to learning.  WISE allows students to work in a step by step fashion while working at their own pace.

Learning for Use model “is a description of the learning process that can be used to support the design of content-intensive, inquiry-based science learning activities” (p.355).  The Learning Cycle is an “inquiry based pedagogy” where content knowledge and process learning are combined. Edelson (2000) discusses how inquiry learning fosters deep learning among students. Using technology is engaging for students, technology and computers are able to store large amounts of information (ie. data), and technology bring change to the classroom as it is evolving. Constructivists believe that knowledge is built from exploration and experimentation. Further, new experiences are connected with pre-existing knowledge and knowledge is gained. Here, learning is active and students are engaged. The newly BC reformed curriculum falls more with a constructivist approach as inquiry learning has become increasingly popular as it allows students to gain critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

The Lfu model stood out for me and also learning about how others used PhET simulations within their practices. Last week I already had the chance to introduce the simulations to my students. We really focused on exploration of area and perimeter as that was a hard concept for some of them. The learning was active and engaging and the students responded well. My goal is to try and incorporate the four TELEs in my math lessons over the next few months and do some exploring of my own!

Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt (1992a). The Jasper experiment: An exploration of issues in learning and instructional design. Educational Technology, Research and Development, 40(1), 65-80

Edelson, D. (2001). Learning-for-Use: a framework for the design of technology supported inquiry activities. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 38(3), 355-385.

Slotta, J. D., & Linn, M. C. (2009). WISE science: Web-based inquiry in the classroom. Teachers College Press.