Reading Response

Being a teacher who philosophically follows the constructivist theory of learning, I liked the part of the reading assignment that alluded to constructivist theory and higher order thinking skills.  I feel that our students need to learn how to think on their own and feel confident in expressing their thoughts to others with whom they work. Many of my students do not really understand the concept of cooperative learning and the need to contribute their thoughts to the group. Most times students feel that they have no good ideas or that they are the only one who has good ideas. The idea of listening and sharing don’t always go together in the mind of my classes. I try to break that mold and help them to realize that everyone has something to learn and something to teach.  When this lesson is learned they can reap the benefits of problem solving and inquiry based learning. Coupling this with computer technology gives students limitless opportunities to learn.  “Computers allow students to process a great deal of information in complex ways that were not available to them before the advent of computing” (Thorsen, 2009, p. 5)

Reference

Thorsen, C. (2009). TechTactics: technology for teachers (3rd ed.). Boston: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon.